Shaping the Future Together

There is a version of the American entrepreneurship story that gets told over and over — in Silicon Valley keynotes, in business school case studies, in the language of venture capital. It features genius, risk, and disruption. It centers certain zip codes, certain university networks, certain faces. Latino founders are not in that story. Not because they weren't there — but because the story was never written about them. Latino founders are shaping the future of American entrepreneurship. With vision, drive, and the strength of community behind them, they are building companies, creating jobs, and turning bold ideas into ventures that move entire communities forward. Latino-owned businesses are growing at ten times the national rate. Between 2007 and 2022, they grew 57% — compared to 5% among non-Latino-owned businesses. The U.S. Latino market ranks as the fourth-largest economy in the world. The talent has always been there. The drive has always been there. What was missing was an ecosystem built specifically to meet it.

"Real innovation comes from connected communities, not and isolated genius"

OUR VISION

The Preeminent Hub for Latino Entrepreneurship.

Our vision: to foster an ecosystem where Latino founders build generational wealth while strengthening their communities — and to become the preeminent hub for Latino entrepreneurship in the Pacific Northwest.

Generational wealth. Those two words hold the whole story. For too long, entrepreneurship has been framed as individual achievement — one founder, one company, one exit. But Latino entrepreneurship, at its best, is a community act. Founders who succeed reinvest in their neighborhoods. They hire their cousins. They mentor the next cohort. They become the anchor businesses that keep commercial corridors alive. That is the kind of prosperity we are building toward.

The Pacific Northwest is our home base, but our founders are connecting across Oregon, Washington, and beyond. Our Pitch Latino city tour reaches Portland, Seattle, and Phoenix. The ecosystem we're building here is a model — and models travel.

OUR MISSION

Turn Vision Into Venture.

Our mission is to empower entrepreneurs to grow and succeed with the resources, mentorship, and networks they need to turn their vision into reality.

Founders arrive with ideas, energy, and lived experience that make them extraordinary entrepreneurs. They often arrive without the institutional networks, the warm introductions to capital, the accelerator alumni connections that have historically flowed to others by default. We close that gap — with infrastructure. With community. With belief that is backed by real investment of time, resources, and mentorship.

Every cohort we run, every pitch event we host, every workshop we design — it is mission in motion. It is the distance between having a vision and building a venture, shortened.

SIX GUIDING PRINCIPLES

How This Community Shows Up Every Day

01  Heart & Empathy (Corazón)

A compassionate ecosystem where every founder feels valued, understood, and empowered to succeed.

02  Accountability & Trust

Trust is earned through transparency, consistency, and follow-through. Every decision reflects a responsibility to deliver measurable impact.

03  Bold Innovation

Founders are empowered to take bold action, drive innovation, and own the solutions to urgent challenges — with support for the long-term journey.

04  Integrity & Intentionality

Growth rooted in integrity and sustainability. Identity-affirming communities that foster belonging, connection, and shared purpose.

05  Advocacy & Empowerment

The voices, vision, and ventures of the founders we serve are championed. The platform exists to challenge systemic barriers and drive inclusive economic opportunity.

06  Community Over Ego

We activate community wealth, reweave communal ties, and spark systems-level change. When founders are embedded in strong communities, they are more resilient, more collaborative, and more committed to reinvesting in others. HOW WE GOT HERE

Built From the Community, For the Community.

Latino Founders did not begin as a fully formed institution. It began as a conviction — that Latino entrepreneurs in the Pacific Northwest deserved a home built specifically for them. Not a diversity track bolted onto an existing accelerator. Not a one-time pitch competition with no follow-through. A real ecosystem, with year-round programming, culturally responsive mentorship, and genuine accountability to the founders it served.

That conviction became programs. The Pre-Accelerator came first. Then the Accelerator — the flagship, with sector-specific tracks across Tech, Climate, CPG, Athletics & Outdoors, and Health. Then Pitch Latino, bringing live pitch events to Portland, Bend, Seattle, Tri-Cities, and beyond. Then Next Wave Startup Lab. Then Founders Hub — a physical space where the community could gather, build, and belong.

More than $200,000 in grants has been deployed directly to founders. Each of those numbers is a name, a business, a family, a neighborhood.

That trust is not ours to keep — it is ours to steward. Shaping the Future, Together is more than a tagline, it's an invitation. Whether you're a founder ready to build, a partner looking to back what's next, or a donor ready to put momentum behind what's already working, There's a place for you here. Backing Latino Founders is an investment in the people and businesses driving the Pacific Northwest forward  and the returns belong to the whole region. 

Connect. Volunteer. Donate. Let’s Shape the future TOGETHER.