Leveraging Leadership

Expanding Leadership Impact: Angel Investing and Chief of Staff Insights for Purpose-Driven Ventures

• Emily Sander • Season 1 • Episode 227

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Erika Aquino, an angel investor with 26 portfolio companies across five countries, and her Chief of Staff Patricia de Leon, share how they work together to find and support women and minority founders in sustainability, wellness, education, and future of work. They talk about Patricia’s role as the first filter for deals, relationship building, and special projects like producing a TV show on female founders. Erika also opens up about her bipolar diagnosis and emphasizes the importance of resilience and choosing team members who align with her values.


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Who Am I?

If we haven’t yet before - Hi👋 I’m Emily, Chief of Staff turned Executive Leadership Coach. After a thrilling ride up the corporate ladder, I’m focusing on what I love - working with people to realize their professional and personal goals. Through my videos here on this channel, books, podcast guest spots, and newsletter, I share new ideas and practical and tactical tools to help you be more productive and build the career and life you want. 

 

Time Stamps:

01:01 Erika Aquino's Background and Passion
02:46 Patricia De Leon's Journey
05:03 The Role of a Chief of Staff
10:19 Mentorship and Team Dynamics
18:42 Personal Experiences with Mental Health
20:11 Patricia's Journey in the Investment Scene
25:26 Future Goals and Vision for 2026
27:40 Advice for Principals and Chiefs of Staff
30:04 Effective Pitching Tips
31:55 Importance of Personal Connection to Problems
34:15 Connecting with Erika and Patricia
35:13 Final Thoughts and Contact Information

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

Welcome back to Leveraging Leadership. I have two wonderful guests on today. We are joined by Erica Aquino and Patricia De Leon and Erica is an experienced angel investor and strategic advisor. She's passionate about supporting startups that balance profit with a purpose, and she specializes in supporting early stage ventures focused on sustainability, wellness, education, and the future of work. And Patricia is her chief of staff, so a warm welcome to you both on the show.

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Thanks for having us. Really?

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

Looking forward to it. So, um, Erica, most of our listeners are in the

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Mm-hmm.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

and by way of quick background for you, I know you're kind of a big deal in Asia, but for those of you who might not know who you are, can you give a quick background, uh, and information please.

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

I am an okay deal. Let's, let's, let's clarify that. So, um, yes, I am an angel investor specializing early ventures in sustainability, wellness, future of work and education. Um, I am, I have. 26 portfolio companies in five countries and three continents, um, including the US actually. Um, I've done, you know, I. I have, I have in CPG, I have in tech, I have in platforms. And really I look for founders who are, um, who are very close to their, to the problem that they're trying to solve. And I look for women or minority owned or underserved, um, founders especially. So, yeah, that's essentially who I am. I do love to travel a lot and, um, it, it's actually been a passion of mine to, to kind of learn lessons from travels and see how they can apply in the investment world. And because I'm out a lot, Patricia here is, um, I would say my savior. She knows my schedule better than I do. She knows my agenda better than I do, and frankly, you know, um, I think she compliments a lot of my skills as well. So, yeah,

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

All right,

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

here we are.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

Savior. So small shoes to fill. Um, kind of talk about maybe where, where you came into, into this

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

Okay, so I used to be chief of staff since 2021, so it's been pretty new, but not so new as well. So I do have experience back in Asia, but now I'm based here in the United States. So I used to work for innovation tech, always supporting male founders. As you know, it's a male dominated field, lately I've been having that. Change of heart. You know, I've always wanted to support female founders, so I've been going to a lot of like networking events. Female owned, like female based. Um, but then again, I didn't know that I was gonna make a bigger impact because I was gonna meet an angel investor who invests in women So that's when, um, I met Erica. It was at a. It was a community networking event, and she was one of the speakers. And I just approached it with a lot of curiosity. It was like, what does an angel investor do? It sounded so great, but I was like, I didn't have any idea as to what exact

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Mm-hmm.

