I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit. Growing up in Mexico, I took our family’s annual trip to the U.S. as an opportunity to invest in a suitcase full of American candy. I would then resell the American treats to friends back home. It was a time when the quality and design of products manufactured in Mexico was poor, and my classmates were hungry for anything made in the U.S.A. I made a fortune, and the experience opened my eyes, at an early age, to the draw of quality goods.

I didn’t know it then, but that may have been my first step toward building a luxury brand.