This is not your typical professional picture, but, then again, Alexandra Arrivillaga is not your typical businesswoman. She is a management analyst and strategist that has started and sold a handful of successful businesses in the greater Boston (MA) area. Born in Barranquilla, Colombia, Alexandra takes pride in her Afro-Columbian heritage Alexandra is passionate about helping business owners reach their goals. She is also passionate about her Latino heritage. Alexandra knows what it’s like to start a small business and to feel uncomfortable in the current business arena. To bring light to this issue, she has started a new endeavor in Chestnut Hill — LatinTouch. 

With the experience she gained from started her own companies, Alexandra brings years of management consulting expertise to this new startup. LatinTouch focuses on strategy and diversity consulting to ensure Latinos are positively represented in all businesses. 

Being no stranger to starting from the ground up, Alexandra Arrivillaga opened her first company, Lock It Up, in 2007. Next was Owl Management Consulting in 2015, a strategy and diversity consulting company. In 2016, she opened a second consultant company named Proplex 5, LLC. Within that same year, Alexandra created a software company –- Social Biz, LLC. Yet, none of these companies would not have taken root without a strong education. 

Education

Since Alexandra was a child, she knew that education was an important tool in personal and professional development. Because of this, Alexandra has actively pursued higher education throughout her adult life. In 2005, Alexandra Arrivillaga received her Bachelor’s of Science from Lesley University in Cambridge (MA) where she majored in Business Management. Immediately following this, she earned her Master’s in Management from Cambridge University while maintaining a full-time job and full-time student status. Since then, Alexandra Arrivillaga has completed coursework at Concord Law School (CA). In 2018, Alexandra received her PhD in Business in Organizational Behavior at North Central University in Minneapolis (MN). Alexandra lives in the greater Boston area. 

Business and Politics in Her Blood

Alexandra Arrivillaga was born in Barranquilla, Colombia, and raised in Boston. She is a first-generation immigrant along with her grandparents as well as an American citizen. Alexandra is a Bostonian to the core though she proudly embraces her traditional Afro-Columbian heritage. The entrepreneurial spirit runs through Alexandra’s veins, and she was born with a preternatural knack for business. She comes from the traditional De Castro family of Barranquilla, Colombia. Alexandra’s great-grandfather, Diego A. De Castro, was the first governor of Barranquilla, Colombia, and his statue stands to this day. 

Business ownership was all around Alexandra during childhood, and she loved watching how her family members would solve problems and get such gratification out of their hard work. So perhaps the seed of her first business was planted long before she came up with the idea for Lock it Up, LLC in 2007. 

Lock It Up, LLC

After Alexandra completed her Master’s in Management, she became very interested in learning more about self-starting entrepreneurs. She found that the common thread in a lot of these cases that she read about was that these entrepreneurs were described as noticing a need in their immediate surroundings (either at work or at home), then coming up with solutions accordingly. Lock it Up, LLC, was an idea that Alexandra Arrivillaga developed out of her basement. She lived near the entrance to her building, and the noise generated from opening the gate, unlocking the chain and the metal door slamming behind anyone who entered was at times deafening. This observation quickly grew into a business plan for creative and quieter solutions to security systems.

In addition to creating quiet security systems, Alexandra looked for untapped markets, in this case mom-and-pop shops in neighborhoods that were often overlooked by larger security companies. This helped get Alexandra’s foot in the door and pretty soon she was drafting deals with Fortune 500 companies like Wal-Mart and Pandora. As the business grew, Alexandra made sure that certain core qualities stayed the same, though. Alexandra only hired people that she trusted both as individuals and as workers; she demanded that subcontractors work cleanly and efficiently cleaning up after their jobs, and that she treat workers equitably by guaranteeing a certain amount of work. The practical, yet imaginative, conduct of Alexandra Arrivillaga backed by the high caliber quality of service from Lock it Up, LLC, captured a loyal and vocal client base that encouraged a constant increase in contracts. Alexandra credits referrals as one of the company’s biggest sources of new business. Alexandra has since sold both Lock It Up, LLC and Owl Management Consulting. Alexandra is committed to making LatinTouch a success as well as making a difference in her community. 

Activism & Travel 

When she isn’t managing a business, Alexandra Arrivillaga firmly believes in giving back to the community. She is an activist for women and human rights in her community. While attending Lesley University, she was a regular community volunteer. Later, through her work with Lock It Up, Alexandra has made herself a well-known name in her local community. She’s actively involved as a volunteer in the greater Boston area, helping community stores manage their businesses. One of her main focuses is helping Metrowest and the Greater Boston Area Portuguese and Latino community; Alexandra speaks both Spanish and Portuguese, so she works to communicate and translate business aspects to them. In that same vein, she volunteers at the Cambridge Public Library as an English instructor, helping recent immigrants adjust to life in the US. From 2006 until 2009, she also worked as a GED instructor.  She’s currently volunteering her time with the Salvation Army.

Alexandra enjoys meeting people on her trips as well. An avid traveler, she has visited over 50 countries, and can’t wait to see more. However, one of the most meaningful trips that Alexandra’s ever taken was to Colombia.