Today's Must-Reads For Entrepreneurs

Hispanic consumers are staying home: "Apparel and accessories have also been hurt, according to NPD data through March. Food and small appliances, though, haven’t been affected, Cohen said. The decline in purchases among Hispanics comes as U.S. consumer spending overall has increased amid rising confidence, low unemployment and wage gains. Sneakers are taking a hit with purchases by Hispanics declining at a high-teen percentage this year, according to Matt Powell, also an analyst at NPD. 

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Emerging Lending Marketplace Focused on Underbanked Hispanic Businesses Raises $750,000 in Seed Capital

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Camino Financial is an online lending marketplace primarily focused on deploying capital to the largest and fastest growing underbanked business segment in the U.S., Hispanic-owned businesses.  With the emergence of many new online lenders and credit marketplaces, Camino Financial expects to carve a sizeable niche in online business lending.  Recently published research by Geoscape estimates that 4.1 million U.S. based businesses are owned by Hispanics.  Based on this research, Hispanic-owned businesses grew 15x faster in 2012-15E compared to all U.S. firms.  Despite their size and growth profile, Hispanic-owned businesses struggle to get access to bank loans with approximately 6% of SBA 7(a)1 loans deployed to Hispanics in the last year (source: www.SBA.gov).

Camino Financial was co-founded by twin brothers, Sean and Kenny Salas, while completing their MBAs at Harvard Business School.  The Salas brothers were born from an entrepreneurial family.  The matriarch of the Salas family started a small Mexican restaurant and over the life of her career, opened over 30 locations in southern California.  Unfortunately, at the age of 12, Sean and Kenny saw the fall of the Mexican restaurant chain, a life changing event.  Drawing inspiration from their mother's story, the Salas brothers were determined to create a lending platform catered to solving unique problems facing the Hispanic business community.

"The Hispanic business owner has unique problems accessing capital, stemming from areas as deep as language, culture, and education," said Sean Salas, CEO.  "Lending to the Hispanic market is not as simple as translating your website to Spanish.  Our client is seeking an integrated customer experience that requires a tailored design across the business spectrum in brand, product, positioning, and customer service."

The Company is backed by institutional and angel investors including Collaborative Fund, all of whom offer deep expertise in online lending, commercial banking, and Hispanic marketing.  In particular, Collaborative Fund has significant domain expertise in the online lending space with investments in Bond Street, UpStart and InVenture.

With seed funding in place, Camino Financial will ramp-up its marketing efforts and build out its tech infrastructure for scalable growth.

"We are excited to grow our team and invest in infrastructure to seal partnerships that will enable us to build trust and help our community," said Kenny Salas, Co-Founder and VP of Operations & Finance.

Camino Financial also stands out as it joins the tiny minority (less than 1%) of venture-backed start-ups that are founded by Hispanics (source: CB Insights).

Sean states: "We have a dual sense of responsibility to Hispanics and other under-represented minorities aspiring to break the glass ceiling to access venture and bank capital.  We must validate that making a concentrated bet on Hispanic entrepreneurs and business owners is trend-setting bet that will generate above market returns.  Through Camino Financial, we plan to build momentum for re-investment in under-represented communities, including the Hispanic community.  And encourage these ventures be led by minority and women talent.  The potential is there, we just need to unlock it."

To learn more about Camino Financial visit www.caminofinancial.com.

About Camino Financial
Camino Financial is a credit marketplace matching small businesses with the most affordable funding option offered by its network of reputable lenders.  The Company specializes in originating loans for first-time business borrowers who cannot get a loan from a bank, and provides ongoing credit monitoring and advice to ensure clients improve their business credit in an effort to qualify for a bank loan.

