Beyond the Case
A podcast where global leaders from the Harvard Business School Owner/President Management (OPM) community join in a personal capacity and share the real decisions, failures, and mental models behind building enduring companies.
This podcast is independent and not affiliated with Harvard Business School.
Beyond the Case
From Cleaner Air to First Homes: 30 Years of Purpose - Tenoch Ochoa
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
After 30 years in vehicle emissions testing and a business exit in financial services, Tenoch Ochoa is starting again, building a lending venture in California focused on helping Latino families purchase their first homes. He explores what it takes to enter an unfamiliar industry: a clear purpose, the willingness to learn, and the patience to move deliberately.
His outlook was shaped by a childhood across Mexico and Japan, where navigating cultural differences and prejudice taught him resilience and independence. Today, his active 85-year-old father inspires him to keep pursuing new possibilities, while his four children give him a reason to lead by example. Returning to OPM, Tenoch reflects on the humility of becoming a student again, and why experience has taught him to prepare more carefully, question his assumptions and resist the urge to rush.
Here are the Top 10 Takeaways from the conversation:
- Enter a new industry with a clear understanding of what you want to accomplish.
- Carry your transferable skills into new ventures while learning what makes each business different.
- Keep pursuing meaningful challenges at every stage of life.
- Teach the next generation what is possible through the example you set.
- Seek unfamiliar cultures and perspectives to strengthen your adaptability.
- Stay willing to become a student, regardless of your past success.
- Share your experiences openly and approach your peers with humility.
- Match ambition with preparation, patience and deliberate steps.
- Look beyond the numbers to understand the wider environment shaping your business.
- Revisit your assumptions as technology and unexpected events change the world.
Books:
Hey, welcome everyone to another episode of Beyond the Case. This is a podcast where global leaders from Harvard Business School's OPM community join in a personal capacity to share the real decisions, life lessons, and principles which go behind building enduring and lasting companies. Today's guest is Tenocht. Tenocht was originally a part of OPM 57, where he did his unit one. And now you're going to be joining us in unit two at OPM 67. So welcome to the show, Tenocht.
SPEAKER_01Thank you very much. Yeah. I'm Tenochtroa. I was born and raised in Mexico City. At age eight, I lived in Japan for three years. My father was a Mexican petroleum representative to Pemex in Japan. So I lived there for approximately three years, two and a half years. And then I came back to Mexico, did my um university in Elitam. I didn't finish there. I finished at United States International University in San Diego. I graduated from business administration and international relations. And then from then on, I uh well, I started my business in this program. It's an environmental program called Berificent Ros, which in Mexico we had a very bad pollution, um, very similar to what happened in in Los Angeles in the in the 80s, 70s, 80s, and then India also, and a lot of big uh cities in the world. So uh we developed this uh program in which you have to pass a test, emission test for cars. At that time, we had around three million cars in Mexico City circulating every day. So what we would do with that is uh we would put a stamp on it with numbers from zero to nine. And according to your your last number, you would circulate every day except one day because of the pollution and uh also traffic. So it helped develop a very well-managed environmental program for the city that lasted for around, let's say, 15 years. And so we'll we we would we would verificate every every car every six months to see that their emission of of pollution was was in order in accordance with what the government would say. And uh it became a very, very prolific uh business for 20 years, and I've had that business for the last 30 years. So then on I move into the financial services. I had a small bank called uh Sofipo in Mexico. I had it for uh 12 years, and then uh approximately four or five years ago, we sold it to Bradesco, the largest, one of the largest uh Brazilian banks in Brazil. They came here and they wanted to establish us a bank. In Mexico, the regulation takes a lot of time for you to have a permit to be a bank, so they they alternated and they bought us and they became a bank. So from then on, I moved to um a lending company that I'm opening. I just opened recently in California, specifically in the area of um Los Angeles, outside Los Angeles Riverside, uh that area where there's a lot of Latino communities, especially Mexicans. And uh I opened a lending a lending bank with license in California, and uh that's what I'm doing. I've been doing that for the last uh six months, and I'm learning the system, it's not easy, it's been quite a challenge, but uh I'm there. I'm I'm I'm leaving 15 days in Mexico, 15 days in in in San Diego, and it's been a challenge. I'm I'm working on that.
