In December, The Passport Innovation Tour with John Lawson @ Whole Foods Markets kicked off in the Bronx with Hector , Founder/CEO @ Don Carvajal Cafe at his best account in Harlem, I Like It Black.

While studying business marketing at the University of Rochester in 2019, Hector brought a class project to life as a real business. He took a leave of absence from college, with one year left to graduate, to focus on it full-time. 

Today, the 26-year-old runs Don Carvajal Cafe, a coffee roasting company out of the South Bronx that sources its beans from the Dominican Republic.

From January to early December 2022, his business brought in roughly $190,000 in sales. From that, Carvajal lives off a $25,000 salary. ”’I just make it work, the same way my mom made it work,” he says.

Hector is a true inspiration of the innovation of the Bronx!

LaRon@Passportfb.com