The evolution of the internet and tech (as a whole) has opened a new world of opportunities for people connected with it. It has helped billions of users from the South to the North from all cultures.
But today, in particular, we will be covering Latin entrepreneurs who have achieved massive feats working in and out of Silicon Valley. From co-founding Duolingo (a language app) to building The Honest Company (a clean beauty brand), Latins have achieved big, thanks to the inclusivity offered by the internet.
Now, without further ado, let’s dive right into them.
From Immigrant Dreams to Tech Realities: Latin-Powered Entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley
- Jessica Alba – Co-Founder & CCO at The Honest Company
- Luis Von Ahn – Co-Founder at Duolingo
- Pedro Franceschi & Henrique Dubugras – Co-Founders at Brex
- Alexandra Marshall – Co-Founder & Former Head of Customer Experience at Health IQ
Jessica Alba – Co-Founder & CCO at The Honest Company
The 42-year-old Latin-American Actress and businesswoman founded The Honest Company in 2011 to implement sustainability, healthy living, and clean beauty in the beauty industry. However, the actress of the Fantastic Four already was an advocate of the said values long before she created her company.
The Honest Company is based on real values and that’s what can be seen when Jessica tried to find the right set of investors and partners for the said company.
It’s based on doing good for the people for the return of the good to you that’s why it has grown immensely since 2011. It is a unicorn while valued at a billion dollars according to Forbes.
The Honest Company donated 22 million products and 18,000 employee volunteer hours even though the investors were against it. But the lady herself approved it and went through with it. Much appreciation for her!
Luis Von Ahn – Co-Founder at Duolingo
The guy, Luis Von Ahn, has co-founded one of the best technology companies that helps people develop fluency in foreign languages and also, helps in subjects like Mathematics and Music. The idea behind the invention was simple: to support students in the broken education system.
They say that need is the mother of invention and is in the same need (the broken education system of the co-founder) that led him to develop Duolingo.
Not only that, but the guy was a genius, the CAPTCHA check (selecting boxes with fire hydrants) you have to go through when visiting some websites has also been developed by him. Later he sold the company to Google.
Returning to Duolingo, the company has a market cap of about a whopping $9.94 Billion and over 200 million users worldwide. Speaking of which, if you want to be one of its users to learn English or any other language, you can download Duolingo from the app store of your mobile phone to kickstart.
Just make sure you have stable internet at home and on the go to support your learning.
On such an account, Spectrum takes the edge. It’s termed one of the most reliable internet in the US with speeds faster than 5G, Free WiFi hotspots across the US, and supreme customer service tailored for Spanish speakers at Spectrum servicio al cliente.
Pedro Franceschi & Henrique Dubugras – Co-Founders at Brex
The two Brazilians dropped out of Stanford University to go on a high road to founding their startups. Their first project was Pagar.me which was a fintech company. The company processed $1.5 Billion in sales and then later in 2016 was sold.
When they were on a roll to developing startups they faced a problem that led to the creation of Brex. The problem? When founding a startup you will need a corporate credit card for making payments but getting that was difficult for nascent startups. At the same time, the founders had to risk their credit cards to found their startups.
Enter Brex – a financial service company that offers credit cards for enterprises and a controlled way to use them. Pedro Franceschi & Henrique Dubugras observed, found a solution to the problems they faced, and then enabled multiple coming startups. According to Forbes, the company is valued at around $12.3 Billion today.
Alexandra Marshall – Co-Founder & Former Head of Customer Experience at Health IQ
Health IQ – a medicare service company that provides fine experience to senior citizens and health-conscious people through better rates, underwriting, and a seamless process.
Health IQ was her first successful startup and then she switched to First Round Capital. Her former company was valued at around $100 to $500 million in 2019. Health IQ achieved $21 billion in client coverage and it increases by $2 Billion every week.
Alexandra raised a capital of $137 million to fund and found Health IQ.
Apart from her roles in Health IQ and First Round Capital, she also built Latinx VC and ByWomenVCs to diversify the community in the venture capitalist ecosystem.
