Hispanic Enterprise - February/March 2008 - (Page 42)

SUCCESS & MOTIVATION media outlets reaching that market, and it’s untapped.” GROWTH, UNDERSTANDING STILL NEEDED The relationship between the Hispanic web space and its funders still has come growing to do, insiders say. With the heterogeneousness of the U.S. Hispanic market—from new immigrants to those whose families have been here for generations, and all in between—U.S. Hispanics ironically are a “developing market,” says Fernando Espuelas, chairman and CEO of online community Voy Plaza Inc., and a longtime veteran of the online space, including StarMedia. “This is a new market that has not been addressed,” says Espuelas, who 42 landed almost $150 million in strategic and venture funding for StarMedia back in the 1990s. Thus far, he has self-funded Voy Plaza. Until VCs come to better understand the Hispanic market and staff up with Latinos among their ranks, they’ll remain “fear driven” investors and the market will be “ripe for improvement,” Espuelas says. “Ninety-nine percent of VC ﬁrms have no direct experience in a business context with Latino companies.” And amid that “developing market” are underserved audiences, adds Juan Guillermo Tornoe, executive vice president with HispanicTrending.com, a Latino marketing consulting ﬁrm in Austin, Texas. Some VCs want to fund services targeting more afﬂuent or at least proﬁtable groups. Yet that leaves under funded a whole sector of muchneeded services—banking, ﬁnancial services, mortgage, and medical sites, for example. He calls funding of sites targeting the acculturated Hispanic market “secure money fertile groups for VC money.” But they also overlook critical areas for Hispanic-focused services. Other VCs are bullish on start-ups, until they discover the sites are “too small” or too early-stage to meet the VC’s standards, he says. “How are they supposed to grow?” he asks. “VCs are looking for companies wanting money to take them to the next level.” And for social networking, music and lifestyle portals serving the young and growing Hispanic market, that could be the hot ticket indeed. HISPANIC ENTERPRISE February/March 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hispanic Enterprise - February/March 2008

Hispanic Enterprise - February/March 2008 Contents Briefcase: BIZBUZZ: Business Briefs Briefcase: Trendsetters Briefcase: BIZTECH: Virtually Meeting BizLife: Travel: Madrid's New Attraction Q & A: Mi Case es su Casa Hispanic Commerce: The Agenda Cover Story: The Top 50 Corporations for Supplier Diversity Technology: Hispanic Web 2.0 Success & Motivation: Sweetening the Deal Politics & Government: The Rescue Generation Managing: The Method Franchising: The Hispanic Face of Franchising Chamber Focus: It's Showtime Movers & Shakers: Open for Business Finance & Investing: Getting Your 401(K) on Target

Hispanic Enterprise - February/March 2008

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