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

does the day-to-day, uh, look like and how do you even get into that role and what does, what do you do? Right? So basically when she was a speaker, I reached out to her. And ask her, right? Like all these questions.

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Mm-hmm. I, I really like that Patricia just kind of went for it. And the fact I, that's, that's really rare, honestly, for someone to offer her skills and know what she literally brings to the table and says, Hey, I used to be a chief of staff. You might need one. Here I am. Okay. Do I need a chief of staff?

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

when I heard her speak. One is like supporting female

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Mm-hmm.

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

Another one is she has a very global mindset, and I've always considered myself as a global citizen. So I, I like to move in, you know, different places. I'm really open to it and learning and about different markets as well. So as I would say, I guess it was like a match made in heaven for me and Erica.

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

A match made on the internet.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

And, and Erica, how did you go from, do I need a chief of staff? What is a chief of staff to This is a lifesaver. This is a savior.

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

No. Well, I also realized what my day-to-day was. I analyzed, I, I looked at my calendar, I looked at what I needed to do, and I'm, and with a tr with the amount of travel that I do. I also tend to be, things get inefficient when you're in different time zones, right? And I thought, I need somebody who can not just help me out, but multiply the workload. Um, and at the same time, um. Learn from me and I can learn from them as well. And when Patricia, so Patricia and I, so the event was online, right? And she said, Hey, what's up? She sent me a private message after, and of course I, you know. It was, I guess I would, you'd say she, I really admired her guts, her, her willingness to just put herself out there and approach a speaker. Somebody that she didn't know. And, you know, she, she narrated what she used to do. She told me what she, what she could bring, and I said, Hey, you know what, let's meet up. I. I tend to hire based on not just skills, but the vibe, our alignment in, in, in morals, in work ethic, et cetera, and what we believe in, in terms of mission. So we met up in LA when I was there and yeah, I think we just got along and I really like what Patricia was doing, and I guess I was looking for something. I just didn't know how to define it and Patricia didn't define it for me.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

okay. Gotcha. And then how did, how does the chief of staff fit within. Your, existing team or your larger team.

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Right. So, well, this is a very small team, um, particularly when we analyze deal flow. Alright? So it's not necessarily, I, I do a lot of projects and Patricia pretty much helps out in almost all of them, but she primarily helps out in analyzing deal flow. So I do get a lot of pitches. Um, s. At one point, I think we were at, oh God, so many at the time, and Patricia is the initial filter. Um, without her I was just a little like, okay, things would fall to the wayside and, you know, um, but with Patricia, she streamlined things. Um, together with our CFO, my fractional CFO, we. They live in the data room. We live in the data room, and we say, yes, no, maybe whether it's a fund, whether it's a, um, uh, any type of investment, whether it's, um, you know, a CPG brand or a platform, et cetera. But Trisha really kind of acts as my, um, my eyes and ears as well, um, on things. So, yeah, um, that's how she kind of fits into the theme.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

And Patricia, how did you go about learning what Erica would be listening for or looking for, or being that first filter? How did you go about becoming an effective filter? Because I can imagine, while that's a great responsibility with a lot of trust, it's also a. wanna not pass through a deal that she would wanna look at and vice versa. So how did you go about that

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

So for me it was about, I remember shadowing her for a few months. um, I would go with her and calls, uh, first it's online, but also in person, and I would take down notes and I kind of put structure and everything. So even with the way that she asks, I would, I remember I would make a guideline for myself and also put a bit of metrics. Then eventually, um, I would lead the calls and then she would kind of listen. As well. And she would, we would

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Mm-hmm.

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

a debriefing session, um, after each

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Mm-hmm.

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

was like I was the

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Yeah. Yeah.

