I’m joined by the radiant Lea Landaverde —a financial educator, queer first-gen Latina, and founder of Riqueza Collective. We dive deep into Lea’s journey from childhood entrepreneurship to corporate burnout, and her brave pivot into building a business rooted in equity, education, and community.
“Don’t forget about your bag, baby girl.”
That’s how Lea Landaverde ended our conversation.
And honestly? That’s the entire episode in one sentence.
In this Calm Bomb episode, I talked with Lea Landaverde — a three-time award-winning financial educator, founder of Riqueza Collective, queer first-gen Salvadoran Latina, and a 2024 NextGen Collective 30 Under 30 honoree whose work has been featured in CNBC, Vogue México, and NASDAQ.
We covered:
Getting pushed out of corporate after discovering she was underpaid by $50,000
Growing up with immigrant entrepreneur parents and losing everything in the 2008 crisis
The emotional and political reality of doing DEI-centered work in this current administration
Tangible money moves for both corporate folks and budding entrepreneurs
Why intuition, boundaries, and radical self-care are not “extras” but survival tools
If you’re feeling wobbly about your money, your job, or your business right now, this one is for you.
1. A Rebirth in the Middle of a Political Backlash
When I asked Lea where she is now (March 2025), she didn’t give a polished “business update.”
She said she’s in a rebirth.
With the current U.S. administration and the crackdown on DEI, ethnicity-based, and gender-based initiatives, her entire business model has been impacted:
Riqueza primarily serves Latinas, women, first-gen folks, and children of immigrants.
The very populations she’s built everything around are now being legally targeted.
The work she does could be attacked or even sued in some states.
So she’s actively asking:
“What does Riqueza look like in this new reality?
What does our nonprofit arm, media arm, and coaching arm become now?”
She’s clear about one thing:
“I’m part of the resistance. I’m not going to let it stop me. But I am going through a rebirth.”
This is entrepreneurship in real time: adjusting to systems that were never built for us — and still choosing to build anyway.
2. From Landscaping and Masonry to Wall Street
Lea’s story doesn’t start in a boardroom. It starts in a small conservative town with parents who were Salvadoran immigrant entrepreneurs.
Her parents ran a landscaping and masonry business.
Jobs were not offered to immigrants where they lived, so her parents did what many of ours did: created their own path.
By age six, she was already helping with paperwork and phone calls.
Then came 2008.
They lost their home.
They lost the business.
They lost the life they’d been building.
That’s when Lea decided:
“I want to understand money. I want to know how this system works, even if it wasn’t built for us. I want to protect my family.”
So she:
Started college at 15
Had her diploma + associate’s degree by 17
Studied finance
Interned in wealth management, seeing how millionaires structure retirement
Spent four years in investment banking at one of the top U.S. banks
On paper: the dream.
In reality: underpaid, undervalued, and slowly waking up.
3. The $50,000 Wake-Up Call
During the pandemic, like many of us, Lea had her “this can’t be it” moment.
She discovered she was underpaid by $50,000 compared to her peers — even after moving to a “better” team.
She tried to make it work:
She told her managers she needed extra income and started a side hustle.
Corporate responded with “conflict of interest” and made her choose: the job or the business.
Everyone around her was saying:
“Don’t do it. Don’t leave. Don’t take the risk.”
And then they sent her the link to resign.
So she did.
Quick decision. Giant ripple.
What started as Landa Verde Collective evolved into Riqueza Wealth Coaching, and eventually into Riqueza Collective with a coaching arm, nonprofit arm, and media arm.
When I read her bio back to her, what came up most was gratitude:
“There was a point when I never thought I’d be here.”
4. “I Never Wanted to Be an Entrepreneur” (And Why That Matters)
This part felt important.
Lea didn’t grow up dreaming of being a #bossbabe.
She grew up wanting:
Stability
Security
To never relive the financial trauma of 2008
Her parents always saw the entrepreneurial seed in her. When she finally told them she was starting her own business, they said:
“We knew. We were just waiting for you to figure out what was yours.”
