Moneda Moves

What do Black and Latino entrepreneurs look like, uninterrupted?

That’s the question, Felecia Hatcher, CEO of Pharrell William’s Black Ambition Opportunity Fund, has for the entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Hatcher is a White House Award-Winning Entrepreneur, Motivational Speaker and Author. The Fund, which she leads, invests in diverse entrepreneurs with capital, mentorship and uninterrupted access to resources and opportunities. There is nothing she can’t do.

In the last three years, the Fund has invested in more than 100 Black and Latino-led companies, all which have gone to raise more than $95 million.

Today we are speaking with Felecia about the capital gaps for Black and Latino entrepreneurs, the big opportunity that comes with investing in POC communities and her own journey as business owners from owning a gourmet popsicle company with her partner to becoming CEO of Black Ambition.

No te lo quires perder.

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. But prior to Libra Leaders, Laura had a history of working in the space from being an entrepreneur at an exiting company, to board member at bath and body brand Nopalera to being a general partner in venture. Before then, we had a pleasure of working together at Nasdaq, the stock exchange, where she was managing director for new listings and capital market.

Today, we speak about the new endeavor to uplift women entrepreneurs, and learnings in her career as one of the few Latinas to rise through the ranks in capital markets. No te lo quires perder.

Notes: This podcast was recorded during Women’s History Month in the lead up to Libra Leaders’ launch which was reported separately via Forbes. Find it here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lyannealfaro/2024/03/08/this-platform-with-a-12b-investment-capital-helps-close-the-latina-founder-investing-gap/?sh=10d90ac55abe

Our podcast host cited that fewer than 12 POC-owned companies had listed on NYSE. Our research suggests that the stat may be even slightly more striking. A recent Marketplace interview in fact cites that “There have only been about 12 ever in all stock exchanges that are minority-owned and controlled companies to reach a stock exchange.” 

Find the interview with Dream Exchange here: https://www.marketplace.org/2023/06/27/first-minority-owned-public-stock-exchange-looks-to-make-its-debut/ 

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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 help change the system from outside the tech ecosystem.

So I saw it fitting to ask her about her take on DEI in this year, a year where diversity equity and inclusion is being challenged by the right. No te lo quieres perder.

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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 Latino Donor Collaborative. For this reason among many others, major brands from Netflix to Walmart to Target want to access Latinos. We’re growing and here to stay.

And while we have all this purchasing power, one of the big issues we face as prominent business owners is access to capital. Earlier this year,  we learned that the agency topped $3 billion in SBA-backed loans to Latino-owned small businesses, increasing more than 30% since 2017 (nearly double since 2020). 

In today’s interview, we discuss how the SBA is helping get Latino business owners access to loans, how we tap into our own purchasing power and how the Supreme’s Courts ruling on affirmative action will impact small business owners. We also explore how the SBA responded when the ruling impacted a program of its own, helping nearly 5,000 disadvantaged small businesses secure coveted government contracts.

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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 companies like Nestle USA and Diamond Foods. Hector was an integral part of the Pop Secret Microwave popcorn leadership team that overtook Orville Redenbacher’s spot to become the number one selling microwave popcorn in the USA.

Tia Lupita today is the first brand to introduce Nopales Cactus as an alternative, functional and sustainable ingredient in the USA market. Tia Lupita Foods is a Foodbytes by Rabobank Judges Choice winner, Natural Products Expo West Pitch Slam Winner and a Naturally Bay Area inaugural pitch slam runner up. Hector has also been recognized by TIME Magazine as one of 80 Mexicans that are helping shape contemporary culture.

Today, we speak with Hector about the origin story behind Tia Lupita, bootstrapping and funding the future of his company.

Follow Tia Lupita Foods on Instagram: @tialupitafoods

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Follow your host Lyanne Alfaro on Instagram: @LyanneAlfaro

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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 winning ultramarathons all over the world.

An entrepreneur at heart, Eddie bought half a ton of raw heirloom blue corn in Mexico and drove back from the border to start production in his parents garage. That spring semester of 2017, his dorm room at the time became the distribution center and headquarters, where other blends were developed.

After graduating from Wichita State and winning the new venture competition, Eddie pursued Pinole Blue full time. Today, makes different pinole drink mixes, protein mixes, cookies and stone ground tortillas all from organic blue corn while donating back to the Tarahumara community, where it's often used.

The company has been featured in major outlets including Buzzfeed, Remezcla and Shark Tank Season 13. It has a strong social media presence with more than 380,000 fans on TikTok.