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

The steady force, making sure that everything goes on smoothly. So I think that's my main value add to her. And at the same time, I know we had this conversation about usually chiefs of staff will have a lot of staff, of course. So I experienced that before where, you know, I. Took a company from zero to one, one to 50, or one to a hundred. Um, but I feel like from this, for this role specifically with Erica, it's more of a lot of special projects and I work adjacent to a lot of. People, which is very interesting for me. So we do have project later on. Erica will talk about it. But things that I've never worked on, uh, I'm able

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Mm-hmm.

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

and also I guess, um, you know, share my skillset and that's what I bring to the table.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

Gotcha.

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

And, and honestly, if, if I may add, I, I want to be that person that that boss. That I needed when I was younger and looking for mentorship or looking for things to do. I, I'm not the person that can sit in an office. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I, that's just not me. I can't sit still, and I wanted somebody who can kind of understand that and hone that as well and develop the skills that. You know, I may not know that I needed, and I think I wanna be that person for other people. So this is why Patricia, um, you know, while it's not, she doesn't have, she doesn't have staff, a lot of staff, she does have a lot of things to do, I think, on a daily basis. Um, and I think honestly, no day, no two days are alike, right?

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

Yes. I, I often say, uh, being chief of staff is many things. Boring is not one of them. So I've, I've yet to come across chief of staff who says I'm bored at work. But, um, Erica, you mentioned something, mentorship, and it's so funny because a lot of chiefs of staff going into a role. Craving mentorship. I want to work for a principal who I'm aligned with on values, but will invest in me and, and help me grow. I'll be supportive and tee them up for success and work with my principal, but they are looking for that reciprocity in a sense. And principles

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Absolutely.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

all over the place. You are literally flying all over the place. Figuratively,

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Literally,

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

Um,

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

yeah. Literally.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

do you balance the. The I need to get stuff done. I need to be front facing, but also take care of my people and really have that partnership and relationship with them.

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Well, it's, it's, again, it's taking care of everybody, whether it's a decent salary, whether it's a salary that they need, whether it, healthcare benefits, um, those things I, I really want to take care of. Another thing is making sure that they're okay. I, Patricia, I don't know if you noticed this, but I do ask you, how are you doing? Um, yeah, how are you doing with things? I, I, sorry, I haven't touched base with you. How are you? How are you? I think no, when I was, you know, in my career, deep into my career and getting, getting up, going out, going up there, um, no one really ever asked me that. Um. Other than, you know, let's say it was the quarterly evaluation, that's the only time people would ask me, oh, how are you? Like, you didn't ask, you haven't asked me about the other times. Which is fine. Which is fine. I get it. People are busy. But I think it's, it's also about, and, and I've been taught this, um, by a lot of, um, by, by my dad, by, um. My parents really, um, take care of people. They'll take care of you, whether it's your friends, your family, um, your coworkers. Um, yeah, say, be nice, be kind to everybody, and they'll be kind to you. So yeah, I believe in that.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

so we've got kind of a deal team or or filter on pitches we have. So just for context, how many days out of the year would you say you're traveling? Is this like days out of the year? Is it.

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

I don't know. I dunno, to be honest, um, I, I counted my, um, yeah, I, I just this year. Okay. Just to give you an idea, just this year I've been through. I believe 12 countries this year.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

so, so you're

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Yeah.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

So Patricia, you're doing these deals, you're communicating, I'm sure, like via

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

Yes.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

or, or WhatsApp or whatever on different things that are going on in different time zones and being flexible. that that's not enough, but are, is there anything else that you cover as chief of staff?

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

I, um, yeah, I think there's a lot of special projects. So we do have portfolio companies, so whenever they do need help, um, from me in any way, so I do hop on and make sure that everything goes on smoothly. So it's, a lot of it is about relationship building. like what Erica

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Mm-hmm.

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

you know, not only with the founders, but also the people that we already have on board and we invested in, but there's a lot of, I guess, networking aspect to it as well, and relationship building.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

Of course, of course. And, and just for context, I believe you are, you are doing both direct investments and then investing at the LP level. Is that

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

Yes.

