We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nicole Valenzuela. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nicole below.

Nicole, appreciate you joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later

Sometimes I wonder where I’d be if I had started my business earlier. In theory, I might be farther ahead. But in reality, I couldn’t have built this business without living — and learning from — everything that came before it.
Early in my career, I was driven by fear. Fear of inadequacy. Fear of being seen as just a DEI hire — a Queer Latina woman in a white, male-dominated finance world. I worked relentlessly to prove myself, driven by perfectionism disguised as professionalism. I had no boundaries. I was praised and promoted, but much of that growth came from a place of internal pressure, not true fulfillment.
I launched my business, Fostering Finances, in October 2023 — as a birthday gift to myself. Two years earlier, I had lost my father to cancer. Just months after that, I became a foster mother. Those two life-altering events cracked something open in me.
My father always said, “Mija, get a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” But despite that advice, I watched him work a job he hated — even on his deathbed. That image stayed with me. And when I became a parent, I realized I didn’t want to just teach my son about financial freedom — I wanted to model it.
That combination — of loss, love, and legacy — ignited a fire I couldn’t ignore. Still, I needed time. Time to heal from grief. Time to find my footing as a parent. Time to gather the lessons from my 9-to-5. And time to build enough financial liberation to leap into entrepreneurship not from fear, but from deep trust in my vision.
I started at exactly the right time. I wouldn’t change a thing. The timing was perfect — not because it was convenient, but because I was finally aligned.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m Nicole Valenzuela — a queer Latina, financial coach, and founder of Fostering Finances.

I help queer and BIPOC women who carry financial anxiety and shame build wealth on their own terms. I believe financial liberation isn’t about spreadsheets — it’s about healing, safety, and building a life where your money finally aligns with your values.

I spent over a decade climbing the corporate finance ladder, often being the only woman of color in the room. For a long time, I equated success with perfection and productivity — until I burned out hard. After losing my father to cancer and becoming a foster mother within months, everything shifted. I didn’t just want to teach financial strategy — I wanted to live financial freedom, and model it for my son.

That’s when Fostering Finances was born.

Through my 1:1 coaching program, I guide clients in saving five figures, paying off debt, building emergency funds, and investing with confidence — all without guilt, deprivation, or erasing who they are. Together, we challenge the traditional (and often exclusionary) financial advice industry and redefine what it means to “be good with money.”

What sets me apart is how deeply I hold space for the emotions behind money. My clients don’t just leave with a financial plan — they leave feeling powerful, seen, and free from cycles of scarcity and shame. I stay connected with them long after the coaching ends, and I’m just as excited to celebrate a Roth IRA contribution as I am to hear about their first guilt-free vacation.

What I’m most proud of is building a business rooted in community and care. My clients are generous, smart, resilient — and they’re creating ripple effects in their own families, relationships, and communities.

If you’re looking for a money coach who understands how identity, family, culture, and trauma can shape your financial story — I’m your person. This work isn’t just about numbers. It’s about freedom.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Fostering Finances was born from resilience. While I officially launched my business a year and a half ago, its roots go deeper — back to my father’s battle with cancer. As one of his caregivers, I watched him continue to stress about money even in his final days. I later learned from his fiancée that he had said, “I wish someone had taught me how to manage money.” That broke something open in me. I knew then I wanted to become the money coach, teacher, and cheerleader he never had — and that so many others still don’t have access to.
While building this business, both my partner and I faced layoffs. What could’ve been seen as a setback became fuel — a reminder that financial independence isn’t just a luxury, it’s survival. At the same time, I’ve spent three and a half years as a foster parent advocating for my son’s permanency. Moments before writing this, his trial was postponed for the fourth time.
Foster care has shown me just how broken some of our country’s systems really are — and how poverty, neglect, and lack of support are so often symptoms of broader, systemic inequality. But it has also taught me the importance of not quitting, even when things feel hopeless. I’ve learned to dig deep, find resources, build community, and keep showing up for what’s right.
This is the duality I live in: navigating systems that have failed us, while doing everything I can not to become a product of them. I believe deeply that wealth — when placed in the hands of people who’ve been historically shut out — can be a powerful tool for healing and transformation. Because when queer folks, BIPOC, and other marginalized communities gain access to wealth, we don’t just keep it — we pour it back into our people.
I want to build wealth not just for myself, but so my son can have choices I never had — to pursue passions, prioritize mental health, and experience a life of joy, not just survival. I want to be a parent who isn’t emotionally depleted by financial stress, who can show up with presence, softness, and stability. But this isn’t just about me. My goal is to help others build that same liberation — to create more space, more access, and more possibility for communities who deserve more than just making it. Because we all deserve to thrive.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the most powerful lessons I’ve had to unlearn is that it’s okay to be visible.
As a queer woman raised in a Catholic Latino household, I was taught — both directly and indirectly — that my identity was something to be ashamed of. That my authenticity might be seen as a symptom of mental illness, sexual trauma, or moral failure. I internalized the idea that it was safer to shrink, to stay quiet, to make myself small so I wouldn’t draw attention to the parts of me others might judge.
While I did have people in my life who loved and accepted me fully, I also encountered conditional acceptance — where I was only safe or embraced if I wasn’t too gay, not too masculine or androgynous, not too bold. So I learned that blending in could protect me. That playing small was safer than being fully seen.
On top of that, I was raised to be humble — which I interpreted as hiding my success. I believed that sharing my accomplishments was bragging, that it would somehow make others uncomfortable or turn them away. So I learned to downplay not just who I was, but what I was capable of.
In corporate America, I was told to be more visible — but visibility never felt safe. When I did try, I spent just as much energy shielding parts of myself to maintain a sense of safety as I did showing up. I was constantly navigating how to be present without putting myself at risk.
Now, through entrepreneurship and community, I’m unlearning those fears. I’m reclaiming visibility as a tool for representation, not ego. Visibility isn’t about showing off — it’s about showing what’s possible. It’s saying, If I could navigate all of this and still build something meaningful, so can you.
It’s a radical act of empowerment. And even when I still feel the urge to shrink, I remind myself that being seen — fully and freely — can be someone else’s permission slip to rise.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://fosteringfin.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fosteringfinances
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-valenzuelam/

Image Credits

Kalini Jade