We recently connected with Beatris Mendez Gandica and have shared our conversation below.

Beatris, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you scale up? What were the strategies, tactics, meaningful moments, twists/turns, obstacles, mistakes along the way? The world needs to hear more realistic, actionable stories about this critical part of the business building journey. Tell us your scaling up story – bring us along so we can understand what it was like making the decisions you had, implementing the strategies/tactics etc.

At Nuevo Foundation, scaling up has been a journey of innovation, collaboration, and staying true to our mission of making STEM education accessible to all. Here’s how we made it happen:

1. Accessible and Open-Source Content: We ensured all our resources are online, web-exclusive, and open-source, removing barriers like downloads or logins. This makes our content reusable and even usable offline.

2. Virtual-First Approach: The pandemic prompted us to adopt a fully virtual model, allowing us to teach students across time zones and continents while scaling to meet demand.

3. Global Volunteer Network: Our volunteers, spanning U.S. time zones and led by passionate advocates like Henrique in Brazil and Luisa in Colombia, expanded our reach and sustained our programs worldwide.

4. Localized, Multi-Language Resources: To break language barriers, we introduced multi-language workshops so students could learn in their native tongue, fostering inclusivity.

5. YouTube Integration: We created workshop videos hosted on YouTube, enabling students to learn at their own pace, even without a Nuevo volunteer present.

6. Collaborative Partnerships: Partnering with nonprofits and organizations like If/Then She Can, Latinitas, and Code/Art helped us broaden our outreach and amplify our impact.

7. Inspiring Personal Stories: Volunteers shared their diverse journeys into computer science, giving students relatable and personalized pathways into STEM.

8. Proactive Outreach: We shared our story and programs wherever possible, enabling schools, teachers, and students to discover and connect with Nuevo organically.

Every strategy was a step toward creating a scalable, inclusive model of education that empowers students worldwide. The twists and turns along the way taught us the value of adaptability, collaboration, and unwavering dedication to our mission.

Beatris, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Beatris Mendez Gandica, founder of Nuevo Foundation and a Senior Program Manager in Azure Data at Microsoft. My journey into the world of technology started with a childhood fascination for gaming. Growing up, I loved playing Nintendo and PlayStation, and I was mesmerized by how pressing a button on the controller instantly impacted the game on the screen. That curiosity stayed with me, but I never had the chance to learn coding or even see what it looked like until my freshman year of college.

That experience shaped my vision for Nuevo Foundation. I wanted to create opportunities for students, especially those from underserved communities, to explore coding and computer science—opportunities I didn’t have growing up.

At Nuevo, we focus on three core offerings: coding workshops, virtual sessions, and speaker series. Our mission is to inspire kids to be curious, confident, and courageous by discovering the world of STEM. By bringing in volunteers and teachers of all colors, we aim to show underserved students that representation matters and that a future in tech is achievable for them.

I’m most proud of the impact we’ve made since launching Nuevo. Our initial goal was to teach 500 students, but today, we’ve taught over 19,700 students across 33 countries. It’s incredible to bring joy to students and inspire them to dream of becoming producers, not just consumers, of technology. For us, success is when at least one student in every class becomes interested in computer science or feels inspired to keep learning to code.

If you’re a teacher, parent, or school interested in our programs, please reach out at [email protected] or connect with us via our social media channels.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

At Nuevo Foundation, we don’t manufacture a physical product, but we do create and curate educational experiences. Our “products” are the coding workshops we develop, which are entirely built by our volunteers. We also have the guidance of Oliver Z., our curriculum guru, who vets each workshop we create to ensure quality and relevance.

The creation process is a unique blend of storytelling and coding. We believe in making learning fun and engaging, and we see storytelling as a powerful tool for teaching. Each of our workshops, whether it’s coding Pong or Tic Tac Toe, is designed with a narrative that helps students understand the concepts while also allowing them to actively test their knowledge. This “Nuevo way” of learning emphasizes interactivity and reflection, ensuring that students don’t just code—they understand how and why things work.

We also believe in crediting the individuals who create the workshops, which is why you can always see the contributor’s name in the code itself. This practice promotes ownership and encourages a community of creators who contribute to our mission.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Managing a team and keeping morale high starts with believing in the mission. When everyone is aligned with a shared purpose, it becomes easier to stay motivated and focused on the bigger picture.

Another key factor is seeing your work come to life. For example, being part of workshops and witnessing students’ reactions firsthand is incredibly rewarding. It reinforces the impact of what you’re doing and helps maintain enthusiasm for the work.

Morale-building events or casual chats every quarter also play a vital role in keeping the team connected. These moments allow everyone to relax, bond, and recharge.

I also encourage team members to contribute their ideas. Asking each person what they would like to see or feel they are missing creates a sense of ownership and shows that their input is valued.

Finally, it’s important to understand each member’s needs, likes, and dislikes, and to help them grow when opportunities arise. Encouraging personal and professional development ensures that everyone feels supported and that their contributions are leading to their own growth as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nuevofoundation.org
• Instagram: @nuevofoundation | @beaglobaltraveler
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/beagandica
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/beagandica
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/nuevofoundation
• Other: https://linktr.ee/beagandica

Image Credits

Nuevo Foundation