You were just hearing from Laura Moreno Lucas, a Latina entrepreneur, about the purpose behind her latest initiative Libra Leaders (https://libraleaders.com/). It’s a new platform with a collective $1.2B in investment capital setting out to help founders “scale the capital ladder,” by providing access to a network of influential women at every level of the capital markets, growth opportunities, and the big unlock for the Latino cohort: capital. Her founding team including Carolina Bradili and Anastasia Martinez sets out to build a wholistic ecosystem to uplift the next generation of unicorns ..read more

Welcome to the 2024 season of Moneda Moves mi gente. This year, we are speaking with leaders in the Latino entrepreneurship ecosystem who are paving the way.  And among them is Rocio van Nierop is Co-Founder and Executive Director of Latinas in Tech. For more than 15 years, she has been working in the tech industry and is and advocating for Latinx diversity and inclusion. Today, Latinas in Tech consists of almost 30,000 women working at more than 100 of the top technology companies worldwide. As We All Grow cites, she now works with lawmakers at the city, state, and federal levels to he ..read more

On the final episode of Moneda Moves for 2023, we are speaking with Isabel Casillas Guzman, the 27th Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration.  "Everyone is trying to figure out how to target the Latino market," she says. "(Latinos) have an advantage in knowing what the needs and the wants are of this community at scale." When it comes to speaking about accessing the Latino purchasing power, she’s absolutely right. Most want a piece Latino market, and it’s a matter of how they can get to it. It’s the $3.4 trillion question — that’s our purchasing power, according to the&nbs ..read more

Today we speak with Hector Saldivar, Founder and CEO of Tia Lupita Foods, a better for you, healthy Mexican-inspired food brand that uses clean and simple ingredients in all their products. His journey started with his mom’s salsa recipe, which he wanted to package to share with the world. Tia Lupita Foods has expanded beyond salsas and is in the business of selling tortillas, grain-free chips and much more. A little more about Hector’s unique journey: Hector moved to the USA in 2005 as a territory sales manager for a Mexican startup and moved up the ranks through the years working at companie ..read more

Pinole Blue started out of a dorm room while Eddie Sandoval was studying business at Wichita State University. His family is from Chihuahua, Mexico. Growing up, he would take trips twice a year to visit and bring home pinole, a multiuse, nutrient-dense mixture of roasted ground maize savored by his family for generations. He realized his family wasn’t the only one that missed having easy access to pinole but even American endurance athletes. Pinole is popular among the Tarahumara tribe of Chihuahua, who would drink it for energy before running long distances and have gained a spotlight for win ..read more

Keith Alaniz is in the business of doing good and doing well. He is one of the founders and CEO of Rumi Spice, a social enterprise that promotes peace in Afghanistan by connecting farmers with markets and empowering Afghan women. Keith’s military service in Afghanistan inspired him to start Rumi Spice in 2014, which has since become an award-winning company known for its high quality spices and its commitment to fostering peace through business. In addition to his military service, Keith has an impressive educational background. He received his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from ..read more

From being inexperienced to making yourself capable. I love the snippet from Regina Trillo, Founder and CEO, Nemi Snacks. Nemi Snacks are crunchy sticks made from seeds and nopales (a.k.a. prickly pear cactus) in Mexican-inspired flavors like Mexican Lime, Smoky Chipotle, Chile Turmeric and Churro. Originally from Mexico City and now based in Chicago, Regina felt unrepresented the moment she stepped foot in Chicago grocery stores. Regina found well-established brands portraying Mexican cultura in a stereotypical way, brands that were unlikely to upgrade their ingredient list an ..read more

Welcome back to another season of Moneda Moves mi gente. This season we are talking about food: It makes the world go round. Some might say food is everything we are: An extension of our regions, our tribes, to paraphrase the late chef and journalist Anthony Bourdain. But it’s also an interesting business opportunity. Last year, venture capitalists invested more than $20 billion in this space even after economic conditions had tightened. And as we know on this podcast, Latinos (alongside people of color) are among the biggest creators of business in this country. Throughout this season, Mone ..read more

It’s the last episode of the first season of 2023 and I couldn’t think of a better topic to close this season about multi-hyphenates than with an episode on storytelling. If you’ve listened to this podcast before, you know I’ve spoken about this: The power of storytelling. It has the power to shape reality, attract and grow our businesses. Today, we are speaking with an expert in the industry on the PR side: that’s Karina Martinez, founder of The Avana House. It’s a public relations and storytelling agency founded to reshape media narratives through storytelling. In 2018, Martinez opened the ..read more

For Rachel Basoco, community building has opened doors to a wide range of industries from lifestyle, to entrepreneurship, and as of late the world of finance and of Paris Hilton. In a world where building trust is priceless for public figures and companies alike, it pays to have an engaged community when platforms have established a relationship with them. It’s Basoco’s job to help build that through community. Today, she is a multi-hyphenate at her core as Director of Digital Communities Advancement and Growth at Fidelity Investments, Web3 Community Manager at Paris Hilton’s company 11:11 Me ..read more