I WENT FROM STRUGGLING AND BORROWING MONEY

TO SHOWING SALES EXECUTIVES AND BUSINESS OWNERS HOW TO TAKE CONTROL OF THEIR MONEY + BUILD WEALTH.

It wasn't a smooth ride

I was born and raised in San Jose, CA. My dad was a business owner and mom was in education. I grew up playing soccer and was recruited to play Division 1 collegiate soccer at San Jose State University. After I graduated, I had the opportunity to spend time with the New England Revolution (Major League Soccer) in Boston. I loved soccer, but knew playing with the reserves in MLS was probably not going to pay the bills. After soccer, a friend led me to an opportunity in the financial services industry.

Frankly, all I really knew about money at that point was how to spend it.

Growing up, money management and investing was always a major challenge in our family. We went through cycles of having money, then losing it all, and then starting the cycle over again—for decades. The financial struggle was real and caused a lot of pain, as it does with so many families. Ultimately, my experiences motivated me to break the cycle and eventually become a Certified Financial Planner™.

The road to becoming a CFP®

I started in a career as a sales executive for the financial industry leader American Express and financial/tech industry changer LearnVest. During my tenure as a sales professional in the finance industry, I seldom thought about my own financial plan.

I quickly realized the difficulty of managing my personal finances and my sales goals.

It’s a daunting task to be fiscally responsible when you are in the thick of closing deals, prospecting, managing cross-functional teams, traveling, fine-tuning your skills, and attending corporate meetings. I was so exhausted from the sales cycle and I didn’t have the bandwidth to think about investments, deferred compensation, tax planning, cash-flow management, college funding, etc. Who would?!

After some time in the industry as a sales executive, I started to experience success and now had the opportunity to get back on track financially. I quickly realized that there weren’t many fiduciary financial advisors working to help people like me. I came across advisors over the years who were only looking to sell products versus provide the advice I needed—advisors not looking out for my wallet, only theirs.

At this point I started to become obsessed with personal finance and was eager to study and learn how to be a financial expert. During this process I saw a big need for people like me to access unbiased advisors. I wanted to find a way to build off of my education, personal experiences and passion.

I had my why, and at this point, my what and how became clear.

I earned my Personal Financial Planning Certificate from UCLA, became a CFP® and founded WealthBuilders, LLC to help people protect and grow their wealth.

Associations

why I aim high

My beautiful family, that is it.
We love to spend time together, eat good food, go to the beach and parks, and stay active. Our weekends are filled up with kids’ activities, sports, family, and fun.

My wife of 10+ years is Edita, a full-time business executive. These two cuties are Camila and Cash. We also have two mini-dachshunds, Pickle and Mya. We love to travel domestically and internationally. Disneyland, Maui, and Cabo are our favorites at moment. Edita and I love a good happy hour and spending quality time with friends and family. Our goal is to continue saving for our financial future and build a legacy for our family.