They always wanted something that would belong to her.
And even though she never planned on entrepreneurship, growing up in an immigrant business gave her:
Ethics: integrity, honesty, transparency, giving back
A model of “we make our own way when the system shuts us out”
A long-term view of seeds taking time to root
Those seeds didn’t sprout overnight.
But they did sprout.
5. For Budding Entrepreneurs: Pivot, Don’t Cling
One of my favorite parts of the conversation was her advice for new or struggling entrepreneurs.
She doesn’t sugarcoat it:
Entrepreneurship is not easy.
It is a form of emancipation and economic liberation.
But you cannot cling to an offer, brand, or business model that clearly isn’t working.
Her big points:
🔸 1. Don’t confuse hope with alignment.
You can have all the hope in the world — but if your gut knows something’s off, that’s data.
She has a personal rule:
“I usually try something three times. If it’s still not working the way it should, I recognize I’m in a transition. It’s time to let go and start something different.”
🔸 2. Redirection ≠ failure.
She doesn’t believe in failure. She believes in being redirected.
If something isn’t landing:
It might not be the right offer for your community.
It might not be framed in a way people understand.
It might not be the thing you want to give anymore.
🔸 3. Intuition + Numbers = Real Strategy
This is key:
Intuition tells you where things feel aligned or off.
Money tells you where things are actually working.
If:
Revenue isn’t coming in
Expenses are high
You’re constantly stressed
Something needs to change.
🔸 4. Never stop learning.
In the last four years, Lea has:
Joined cohorts in venture capital, politics, and financial services
Learned tools and tech through their built-in “universities”
Expanded her perspective so Riqueza can pivot into whatever shape it needs next
Her take:
“You don’t know yet what direction your company might need to go. Constant learning keeps doors open.”
🔸 5. Don’t let your side hustle eat you alive.
If you’re still in a 9–5 and starting a side thing:
Choose something you actually enjoy.
Don’t build a second job that drains you as much as the first.
6. For Corporate Folks: Know Your Market Value (And Stop Over-Giving)
Lea’s advice to people who want to stay in corporate was sharp and specific.
She said having a 9–5 can feel stable — but stability without value self-awareness is dangerous.
As a child of immigrants, she was taught:
“Be grateful. Be grateful you have a job. Be grateful you’re even there.”
So she:
Accepted whatever salary they gave her
Gave 110% all the time
Assumed that being a star performer would translate into better pay
It didn’t.
If she could go back, she’d:
Constantly negotiate her salary, time, and energy
Have quarterly meetings documenting her wins
Assess whether her compensation actually matched her contribution
Her new rule:
“If they’re not paying me 110%, I’m not giving them 110%.
I’ll give 50% that looks like 100 to them.”
For you, if you’re in corporate:
Know your market value.
Document your successes.
If you haven’t negotiated in a year, put it on your radar.
Ask: “Is this role paying me fairly for what I bring? Is it helping me grow, or keeping me stagnant?”
Comfort is not the same as safety.
Sometimes it’s just stagnation in disguise.
7. Media That Raised Us: Fresh Prince, Cheetah Girls, Rihanna
We also talked about the media that shaped Lea’s imagination.
Two big ones:
📺 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
She grew up watching it with her brother.
It showed:
A kid from the hood in a wealthy, “proper” environment
Code-switching between worlds
Wanting more while not wanting to lose yourself
She still watches it on bad days. It’s comfort, but it’s also a mirror:
“I always wanted more. I still deserve more — even when statistically, systemically, I’m not supposed to.”
🎶 Rihanna
Lea loves R&B, but Rihanna is a whole archetype for her:
Immigrant
Artist turned multi–business mogul
Fenty Beauty, Savage X Fenty, collabs, pivots, even shutting down what doesn’t work
Motherhood, fashion, music, business — all coexisting
The lesson:
“She keeps the box open. Possibilities are always possible.”
For those of us who’ve been trained to “stay small” and be grateful, these examples matter.
8. Intuition, Boundaries, and Radical Self-Care
We zoomed out into the emotional reality of living through all of this — politics, money stress, career upheaval.