Now Open: 2016 Echoing Green Fellowship Application

The 2016 Echoing Green Fellowship application is now open! Echoing Green is accepting applications for our 2016 class of Fellows until November 17, 2015 at 2:00 pm ET. We’re looking for emerging leaders, driven by a strong sense of purpose, who are ready to challenge the status-quo as they tackle issues facing their communities across the globe. We’ve pulled together some sample language you can use to share this opportunity among your network: Twitter .@echoinggreen is seeking the world's most promising #socent! Apply for a 2016 Fellowship: http://www.echoinggreen.org/fellowship/apply Are you a #socent making #bigboldchange? @echoinggreen's 2016 Fellowship application is open! Details: http://www.echoinggreen.org/fellowship/apply Calling all #socent! Apply to @echoinggreen's 2016 #Global #Climate #BMA #Fellowship by 11/17! Details: www.echoinggreen.org/fellowship/apply .@echoinggreen is granting $90K to launch your idea to solve the world’s biggest problems. www.echoinggreen.org/apply #EGFellows #socent Facebook/LinkedIn Could you use up to $90,000 to launch your innovative idea, and change the world? @Echoing Green[https://www.facebook.com/echoinggreen]’s Fellowship Programs invest in next generation leaders working to solve the world’s biggest problems with up to $90,000 and individualized support to launch your enterprise. Apply by Nov. 17: www.echoinggreen.org/apply Helpful Links Apply Selection Criteria & Eligibility Application Timeline Fellowship FAQs

The next Silicon Valley is Latin America, says Gartner

Latin America is bound to make the most noise in innovation and digital business, according to IT research company Gartner.

"We are living the Latin America moment," said VP of research Patrick Meehan during the Gartner CIO & IT Executive Latin America Summit in Mexico City. He added that "no other region in the world" offers the same capacity to become the next IT world hub.

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Latino Small Business Owners Faced Challenges and Opportunities in Securing Funding

NEW YORK (September 10, 2015) – Today Biz2Credit, the leading online platform for small business funding, released a study showing that Latino small business loan applications grew 18 percent, however, Latino business owners lag behind in the necessary factors needed to secure financing such as annual revenue, credit scores, age of business and operating expenses.

The study found that the average annual revenue for Latino-owned businesses was $68,540, trailing slightly behind the average annual revenue of $70,641 for non-Latino-owned businesses (though an improvement from the previous year). Average operating expenses were also significantly lower at $18,334, contrasted with $24,857 for non-Latino businesses. The average age of Latino businesses was younger at 22 months vs. 25 months for non-Latino businesses. Meanwhile, the average credit score for Latino-owned businesses applying for loans was 603, compared to 614 for all others.

“This year's study was interesting because we found that Latino businesses made gains in number of loan applications and certain industries saw higher growth, however, they still need to catch up to non-Latino businesses in many areas,” said Rohit Arora, chief executive officer, Biz2Credit. “It’s an exciting time because Latinos are one of the fastest growing populations in the U.S. with 43 percent growth since 2007. We believe that this population will soon be on par or surpass non-Latino businesses.” 
 
The Top 5 states for Latino-owned small business loan applications were: Texas (16.4%), California and Florida tied at (15.7%), New York (9.1%) and – for the first time – Georgia (3.0%). All five states represented 60% of the loan requests made by Latinos in the past year.

The top industries that grew the most in the past year were: Services (30.5%), which grew 5%; followed by Transportation and Warehousing (8.8%), which grew 3%.

For more information on the study and to view the infographic, please click here. 

About the Biz2Credit Latino Small Business Credit Study
Biz2Credit analyzed the financial performance of more than 1,000 Latino-owned businesses with less than 250 employees and less than $10 million in annual revenues from across the country that have been in operation for more than 1 year, as well as startups.

About Biz2Credit
Founded in 2007, Biz2Credit has arranged more than $1.2 billion in small business financing and is widely recognized as the #1 online credit resource for startup loans, lines of credit, equipment loans, working capital and other funding options in the U.S. Using the latest technology, Biz2Credit matches borrowers to financial institutions based on each company's unique profile -- completed in less than four minutes -- in a safe, efficient, price-transparent environment. Visit www.biz2credit.com, follow on Twitter @Biz2Credit, and join on Facebook at www.facebook.com/biz2credit. See infographic here 

Sandra Diaz > www.diazandco.com

Sandra Diaz, Owner, Diaz & Co.

