3 Ways Latinx Entrepreneurs are Crushing it

I recently went down the rabbit hole and spent some time reading about Latino entrepreneurship in the US and pulled out some interesting takeaways. Since getting into the startup game, two things have been ingrained in my mind: 1) there aren’t many Latinx entrepreneurs around, and 2) it is going to be harder for us to get funding than it might be for other entrepreneurs.

While data supports the fact that Latinx entrepreneurs have a harder time getting funded, my understanding regarding entrepreneurship within my community could not have been further from reality. Although neither of the aforementioned beliefs discouraged us from starting Sigo Seguros, I am pleasantly surprised to find that Latinos are crushing the entrepreneurship game.

1) Latinas are the ones really crushing it.

Stanford’s “State of Latino Entrepreneurship 2017” report found that Latina owned businesses almost 2xed in the 2007–2012 period (87% growth vs. 46% and -6% for all Latino-owned firms and non-minority-owned firms, respectively) and represent about half of all Latino-owned firms (vs. 1/3 for female-owned non-minority firms). Unfortunately, the report also found that they are capital-constrained and often describe themselves as “not qualified” to receive funding. Whether this is a question of confidence or understanding of the process, I hope ladies realize they are superstars and should go for it (whatever “it” is).

2) DACA-Comparable millennials are also outperforming

The same report found that 86% of businesses earning $1 million or more annually are founded by immigrants that came to the US as children (shoutout to my co-founder). New American Economy estimates that 10% of working-age undocumented immigrants are entrepreneurs, often creating jobs and value for the communities in which they live.

3) Latinx entrepreneurs were a gamechanger during the Great Recession

According to “Better Business: How Hispanic Entrepreneurs Are Beating Expectations and Bolstering the U.S. Economy,” unemployment rates during the 2008–2010 recession would have surpassed 10% if it weren’t for Latino businesses. There were over a million new Latino-owned businesses created between 2008–2010, while non-Latino businesses decreased. As previously mentioned, the number of Latinx businesses is growing faster than the general population. Interestingly, these businesses over-index in the fastest growing industries as well.

One last takeaway is that Latinx businesses are providing services well beyond the Latino community. Stanford found that about 75% of these businesses serve mostly non-Latinos or an equal mixture of Latinos and non-Latinos. These trends will be interesting to observe as the Hispanic American population continues to grow.