A few themes:
🧭 Intuition as guidance
Lea describes her intuition as her main compass:
The gut often knows before the brain can justify.
Sometimes logic says “this doesn’t make sense,” but her intuition keeps nudging.
She’s learned to trust where things feel connected and aligned.
📵 Boundaries with the phone & doomscrolling
Concrete things she does:
Two phones: one business, one personal
Leaves the business phone on the desk when she’s “off”
Sometimes leaves the personal phone in the kitchen at night to wake up naturally
Chooses community and movement over getting stuck doomscrolling
“When I’m in community, I’m reminded everything’s going to be okay.”
📚 Resourcing the mind and spirit
Recently, she finished The Four Agreements and highlighted:
Be impeccable with your word
Don’t take anything personally
Don’t make assumptions
Always do your best
Simple, but grounding — especially in times where everything feels shaky.
🌱 Joy and self-care as radical acts
In her words, self-care is radical right now:
Take time to rest
Take time to disconnect
Take time to care for your body (walks, baths, face masks, sun — it doesn’t have to be expensive)
We are “balling on a budget” and still deserving of care
You cannot pour from a nervous system that’s constantly fried.
9. Tangible Money Moves for Unstable Times
Okay, now the money part.
Here’s the high-level checklist from Lea (and I’m framing this as general education, not individual financial advice):
💸 1. Prioritize financial security and protection
Now is the time to ask:
Do I have an emergency fund?
Is it in a high-yield savings account?
Do I know where all my loan and debt documents are?
If I’m thinking of leaving the country one day, what might an exit strategy look like?
💰 2. How much to save?
Her general baseline:
Aim to save at least 10% of your income each month if you’re able.
Work toward an emergency fund of 3–6 months of expenses in a high-yield savings account.
This can take time. That’s okay.
The key is consistent movement, not perfection.
📈 3. Investing for the long term
She sees the stock market as a tool for long-term retirement planning, not a quick win:
Think in terms of 20 years, not 20 days.
If you can, direct an additional 5–10% toward investing for future-you.
📊 4. The 50/30/20 framework (adaptable)
A starting point you can customize:
50% → essentials (rent, food, utilities, basic needs)
30% → wants / lifestyle
20% → savings + investments
If you have debt, you can break that 20% up as:
5% paying down debt
5% saving
5–10% investing
Finances are personal. There’s no one “right” proportion — but you do want a plan.
💳 5. Debt & utilization
For consumer debt:
If your credit cards are at 30% interest, they can eat you alive.
A general target is using no more than ~30% of your total credit limit if possible (for credit score health).
If you can’t hit 30% right now:
At least make minimum payments
Avoid treating credit cards as your safety net
Build even a small cash cushion alongside debt payoff if you can
🎓 6. Student loans (messy, unclear, evolving)
On student loans, Lea was honest: things are chaotic.
With big structural changes and legal challenges, her main suggestion was:
Keep copies of your contracts and records
Stay informed as things evolve
There’s a lot of uncertainty, so no one can definitively say “this is the one correct move” right now.
10. Remember: Your Bag Matters (And So Do You)
Lea closed with this reminder:
“Don’t forget about your bag, baby girl.”
Not in a shallow way.
In a safety, dignity, and legacy way.
You deserve:
Stability, security, and options
Not to be underpaid and overworked
Not to be kept in the dark about money
Not to settle just because “this is how it’s always been”
Where to Learn from Lea Landaverde
If you want to go deeper with Lea’s work, she shared these:
🌐 Riqueza Collective: [riqueza.co] – coaching + education
🧾 Free budgeting templates
💬 Free WhatsApp community (ask questions, request resources)
📘 Protect the Bag guide (50+ pages on money mindset, saving, investing, legacy)
🎥 Free masterclass on financial planning in uncertain times
📰 Riqueza Media newsletter (every 2 weeks, Latinas writing about the economy): [media.riqueza.co]
🙋🏽♀️ Lea personally: @latinawealthactivist + latinawealthactivist.com
