Truckin' Along

Gabriela Gonzalez-Duarte never thought she’d grow up to be an 18-year-old entrepreneur running a food truck straight out of high school, but here we are.

The journey was littered with startup business potholes —like having the capacity to manage a surge in orders — but Gonzalez-Duarte has overcome many of the hiccups. Originally, Gonzalez-Duarte, a recent Riverview High School graduate, was not interested in joining the Perlman Price Young Entrepreneurs (PYE) program offered through the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto counties. But she was recommended by a former PYE student and she eventually embraced the opportunity.