Alicia Lasaga knew from a young age that she wanted to change the world. But it wasn’t until a summer experience working with children with autism that she would begin to chart the course of her career. In the process, she has created a groundbreaking company that is poised to change the lives of children around the world.
Autism World Wide
As the founder of Autism Worldwide, Alicia is making it possible for every person with autism to reach their full potential within an accepting community. Her growing global team is bringing autism awareness and acceptance to the world – fulfilling their mission to “make services become autism friendly, to become a strong autism advocate, and for the world to become a friendlier place to people with autism.”
After working with children with autism at a summer camp, Alicia began working at a company that provided services to people with autism – but after they unexpectedly closed their doors, Alicia found herself at a critical moment in her early career: She could either find another position within an existing organization or launch her own program.
“I was working for a company that announced on New Year’s Eve that they were closing their doors on January 2nd, and that nobody would have a job and the children would no longer have services,” Alicia recalls. “So, I took my savings and everything I earned as a camp counselor in college, and I opened my own company.”
Although it was her first company, Alicia leaned on lessons learned from her parents – her mother owned a wedding planning business and her father worked for Pepsi – and her own unwavering commitment and drive. In the four years since launching Autism Worldwide, Alicia has guided the company to incredible new heights.
“In terms of revenue, we have doubled every year for the past four years,” Alicia says.
Not only does Autism Worldwide continue to exceed revenue expectations, but their team continues to expand as well. For Alicia, this is a critical aspect of her company’s mission. Each child in the program is paired 1:1 with a professional therapist from the Autism Worldwide staff. With many children currently on their waiting list, one of AW’s greatest challenges is hiring exceptional team members to fulfill the vision to become a global provider for autism support.
What began as a single office has grown to include several offices, dozens of therapists, and their first international client – a student in South Africa. As the organization continues its rapid climb to becoming the go-to resource for autism support throughout the United States and around the world, Alicia is learning new lessons each day.
“We have to hire a lot of people very quickly, and with that comes managing people, which I think has been the biggest learning curve,” Alicia says.
To ensure that her company grows without losing sight of its core mission, Alicia and her team created a set of values that she now uses to evaluate every potential hire.
“When I am hiring, I look for people who embody our values,” Alicia says. “I can train you to provide the specific therapy that we offer, but I can’t train you to keep our values as a priority.”
As a female founder, Alicia continues to blaze a trail for not only other female business owners but within the autism therapy space. Autism Worldwide is quickly becoming industry leaders with their innovative approach and proven methods. And if you ask Alicia, they are just getting started.
“I have always been a big vision person, and very driven,” Alicia says. “So, I knew that I wasn’t going to keep this a small thing. If I was going to do this, I was going big. And we are doing something that nobody has done before.”
To learn more about Alicia Lasaga’s groundbreaking work with Autism Worldwide, visit www.autismworldwide.us.com or connect with Alicia on LinkedIn.
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