We speak with the founder and CEO of Pinole Blue, Eddie Sandoval, about how he learned about pinole, the importance of his storytelling on social media and his very unique bootstrapping approach to his business.

Follow Pinole Blue on TikTok and Instagram: @pinoleblue

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Follow your host Lyanne Alfaro on Instagram: @LyanneAlfaro

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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 Texas A&M University and a Master’s degree in Engineering Management from the Missouri University of Science and Technology. He later attended the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where he earned his MBA and was recognized as the top entrepreneur for the 2018 class. Keith also worked for three years at Google as a program manager for the technical infrastructure supply chain team.

We speak with Keith about how his time in Afghanistan led to the creation of Rumi Spice, how the company bootstrapped and how it actively works to benefit Afghan farmers while running a profitable business.

Follow Rumi Spice online: https://www.rumispice.com/

Follow Rumi Spice on Instagram: @rumi_spice

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Follow your host Lyanne Alfaro on Instagram: @LyanneAlfaro

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When Miguel Leal saw American shelves representing Mexican food, he noted there was a big opportunity to create this offering: a CPG company that is both culturally-relevant and convenient. Enter SOMOS Foods, which makes Mexican food with authentic recipes and plant-based, Non-GMO ingredients. Tacos, tostadas, nachos and chilaquiles are all ready in ten minutes.

His experience in building successful food brands is extensive. He previously helped accelerate growth at KIND Snacks, where he served as Executive Vice President Marketing for three years. There, he first connected with SOMOS co-founders Daniel Lubetzky and Rodrigo Zuloaga. 

He is a Mexican-American food industry veteran who comes to SOMOS following two years as the Chief Marketing Officer at Cholula. Before then, he was at Danone and Diamond Foods working on the Kettle brand. His food career began at PepsiCo's Frito-Lay managing the Lay's potato chip category for nearly three years. Miguel moved to the United States to receive his MBA from The Wharton School at UPenn.

A fun fact: Born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico, Miguel's favorite Mexican meal is home-cooked picadillo with rice and beans. 

Follow SOMOS Foods on Instagram: @eatsomos

Find SOMOS Foods online: https://eatsomos.com/

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Follow your host Lyanne Alfaro on Instagram: @LyanneAlfaro

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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 and innovate in the marketplace. 

Nemi Snacks was founded with a mission to elevate Mexican cultura in the U.S. through high-quality Mexican snacks in sombrero-free branding. Nemi works directly with Mexican farmers, uses real chiles and spices and no artificial colors or ingredients. Regina has spent her legal career advocating for human rights by providing legal services to immigrants and implementing programs on a range of global human rights issues in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and the United States.

I’m so excited to share the interview with you today. This is Regina Trillo, Founder and CEO of Nemi Snacks.

Find Nemi Snacks Online: https://neminative.com/

Follow Nemi Snacks on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nemisnacks/

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Follow your host Lyanne Alfaro on Instagram: @LyanneAlfaro

Main podcast theme song from Premium Beat. Our music is from Epidemic Sound.

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, Moneda Moves is bringing funders investing in the future of food and founders paving the way for intimate conversations on how they invest, fundraise and build truly scalable companies. Our panel today is from our first live event in Chicago, where we have founders from the consumer packaged goods space to the food tech space.

On the mics we have Perteet Spencer, Founder of AYO Foods, who launched the company to celebrate ingredients, flavors and culture of West African diaspora. We also have Michelle Ruiz, founder of food tech company Hyfe, who brings more than ten years of manufacturing experience from the likes of Exxon Mobile. Also joining us is Shayna Harris, managing partner of Supply Change Capital, investing in early stage, high growth food tech businesses and culture-first brands. Shayna has more than two decades of experience as a food industry leader and operator. She and her co-founder Noramay Cadena just closed a $40 million fund. Congratulations!

A trifecta of women that are joining us in our conversation today to talk about what the future of food looks like, from both a funding and scalability perspective.

Finally, a shout to our collaborators who helped put on our first live podcast event, DishRoulette Kitchen, a nonprofit working to provide funding and education for BIPOC restarateurs across Chicago, and Industrious where the event was hosted.

Let’s dive in. Welcome to Funding the Future of Food. 

Follow Supply Change Capital On Instagram: @supplychangecapital

Follow AYO Foods On Instagram: @ayofoods

Follow Hyfe On Instagram: @hyfejefe

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Follow your host Lyanne Alfaro on Instagram: @LyanneAlfaro

Main podcast theme song from Premium Beat. Our music is from Epidemic Sound.