What do you need to be an entrepreneur?
Perseverance, curiosity, adaptability and ability to motivate others.

What inspired you to start your business?
People kept contacting me to advise them on developing a roadmap to market their products and services to U.S. Hispanics.

How did you finance it?
So far, from organic growth.

Does being Hispanic/Latina have any influence on your business?
It allows me to bring a personal point of view to client challenges in addition to the professional knowledge, which builds credibility.

In the face of adversity, how do you decide to drive ahead?
Prayer, engaging coaches and sharing with trusted peers to uncover new ways to tackle the issues.

What is the biggest challenge your business has faced?
Time management, especially trying to decide between good and best opportunities.

If you could change one thing about your business. What would it be?
I would like to have a partner.

What was your childhood ambition?
In grade school, to be an Astronomer. In high school, to be a Fashion Designer. My parents were scientists and my mom also owned several fashion and textile businesses.

Tell us about three entrepreneurs that you admire.
My mom, for her perseverance and leadership.
The late Tere Zubizarreta, for pioneering the Hispanic/ multicultural marketing industry as a woman in the 70s.
Carlos Santiago from Santiago Solutions Group, for his analytical approach to driving growth from cultural and generational segments.

For business meetings, which do you prefer: breakfast, lunch, or dinner?
Whatever works best with my commute schedule so that I do not have down time in between meetings.

What sacrifices in your personal life did you have to make in order to become successful in your business?
Moving from an apartment in Manhattan to a room in somebody else’s house in Brooklyn for four years to save on rent.

What is your favorite quote?
“I have had a lot of very expensive learning experiences, but I’ve never let them stop me from getting up in the morning and trying again.” Larry Levy, Co-Founder, Levy Restaurants; Chairman and CEO, The Levy Organization.

Is it difficult to be unconventional?
Not usually, but sometimes it feels lonely

Biggest mistake made?
Letting the tight timeline of a potential client dictate my way of communicating or doing business. And not giving people feedback before I decide to stop working with them.

Do you consider yourself an innovator? Why?
Yes because I like to find ways to challenge the status-quo and am always learning new things.

About Diaz & Co. 
Diaz & Co. is a boutique strategy consulting firm that equips brands and retailers to grow business and reduce inefficiencies by catering to U.S. Hispanics while meeting the needs of mainstream shoppers at the same time. Our strategic solutions and training enable companies to maximize the Hispanic appeal of their mainstream initiatives while identifying if and how they should pursue Hispanic-specific strategies to address any offering, messaging and/or media gaps.

Spain-US Start-up Competition

For more information, click here

43 lessons growing from $0 to $1+ million in revenue, twice

I realized the other day that we’ve grown from $0 to $1 million with two separate products (HelloSign and HelloFax). This happened a long time ago, but I was recently reflecting on the lessons.

I found a lot of growth truisms to be false. We’ve learned a lot. Some lessons were painfully won, which is why I may sound strongly opinionated about them. They also may be slanted towards B2B products, but I wouldn’t discount them if you’re not in that space.

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BCC to target Hispanic businesses with accelerator

Hispanic entrepreneurs could soon reap the benefits of a program in the Meadowlands specifically aimed at helping Latino startups.

Bergen Community College has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey to develop a start-up assistance program, or business accelerator, that both organizations believe would be the first in New Jersey aimed specifically at Latinos.

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Jersey City holds Hispanic Entrepreneur and Small Business Conference

Jersey City held its first Hispanic Entrepreneur and Small Business Conference at City Hall on Wednesday to offer services to those trying to start, grow or expand Jersey City small businesses.

