Connecting

Entrepreneurs, Event Planners, Dancers

Roberto Moreno and Elisse Heine met in 2006 at a salsa dancing class. He claims it was his impressive dancing skills that attracted Elisse, but she says it was otherwise.

“We were both taking a class and then we started hanging out,” Roberto explained. “It wasn’t long before we were dating, and next thing you know we were partners and actually traveled to places like Puerto Rico… and Miami to compete and perform. It wasn’t a year later when we were doing business together.”

Roberto moved to Edmonton at the age of 13. As he approached adulthood, he realized that his life in Canada was much different than the one he led in Mexico.

“I came from Mexico City and, in Mexico, the culture is very friendly. There’s always events and activities, you are always meeting interesting people. Then, coming to Edmonton, living half of my life here, I just kind of thought, ‘Well, where do you meet people?’ I don’t want go to the bars… I don’t want to go to the lounges. I’m a professional… How do I meet the movers and shakers of the city?”

On the other end of the spectrum, Elisse was a born entrepreneur. At the age of 12, she started her own little summer business.

“Every weekend I would set up a table outside my family’s lake house and sell beach balls and other toys. It was silly, but it was my first taste of entrepreneurship.”

In September 2008, the couple launched Divertido: Urban Jaunt which is intended to change the way young career professionals socialize.

“We’re really not trying to create networking events. We’re trying to create events where people can actually make social connections, within the professional and business world,” Elisse explained. “We love laid back environments so that everyone is comfortable and can just enjoy themselves.”

Divertido—“fun” in Spanish— hosts events every six weeks, September through June. With themes from pop art night to Chinese New Year to a casino complete with burlesque dancers, Roberto and Elisse transform the atmosphere of retail spaces—trendy locations like 29 Armstrong, Ginger Clothing and Apparel, and the Eye Care Group in the Birks Building.

While both enjoy simply meeting people, Elisse especially likes “creating an experience and seeing peoples’ reactions when they come in.”

Roberto and Elisse have kept advertising for Divertido to a minimum, which allows them to maintain the intimate feel that they desire at their events. They do engage in a cross-promotional relationship with Edmontonians magazine: Last September, they also began hosting a website called sizzlinginedmonton.com, built around the profiles and activities of several years of the individuals featured in the Sizzling Twenty under 30 issues.

“We saw it as an exciting opportunity to develop and create an on-line medium that showcased local entrepreneurs, with a primary focus on the Sizzlers,” says Roberto. “It’s a way to promote the concept and the spirit of what being a Sizzler means.”

Besides planning events of their own, Roberto and Elisse are also breaking into the party planning world, helping small- to medium-sized companies that “want to do something other than take their employees to a bowling alley or bar for the annual Christmas party.”

The past year has been exciting and challenging, particularly when both were holding down full-time jobs. Elisse is the managing director of Redman Technologies Inc., a growing Internet company that develops on-line applications and designs websites for the real estate industry. The 25-year old holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in science, technology and society from the University of Alberta. Until a couple of months ago, Roberto was a technology/security consultant with EPCOR. He earned a diploma in computer systems security from NAIT. At 27 years of age, he is now devoting his energies to growing Divertido and their other ventures.

Roberto and Elisse have so many ideas that they don’t quite know what to do with them. Given that they are innovative and risk-taking in their business ventures, running a variety of companies is highly probable.

“We figured if we could dance together, we could do anything together.”

- Written by Lauren Henrie, Edmontonians Sept 2009