In today's Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur Spotlight, we're making waves with Daniel Cueva, the innovative founder of OlaPR who's redefining the public relations landscape. Daniel's journey showcases how recognizing a gap in the market – and filling it with a unique blend of business strategy, storytelling, and authentic media relationships – can create extraordinary results. By flipping the traditional PR agency model on its head, he's built a bridge between ambitious entrepreneurs and prestigious media outlets, creating win-win scenarios that benefit both sides. From his first client success to pioneering a fresh approach to PR, Daniel's story demonstrates that sometimes the best path to entrepreneurship is paved with deep industry insights and the courage to challenge conventional wisdom. Get ready to explore the mind of someone who's not just securing media coverage for others, but revolutionizing how businesses and thought leaders share their stories with the world.
Hi, Daniel! Thanks for joining us today. Tell us about your business. Who do you serve, how do you serve them, and what's the impact that your business and work makes?
OlaPR is not your typical PR agency because we help businesses and thought leaders get the recognition they deserve through media coverage, podcast placements, and in-depth editorial features. We’re not typical because we have a team of skilled business strategists, copywriters, PR pros, and also storytellers that come from journalism backgrounds, so we’re able to not only develop a strategy that works for our clients, but we have deep relationships with our media partners as they trust us to bring them high-quality stories and features on amazing entrepreneurs and thought leaders! That’s a little bit of our secret sauce as to why we’re so successful at securing these high-visibility placements on media outlets that people know and love.
Tell us about the moment you finally felt like you went from wantrepreneur to entrepreneur.
The moment I truly felt like an entrepreneur was when I secured my first client and saw the tangible results of my work making a difference. It was no longer just an idea or a dream—it became real when I realized I could help others succeed while building something of my own. That was the turning point when I knew I had stepped into entrepreneurship. It’s easy to get excited about mapping out all of your ideas on a whiteboard (and daydreaming in all those moments that you’re supposed to be working or hanging out with friends), but the moment when your dreams turn into reality – even if it’s just your first $1 – is a pivotal moment.
Describe the moment or period in your life/career that motivated you to make the entrepreneurial leap.
The moment that pushed me to take the entrepreneurial leap came when I realized I was spending more time helping others grow their businesses than building something of my own. I kept thinking, “If I can help them succeed, why not do it for myself?” That realization, paired with a deep desire for independence and creativity, was the spark I needed to step away from the safety net and start my own journey. It wasn’t easy, but the freedom to carve my own path and create real impact was worth every challenge.
Describe a tool, service, or software that has been a game-changer for your business. How does it contribute to your success?
GoHighLevel has been a game-changer for my business. It streamlines everything from client management to automation, allowing me to run campaigns, handle leads, and track performance—all in one platform. The ability to automate tasks like follow-ups, SMS, and emails has saved me so much time and improved client satisfaction. It’s been key in scaling my business while keeping operations efficient and organized.
We know that success is very often a non-linear path. Tell us about a failure, pivot point, or lesson that changed your course or direction and helped to get you where you are today.
One of my biggest turning points came when I launched a service that didn’t take off as expected. I had put so much effort into it, but the demand just wasn’t there. Rather than seeing it as a complete failure, I took it as a lesson. I realized I needed to be more in tune with my audience's needs. That pivot helped me refocus my business and align my offerings more closely with what clients truly wanted, which ultimately led to greater success. It taught me that adaptability is key to growth.
What unconventional strategy did you employ that significantly impacted your business?
An unconventional strategy that had a huge impact on my business was flipping the traditional PR agency model on its head and positioning OlaPR as a content partner and bridge between the amazing business owners and thought leaders that we work with and the media outlets that are looking for great stories and features. A big part of this meant proving to the media outlets that our team creates extraordinary content that their readers love – and those relationship-building efforts took a substantial amount of time and connections – and it’s one of the key reasons why we’re so successful in getting our clients placed in these publications.
Now, we get to work with our clients but also as a trusted partner of the amazing brands that we all know and love in the media landscape, so we have a deep understanding of both sides of the PR equation.
What’s something you wish you knew sooner that you’d give as advice for aspiring or newer entrepreneurs?
I wish I understood sooner that it’s actually not enough to be amazing at what you do. Instead, you need to understand psychology and human behavior to leverage the key triggers that ensure people know that you’re amazing at what you do. There are a lot of people who are great at what they do but never “make it,” and I’ve discovered that this is a large part of why that happens. Whether this means leveraging marketing to make sure you’re not the best kept secret, harnessing the power of PR to benefit from the social proof of media outlets and brands that people already know and love, or refining your messaging and story to stand out from everyone else, you need to put a lot of strategy and intention into making sure everyone else sees you for who and what you are.
Want to learn more about Daniel's work and OlaPR? Hit these links:
