Today we’d like to introduce you to Javier D. Martinez.
Javier, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Howdy Dallas Voyage Community – Nice to e-meet you and I hope you and your families are staying safe and healthy. Before I get started, I’d love for you to think of this statement while reading my story below “If you LOST everything tomorrow, what would YOU do?” This question is the reason I get to do what I do today!
Howdy, my name is Javier (JD) Martinez, a Cuban-Mexican immigrant motivated by a fast-paced environment, community involvement, and, most importantly my family. I am a Dreamer/Storyteller/Visionary/Husband/Brother/Son/Homie/Friend/Dog Dad Innovating Small Business Concepts & Startups Digital Infrastructure while Transforming Relationship-Based Lending via Zirtue.
I believe everyone has a story to tell. For me, the opportunity to learn something new every day lies in every encounter with every person I meet, every destination I travel to, and embracing every new experience. Outside of the office, I am committed to investing in my community via a variety of leadership positions throughout Texas. I’m fluent in Spanish but not yet in CODING, and I’m always looking to brush my programming skills over some exotic coffee. I love networking, making new business friends, and building new things that start from a whiteboard.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
From a personal perspective, my life has never been a smooth road it actually has been the opposite honestly. From an early young age as a kid and a teenager, I was faced with a lot of adversity due to the nature of my being extremely curious but rebellious! It all started when we first moved from Tampico, Mexico to Chicago when I was nine years old. Even though I attended an English speaking school in Mexico, the transition to an American school was tough, especially for a kid like me who hated school and had a really strict immigrant mom. A few years later at the age of 15, I was faced with the biggest challenges of my life. I lost my best friends/role model/mentor, my Father. Growing up without a father figure in my life has been extremely challenging and that is something I still struggle with today.
Even though my childhood was extremely difficult at the age of 19, I left my house to go off to college, thinking my life was only going to get easier since now I had the freedom to do whatever I want. Boy, was I wrong! My college career was filled with many unique experiences from my social life to my business life. I had many successes, such as graduating debt-free with 3 degrees and meeting the love of my life who is now my wife but also filled with many failures and struggles. Fast forward to my adult years post-college. You can say my professional career has been a roller-coaster ride, to say the least. The last seven years have been some of the most traumatic and mentally exhausting years of my life.
2018 was probably the hardest and darkest year of my life. It all started when I faced the 2nd biggest challenge of my life. A family secret was exposed that caused our family to fall and break apart, which was followed by me being fired from my first real adult job due to other people’s greediness. I then decided to go off on my own and start my first business, which was extremely stressful. After about a year, I decided to shut down the business because I was so miserable and was not in good mental headspace to continue to run the business. Due to all those obstacles I faced as a kid and a young adult I soon began to experience many mental health crises such as depression and anxiety.
In early 2019 I decided to take a step back and really focus on my personal wellbeing and mental health because one of the greatest things in my life happened to me that year. I got to marry the love of my life Hannah Faith Bourgeois-Martinez in my family’s hometown of Havana, Cuba. Since then, my life has progressively gotten better but even today, I continue to struggle from a mental health perspective due to the nature of the business I am in but that is something that I have accepted and have made part of me, which is something I am willing to live with for the rest of my life and turn it into a strength of mine. Being an entrepreneur has definitely been some of the most rewarding but stressful years of my life but I wouldn’t have it any other way. It is definitely not for everyone but if you are willing to sacrifice and put in the work, the rewards and experiences have been life-changing for me.
Javannah Capital – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Javannah Capital is my wife’s and I investment holding company. Over the last several years, we have been able to create successful family businesses that have allowed us to live the lifestyle we live today. I am nowhere close to being where I want to be but I know if I continue down this path, it will lead me to my ultimate goal and dream in life of building generational wealth for my family and owning a European soccer team.
Being a serial entrepreneur has led me to many amazing opportunities and rewarding experiences. My diverse experience in an array of business settings led me to begin my career at the Reagor Dykes Auto Group and eventually to own a portfolio of small family businesses! For the last several years, I have helped run my father’s real estate business, which allowed me to graduate debt-free and provided me with the capital to venture into other businesses such as business consulting, tech startups, sports entertainment, and nonprofits. It is my life goal to drive my family’s company forward by finding the best talent to join our team and execute our duty of creating revolutionary experiences, products, and services.
I believe that thing that sets our company apart is that we have created a platform that helps create educating content in an entertaining experience while adding value to your personal and business life. In today’s world, people don’t want to be sold to- They want to be entertained, well informed, and find solutions to their problems. For me, connecting with like-minded people has always been helpful and that’s why I decided to build a personal advisory board of individuals who are helping me establish a standard of excellence and building everlasting relationships with our clients that help us gain their trust and build powerful partnerships.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success comes in all shapes and sizes for me. The legacy I am trying to leave is to create a positive influence with every person and business I encounter. For me, success is not defined by the amount of money you have, the accolades you’ve been awarded, or a specific metric. Ultimately for me, success is defined by the impact you are making today and after you leave this earth. Think of a place where the servant to society meets the determined to inspire! I am someone who is constantly cultivating a spirit of thankfulness which is inspired by passion and aspired by purpose.
A fulfilling life journey comes when you experience new cultures, travel to foreign places, meet fellow humans, and constantly educate yourself on the world around us. Something I have been telling myself lately and people I’ve had the opportunity to mentor is that you are what you’ve been looking for and to let you intuition guide you. Dream Big, Teach, and Do Something Great and NEVER be afraid to reinvent yourself!
Contact Info:
- Website: linktr.ee/txpreneur
- Phone: 469-608-9650
- Email: txpreneur@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/javvy_d/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/javi.d.martinez.1
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/javvyd
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jd-martinez/
Image Credit:
Alvite Julio Antonio
Breen Images
Angel Vazquez Rivero
Vicente Alvarez
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