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Yes, yes.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

So, so Patricia, would you be working kind of on both fronts, so it might be a, a leadership team of a portfolio company directly and or a VC or PE firm. Is that, are those your

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

Yes. So basically, um, everyone that Erika knows will at some point know me too or, yeah.

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Or they'll know her first before they get

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

Very cool, and maybe

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Yeah.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

talk about that. So let's say a pitch passes Patricia's Muster. So Patricia goes, yep, like Erica, you should look at this one. What happens from there?

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Um, we, we have our weekly standing calls where, okay, take a look at these, and I'll say, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no. Um, and yeah, we'll, we'll, we'll go on to the next step. Um, it's really quite an easy process and she kind of knows what I want and what, yeah, and, and honestly, the way she. She was very, she's extremely observant, um, particularly during the learning period. She was, you know, she really asked the right questions. She asked a lot of questions, which I truly appreciate. And with that, you know, she kind of honed in on what I was looking for. And yeah, it, it, it was honestly quite easy to train, um, to train Patricia. Yeah.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

love the the observant

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Mm-hmm.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

because we've heard a lot of proactive go-getter, it sounds like. Patricia certainly has done that. It is that as well. But the observant piece is just so critical, I think, where you can, even if you're not saying anything, you can be in a room and observe what's going on in pickup, what's being said, what's not being

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

exactly. Exactly, exactly. I mean, so many people talk nowadays just. And it's very rare that someone can sit still and look and, and listen and observe really what's going on. And Patricia is exactly that.

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

like me. And at the same time, you know, I do observe, uh, but also I make sure that everything gets done on time within budget as well.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

true chief of staff. Yes, of course. And, and Erica, you're, you're flying all around the world. You're evaluating deals, but you're also speaking and keynoting and getting messages out there. Can you say a little bit about what the message you're trying to get out to women, to investors? The world is.

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

It? Well, again, it depends on the venue and it depends on, on. What type of event it is. But of course it's anything from angel investing, how to get into it, why I got into it, um, how to scale, et cetera. But also I've spoken about my own personal story. Um, yeah, I, I, I did go through a few things. Um, a few hardships. Um, in fact, I was diagnosed with bipolar. I was, uh, but I kind of navigate that in the sense that, hey, I may have. Gone through this, but we are, our past or what we're diagnosed with should not define us. And I try to, to practice and to preach, um, resiliency. And, you know, sometimes the, the, you know, the, the bigger the fall, the, the, the better the climb.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

Yes. Yeah.

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Yeah, so I, I try to preach that, that, you know, it's, it's, um, it's not what you've done. It's what you're, what you're going to do about it.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

I, I appreciate you sharing that. I actually have, uh, family members who have been diagnosed with bipolar. We've had several guests on talk about mental health and thing they, things they've struggled

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Yeah,

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

And I always wanna just highlight in every episode I can that in. If you have a, if you have a diagnosis, that doesn't mean you can't be successful. A lot of

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

exactly. Exactly.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

say, oh, then I must not be able to be successful in these areas. And there's top leaders and very high level, you know, top performers who are also working to overcome these things. So you can, you can do both.

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Right. And, and I, I'd also like to point out that a leader, um, an effective leader knows his or her limitations, um, and leverages. Their strengths with the strengths of others. So I think building a critical team, um, that aligns with your mission, just like Patricia. Um, even people who are in my special projects, um, we all, I try to select and I'm very discerning with regard to who I align with honestly. Um, it's a skill that you pick up over time. Um, I wasn't this way when I was Patricia's age, but through experience, through life, you kind of get that, that sixth sense of, um, okay, this person's great, this person will, I see their strengths, I see their weaknesses. Again, it's about being observant as well, so

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

Hmm. Yeah.

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

yeah.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

And Patricia, given the mentorship aspect and the complimentary skillset, what have you learned from Erica in your time working with her?