Attendees heard from a number speakers and officials, including Carlos Medina, president of the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey; Maria Nieves, president and CEO of the Hudson County Chamber of Commerce; and Chris Murphy, manager of Statewide Strategic Initiatives for the New Jersey Department of Labor.

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What it’s like to be a Latino entrepreneur in Silicon Valley

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Alex Murillo leans forward in his seat, sipping coffee from a shot glass and waving his hands as he talks. He points to the screen of his MacBook Pro, explaining the genius behind Audive, the mobile application he is developing that allows users to record cover songs and mix tracks with music enthusiasts around the world.

“This is the secret sauce,” says Murillo, hitting a key on his computer that fills the air with the sound of a man singing in Italian. “You can bring in vocals from a guy in Italy or you can bring in the flamenco guitar from Spain.”

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Hispanic expo to focus on entrepreneurs

A 28-year-old artist and entrepreneur, Rene Soto characterizes his ventures as young, small and gaining in recognition. His wedding and events publication, Glamorous Magazine, is bilingual and less than a year old. Rene Soto Art & Photography is less than two years old.

In his small office on Stamford's Main Street, Soto says Hispanic businesses often fly under the radar, and he's hoping for a boost from the upcoming fifth annual Business Expo, sponsored by the Greater Stamford Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

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Laura Perez > www.bylaurapr.com

Laura Perez, Founder, By Laura PR 

Being Hispanic…Does it have any influence on your business?
Yes, it does influence my business. It sets me apart from many fashion publicists. Due to the fact that I'm a Mexican American fashion publicist, I'm bilingual, I'm fluent in both English and Spanish, nothing will be lost in translation when communicating with mainstream media in the U.S., Hispanic media and the media in Mexico.

In the face of adversity, how do you decide to keep going?
Of course having a business is difficult, but I work hard everyday to provide a unique service to my clients. I've always visualized myself being a business owner and now that I am one, I continue being persistent and consistent to reach my goals as a business owner and as a publicist.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced?
I'm sure just like any other PR agency, I also struggle to find great clients to collaborate with.

If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be?
I wouldn't change anything because the challenges and the success I've had so far, have gotten me to where I am today.

What was your childhood ambition?
My childhood ambition was to encourage others to follow their dreams, I thought about being a teacher. This childhood ambition translated to wanting to be apart of the fashion PR industry and assist brands obtain exposure and achieve their goals.

Tell us about three people that you admire?
My adoring twin sister Lourdes, founder of My Coordinates My Compass, she always finds humor in the most difficult situations and encourages me to keep going. 
Crosby Noricks, founder of PR Couture. Crosby has been there since the beginning of my career, she has given me many opportunities to grow as a publicist. 
Jennifer Berson, founder and owner of Jeneration PR. Jen has been the most amazing mentor, she has been extremely supportive and encouraging, I have truly learned a lot about the industry because of her!

For meetings: breakfast, lunch, or dinner?
Lunch, because it not too early, not too late and you can really carry on a conversation.

What sacrifices on your personal life did you have to make in order to become a business success?
Having to go from having a full time job with a steady income, to taking the leap to the unknown. In the end, it was worth taking the leap, because if you never try, you will never know.

What is your favorite quote?
"She was unstoppable, not because she did not have failures or doubts, but because she continued on despite them." -Beau Taplin 

Is it difficult to be unconventional?
Somewhat, being that my agency is Hispanic, digital and focused on fashion. It seems as if potential clients question how I can possibly complete my work and obtain results due to not being located in a big city and all my work is completed online.

Biggest mistake made?
Not taking the leap to start my own agency sooner.

Do you consider yourself an innovator? Why?
Yes, I consider myself an innovator. I've always considered myself a leader, not a follower. I knew I wanted to have my own business and once I was drawn into the fashion PR industry, I knew I wanted to provide a service unlike any other. I wanted to use my Hispanic background to set me apart from my competition, and I wanted to provide my PR services to both national and international brands, being digital allows me to travel and work remotely at a moments notice.

