Gabriel Antonio Maya Villamiza

Gabriel started his first business and became financially independent by the age of 10. With the teaching and support of his mother, he has carried this entrepreneurial passion into his adult life where he co-founded Zue Beauty- a beauty company dedicated to crafting quality, vegan skin-care products. In addition to promoting health, Zue Beauty drives a broader mission to bring peace to underdeveloped, armed conflict areas and to replace cocaine products with locally sourced herbal products. Gabriel and his team built Zue Beauty with little knowledge about the beauty industry, they strive to improve the quality of life of more than 2000 families in Southern Columbia and hope to inspire other young entrepreneurs to build both profitable and socially impactful businesses. The biggest obstacle he has had to overcome as an entrepreneur is receiving a life-threatening letter from an armed group telling him to immediately stop promoting the substitution of cocaine crops for healthy crops. Gabriel believes staying true his vision helped him to overcome this fear: “I remembered one of the best pieces of advice I received from a fellow entrepreneur:” Be Smart, Be tough...Never look back always Forward". Most people would have walked away from that situation and abandoned the 2,000 families we work with. I did the opposite. I became smarter and tougher and decided to continue the process, taking my precautions and being protected by the 2000 families from the community.”