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

You know what? The investment scene is a very new space for me. So I came in with like, I didn't know anything, you know, I didn't have firsthand experience. And knowledge, and I think Erica opened a lot of doors for me. So in the investment scene, you know, working with women in business, women investors, other high net worth individuals and just, you know, having conversations with them, she also brings me to a lot of events. So we went to create and Cultivate, um, a few weeks ago, and at the same time, she. At the same time, she also balances me out.'cause I am very type A, I could be, you know, obsessed with execution and my to-dos. I remember a few weeks ago Erica brought us to Universal Studios just to have fun. So Yeah. And, and was on an Xpress fast. Let me, let me point that out.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

there we go. We're going in style. nice.

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Yeah, no, we gotta be efficient, right?

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

Lines come on. Yeah, the express pass. Of course. That's amazing. Um, Patricia, you, you've kind of mentioned special projects and working with the other members of the team. Can you talk a little bit about what that looks

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

Yeah, so basically I work adjacent to a lot of people. So I'm in a lot of Slack channels and people are sometimes like, who, who is this girl? Like, so we do have a bit of context that, hey, um, this Erica, she host staff, she'll be kind of. In the, um, channels with you guys and just checking in just to make sure that everything's going well or if you need anything, need any help with coordination, then I'll be the eyes and ears of Erica. So every time I do, um. You know, kind of make an intro to who I am. I always tell them I do execute on Erica's behalf and you know, there's no need to worry because we are aligned in, you know, end-to-end process of everything on our plate right now. Yeah.

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

So I do have a marketing agency in the Philippines. Um, we, we have event, we do a lot of events. We are in fact hosting a luxury retreat, um, from November three to nine in the Philippines. And Patricia's helping out with that. Um, she's sort of acting as the concierge, um, particularly for our American visitors. And if you're interested, I can tell you more, but that's another thing. Um. We are again, I'm also co-executive producing an upcoming show, a TV show, um, on female founders. Patricia has been heavily involved with that, um, with the selection process, with production, et cetera. And I think this is the project that she's been speaking about, that she has no idea what she's doing, but she's doing it.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

Amazing. And I, I'm not gonna ask you to give too much information away, but is there anything else just about the, the show format or, or anything that you can say around that?

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Well, yes. So it's essentially centered around female founders. So think of, um, people will learn everything from funding a business. To scaling a business, um, and maybe pitching their business actually. Um, they'll be learning that while interacting with fantastic mentors. That's,

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

you in this or are you behind the scenes? Ah,

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

I am in and behind the scenes.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

Okay. I'm, I'm envisioning like, sh Shark Tank for, for women or kind of a documentary where you follow five people on their path or something like this.

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Um, I, I'll, I'll, I'll definitely let you in once, once we're, we're good to say, but it's, it's, it's, it's not quite Shark Tank.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

Tank. Okay. Okay. Well, we'll,

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Yeah.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

it go there. I know things are in the works. And um, Patricia, have you, did you have any production or broadcast or coordinating with different streaming services, whoever you're going to, distributors, movie production, anything like that

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

No, like this is so new to me, but at the same time, I think there's a lot of transferable skills I probably had before. It's more of like that curiosity. I'm very, I think I'm also very independent. Just like what Eric? Was telling me I could, know, learn things on the fly. Um, you don't really have to handhold me. So once I think one, one strong suit of mind is I just need to understand the vision and I just need to clarify what are the non-negotiables, and I could definitely map things out from there and make sure. happens and at the same time I met the team, the production team as well. And I think it's important, again, the relationship building with them. And yeah, I think it's been smooth sailing so far, um, and a lot of learning curves as well.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

Sounds like it. And if you, if you both look into. 2026, let's say. So out in the future, end of 2026, I think I've heard some things that you probably wanna accomplish, such as the show, but in terms of where you're spending your time and energy, does that look like for the both of you? If like, okay, in 2026, here's where I really wanna focus. Here's the best use of my time, talent, and treasure.

