Episodes
When Martin Cabrera’s high school teacher asked Martin what the difference between a stock and a bond was, Martin proudly raised his hand and explained that a bond something between a man and a woman. He would later learn the definition his high school economics teacher was looking for and use it to launch Cabrera Capital Markets, one of the biggest Hispanic-owned financial firms in the country.
Published 11/05/24
Annie Leal decided to make I Love Chamoy, a sugar-free version of the popular Mexican candy sauce that her dad could eat. What started as a passion project is now a full-fledged business that generated $4 million in sales in 2023.
Published 10/22/24
They’re been called the fastest-growing Hispanic food brand in the United States, but it wasn’t always that way.
Published 10/09/24
You’ve seen the headlines. "All-star third baseman Jose Ramirez agrees to 5-year, $124M extension with Cleveland." Behind those deals is a lesser known negotiator trying to craft the best possible deal for a baseball player: the agent. Rafa Nieves is one of them, founding sports agency Republik Sports in 2020. His agency is responsible for that headline you read seconds ago and represents players like Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez and the Yankees’ Luis Gil. Rafa joins Bísness School to...
Published 09/24/24
When Julissa Prado was a child, she spent several summers with her grandmother in Mexico — where she learned how to mix natural ingredients, such as lemon, sugar and aloe vera to prepare homemade remedies. She realized she could use other similar ingredients for something she had long struggled with: her curly hair. Frustrated with the lack of products in the United States to reduce frizz and provide long lasting hold for textured hair, Julissa, with the help of her brother Tony, wanted to...
Published 09/10/24
Bísness School is coming back for another season! Hear from the Latino entrepreneurs behind companies like Rizos Curls, Siete Foods and I Love Chamoy. New episodes start Sept. 10.
Published 08/27/24
What do music mogul Emilio Estefan, filmmaker Robert Rodriguez and Oscar Muñoz, the first Latino CEO of United Airlines, have in common? They’ve all done business with Gary Acosta, a man who Hispanic Business Magazine has named as one of 100 most influential Hispanics in the United States. Gary Acosta has been on a 20-plus year mission to increase Hispanic homeownership. In 2001, he co-founded the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals or NAHREP. Today, NAHREP is one of...
Published 06/25/24
When companies like Honda want to launch a new pickup truck, and they want that vehicle to do well with Hispanic consumers, they don’t just go with their gut feeling to figure out what that consumer wants. Instead, they hire a market research firm to tell them what that consumer wants. Yet 20 years ago, market research firms couldn’t really tell you. They could tell you what general American consumers wanted, but not Hispanic Americans wanted. Mario Carrasco built the largest online Hispanic...
Published 06/11/24
When you go to an urgent care or emergency room, chances are you’ll have to wait an hour or so to be seen. Then you get screened by a general practitioner who has to know a little bit of everything, only to find out you have a broken hand. The doctor gives you an ice pack, anti-inflammatory meds and refers you to an orthopedist for specialized care who you have to wait a few days to see. Oh, and you’re out $200 for your visit. After spending more than 13 years as an orthopedic surgeon, Dr....
Published 05/28/24
When Miguel Leal was in college, he had the chance to live with his grandma, and it was precisely at her kitchen where he learned how to make Mexican recipes. But as he grew older, he realized that a lot of people who loved Mexican food, especially in the U.S, didn't have an abuela that could teach them how to make these recipes. Miguel wanted to change that. He wanted to show Americans that Mexican food at home was more than hardshell tacos and greasy dishes, so he and his co-founders Daniel...
Published 05/14/24
When Pedro A. Guerrero entered corporate America, there was one national magazine covering Latinos in business, Hispanic Business. Yet at the time, 1 in 10 people in the U.S. was Hispanic, and the number was growing rapidly. Pedro Guerrero, once a frustrated art school graduate, wanted to make sure there was more than just one magazine for the community. He wanted to create a magazine that would highlight the stories of Latinos in powerful positions across some of the United States’ biggest...
Published 04/30/24
What do you do after you lose your job, you’re $110,000 in debt, are raising a daughter, and you need to make ends meet fast? For San Diego-native Sandra Velasquez, the answer was starting Nopalera, a luxury brand of bath and body products using the nopal cactus. Nopalera is sold at over 400 retailers, including Nordstrom and Free People. Sandra Velasquez joins Bísness School to tell us why she launched a soap company when she herself is not obsessed with soaps, how she managed to build her...
Published 04/16/24
Growing up in Monterrey, Mexico, Ricardo Cervantes and Alfredo Livas were used to the smell of pan dulce, or sweet bread, enveloping block after block. When Ricardo and Alfredo moved to the California for graduate school, they realized Mexican panaderías weren't as uniquitous as they were in Mexico. That wasn't necessarily surprising, but what was surprising was the difference in taste. Armed with a business degree from Stanford, Ricardo and Alfredo set out to create a chain of Mexican...
Published 04/02/24
Many know Pepe Aguilar as the Grammy-winning artist whose last name is almost synonymous with Mexican music. What many don't know is that more than 20 years ago, Aguilar launched his own record label, Equinoccio Records, followed years later by Machín Records. Aguilar joins Bísness School to explain why he broke off from the big music labels early on in his career, what business lessons he learned from his parents, Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestre, and why he says his kids have the best...
Published 03/19/24
Ricardo Sucre, Gabriel González and Gustavo Darquea experienced culture shock when they came to the United States from South America for college. It wasn't just the language or the food — it was what college students drank that was surprising. Beer, vodka and hard seltzers reigned, while rum was nowhere to be found. After graduating from college, the trio decided to create a hard seltzer that was distinctly Latino. Ricardo Sucre and Gustavo Darquea explain how the idea for Casalú, a rum-based...
Published 03/05/24
The founders of MITH Media explain why they made Spanglish music after a top music executive told them not to.
Published 02/20/24
Mike Alfaro explains how a trip back home to Guatemala inspired Millennial Lotería.
Published 02/06/24
Patty Rodriguez explains how she and her childhood best friend started a bilingual children's book company
Published 01/23/24
NBC and Telemundo join forces to tell stories of the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the United States: Latinos. New episodes are released every other Tuesday.
Published 01/18/24