SPEAKER_00Amazing. What asset type are you lending for with your current company? Is it consumer loans?
SPEAKER_01What kind of loans are you making for the current it's it's basically what we are our main our main purpose is to help uh Latinos acquire their first their first house. We are licensing with the Ferrell Housing Administration, it's called FHA, and they have a program in which they can lend up to well, it depends on how many households you have. If you have one, two, three, or four. Uh for one household it comes up to approximately 1.2, 1.2 million. If you have four households, that means we can have almost approximately $2.4 million. They lend you the money for an interest rate of around three three percent. And it's uh it's a loan, a 30-year loan, which is very attractive for for the Latino community. And uh, and then what we do is we we allocate the the the loan, and once we what once we it's allocated, the federal government with with Fanny May and and and the other, they they buy, they buy the the the credit back. So you it's it's very it's very convenient for us because we don't have we don't have a a big a big problem you know with with cartera vencida. It's um with uh people that don't pay back, you know. So we just transfer that to Fannie Mae or or or Freddie Mack and they they are the ones responsible for the rest of the of the of the of the of the of the credit.
SPEAKER_00Incredible. How did you go about educating yourself from car emissions to a completely different industry, which is financial services?
SPEAKER_01I studied economics and I studied uh business administration. So for me it was very easy to transfer because basically what I did in my previous companies was to look out for the financials. So it wasn't that that difficult for me to move from one. Obviously the the the economics of of the business are very different, but uh it's just a matter of you know starting and getting into the business to see that what what are the necessary works to do and and uh it was it was pretty easy for me to to transfer from one to the other. It wasn't a big deal.
SPEAKER_00Any advice for someone who's looking to switch industries? What's the right way to go? Do you go to university, get a master's in one of the fields, and then you go about starting a business, or do you just get started, you know, make mistakes?
SPEAKER_01You know what happens when when you're an entrepreneur, you need to have a different type of of sensibility, no? So I know that a lot of entrepreneurs participate in OPM and know what I'm talking about. I I think it's having just having the feeling that once you're gonna change, you're gonna change industries, you really have to be conscious about what you want in the other industry, no? You need to have a purpose, no? Uh and you need to have a very pinpoint, established pinpoint of what you want to to accomplish in your other industry. I I would I would suggest that people that want to change industries first really uh have a very focused idea of what they want to do in the other industry, no? Because otherwise it's very difficult to go on to another industry not knowing what you want. I think you need to have very, very decisive decisions of what you're gonna do in the other industry for you to change. No. If if you don't have that, I'd rather for you to stay where you are and and look into some something there. But it's always it's also it's always a challenge. It's always very difficult. But if you have um if you have a a f a finding a finding point where you want to go, it's always you're always gonna get there, you know. It's just a matter of having having very very clearly what you want in the other industry.
SPEAKER_00You know, entrepreneurship itself is hard. It's widely researched that starting early in your life is easier when you don't have responsibilities as opposed to later.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00But then for you to, I I I believe you're you're you're in your middle ages to switch industries halfway through your career, that must be quite challenging too. Yes. And so does age play on your mind when you were trying to change your vertical, start out again? Did you think about, hey, my you know, my the days when I could stay up late in the night, take on additional stress, hustle more, maybe behind me, and maybe I want just an easier life now? Did that thought come to you? And if yes, how did you work around it?
