Between 30 and 40 years:

The new generation of entrepreneurs

They are professionals, but most didn’t know a thing about numbers. They had an idea for a business and dared to go for it. Their enthusiasm helped them face the challenges, and technology provided the tools to make their multiple roles compatible. These 10 women were the finalists for the 2005 Young Entrepreneuring Women Prize, granted recently by the Business Women’s Organization. One of the three winners sums up what they represent: “We are independent women who are sure of ourselves, with a creative spirit, and a lot of inner strength to take on major projects.”

Text: María Paz Lagos and Soledad Torres Photography: José Miguel Pérez and Claudio Vera Production: Jesús Echenique Makeup: Minata Rodríguez

VERÓNICA LARRAÍN (31) and MARÍA INÉS IRARRÁZAVAL (32),

Agrícola y Comercial Mission Chile Ltda.
"We have to work hard and hold on to our dreams"

The company’s story began when the partners studied Agronomy in the Catholic University of Chile. “We wondered why Chile, which produces such good wines, did not make quality vinegars. We saw that there was a niche and decided to do something together. When we graduated, we each accompanied our husbands to the United States for their postgraduate studies and took advantage of the time to research the subject in order to start a business when we got back to Chile,” Verónica explains. They returned in late 2001 and have not stopped since. They make and sell premium quality wine vinegar. The first five varieties, all red, were launched in 2003. The following year they added white varieties, and today they produce 10,000 bottles per year.
María Inés explains that the beginning required a great deal of patience and experimentation. “We took all the time we needed to be sure that we had the vinegar we wanted. We did everything ourselves; we didn’t have the vinegar made for us. The only help we had was in bottling and labeling.” Verónica adds that it was not easy to tackle the administrative end, nor to combine their roles as businesswomen with those of wives and mothers. Today they celebrate the space they’ve earned, but recognize that they still have the challenge of increasing the culture of vinegar in Chile, creating new varieties, and exporting. Personally, they want the company to grow and become better known.
With respect to how they feel as entrepreneurs, María Inés says that whatever they have achieved is due to their willingness to take risks. “We are satisfied with what we have done so far, but we know that there is a lot left to do. We also know that we can do it; we just have to work hard and hold on to our dreams."