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Okay, so I, I travel a lot, right? Um, I travel a lot and I see in my travels I see patterns and, and trends that may not necessarily be, um, obvious to someone who doesn't travel. Um, I see. Um. I really, what I really want to happen is create a, an ecosystem of where, whether it's media companies, et cetera, um, of something that balances profit and purpose. If, if I'm going for the bigger mission, and if, you know, obviously there's the show, obviously it's, um, through my investments, obviously it's through speaking and for me, um, I just wanna keep continuing. Keep on doing that. Um, and, and there is something out there and people do listen, so, you know, hopefully, I, I, I just wanna, I just wanna help as much people as I can with, to the best of my ability and to the best of my time. Yeah.

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

Yes. So I

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

You,

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

me it is about really having that global mindset. So most of our

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Mm-hmm.

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

are based in the US and I know, just like what Erica was mentioning, there's a lot of different things out there. The world is so big, so hopefully we also get exposure to untapped markets that we didn't think you know would be a good fit, but eventually would turn out to be, wow, this is so amazing. You know, learning about different cultures and the drivers and movers of their economies and how it aligns to our, you know, investment thesis. I think that would be really great exposure. And at the same time, it's a really, really great learning experience as well.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

Hmm. And then Erica, for principals listening, and maybe they're considering a chief of staff, maybe they have a chief of staff, but they're trying to optimize that role, what, what advice would you give them or things to think about?

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

I think observe your chief of staff and what their strengths and weaknesses are and how they compliment yours. Um. It's, it's really about multiplying your productivity and you can't do that with somebody who doesn't really align with you and what you are about. It, it, it won't happen as well if you don't know yourself and you don't, and if you don't know your chief of staff. So again, it's about, well, yes, relationship building, but there is an end in mind, which is let's multiply efficiency, let's keep things going, um, and don't, without spreading myself too thin as well.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

Yes. All right. And Patricia, similar question for you. For chiefs of staff listening, aspiring chiefs of staff, new chiefs of staff, multi-time chiefs of staff like you are, what advice would you give about the role or working with your principal or

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

So for me, it's similar to what Erica was saying, but just like. what I've mentioned before, um, the chief of staff is loyal to your principal, whereas, you know, let's say A COO is loyal to your company. So your relationship and your alignment with your principal is extremely important. I think that's the cornerstone of this whole thing, because sometimes you spend more time with your principal than some of your family members. That happens because you do shadow. His, her schedule or his schedule or whatever the goals are. And for me, I think when I first met Erica, I told her, I'm here to amplify role. And I

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Mm-hmm.

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

that really resonated with her and I think that would resonate to a lot of principals as well. And sometimes, you know, it can get lonely if you're just alone. And I feel like that's something that Erica also felt. And you know, if you have someone. That's, you know, in the same path, you know, same direction as you. Things will really be easier, and again, things

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Hmm.

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

magnified in terms of impact.

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Mm-hmm.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

Beautiful. And Patricia, if someone is listening and is gonna be a future, pitcher to you, what, what, what Behind the scenes or inside, inside baseball tips and tricks you give them about what makes an effective pitch here, what maybe what to avoid? I'm sure you've seen good,

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

God. Yeah.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

and all the rest.

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

sometimes, you know what? I hop into calls and I feel like they're clueless as to who they're talking to. I think that's a, that's a red flag. Or they didn't do their research about us. Even if sometimes they're the ones who reach out to us and I'm like, I'm a bit confused. It's like they have no idea like what this call was about when they were the ones who did the outreach. Um, so do your research and at the same time, you know, we do have our, you know, um. Our sectors that we invest in. And at the same time, you know, it's profit and purpose. So once you get those things down and see that there is a genuine, you know, alignment with those things, then I think it will go well. And at the same time, you know, Erica and I, we do a vibe check, so there's no kind of formula to that, but that's also one factor that we really look into.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

All right, so definitely do your research beforehand and know who you're talking to. Seems straightforward, but let's say someone does that and they're like, okay, we've, we've done our research. We're making this a custom pitch. Are there anything else? Is there anything else that you look for? You always ask this question some point in the conversation for that first pitch.