SPEAKER_01Do you know what? Age has never been an issue for me. And probably because my father is 85 years old and still, I mean, he's he doesn't work anymore, but he goes, he has a farm, he goes see his cows, he goes see his pigs, he he's always active, you know, he's always doing something. And the fact that you have that that person that that always is is looking to do something and and is never complaining about back pains or knee pains or, you know, because with age, you realize that it's not only about aging, it's also about all the other things that come with them, no. And actually I've never thought about what was gonna happen if I've changed industries and what was gonna happen. I have I have four kids, no, and uh you're always thinking about them when you are doing something. And just the fact that you're gonna prove to them that you can do things at a certain age that probably before wasn't people weren't able to do, I think that outperforms any other challenge that you can that you can that you can foresee. I think that showing your your kids that there's always a possibility to to be happy and and to be fulfilled in another industry or in another act of life that you want to do, no matter what age you are, you should do it, no? Because that it it's a it's within call that that gives you that power to go and search for what you you believe in. Well, so I think age is just a matter of numbers, it's not a matter of of of body health, no.
SPEAKER_00And how do you think your childhood experiences have played into your entrepreneurial journey? You know, the fact that you were born in Mexico, you were in the US.
SPEAKER_01Great question, great question. And that's one of the things that I admire most of OPM. The fact that we're people from all over the world and that we are in a place to learn, but also to give experience of what your experience has been all over the world. And your your your question is so important. The fact that I lived in Japan, that I lived in in the US, that I lived in in France, it opens a very different perspective about life, especially when you're young. I lived in a country where I didn't know the language, I didn't know the culture. It was in the 70s, you know, it was 77, 78, 81, and 82. So you could imagine the world, the world war had just happened. I mean, 30 years from when I was there, you know, it ended it in 1945. I was there in 1970. It was 30-something years behind. Um, the war was still very present in in Japanese uh people. So when you would go, they they would call those gaijins, no, gaijins are the people from from the outside, they call them strangers. And um, just the fact that I was seven, eight years old walking in the in the subway, because kids in in Japan could go to school by themselves with no adult supervision from ages six to to anywhere. So you start going to school by yourself at six years old. You can imagine you can see the kids going in school five years old, six years old. So just the fact that I was there, you know, going, going, going into the school and and having to deal with with the people. I would, I would, I would, I would fight in the in the in the in the subway just to survive because they would they would spit at us, you know, they would say bad things by bad words. And that made a character out of my brother and I. It helped us develop a very different sense of of what life is and all the challenges that are around that make you find character in in life. And when you go into another country afterwards, or when you when you go into another school somewhere else in another place, it gives you that strength and of of of personality to be able to challenge anything in your life. No. So afterwards, when I went to school in in some other places in America and then France and now in OPM, well, it's very refreshing for me to to deal with different kinds of cultures and and and learn from them. You know, it's it's an amazing experience that changed my life forever.
SPEAKER_00And so with all the success you've had, you sold a business before this. Why did you want to come back to university to Harvard? What inspired you to come back to OPM?
SPEAKER_01You know what? I've always been um a person that loves to study, to loves to read, loves to learn. And it was always a it was always a dream of mine to study at Harvard, you know. So I was doing this business in Peru, actually, and uh I was going there with a very successful businessman who had who owns a construction, very one of the largest construction companies in Mexico. And we were talking, you know, about life and stuff, and then he said, you know what? I did this program at at Harvard, OPM, which opened my my perspective of life. I knew a lot of people, it was an amazing experience. It's called OPM at Harvard. You should do it, he said, because I think you you would you would be very, very it would be a very enrich enrichable experience for you and for the people that that are with you. And I said, I am gonna do it. That was in 2017, 2018. And then I, you know, opened just the computer, went in went into OPM and and applied, and and I was very, very delighted to to participate in 2019. And and wow, it's I I don't know. I I guess all the people that are that are here listening to us feel the same way. It's it's an amazing experience to to to share and and to live an experience like this, living in a in a dorm, you know, with seven, eight people sharing all your experiences since you were born, what all the all the different stages that you go through OPM that make you open yourself to your to your peers and and let them know who you are in the inside from know from the psychological point of view to the to the spiritual to the to the learning experience, you know. It's Harvard has this very specialized way of of of teaching that it makes us really humble, no, and and to be to be sharing this amazing experience. No, I think it's it's beautiful to share all this with you. And the fact that you invited me here, it's amazing. You know, it's I love it. Thank you very much.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. Any any moments or any memories from Howard that come back to you, maybe any professor that left an impression on you?
