From Ecuador to Whole Foods: Juan Giraldo's Entrepreneurial Journey and Mission to Empower the Next Generation
How a serial entrepreneur built a thriving beverage company while shaping Brandeis University's startup ecosystem
When Juan Giraldo talks about entrepreneurship, he speaks from experience—not just as someone who has built multiple companies, but as someone who has dedicated years to helping the next generation of entrepreneurs avoid the mistakes he's made along the way.
As the outgoing Spark Program Manager at Brandeis University's Innovation Center, Juan has spent the last four and a half years transforming how students think about starting companies. But his own entrepreneurial story began much earlier, rooted in family tradition and a desire to stay connected to his homeland of Ecuador.
A Family Business Foundation
Juan's entrepreneurial DNA runs deep. His parents started a private school in Quito, Ecuador, 34 years ago—a venture that became the whole family business. "While growing up, it was always a part of the family to talk about Planeta Azul school," Juan recalls. This early exposure to business ownership and the daily realities of running a company shaped his understanding that entrepreneurship isn't just about big exits and venture capital—it's about solving problems and creating value day by day.
His own ventures began early, spanning entertainment, advertising, and e-commerce. While these early attempts weren't "big hits," as Juan puts it, they were invaluable learning experiences. The breakthrough came with an EdTech company he co-founded 12 years ago, training engineers to use Oracle databases across Latin America. When he sold his stake in the company—which had grown to serve over 10,000 customers across 14 countries—the proceeds funded his MBA and relocation to Boston.
Building Waku: Tea with a Purpose
Today, Juan leads Waku Tea, a beverage company that embodies his philosophy of purposeful entrepreneurship. Waku brings "pop and fun to the traditional ready-to-drink tea category," offering the same sweet, refreshing taste consumers expect but with only 3-4 grams of sugar instead of 50, and 25-30 calories instead of 160, plus added prebiotic fiber for health benefits.
But Waku is more than just another healthy beverage. "When I moved to the States, I wanted to stay connected to Ecuador somehow," Juan explains. The company sources its herbs from independent farmers in southern Ecuador, creating a direct impact back home as the business scales in the United States.
The journey hasn't been without challenges. Juan's initial business plan projected a nine-figure exit within five years—they're now in year six and nowhere near those projections. "Usually things that are worth building take longer and are more expensive to build than what you originally thought," he reflects, embodying the resilience that defines successful entrepreneurs.
The breakthrough came in 2023 when Waku launched with Whole Foods—a milestone that Juan describes as "a before and after for consumer packaged goods companies." Today, Waku is the top two best-selling ready-to-drink tea at Whole Foods and is expanding from its initial New York City launch to cover the entire Northeast, from North Carolina to Maine.
Teaching Through Real-World Experience
Juan's success with Waku runs parallel to his impact in entrepreneurship education. At Brandeis, he managed the Spark program with a clear philosophy: "Get out of the building, get out of the spreadsheet, get out of the PowerPoint presentation. Go talk to customers, go learn, put a prototype out there."
Over five cohorts, Juan worked with 60 teams, with 1-2 teams per year making the leap to pursue their ventures full-time. These success stories—from Quick Slot Health in health tech to Farmer Foodie in food—represent the real-world impact of his approach to entrepreneurship education.
"What I wanted to bring to Spark was mainly to try to reduce the feeling of it being an academic experience, and try to make it a real world startup business experience," Juan explains. His methodology combined his real-world experience, his background in nonprofit education, and the entrepreneurial thought-and-action philosophy he learned at Babson College.
Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
Juan's advice to emerging entrepreneurs is refreshingly practical: start with one step. "More often than not, [people feel overwhelmed] because we are thinking about the last step of the process," he says. Instead of focusing on the $500 million exit, focus on the next action you can take today.
His key insights for aspiring entrepreneurs include:
Anyone Can Be an Entrepreneur: "You don't need to be a scientist, you don't need to be an engineer, you don't need an MBA. You can be an anthropology major. You can be a psychology major. You still have what it takes to be an entrepreneur."
Embrace the Pivot: "I haven't met yet a single entrepreneur who hasn't pivoted. You just need to listen to the market once you put things out there."
Leverage Your Ecosystem: "Reach out to people. What's the worst that can happen? You would be surprised at how many successful entrepreneurs just want to give back and share the stories and the lessons they've learned."
Follow the Market: "Start gathering data... follow the dollars, follow the sales and where things are sticking. The market will guide you."
What's Next
As Juan transitions from Spark to focus full-time on Waku, the company is scaling rapidly. They're more than doubling every year, hiring three more people in 2024, and have ambitious plans to reach $100 million in sales by 2031. But for Juan, the journey itself remains the reward.
"Nico and I, my co-founder, were both students of business at heart. We like the process, and we're having so much fun right now scaling up that we see ourselves just keep doing this for the next few years."
Juan's story illustrates a powerful truth about entrepreneurship: success isn't just about building companies—it's about building ecosystems, empowering others, and creating value that extends far beyond financial returns. From the farmers in Ecuador to the students at Brandeis, Juan's entrepreneurial journey demonstrates that the best ventures are those that lift others up along the way.
Juan Giraldo can be reached at juan@livewaku.com, and you can learn more about Waku Tea at www.livewaku.com. For aspiring entrepreneurs, Juan remains open to connecting with anyone in the Brandeis community and beyond.