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Hmm. Well, it's really knowing their numbers also, just off the bat, um, what, what's your unit economics like? How do you arrive at your, your target market? How? Just rapid fire, the usual if they know it. That's already a green flag for me. Um, what else? Um, how close are they to the problem?

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

Yeah.

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

It's the founder profile as well. Um, for me it's like, okay, again, if you are passionate about. Let's say, uh, oh. I, I invested in this platform that caters to funders and founders, and the founder of this platform, um, is a, an angel investor herself and a founder herself. So she really understood the pain points of both sides. So that, for me was really, um, such a. Such a breath of fresh air in the sense that, okay, there's a problem that she really is trying to solve. Another, um, company I've invested in is an app that caters to nonverbal children, um, with autism as well as their families. It was started by a dad whose son. Has autism and he's living with that. And again, it's a problem that he's trying to solve because he's lived it. So it's, it's that closeness to that problem. Um, and again, is it a real problem that they're trying to solve? Um, that for me, is this, um, are you, are you just making it up? Are you fitting? That is, those are the initial things that I try to look at, um,

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

Yes,

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

which is, yeah.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

that reminds me of a story where there's um, this woman who was, was on the board for an insurance company and people asked her like, why are you

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Mm-hmm.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

on, why do you wanna be on the board for this insurance company? Insurance is seemingly of a boring topic. And she said, on Tuesday, march and gave the year my husband died. woke up and he didn't wake up, it was devastating and tragic. But because we had this insurance policy, it saved our family. So I know firsthand how important this can be, and that's why I wanna do X, Y, and Z with this company. And it just, it was very personal and you could see the why behind what she was doing, and the motivation was clear. And so I think sometimes it is the, it is the closeness to it where I have a lived experience, which makes me passionate

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. And, and you know, the more they live it, the more they wanna solve it usually. Right?

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

And I

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Yeah.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

this at the

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Mm-hmm.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

but can you just remind folks of about if someone's listening and is like, oh, I should reach out to Erica, or Reach out to Patricia. or I know someone who should, can you just remind folks of who you're looking to connect with?

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Um, well, we're looking for founders in the women or minority owned. Um. Companies in the sustainability, wellness future for and education spaces. Um, we are country agnostic, um, but we're really looking at entrepreneurs who are trying to solve real problems. Um, and, you know, just, just with a mission that aligns with ours.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

and if you pass round and get to Erica, it sounds like Erica will travel to wherever you are to come and see you potentially. So

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

Yeah, potentially. Yeah.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

We'll see, we'll see.

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

It's happened. It's happened. So, yeah. But again, yeah, depends on the country.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

Is there anything else either of you would wanna get out there as a final word? Or, or, and or, where is the best place to find out more about you and do your research and learn more and connect with you?

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

Uh, well, I do have a website, um, erica-aino.com. That, that's Erica with a k, um, and A-Q-U-I-N-O. So I, I'm sure it's gonna be in your show notes. Um, but that's the easiest way. Uh, we have a handle of. Um, on the contact form LinkedIn. I'm on LinkedIn as well. Um, on and on Instagram.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

Beautiful. And Patricia, are those the best places to connect with

patricia-de-leon--she-her-_1_08-06-2025_080313:

Yeah, so basically once you send an inquiry on the website, it's gonna go to me.

emily-sander_1_08-06-2025_080312:

It's good to go to you. Alright, so you got a little sneak peek listener about who you're talking to, but, uh, Erica, Patricia, thank you so much for being on, really enjoyed the conversation and I know our listeners will learn a lot and they're very curious about, uh, the space, the VC space, and chiefs of staff kind of getting behind the scenes and then also what you're doing with the investment side. So thank you very much.

erika-aquino--she-_1_08-06-2025_230313:

No, thank you. Thank you so much for having us. Yeah. This conversation. Thank you.