Alexander Torrenegra

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Alexander Torrenegra
Alexander Torrenegra at Rackspace Solve in 2015.jpg
Torrenegra at Rackspace Solve in 2015
Born (1978-07-31) July 31, 1978 (age 45)
Bogotá, Colombia
NationalityColombian-American
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur
Investor
Television personality
Known forTorre, Voice123, Bunny Studio, Torrenegra Accelerator
Television Shark Tank Colombia
SpouseTania Zapata
Children2
Honours MIT's Innovator Under 35
WEF's Young Global Leader
Website https://torre.co/torrenegra

Alexander Torrenegra (born July 31, 1978) [1] is a Colombian-American entrepreneur, inventor, and investor. [2] [3] He is the founder and CEO of Torre and has founded multiple companies including Voice123 and Bunny Studio. [4] He is also one of the "shark" investors on Sony's reality television series, Shark Tank Colombia and Shark Tank Mexico. He was featured in MIT's list of Innovators Under 35 in 2012. [4] [5]

Contents

Torrenegra is a known advocate of remote work. He has worked with remote teams since founding Voice123. [6]

Early life and education

Torrenegra was born in Bogotá, Colombia. He was raised by his mother, Katia, and his maternal grandmother, María Emma Torrenegra. [7]

In 1993, he founded his first company: Apache A-X Cybernetic Enterprises Limited, at the age of 14. [3] [8] He attended La Salle University, Colombia, and Florida International University. [4] He graduated from Miami Dade College with a degree in Computer Science and is part of the Stanford University Leadership Program. [9]

Career

In 1998, Torrenegra moved to the United States. He met his wife, Tania Zapata, who was a voice actress, in Miami, Florida. [3] In 2000, they co-founded Torrenegra Labs. [4] Torrenegra and Zapata founded Voice123, which applied the concept of reverse auctions to the voiceover industry, in 2003. [3]

By 2007, the company passed $1 million in sales and had approximately 150,000 voice actors registered and over 75,000 agency clients by 2016. [3] In September 2021, Voice123 was acquired by Backstage and TA Associates. [10] [11] In 2008, Torrenegra founded LetMeGo, a company focused on hotels competing for bookings. The company closed in 2011. [8] [12]

Torrenegra, Zapata, and Lucho Molina founded Bunny Studio in 2012 with the launch of VoiceBunny, then renamed Bunny Studio, an API for professional human voices. [3]

In 2013, he was part of a delegation of immigrant entrepreneurs that met with President Barack Obama. [13] [14] He also works to improve government support for innovation in Colombia. [15] [16]

Since 2017, Torrenegra has been in the main cast of Shark Tank Colombia as an investor, only being absent during season 4, [17] and as a guest in Shark Tank Mexico since 2024. [18]

In 2018, he co-founded Tribe, a remote-first video communication platform, and also started Torrenegra Organization to support bootstrapped entrepreneurs in accelerating their businesses. [19]

He founded Torre, an online network for finding work and talent through matching, in 2019, and became its CEO. By 2021, Torre secured a $10 million seed round led by former executives from Apple, Facebook, Uber, and SpaceX. [20]

Books

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References

  1. ↑ Espectador, El (2020-04-15). "ELESPECTADOR.COM". ELESPECTADOR.COM (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-06-20.
  2. ↑ Ilya Pozin (June 1, 2012). "Top Immigrant-Owned Startups". Forbes. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Robert Schoon (September 23, 2015). "Marketplace: Bunny, Inc.'s Alexander Torrenegra Wants to Automate the Creative Job Market". Latin Post. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Alexander Torrenegra, 33". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  5. ↑ "13 Badass Immigrants In Technology". Business Insider. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  6. ↑ ""El trabajo remoto es mucho más bonito de lo que hemos visto"" . Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  7. ↑ Torrenegra, Alexander (19 May 2021). "The woman who inspired Torre, its name, and icon". Torre Blog. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
  8. 1 2 "Torrenegra Labs: How To Get The Attention Of A Venture Capitalist". Mixergy. November 4, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  9. ↑ "International Students as Startup Founders in the United States" (PDF). The George Washington University Office of Entrepreneurship. September 30, 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Voice123 Acquired by Backstage". prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  11. ↑ "We've sold Voice123 and our feelings are mixed". torrenegra.medium.com. 9 September 2021. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  12. ↑ Alan Colmenares (December 28, 2009). "Young startup LetMeGo.com to take on big-time travel sites with extra-personal service". Venture Beat. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  13. ↑ Julia Myska (June 24, 2013). "Obama invites Colombian entrepreneur to discuss US immigration reform". Colombia Reports. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  14. ↑ Anna Li (May 24, 2013). "Silicon Valley execs share personal immigration woes at virtual #iMarch". Peninsula Press. Archived from the original on January 1, 2017. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Juan Manuel Santos Will Make His First Presidential Hangout". Enter.co. January 17, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Remarks by President Juan Manuel Santos in the VI Competitiveness Forum of the Americas". Prosperidad Para Todos. October 24, 2012. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Dos nuevos tiburones en Shark Tank Colombia". estiloe.com.co. Archived from the original on 2022-10-06. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  18. ↑ "¿Quiénes son los dos "tiburones" que se suman a la novena temporada de Shark Tank?".
  19. ↑ "Alexander Torrenegra's genome in Torre". torre.co. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  20. ↑ "Colombia-based startup Torre raises a $10 million Seed round from SpaceX, Facebook, Uber former execs". Latin American Business Stories. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
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