Happy Summer Familia 🌞🌈🌸👙🤿

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LaFamilia Newsletter
07 Jul • Read in: 10 minutes

Hola Familia- Happy Summer🌞🌈🌸👙🤿!!!!!

I hope you’ve all had an amazing 4th of July with your families!🎇 

Before you all run off to wherever summer is taking you, we wanted to share some cool stuff that we’ve been up to before we too wind down…

🚀Chicago

1. Coworking Day with Cooley!

After the success of our New York City Coworking Day event at Cooley’s offices, we went for round two, but this time, with our Chicago Familia!

Cooley hosted the familia again for our Chicago Coworking Day event where the Latine investor and founder community came together to network, cowork, and share ideas. All who attended also got to participate in afternoon programming sessions delivered by Laura Medina, a partner at Cooley LLP, which covered issues related to corporate structure and seed stage financing.

We had an incredible turnout and phenomenal community engagement thanks to our hosts: Founder Ricardo Regalado, CEO of Route, and VCs Leandro Bedolla, of M25 VC, and Carlos Covarrubias, of Hyde Park Ventures.

You may be wondering where this professional picture collage came from- Ricardo, invited his videographer and content creator, Jesus Ortiz, to capture candid moments of community building and engagement. Additionally, he put together some insightful storytelling and interviews- check out the video here!

2. Google for Startups Announcement

MAKE SOME NOISE for our FounderFamilia founders: Adrian J. DeLeón & Fernando DeLeón of Innovare, Ruben Garcia of Certiverse, Nico Aguilar of Speeko, and John Dillon of GuardianVets for representing Chicago as recipients of Google for Startups’ $150,000 grants for Latine founders!!🎉

Mayor Brandon Johnson of Chicago celebrated the local tech ecosystem by surprising these startups, along with SAVVI AI, with giant checks on behalf of Google’s Latino Founders Fund which provides $150k in cash funding to promising early-stage tech founders in the United States. In addition to capital, grant recipients will receive $100K in Google Cloud credits and hands-on mentorship and support from Google.

This is the SECOND year Chicago founders from our community have received recognition and funding from the Google for Startups Latino Founders Fund. Last year’s FounderFamilia recipients from Chicago included Ricardo Regalado of Route, Osvaldo Montelongo of ConnectCareHero, Eric Alvarez of Grapefruit Health, Omar Hernandez of ONEBIT, Luis Emilio Suarez of Sanarai, and Sergio G. Rodriguez-Valenzuela of ToDooly.

n a riveting Pride Month Intersectionality Chat titled "Being Queer and Latine: Overcoming Shortcomings, Embracing Opportunities, and Redefining Entrepreneurship," three remarkable panelists took the virtual stage last Wednesday, June 28th, to share their unique journeys at the intersection of their LGBTQAI+ identity and professional careers. Moderated by Renee Rosillo,

🏳‍🌈Happy Pride Month!

In a riveting Pride Month Intersectionality Chat titled "Being Queer and Latine: Overcoming Shortcomings, Embracing Opportunities, and Redefining Entrepreneurship," three remarkable panelists took the virtual stage last Wednesday, June 28th, to share their unique journeys at the intersection of their LGBTQAI+ identity and professional careers. Moderated by Renee Rosillo, co-founder of FounderFamilia and founder of Prism, the conversation delved into the experiences of these LGBTQAI+ identifying individuals, shedding light on the challenges they faced, the support they found in their communities, and the impact of staying true to themselves in the business world.

Cristian Raygoza of Iluminar Ventures and a venture partner at Gaingels eloquently highlighted the strength that arises from going against societal norms, a trait common among queer individuals. He emphasized that the path to success often takes unconventional avenues. “It’s because of traditional work’s emphasis on conformity that often queer folk will seek entrepreneurial careers- while it’s great that the community has the creative energy to be entrepreneurial, more work needs to be done to ensure that folks like us feel comfortable working and achieving success in any type of environment.”

Grace Carillo of ClinicBox shared her perspective on the significance of safety as a woman and the importance of safe spaces and allies. Additionally, she discussed her unique experience of "privilege" in Latin American (machista) culture, where she was extended an invitation to sit at the "men's table," a privilege withheld from gay men and straight women. Grace's insights also touched upon socio-economic considerations, highlighting the socio-economic factors affecting the LGBTQAI+ community.

James Silva of ConciergeBot, a member of the second cohort of Startout organization in 2018, emphasized the vital role of community and support for queer founders. As a founder, he understood the challenges of explaining their journey to family and friends, making peer support from other queer founders all the more crucial. James mentioned the value of communities like Techeria and Out in Tech, which provided him with the support and understanding that he needed. Having come full circle, James now mentors others in the community, underscoring the importance of giving back to uplift the LGBTQAI+ entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The Pride Month Intersectionality Chat proved to be a thought-provoking and inspiring platform, offering profound insights from LGBTQAI+ entrepreneurs and investors who continue to redefine and enrich the world of business. They not only exemplify resilience but also demonstrate the immense power of community, acceptance, and staying true to oneself on the journey to success. Unfortunately the integrity of the event and it’s purpose was violated. To that, the LaFamilia team would like to address the community with the following:

Dear FounderFamilia & VCFamilia members, allies, and those who attended the event,

In light of the recent unfortunate incident during our Pride Month online session, we want to address our community and allies. The incident, commonly known as a “Zoom bombing,” where uninvited participants disrupted our meeting, is something our community and organization do not tolerate.

We deeply regret the inconvenience and distress caused by this breach of privacy and session disruption. Ensuring the security and integrity of the events we host is paramount, and we do not take these acts lightly.

Moving forward, we are committed to implementing enhanced measures to prevent such incidents from happening again. We will review our security protocols, explore additional authentication methods, and adopt new systems to safeguard our members, allies, and guests.

We stand in solidarity with our LGBTQAI+ community members and reaffirm our commitment to inclusivity, diversity, and respect for all. FounderFamilia and VCFamilia are committed to fostering safe spaces for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, race, age, or ability.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns or suggestions regarding our online sessions. We value your feedback and always look for ways to improve our practices.

Thank you for being part of our community.

Happy Pride!

Sincerely, The LaFamilia Team

Partner Spotlight: Cooley

We’re grateful to Cooley for their continued support of our mission. As a primarily volunteer-led organization, support from valued partners like Cooley enables us to create a powerful impact for Latines in the ecosystem and continue to catalyze opportunities for our community.

If you’re interested in partnering with us on upcoming initiatives, reach out to us at [email protected]!

📅 Upcoming Events

LBAN Info Session On Upcoming Application Deadline!

Info Session on July 12th @ 1pm PST

What’ll be covered?

  • A little about the organization

  • About LBAN's Business Scaling Program at Stanford (requirements, curriculum, and key aspects of the program like mentors, webinars, and network)

  • Program Dates and Application

RSVP here!

Scaling Program Application

Attention Latine entrepreneurs! LBAN's Business Scaling Program at Stanford is now accepting applications for Cohort 16 & 17. This is a 9-week hybrid program that includes two weekends at the GSB with Stanford faculty, engaged in lectures, workshops, networking, and opportunities to redefine your growth mindset. The program is designed so that you can continue running your business while participating in this Stanford program with other Latino business leaders around the country. In addition to the in-person time at Stanford, the program includes 8 weeks of online curriculum and capital matchmaking conversations. Apply today for Cohort 16 (Sept. 13th - Nov. 18th, 2023) or Cohort 17 (Mar. 27th - Jun. 1st, 2024) and become part of a community of over 1,000 Latino and Latina entrepreneurs.

👩🏾‍💻10 VC Roles