Grid110 Founder Story: Gabriel Gamez and Enrique Loyola of On The Go LA
This month’s Founder Story is about Gabriel, the CEO & Co-Founder, and Enrique, the COO & Co-Founder of On The Go LA.
On The Go LA was born during COVID-19 out of the passion of two friends, Gabriel Gamez and Enrique Loyola — who have been childhood best friends since their Kindergarten days at Saint Cecilia School in South LA. They had a strong desire to help their local food vendors who were struggling to make ends meet. As founders, they always thought of the connections and overall unifying value that food provided the world. Gabriel’s father, Edgar, would hop on his family’s truck and sell bananas across the dirt-paved roads of Guatemala from the age of 8 until he immigrated to the United States at 18 years old. Enrique’s grandfather created a large pipeline of customers across Santa Rosa Jauregui, a small community in Queretaro, Mexico, where he has sold his rotisserie chicken for the past 20 years. On The Go LA was created to form a new culture that will forge memories for the people living in Los Angeles through food.
In the wake of the coronavirus lockdown, On The Go LA provides an easy, low-cost way for local food entrepreneurs — chefs, pop-ups, and caterers — to rent a food truck and serve their food to multiple communities around Los Angeles, CA. They provide local food entrepreneurs the opportunity to grow their business and revenue through single and multi-day food truck rentals. On The Go LA makes this seamless for the entrepreneurs by providing the truck, permits, high-traffic stops, marketing, and operational support, which lets the entrepreneurs focus on what they do best — serve great, new food to local Angelenos.
This dream team allows customers to enjoy the convenience of having the food truck come to their surrounding communities, so they can safely support small food businesses. They believe that these family-run businesses’ diverse stories will make for a stronger community across Los Angeles post-COVID-19.
Are you ready to roll with this crew? Hop on board and mobilize your business! Fill out this booking form to secure your spot with LA’s best food truck.
To learn more about Gabriel and Enrique’s entrepreneurship journeys, check out the full interview below.
What is your venture? What do you do?
On The Go LA is a service that helps local food entrepreneurs easily & affordably formalize their business and expand their customer base by offering full-service, short-term food truck rentals. Under the umbrella of food entrepreneurs, we provide local chefs, pop-ups & catering businesses the opportunity to grow their business and revenue through single and multi-day food truck rentals. On The Go LA makes this seamless for the entrepreneurs by providing the truck, permits, high-traffic stops, marketing, and operational support, which lets the entrepreneurs focus on what they do best — serve great, new food to local Angelenos.
Before On The Go LA, expanding your business as a food entrepreneur meant incurring significant startup costs and operating expenses associated with a food truck or brick-and-mortar location. This was always a big risk — one that became even more pronounced by COVID-19. As a result — most food entrepreneurs are shut out. There are thousands of Latinx/African-American food entrepreneurs in Los Angeles that are disenfranchised by traditional kitchens’ high costs.
What prompted you to start your venture?
On The Go LA was born during COVID-19 out of the passion and desire to help local food spots of Gabriel & Enrique — we’ve been best friends since they were 5 years old. Having been raised by immigrant parents in South LA, we know the origin stories and the blood, sweat, and tears that go into local food spots we frequently visited around our area. We ultimately wanted to provide local food entrepreneurs access to this opportunity they wouldn’t otherwise have and aid in the economic recovery during these callous times through our low-cost, low-risk rental service.
What’s unique and advantageous about being in LA for you and your venture?
Since our Kindergarten days at Saint Cecilia Catholic School in South LA, we have known each other before heading to Harvard-Westlake & Loyola High School. In high school, we first learned about our roles as privileged students of Latinx backgrounds in the world of higher education with a social responsibility to prove that first-gen, underrepresented kids from the “hood” can also succeed. For that reason, our focus from the onset has been on local food entrepreneurs in South LA. They have not been fortunate enough to fully reap the benefits from established lines of aids during these unprecedented times. We recognize that Los Angeles is one of the most vibrant food cities globally, from local food vendors lined up along the sidewalks to some of the top restaurants. However, we also realize that despite LA being one of the fastest-growing startup ecosystems, there are thousands of food entrepreneurs in the area that are still looking for a way to take the next big step in their business. The common thread amongst most LA bred entrepreneurs, whether in the food or tech space, is the unwavering scrappiness and determination that pushes us all to overcome our tough odds and work together to help our communities.