About the Company:
By Laura PR is a Hispanic digital PR agency. We specialize in the growth of Fashion, Accessories and Jewelry brands. Being a digital agency means, "Instant PR at your fingertips."

Website: bylaurapr.com

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/bylaurapr

Twitter: twitter.com/bylaurapr

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bylaurapr

Instagram: instagram.com/bylaurapr

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/bylaurapr/

Baton Rouge among America’s best cities for Hispanic entrepreneurs

Data collected by researchers at WalletHub, a website that helps small business owners make financial decisions and save money, shows there is a growing demand for Hispanic-owned businesses in the U.S.

According to WalletHub, Hispanic-owned businesses contributed approximately $486 billion to U.S. revenue in 2013.
As of this year, Baton Rouge is the ninth-best place in the country for Hispanic entrepreneurs to make a living, according to WalletHub.

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Rosie García >www.IconMediaAgency.com.

Rosie García, CEO & Founder, Icon Media Agency

What do you need to be an entrepreneur?
Loyalty, Respect, Dedication and Love.

What inspired you to start your business?
The ability to be as creative and flexible to meet the needs of my clients with no rules or regulations or politics.

How did you finance it?
Through independent contracts with individually chosen clientele.

Does being Hispanic/Latina have any influence on your business?
Yes. Being an experienced Latina in the industry grabs the attention of mainstream clients that want to target the Hispanic market as well as the existing participants that want to expand to the Latino market.

In the face of adversity, how do you decide to drive ahead?
I'm very observant.  I stay open minded and work with the wisdom and knowledge I've been blessed with everyday.

What is the biggest challenge your business has faced?
The biggest challenge is knowing how to reveal at first sight the receivers versus the believers.

If you could change one thing about your business. What would it be?
I don't know.

What was your childhood ambition?
To show the world the value of humbleness and the passion of the ambition of fulfilling a dream.

Tell us about three entrepreneurs that you admire.
Sofia Vergara, Oprah, and Jennifer Lopez

For business meetings, which do you prefer: breakfast, lunch, or dinner?
Lunch. It's brief and right to the point.

What sacrifices in your personal life did you have to make in order to become successful in your business?
I haven't been able to have a personal relationship.

What is your favorite quote?
Neo: What are you trying to tell me? That I can dodge bullets?
Morpheus: No, Neo. I’m trying to tell you that when you’re ready, you won’t have to.

Is it difficult to be unconventional?
No as long as you remain focus on your goal based on your own experience and instinct. It's always good to have the two mentors in two different divisions of your field of business, in my case the accountant and the creative. Not more then two. 

Biggest mistake made?
Not starting my own company sooner.

Do you consider yourself an innovator? Why?
Yes. Because I believe in the impossible. 

About the Company: 
Icon Media Agency caters to celebrity talent bookings on major TV networks and nationally syndicated radio segments. "The Luis Jimenez Show", Univision, Telemundo, Viacom, SBS, Music Choice etc. We hold the key to developing and cultivating the careers within the mainstream, Latin and Urban artists. Specializing in consistently generating a diverse fan base via social media, TV, radio and print promotion. From the management of press junkets for concerts, conferences and client events to implementing strategic market tactics to engage clients through exposure of cultural diversity. Icon Media Agency is the voice for todays entrepreneurs and tomorrows entertainers.

Eddie Rodriguez >www.latinworksmusic.com

Eddie Rodriguez, CEO, Latin Works Music

What do you need to be an entrepreneur?
Faith in God, passion, stick to it, preparation, a plan, contacts, opportunity and patience.

What inspired you to start your business?
I was working full time as VP Sales for Reed MIDEM involved in a new event called MIDEM Latin America & Caribbean. It is a Latin Music Industry Trade Show & Conference held at the Miami Beach Convention Center 1997, 1998 and the last event MIDEM Americas in 1999.  Since my position was eliminated due to budget cuts plus MIDEM decided to organize only one music industry trade show per year in Cannes, France at Le Palais du Festival as they have for the last 50 years I was on my way to being out of a job. A mentor, the late Jack Hooke (Tito’s manager with the late Ralph Mercado) passed away and I called Tito to express my condolences. He thanked me and asked if I was available to work for him. My answer was when did he want me to start and he said right away. I spoke to Ralph Mercado and Latin Work Music was contracted to manage the King of Latin Music The late Tito Puente.

