"Because I want to go to college," was the response 10 year old Ezequiel Olvera gave Alfredo Vargas, when asked why he wanted to put a gumball machine in his shoe repair shop. A neighbor had offered to sell Olvera an old 10-cent gumball machine for $70 telling him it would one day make him rich. Olvera states, "I remember coming home and finding my father under a car, working his second job as a mechanic, I asked if he thought it would be a good idea to purchase my neighbor’s gumball machine [Olvera laughs], and he responded, No, No, No para que quieres eso." Despite his father’s advice, Olvera took a risk and purchased the machine with the little money he had saved from helping his father fix cars.

A close friend’s father [Vargas] owned the local neighborhood shoe repair shop in El Sereno, which seemed to Olvera like a good spot to set up his machine. He was nervous about asking Vargas, terrified of getting rejected. However, as Olvera puts it, "I knew I had to take another risk. I mustered the courage and asked."

Olvera told Vargas he wanted to start his own business to save money for college. Vargas told him, "Dejame pensarlo y ven otro dia." Eventually Vargas agreed.



However, Olvera needed a stand to sit the machine on, candies, and a 25 cent mechanism. Here he learned the difference between the yellow pages and the business white pages; his first lesson on how to be resourceful. This entrepreneurial business meant a lot to Olvera so he decided to "ditch" middle school one day to drive with a neighbor to a store where he would find the things he needed. "It was like Disneyland; I was in gumball machine heaven." Finally, he was in business.

As soon as he started making money, he reinvested it, buying more machines, placing his second machine at then Franco’s Auto Parts (currently the Cal State LA Credit Union building) where his father sent him to buy car supplies for the cars they fixed.

"Asking was the toughest part," Olvera states. "Everyone wanted something in return, a cut or a percentage of the profit." Olvera took a new approach, "I decided to offer my good grades." The business owners liked his idea, agreeing to keep the machines in their shops as long as Olvera maintained good report cards. "Lo que quieres hacer es muy importante, y te tengo que ayudar," Vargas replied. Olvera wasn\ t asking for money from the struggling business owners but for an opportunity.

Despite the challenges that arose with Olvera’s idea of owning a gumball machine at age 10, he learned a lot about his community as he walked the streets of El Sereno to fill his gumball machines. He was able to witness many issues in the community, as well as differences between El Sereno and the surrounding communities.

By age 16, Olvera had fifty five gumball machines and two soda machines in over twenty locations. He went on to pursue higher education at the University of California Santa Cruz. There he earned his first job as a campus tour guide, where he met the sister of then Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante on a tour. She was impressed with his story and encouraged Olvera to get an internship at the Lieutenant Governor’s office. At 18 years old, Olvera felt fortunate to be given the opportunity.

As Olvera came close to finishing his undergraduate education, his character was tested. Personal matters forced him to take a leave of absence from school. Olvera quotes, "I didn\ t want to tell anyone my reason for leaving, I thought it be seen as weakness, but it was just part of life." When everything seemed bleak, an opportunity came forth; Olvera joined the 2005 mayoral campaign for then candidate Antonio Villaraigosa. "I don\ t think they know this but it was such an uplift," said Olvera, "I was surrounded by highly intelligent people who believed and trusted me with responsibility I couldn\ t let them down". Olvera was further exposed to the social and economic differences throughout Los Angeles." With his newly acquired wisdom and knowledge, he returned to UCSC to finish his undergraduate degree and contribute to his school by founding a student business association.



At UCSC Olvera kept his community at heart, he developed a plan to turn this childhood entrepreneurial business into the Gumball Foundation--a self-sustaining organization that in 2008 began awarding scholarships to students under the following criteria: Entrepreneur, Victim of Domestic Violence, Disabled family member, "B" average with potential, and AB540 student. After college, he worked for KPMG LLP in the advisory practice. That soon ensued him to work for Barack Obama’s campaign and move to D.C. After eight years of being away from home, he came back to Los Angeles to work for a friend’s campaign, before bringing the Gumball Foundation to life. "I felt I had to do give back to my community," says Olvera. Most recently, he was invited to share his story to University of California President Mark Yudof and guests at the 7th annual UCSC Scholarship Benefit Dinner in February at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, CA where nearly $200,000 was raised for student scholarships. Though the Gumball Foundation is work in progress, he has already awarded eight students from Wilson High School gumball scholarships. He feels that awarded students will learn and benefit from the experience greatly, as he has. Olvera hopes to contribute to his community in more ways in the future. Vargas describes him as, "El nacio para hacer grandes cosas;" therefore, we will just have to be on the lookout for what this young man does next.

If you would like to get involved or donate to the Gumball Foundation