Unyielding Spirit of Entrepreneurship

January 06, 2017

Nobody tells Juana Becker, “No.”  Our founder and matriarch’s unrelenting drive and passion have made Boberck the brand it is today. Despite adversity and loss, Juana has always pushed on to continue searching the world to provide the most beautiful things she could find to those around her. This determination never to give up on her dream inspires us to do the same.

Juana is the tenth child in a family of fifteen. She was raised in the Chilean countryside, no stranger to hard work. Her father raised her no differently than her male siblings. This early equality taught Juana never to take no for an answer. She learned the value of business from her older siblings and exhibited an entrepreneurial spirit from a very early age. She was determined to build a business in a time when it was unfathomable for women to be in the workplace at all, let alone as leaders. Juana went on to marry Federico Borquez, a man with a similar passion for business. 

Together the two set out to achieve their goal of bringing the highest quality products to their hometown of Castro. From the finest fabric to the chicest shoes, Federico and Juana wouldn’t settle for anything less than the best, and they went to great lengths to find it.  And so Boberck was born.

The two cultivated their burgeoning brand and vision even beyond their original dreams. They expanded beyond their hometown on Chiloe Island, taking their products to the mainland where the brand grew like wildfire across the Chilean market. Just as Juana and Frederico were about to break ground on their new flagship store in Puerto Montt, tragedy struck. Federico, ­­Juana’s life partner and co-creator of the brand, was killed in a car accident.

Juana was heartbroken. But she knew that she must continue building Boberck. No longer was this only about her own ambition – she wanted to pay tribute to her late husband’s dreams. She was determined to overcome her adversity even against the counsel of her closest advisors, who suggested that she either sell the company or step down. No woman, they told her, could do this alone. 

Dismissing such advice, Juana merely turned these suggestions into fuel for her entrepreneurial fire. She rose to the challenge and continued to build her own empire, opening more stores across Chile.

Today, with the help of her children, Juana can ensure that her passion lives on in the company. Even in light of significant change and growth, Boberck remains true to its core value: parlaying challenge to realize a dream.

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