Graduate in Business Administration from UPB, Mateo Sánchez Lobo represents a generation of professionals who understand marketing as a strategic tool to create experiences, build audiences, and develop cultural and creative industries with real impact. As Marketing Director and partner of the leading entertainment and hospitality conglomerate in the country, he currently leads the creative and positioning strategy for festivals, concerts, nightlife venues, sports projects, and gastronomic proposals that are redefining the leisure and entertainment scene in Bolivia and projecting it towards new markets.

• How did your journey in the world of entertainment and entrepreneurship begin?

  
  

  My academic formation was solidified in the Business Administration program at UPB, between 2015 and 2019. Since then, my professional life has been deeply tied to entrepreneurship. I have always been drawn to the idea of creating memorable experiences and connecting with people through what they enjoy, and I found in entertainment a space where strategy, creativity, and execution intersect naturally.

  
  

• Today you lead an entertainment and hospitality conglomerate, in which areas are you currently present?

  
  

  Together with my partners, we have developed projects in different segments of entertainment. We manage nightclubs and bars like Alice Park, Noma, Awra, Salvaje, and La Sociedad, each with its own identity. We also produce large-scale festivals and concerts, including Non Stop The Madness, the largest festival in the country. Additionally, we developed Pro Padel, the most comprehensive paddle complex in Cochabamba, promoted tourism gastronomy projects, and worked in the production and distribution of purified water.

  
  

• What were your first steps as an entrepreneur within this industry?

  
  

  During my last years of university, I met key people who, over time, became my partners. Together we took the first steps with Noma and Awra, venues that quickly positioned themselves in the nightlife scene. That was the start of a journey that allowed us to grow, learn, and take on increasingly ambitious projects.

  
  

• In 2024, you inaugurated Alice Park, the largest nightclub in the country, what does that project represent for you?

  
  

  Alice Park is the result of years of learning, work, and shared vision. It represents our commitment to elevate the entertainment experience in Bolivia, understanding nightlife as a cultural industry that generates employment, economic movement, and community.

• What has been the most challenging aspect of the entrepreneurial path?

  
  

  The biggest challenge is living with uncertainty. Entrepreneurship means accepting that there are no guarantees, that sacrifice may not yield immediate results, and that often there is no turning back. It is a process that demands daily resilience and a tremendous capacity for adaptation.

  
  

• What lessons have you learned from facing that uncertainty?

  
  

  I learned that the life one dreams of is often behind years of effort, rejection, and perseverance. This is not a path of quick results but of consistency. Over time I understood that mistakes are also part of growth and that each stage leaves valuable lessons.

  
  

• What role does the team play in your approach to entrepreneurship?

  
  

  Since my study years, I understood the importance of surrounding myself with people who have more experience and ability than I do. Seeking to learn from those who know more, building solid teams, and working with discipline has been key to everything we have achieved.

  
  

• What advice would you give to those who want to embark on entrepreneurship today?

  
  

  Do not isolate yourself, surround yourself well, and build cohesive teams. Identify what you are truly passionate about and persist until reaching excellence. Entrepreneurship is not about having all the answers; it is about learning to walk with purpose, even amid uncertainty.

INSIGHTS: 

• A book or movie that has marked you: Think Like a Monk, by Jay Shetty. It taught me to organize my mind and understand that true growth begins from within.

• A person you deeply admire: I deeply admire my mom for her resilience and strength. She is a woman who can give her all without expecting anything in return. In addition to personal admiration, I have enormous respect for her as a businesswoman: her ability to stand firm in any situation inspires me every day.

• A phrase or principle that guides your life: “Things don’t get better, you get better.” I believe the key is to become stronger, not to wait for things to be easier.

• Your most prized possession: My time and my health. I learned not to give them away to just anyone and to be very mindful of how and with whom I invest them.

• A fear that you have learned to transform or that has left you with a teaching: The fear of failure. Today I see it as part of the process. Every stumble shapes you, teaches you, and prepares you to handle what you were not ready to have before.

• A favorite flavor or gastronomic experience: Italian food, especially when I share it with my family. It’s that moment when work stops, conversations flow, and the most important thing is enjoyed: being together.