SPEAKER_01All the professors. Right now, there was a there was this lady, I don't remember her name. She's she's an old lady. I think she's not here with us anymore.
SPEAKER_00Linda Applegate.
SPEAKER_01Uh what?
SPEAKER_00Linda Applegate.
SPEAKER_01Linda. Is she still in?
SPEAKER_00No, she's not.
SPEAKER_01She was amazing. I had an amazing experience with her. You know, just the fact to go and talk to her and and listen to her experience. It was more of you talking than just listening to her. What all the experiences she she gave us and uh she invited us to to launch one day. And you know, she's I think those are the moments in which you cherish and you want to go back to OPM because of the professor, obviously, and and and and all the all the environments that you live around those things. They are amazing. Christina is one of the amazing people that we're gonna miss a lot.
SPEAKER_00If you could speak to your younger self today, what would you tell him after everything that you've seen in life if he was starting a company again? What would you tell your younger self?
SPEAKER_01My own self, if I would start a company right now, oof.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Wow, it's just the fact that, you know, I'm starting a company right now, which I can talk to it a lot about it, but I'm so excited about it at my age, starting a company again. And that's why I'm so happy and and and and so overwhelmed that I'm going back again. And that's probably why I I enlisted again because all the things that you you read and you learn while we're doing OPM2 unit, you basically apply into your life. So what I would say to myself 10 years ago or behind or 20 years, it would be be more, be more cautious, be more, plan more. And plan more, not just in the fact that you have to look at numbers or right now, you have to look of all the environment that's happening around you. You have to be like a sponge and uh and and try to be more more calm into how you're gonna go into the next steps. When you're young, you think you can eat your you you can eat the world by one hand. And that's not the case, especially now with the artificial intelligence and all the things that are going around it. Things are happening, are are changing at a at a pace that we can't even imagine. So we have to be very careful on how we grasp a little bit of all those knowledge that are out there and and and and be very careful of on how we're gonna we're gonna manage to do your your new company. But uh I guess I would tell them, I would tell them to myself, be more cautious and and don't try to rush anymore. Just take take a step at a time.
SPEAKER_00Thank you. My final question in closing is uh is there any book you've read which has left an impression on you that you wanna just mention?
SPEAKER_01Actually, right now I love this this this author, Juanoval Harari, and I'm finishing Nexus. I've I've I've read before his books, you know.
SPEAKER_00Sapiens.
SPEAKER_01Well, sapiens obviously, but uh the one that marked me more was the black swan. No, the black swan for me was something that really represented something very important because of what we've lived as a as a generation, no. I think you and I have lived a lot of paradigm shifts that have changed the world forever. And I said that because you know the the the towers, the the twin towers, and that that that success.
SPEAKER_00That's one event, yeah.
SPEAKER_01That one event changed our lives forever, no. But in the in addition to that, also internet, no, and now artificial intelligence. No, so those are the three things that that those paradigm shifts that we've lived as a generation have have made us change ourselves forever. And now artificial intelligence is I think the most important uh paradigm shift that we're gonna live. And Nexus talks about it uh very specifically of how we have to be very careful of how that's gonna change our life forever.
SPEAKER_00Amazing. Thank you very much. Very, very refreshing conversation, and I appreciate your time.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, thank you.
SPEAKER_00Thank you.
SPEAKER_01Of course.
SPEAKER_00Take care, everybody.
SPEAKER_01Thank you.
