Last updated: 2026-04-13
Member Spotlight: Rafael R. Requena – 11 Years Sober, Building a Boutique Brokerage on Purpose
Rafael R. Requena was 36 years old and still depending on his parents for financial help. He knew something had to change, and sobriety was the first thing he tackled. Eleven years later, he runs a boutique real estate and mortgage brokerage where he still walks clients through every step of the process personally. Everything he has built started with one decision.
“Entrepreneurship is a lot easier, and your chances of success exponentially increase when you add sobriety to the equation.”Rafael R. Requena, Real Estate & Mortgage Broker, Investor, and Advisor
36 and Still Dependent
Rafael does not sugarcoat where he was. At 36, he was still leaning on his parents for financial help. The years were passing and nothing was moving forward.
“I noticed that I wasn’t moving forward in life. I was 36 years old and still depending on my parents for financial help. I noticed that I had to grow up and a lot of things needed to change, and sobriety was the first thing I tackled.”
That was August 7, 2014. There was no dramatic intervention. Just a clear-eyed look at the gap between where he was and where he knew he could be. Sobriety was the first domino. Everything else fell into place after that.
Taking It Seriously for the First Time
Sobriety did not hand Rafael a business plan. It gave him something more foundational: the ability to show up and do the work.
“I took business more seriously and started giving myself the necessary time to grow professionally.” That sentence sounds simple. For someone wired the way most entrepreneurs in recovery are wired, it represents a complete rewiring of priorities.
He chose to build a boutique brokerage rather than chase scale. He still works with clients one on one, walking them through the full execution of the process. That is a deliberate choice. The same presence and intentionality that recovery demands is what he brings to every deal.
Grounded, Conscious, and in Control of His Emotions
Real estate is one of the most emotionally charged transactions a person goes through. Rafael learned to lead clients through it because recovery taught him to lead himself first.
“I am more conscious and grounded in the goal. I keep my emotions in check and understand the process of being emotional for myself as well as for the clients I work with. This is a very highly emotional process for the customers and I need to lead them to their goal.”
Being sober gave him better tools. Not business tools, but human tools: patience, self-awareness, the ability to sit with someone in a high-stress moment without reacting from his own anxiety. That is what applying the 12 steps to your business looks like when your business requires you to hold space for other people’s biggest decisions.
The Time He Can Never Get Back
The hardest part of building in recovery was not the grind. It was the grief over lost time.
“I think the hardest part for me was feeling upset that I didn’t do it sooner. Also, coming to the realization that I had lost many opportunities of growth.”
That is a feeling most sober founders know well. The years you cannot get back. The deals that passed. The relationships that eroded. But Rafael turned that grief into fuel. Not reckless urgency, but a steady refusal to waste another day. That is the paradox recovery keeps teaching: you cannot recover the past, but you can build something that honors it.
What He Wants Every Sober Founder to Know
“Entrepreneurship is a lot easier, and your chances of success exponentially increase when you add sobriety to the equation.” Not a motivational poster. A statement from someone who lived both sides.
“Get used to it. Feeling alone does not mean you are alone. It’s just a feeling, and usually that feeling comes when you start drifting away. This is the road less traveled and with bigger challenges, that’s why it feels that way.”
“Entrepreneurship is very similar to sobriety, one day at a time; you get to choose to be an entrepreneur and also be sober every day that you wake up.” The same discipline that keeps you sober is the discipline that keeps your business alive.
His Support System
- Staying connected with other sober people
- Regular check-ins with his sponsors
- The friendships he built when he chose sobriety
- Thursday mornings with Sober Founders
What Sober Founders Changed
Rafael’s business got easier after finding Sober Founders. Not because the work changed, but because the weight of carrying it alone did.
“My business has become easier and more adaptable since finding Sober Founders. It’s refreshing to see other entrepreneurs struggle with many of the same issues. Listening and sharing experiences builds reassurance.”
He did not need more tactics. He needed a room where the real conversation was happening. That changed how he shows up: “I feel better and motivated. I love my Thursday mornings now.”
What He’s Building Now
Himself and his business, every single day. “Every day I choose to build myself and my business. I wouldn’t be able to stay sane and in this stressful career if I weren’t sober.” That is not a tagline. That is a daily practice from someone who knows exactly what happens when the practice stops.
“I’d recommend Sober Founders to anyone who has a business or is thinking of starting any type of business. There are many ideas and experiences that people here share freely and selflessly.”Rafael R. Requena
Want a room where sober founders actually get what you’re going through?
Rafael found it on Thursday mornings. The free weekly mastermind is where founders in recovery stop building alone.