As you think back to your Grid110 experience, what are the 1–2 lessons or takeaways that still stick out to you?
The biggest takeaway for us is to make sure you come with an open mind on your founder journey. We arrived with the first iteration of our product when we first started Grid110 but quickly learned that pivoting and learning to be adaptable is key to success. We started On The Go LA during a time of enormous uncertainty but have used every moment to continue to improve our service, and rather than be complacent; we have used our grit/scrappiness to keep evolving our company. The second most significant lesson that Grid110 taught us is that to provide any help to local food entrepreneurs, who are our target audience, we needed to patiently take a step back and understand their perspectives and motivations. Laying a solid foundation by taking the time to do user research, test your hypothesis, and quickly iterate allows you to be set up for a reliable journey forward.
Considering what Grid110 provides and offers, what has been the most impactful to you as a founder and business? How has the Grid110 experience influenced your entrepreneurial journey?
We were able to cut through a lot of the fluff and get to the core of our business, specifically through in-depth conversations during Office Hour sessions with the Grid110 mentors. This allowed us to refine our user personas and think through the intricacies you otherwise would glance over because of how many things you are juggling to survive. Overall, our Grid110 experience has made us recognize that while our journey as entrepreneurs is unique to us, we have a community of like-minded entrepreneurs to motivate one another and grind it out. Grid110 consistently emphasized the idea of not comparing ourselves to others but instead being realistic and patient on our way to achieving our goals.
What advice would you give to Founders who are considering applying to Grid110?
This program is meant to challenge you as you build your venture, so understand that every critique of your business comes with the best intentions. The Grid110 network is expansive. If you take advantage of connecting with alumni & current advisors, you will be better positioned to set and accomplish goals for your company. You won’t ever feel alone on this journey of entrepreneurship as a part of the Grid110 family because there is a sense of genuine camaraderie and unmatched support.
Now, time for some more FUN questions!
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Gabriel: A forensic scientist! I watched a ton of Criminal Minds and CSI growing up, so their work in the labs to solve cases intrigued me early.
Enrique: I wanted to be a business owner! I have always felt that I could create and provide something valuable to the world.
What is your spirit animal?
Gabriel: A sloth! They are pretty clever in preserving their energy when they need to use it, and I love a good sleep.
Enrique: My spirit animal is a salmon because it symbolizes perseverance and determination, and these two qualities can overcome even the most significant difficulties.
Who is your role model?
Gabriel: My parents and my older brother, Jorge. My parents clawed their way from Guatemala and fought to allow us to live out our American dream. My brother has been the guiding light for me to seek out the best opportunities available and has pushed me to challenge myself constantly.
Enrique: Kobe Bryant was more than just a basketball player. He was a mark on history and a role model for people in even small parts of the world. His work ethic and famous mantra, “Mamba Mentality,” are standards that I uphold today.
If you were a superhero, what would be your superpower?
Gabriel: Stopping time and allowing certain moments to last longer than they do so you can soak it in and enjoy it.
Enrique: I would like to have the power to time travel. To go back in time and relive some of the best moments of my life would be awesome.
If you could have a meal with anyone, living or deceased, who would it be and why?
Gabriel: Kobe Bryant. Growing up in Los Angeles, he was my biggest sports idol, but he also had one of the world’s brightest business and creative minds.
Enrique: Gene Simmons, because he is a multi-talented businessman. He is the living embodiment of the American Dream. He has used creative vision and entrepreneurial acumen to significantly impact our nation’s popular culture, becoming an iconic American figure. It would be great to learn his business philosophy.
What’s currently on your playlist right now?
Gabriel: East Atlanta Love Letter (Album by 6LACK)
Enrique: After Hours (Album by The Weeknd)
News from On The Go LA team!
We will be launching our second truck in the coming months! We recently launched our new website that allows local food entrepreneurs to book our food truck online: www.onthego.la
Follow us and stay in touch through social media!
Instagram at @onthego_la
Facebook at @onthegola
Twitter at @OnTheGo_LA
About Grid110
Grid110 is an economic and community development nonprofit dedicated to creating clearer pathways to success for early-stage entrepreneurs. Our mission is to foster the most thriving, inviting & inclusive community for entrepreneurs in Los Angeles by making the entrepreneurial path more equitable, inclusive, and accessible. Through our no-cost, no-equity accelerator programs, we provide founders with a growing community of fellow entrepreneurs, expert mentorship, and crucial resources.
