About
Marisa Lazo Corvera is a Guadalajara‑born entrepreneur who turned a single oven and a love of pastries into Pastelerías Marisa, the largest non‑franchise bakery chain in Mexico, spanning more than 100 stores as well as the sister brands Tía Lola and Dolce Natura. Today she divides her time between running the company, investing in startups as a “tiburona” (shark) on Shark Tank México, and mentoring women through her Fundación Marisa and speaking engagements. Her approachable leadership style—rooted in kindness, curiosity, and solid financial discipline—has made her a reference point for budding business owners across Latin America.
Before Fame
Lazo was raised the oldest of six siblings in a tight‑knit family where sweets were always at the center of celebrations. She learned the fundamentals of baking from her mother and developed her own sense of taste by trying the pastries that her father brought home after trips for business. After earning a degree in psychology at the Universidad de Guadalajara, she found that her true passion still existed in the kitchen. In 1992—equipped with a borrowed mixer, a table top oven, and a list of favorite recipes on a spreadsheet—she started selling triple-layer cakes from her parents’ garage. Word traveled fast among neighbors and church groups; a year later she was making 20 cakes a day, enough to warrant renting a small storefront on Avenida Vallarta. By the end of the 1990s, her business had expanded to several stores and a tiny factory, all while she worked motherhood and midnight frosted shift.
Trivia
- Author: Her 2023 book La ambición también es dulce (“Ambition Is Sweet, Too”) chronicles the lessons she wishes she’d had in her twenties and has become a popular text in Mexican business schools.
- Net worth: Public estimates place her fortune at roughly $12 million as of mid‑2025—a figure she playfully says is “mostly tied up in butter and goodwill.”
- Shark Tank milestones: Since joining Season 4 of Shark Tank México, she has invested in more than 30 on‑air pitches, favoring ventures led by women or focused on sustainability.
- Case‑study celebrity: IPADE Business School and Tecnológico de Monterrey each developed case studies on Pastelerías Marisa, making her one of the few Mexican founders analyzed in both programs.
- Homegrown talent: Soraida, now the company’s operations manager supervising 500+ employees, first entered Lazo’s orbit as nanny to her daughters; Lazo paid for her professional training so she could rise through the ranks.
Family Life
Family has always doubled as support system and inspiration. Lazo credits her late father—“my original venture capitalist,” she says—for instilling a sense of generosity and long‑term thinking; she honors him each Father’s Day with a social‑media post sharing the values he taught her. Her mother, meanwhile, still tests new cake flavors and offers candid feedback. Lazo and her two daughters, Inés and María José, bond over travel and entrepreneurship workshops; when the girls were small, they handed out cookie samples on sidewalks to attract early customers, a tradition the trio recalls with laughter. Extended relatives help run several bakery branches, underscoring her belief that business and kin can coexist when trust and clear roles are in place.
Associated With
Within Shark Tank México, Lazo sits alongside fellow sharks such as Marcus Dantus, Rodrigo Herrera, and Ana Victoria García, often teaming up with them on co‑investments that merge tech with consumer products. Off camera she serves on boards for ITESO University, Coparmex Jalisco, and Banco Banorte‑IXE, giving her a platform to advocate for ethical leadership and inclusive hiring. Her philanthropic circle extends to Hospicio Cabañas and Jalisco Incluye, where she funds vocational pastry programs for young adults with disabilities. Through Fundación Marisa she also partners with food‑rescue nonprofits to redirect surplus cakes to local shelters, turning unsold inventory into community smiles.