Does being Hispanic/Latino have any influence on your business?
Yes, since being a bi-lingual Latino working as an entertainment marketing professional, I understand the diversity of the US Hispanic consumer being Hispanic has been key to my success with projects.

In the face of adversity, how do you decide to drive ahead?
Faith in God and keeping the momentum going on a project until it is completed or you come to the end of the road with it. Then I look to my right and start a new road on a project that inspires me.

What is the biggest challenge your business has faced?
Staying relevant with the fast paced evolution of the music industry globally in the last 15 years especially in the distribution of digital content, live concert streaming rights, downsizing of multinational recording companies and the continued growth of the smart phone / tablets / smart TV sectors.
.
If you could change one thing about your business. What would it be?
I would have more trade shows and conferences in New York, Miami and Los Angeles where the next generation of Latin music industry leaders can rendezvous annually to learn about the present and future state of affairs of the business.

What was your childhood ambition?
To be a doctor until I learned that studying chemistry and biology were too boring for me.

Tell us about three entrepreneurs that you admire.
Sir Richard Branson, Mark Zuckerberg, Jimmy Iovine.

For business meetings, which do you prefer: breakfast, lunch, or dinner?
All three work well for business meetings for me.  However, I must be disciplined about nutrition and diet.

What sacrifices in your personal life did you have to make in order to become successful in your business?
Traveling alone up to 70% of the year for out of town business meetings, concert tours, trade shows, conferences and conventions. You miss special occasions with family and friends.

What is your favorite quote?
Let The Games begin.

Is it difficult to be unconventional?
Yes. It is difficult to find investors that have faith in the future of the music Industry. What generates revenues today is digital audio / video streaming (paid subscriptions) concert tours and music publishing. Being unconventional means thinking out of the box to be successful.

Biggest mistake made?
Wow, the biggest mistake was taking a break from the concert promotions business to focus on educating myself in the digital and technology side of the music Industry for the last 5 years. However I’m back with new ways to monetize content to generate revenues for investors and return on investment to our clients via traditional and new media outlets.

Do you consider yourself an innovator? Why?
I was involved in a anti-piracy software and digital download technology companies early on and have promoted recorded digital music and video distribution via mobile since before the iPod and smart phones.

About the Company
Latin Works Music is a 100% minority owned Latin music concert organizer, marketing and promotions company. We produce events in venues such as Madison Square Garden NY, The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles and nightclubs throughout the USA. We are experts in activations of experiential consumer engagement and experts in gathering data at live events to increase data base for brands messaging to the $1.2 Trillion dollar in annual spending (2013) US Hispanic consumer (population 56 M). 

Study: Albuquerque 31st for Hispanic entrepreneurs

A new report released by financial information site WalletHub ranked Albuquerque at no. 31 in the U.S. for Hispanic entrepreneurs. Rankings were based on each city’s Hispanic purchasing power (we’re number 26) and business friendliness (a less-exciting 71). 

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40 Top Latinos in American Media

This has been a really great year for Latino talent in American media. But before we get into the details of a year in Latino media excellence, I want to first share how this list comes together every year.

Methodology 
Like most media events in digital times this list of top latino talent begins on Twitter. Friends, fans, family, and especially colleagues of excellent Latinos in media recommend them to @vato, me. I add all of the recommended Twitter handles to a private Twitter List that I build and monitor throughout the year in Tweetdeck.  I have created a Collection in Tweetdeck for storing specific top Latino tweets for embedding  throughout next year's list, just as I have Alberto Ciurana's mighty tweet below.

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