Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Inés Calderón.
Sara Inés , we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
A few years ago I hired someone to trim the trees, when I asked them for a receipt a comedy of errors began. The gentleman had to go to his car to get a receipt book, then couldn’t find a pen, so I had to go get one, and finally I was able to get a carbon copy receipt. I thought there had to be a better way to get invoices and receipts, so along with a friend I had known for several years — Anthony Broomes — we co-founded Hola Bili. Over the past year we have been developing the product and are currently looking for testers and customers.
Hola Bili allows you to create estimates and instant payment invoices by using text messages (SMS) — no login or app download needed. Plus, you can further manage your invoices and payments through our account dashboard (website).
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We initially came up with the idea during the pandemic, so it wasn’t exactly the perfect time to start a business! Then after we built our first prototype it was hard to get time to focus on Hola Bili between full time jobs and babies and post-pandemic life. After a series of layoffs we were able to focus full time on Hola Bili in 2025 to build out the product and now we are looking for folks to test and use it.
We’ve been impressed with Hola Bili, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We built Hola Bili for all of the hustlers, business folks, entrepreneurs and dreamers so help them get paid fast so they can focus on what they do best. The name comes from all of the “bili”s that make small business owners an essential part of the world: ability, accountability, flexibility, stability and much, much more. We’re also small business owners, and like most folks in our shoes, we just want to be able to live and provide for our families, so we built a tool to reflect this: our subscription is 20-30% less than other services, we use AI but put security and privacy first, we let you keep your data if you choose to leave, and we tried to make the service as easy and straightforward to use as possible. There’s no app download required because, who needs another app? Plus, since our service is based on text messages, it works anywhere you have a bar — unlike most apps — and is more likely to be seen than an email.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Building Hola Bili has taught me that there’s always more to learn. From where we started to where we are now has been a long journey, but now that we are looking for customers and testers, it seems like another long journey is about to start! What folks say they are looking for, what they are willing to put up with for convenience, and what folks really want is tough to put your finger on, but part of what I love about Hola Bili is that everyone thinks it’s a good idea so I feel like we’re close to the right spot.
Pricing:
- 5
- 10
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.holabili.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/textholabili
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Bili/61574065738927/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/holabili/
