Crowdismo: Fueling Innovation and Creativity in the Latino Community through Crowdfunding

If the U.S. Hispanic market were a nation, it would boast one of the largest economies in the world with spending power of $1.2 trillion. The realities of today's Hispanic market are that of opportunity, motivation, aspiration, altruism, and hustle. The power and influence of the U.S. Latino collective is undeniable. Many awesome individuals and organizations from the West Coast to the East Coast are launching new ideas, connecting communities, and genuinely shaking the status quo. How can we build upon this momentum and continue to fuel innovative ideas and new opportunities throughout the U.S. Latino market? Enter Crowdismo. (Disclaimer: I'm a co-founder of Crowdismo and believer in bold possibility.)

Crowdismo is a disruptive platform aimed at powering creativity and innovation within the Latino community through crowdfunding. A digital destination and site for individuals to join a groundswell of people driven by inspired genius and help power the prolific. Our goal is to eliminate barriers to entry for gente with bold ideas. By tapping into the power of the crowd, Crowdismo connects you to awesome possibilities in the form of funding.

How it works:

1. Pitch your project to an online community of early adopters and believers.
2. Incentivize backers to pledge to your project with unique rewards.
3. Hit project’s funding goal and get one step closer to activating the incredible.

Age Factor
Overall, those between the ages of 25 and 34 are most likely to make investment decisions via crowdfunding platforms. The median age of Latinos is 27.6 making them the youngest demographic in the U.S. and perfectly aligned to adopt crowdfunding as a means of powering projects across a wide array of arenas including: Education, Technology, Social Impact, and Entrepreneurship to name a few.

Explosive Growth
"...the unassailable fact is that Latino-owned businesses in the United States are growing at a blistering pace." Latinos are three-times more likely to start businesses than the general population. Nielsen's State of the Hispanic Consumer report offers additional insights into the reach and growth of Latinos in America.

Philanthropic
Looking at Experian Simmons data, we know 47% of U.S. Hispanics donated to a charity or philanthropic organization in the last 12 months (Experian Simmons, Fall 2011 NHCS Adult Survey).

According to a recent post in Forbes online, "Sixty-nine percent of Hispanic respondents ranked “help people who are in need” as No. 5 on their list of aspirations compared to only 27% of non-Hispanics, who ranked this at No. 14. They want to make a difference, and if you can facilitate that, you can endear your brand to these consumers."

It's imperative that we foster a community of synergy and build both intellectual and financial capital driven by access to powerful economic resources that will enable continued momentum throughout the Latinosphere in the U.S. Crowdfunding levels the playing field in an arena where only 1% of VC money goes to African Americans and Latinos.

We're on the cusp of a unique opportunity to take investment and new venture priority to another level and Crowdismo is targeted at leading the charge in innovation funding, idea powering, and community impact.

Crowdismo coming soon 2013! Sign up for early access. Or join Crowdismo on Facebook.

An Interview with Hispanic Market Insider Frankie De Soto of SolPersona

Frankie De Soto of SolPersona recently took the time to join us here at Vista Hispano for a Q & A session. A huge thank you goes out to Frankie.

Following is the transcript from our interview:

First of all, thank you for taking the time from your busy schedule to join us for this Q & A!

Frankie: Absolutely, thank you for letting me be involved in this great discussion.

Q. You’re quite a busy guy! Tell us a little bit about SolPersona…

Frankie: SolPersona is a research blog that focuses on Hispanic marketing, Hispanic online media and Hispanic culture. The blog posts vary with my independent Hispanic marketing research, book reviews, collaborations with other Hispanic marketing professionals, and interviews with Hispanic businesses using online media. The content that I provide is not just text, I also add pictures, videos, links, social media integration and free downloadable because I believe that a full multimedia blog not only attracts readers but also boosts searchability and today's online media is all about rich, dynamic content and SEO.

Q:What led to your interest in starting your own blog?

Frankie: It started about two years ago when I gave a full media presentation about Latino popular culture in the United States in my graduate level Latin American Studies class at the University of Texas at Dallas. As part of the presentation I showed the class the music video "Hips Don’t Lie" by Shakira, a perfect example of how she combines both her Colombian culture and American culture into a video that can reach both Hispanic and non-Hispanic audiences.

Afterwards, I wanted to research the subject further but also have an online media platform where others can share their experiences so I took a class in web design and built a website forum just for this purpose but the website was static, it was a chore to update the content, it was difficult to invite people to join in and it lacked real web searchability, so I thought of it as a trial run.

It wasn't till I took an emerging media class that I fell in love with blogging and using WordPress as my main platform. It was very easy to use, readers can automatically join in, and I can provide content quickly.

Q: How has blogging impacted your educational and professional development?

Frankie: It was a very positive impact. For one, it allowed me to enhance my skills in WordPress to a point where I consulted others into utilizing it as a blog or website but I do continue to learn its expanding functions.

Also, blogging really boosted my researching skills as I continue to find content relevant to Hispanic marketing and I learn more from what I find, especially since there are no Hispanic marketing classes at my university. It also allowed me to meet with others online who have the same interest and collaborate with them on small research projects. Every now and then I get asked about certain information related to Hispanic online media from someone that I know from Twitter and Facebook where I'll be more than happy to do a quick online research and send them results. Thanks to my blog, I really have developed a strong and positive online presence that will ultimately help me in my career.

Q: Let’s talk a little bit about one of your bigger projects, your Hispanic Marketing and Online Media face book group, which has proven to be an important resource for those interested in the trends and changing dynamics of the U.S. Hispanic market.

Frankie: Yes! When Facebook Group first came out, I was curious to know how it differs from a regular Facebook Fanpage. I thought of it as an experiment into social intelligence networking; a more enclosed ecosystem where others that I invite begin to collaborate with one another at a more informal and efficient level with a focus on Hispanic online media.

What I found is that members began to share information quicker and discussions are more interactive. For example, when one member needs information for an article or presentation that their working on, the others quickly provide their own research information and links to sites that they find to be relevant, this information is ultimately shared with others within the group. So far, I've received positive comments about the group, which is at 108 members so I consider my experiment a complete success.

Q: Facebook is indeed an important platform for sharing best practices, reaching new audiences, and creating awareness. What do you recommend to those looking to get the most out of these kinds of groups and social media in general?


Frankie: I say spend time communicating within the group, create interesting conversations and share your own research, people will start noticing your contributions. Also, start using and experimenting with the various social media platforms that are out there and create your own community to engage in. There's a great advantage in using social media technology to communicate but also to share information, to promote and to educate.

What I also found to be very important is the study of human/computer interaction. Study why people use certain social media platforms and how do they communicate with one another online with them.

Frankie, thank you for taking the time to join us for this Q & A.

Frankie: You're very welcome.

You can connect with Frankie on twitter at @franklogic or visit his website http://frankieis.me/ for more information on cyberculture, new media, and Hispanic marketing.