Our Founder

Niurka Castaneda, the founder of AMOR Umbrella is a Mom, a Veteran of the US Army, a writer, a voracious reader, an enthusiastic traveler, a student, an entrepreneur and a logistician. Learn more about her. She grew up in Cuba from a family of entrepreneurs and artists. Her grandfather was a poet, Her parent’s Cuban entrepreneurs. They were very resourceful people and why she believes she is so enterprising and artistic.
She feel the need to serve this great country. It was one of the most rewarding and challenging decisions she have ever made. The military offered her many new experiences and learned new skills like resilience, flexibility, self-motivation, determination, self-discipline, goal setting, risk tolerance and many more that serve her well even today. Read:
VOYAGE INTERVIEW , the VBOC spotlight   or hear her speak in the She Talks Conference

“I felt a need to create and find a new purpose in life as a veteran entrepreneur, through trial and error, found that my story can also be used to empower and inform others.” – said Niurka, Amor Umbrella Founder.

Because she understands the difficulty of transitioning out the military as a female, she is able to talk through the steps, make a plan and offer resources in order to fulfill your passion as a veteran entrepreneur. She focuses on coaching others through the startup process of building their own dream business by helping then build the frameworks and system needed to build a solid foundation from the beginning.

We are here to meet the needs of the marketplace and create on-going, successful business with engaged users, clients and buyers who are committed to support certified Service Disabled, Veteran Owned, Small Businesses (SDVOSB).  To utilize her business administration skills, logistical expertise, perseverance and commitment to serve that was learned in the Army, and create jobs for other veterans which has been verified by the VA, SBA, DoD, and the State of FL and is registered with SAM, and DUNS.

What sparked the idea of the name AMOR umbrella?

AMOR Umbrella” was initially developed as a student project for one of my classes at Miami Dade College in the Supply Chain Management program. We had to build a global supply chain from a scratch (in paper), however after all the research we had to do, she decided to take a chance on herself, in her abilities, in her ideas and guided by her natural curiosity, the symbolism of the Red Heart Umbrella that inspired the name of the company, to developed and transformed it into a real business.

It was a perfect marriage of her previous military logistical experience and the knowledge and feedback provided by the Supply Chain Management Program.

Professors, The Rafo Saldana Supply Chain Management Fund (from she was once one of the recipients of the $500 scholarship award in 2018) mentors, family and friends, provided her with the needed tools and guidance to explore possibilities (those new to her ideas), solidify her vision and help her get the business off the ground. She is very grateful to all the people who have supported her along her journey as a student and as a vetpreneur (veteran entrepreneur).

picture of the original 3 musketeers 🙂
with the MDC mascot at a MDC Propeller Club Event

It does take a village to build a business from the ground up, you cannot build it on an island by yourself. In order to grow and become successful, you must have the adequate environment and be surrounded by the right people to bring out the best in you in an efficient manner. All about logistics, right?!

Professor Richard Sarabia, DBA , former classmate and class project teammate, Paula Pereira Da Silva and myself.

She found that misinformation of available resources was and still is an issue for active military and veterans alike, so often in the dark of where to go for that much needed help, She was there too, reason why she took it upon herself to be a bridge builder and help correcting the gap by launching her own Veteran Focus TV show called AMOR umbrella TV (AUTV) and personally curating the content and the accuracy of the information and resources shared.

Listen to her tell the whole story at the She Talk event organized and hosted by Lead and Empower Her, a nonprofit organization: 

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