Sandra Velasquez

Sandra Velasquez is the CEO and founder of Nopalera, a modern Mexican beauty brand she launched from her Brooklyn apartment in 2020. Inspired by her parents' journey as Mexican immigrants, she built the company around the resilience and richness of Latino heritage, channeling the botanical power of the native nopal cactus into a fragrance-forward body care line now sold across the U.S. and Mexico. Sandra's entrepreneurial journey reached a national audience through her appearance on Shark Tank (Season 14) and her selection to Stanford's Latino Business Action Network, Cohort 14. Under her leadership, Nopalera has raised a $4 million Series A led by Morgan Stanley and co-led by L'ATTITUDE Ventures, expanded into more than 150 Costco locations across 17 states, launched exclusively at Ulta Beauty in Mexico, and partnered with Aeromexico to feature its products in premium in-flight amenity kits. The brand was recently named to BeautyMatter's NEXT50 list of companies shaping the future of beauty. Beyond Nopalera, Sandra is an author, keynote speaker, and host of The Nopalera Podcast, where she shares insights on entrepreneurship and brand-building. Her work has been featured on The Today Show, ABC News, and LinkedIn News, and she writes La Onda, a blog offering founders practical guidance on fundraising and wholesale growth. She is based in San Antonio, Texas.