Mavagi marks 25 years under founder Raul Tintori

Raul Tintori’s San Antonio company is celebrating 25 years after starting in 2001 with a mission centered on people, not just profit. Mavagi now employs more than 200 people across Texas, Georgia and Florida, highlighting how the business grew from a family-rooted idea into a multistate employer.

Why it matters: - Mavagi’s 25-year milestone shows a rare longevity for a new business, with the company still operating after the time when many startups fail. - The company’s model centers on job skills training, a compassionate culture and employment opportunities for disabled veterans and others with different abilities. - Raul Tintori built the business around the idea that workers should feel valued and seen, not only measured by profit.

What happened: - Raul Tintori founded Mavagi in San Antonio in 2001 after leaving a secure job. - The company is named from the first letters of Tintori’s wife Maria, daughter Vanessa and son Giovanni. - Mavagi is marking 25 years this Hispanic Heritage Month. - The company now employs more than 200 people across Texas, Georgia and Florida. - Tintori grew up in a family that left Chihuahua, Mexico, for Chicago when he was 10 years old. - He did not speak English at the time. - He walked more than 20 blocks to school through Chicago winters while his parents worked factory jobs. - At 11, he began working at a convenience store and used his earnings to help support his family.

The details: - Tintori says the values that shaped him included a strong work ethic, loyalty and the influence of an abuelito who treated him like a son. - Mavagi was built to be a workplace people would want to come to and where employees would feel respected. - The company’s growth spans Texas, Georgia and Florida. - Mavagi describes its mission as providing job skills training, a compassionate culture and employment opportunities for disabled veterans and others with different abilities. - The business is headquartered in San Antonio.

Between the lines: - Tintori’s story fits a broader immigrant-to-entrepreneur narrative common in Hispanic Heritage Month coverage, but the company’s longevity gives it added weight. - His message is a direct counterpoint to workplaces that prioritize money over employee well-being. - The family identity behind Mavagi suggests the company’s culture was built as much from personal history as from business strategy.

What’s next: - Mavagi’s next test is sustaining its culture and mission as it grows across multiple states. - The company’s hiring and training focus suggests continued emphasis on expanding opportunities for workers with different abilities and veterans.

The bottom line: - Mavagi’s 25 years point to a business that has lasted by treating people as the product, not just the payroll.