Did We Miss the Biggest Disruption Facing Today's Hispanic Marketing Agencies

According to Wikipedia, disruption can be defined as "an event which causes an unplanned, negative deviation from the expected delivery... according to the organization’s objectives." Disruption is a shift from the norm and a journey in exploration where the destination is often comprised of increased creativity, efficiency, and profitable growth.

There are many disruptions taking shape all around us from crowdfunding to open education and 3D printing. These trends and new technologies are making a pretty big splash. The Hispanic marketing arena faces its own pivots of innovation where questions arise as to who should handle the navigation. The debate surrounding general-market vs niche Hispanic shops is just one example. And now another chapter is unfolding as the result of a recent event in which Univision announced the launch of their own agency.

"Univision Communications, the leading media company serving Hispanic America, today announced the formation of the Univision Agency. Overseeing a media inventory of more than $500 million across all of Univision’s broadcast, cable and radio properties, the Univision Agency will be responsible for all cross-channel promotions as well as research and creative services for clients and internal divisions."

What does this mean for existing Hispanic marketing agencies? José Villa, principal at Sensis, wrote an excellent blog post providing some insight into just how this announcement might impact the industry. There's no denying that this announcement has some pretty big ramifications for those involved with Univision but the real disruption lies in recognizing what just took place. A media company just became an agency or rather added an agency element to its repertoire of an already stout position as a leader in Hispanic engagement.

The time for agencies to disrupt themselves is now. How can we compete with the likes of these huge media holding companies? The answer lies in our ability and willingness to transform into a nimble, responsive, innovative, and forward-thinking enterprise where the words crowdsourcing, lean canvas, and trailblazer to name a few actually become second nature. Es posible.

Latino Startups to Watch in 2013

"Create a prototype and get it to market as soon as you can. Ignore the naysayers. Revise fast." - Guy Kawasaki, Author of The Art of the Start.

Perhaps it's this kind of a mindset that has led to a rising surge in entrepreneurship activity among Latinos. Hispanic entrepreneurs opened twice as many businesses as the national average in the 2000s, according to U.S. Census data. What's even more exciting is a trend where Latin American-born entrepreneurs, a previously invisible cohort, are beginning to make their presence known in Silicon Valley. Bet you didn't know that the co-founder of Instagram, Mike Krieger, is Brazilian. But where is the rest of the startup collective and what problems are they trying to solve?

To no surprise, Latino startups are rising in number and influence. Part of this explosive growth is fueled by Latinas who are vital to startup success. In fact, there are numerous success stories of Latinas who are making some big strides in entrepreneurship activity and blurring the lines of gender difference building huge momentum. And we love it.

Following are a few Latino(a) startups of note that we feel are sure to continue the upward trend in entrepreneurship activity in 2013 and fuel real impact across a multitude of industry verticals.

Parranda.org

A new online/offline community opened its virtual doors this morning with an invitation to all Puerto Ricans to help remap "The Greater Puerto Rico." Parranda.org -- which takes its name from the popular Puerto Rican Winter holiday pastime -- aims to "remap, remake, and remobilize the Greater Puerto Rico" through a series of coordinated efforts involving both people on the island and people in the Puerto Rican diaspora (i.e., people who have moved to the mainland US and other countries). The first focus for Parranda.org is a global project where the community will draw an interactive map of where Puerto Ricans live today. A first look at this map will be published in January.

Dubalu

Dubalu (Pronounced DOO-bah-loo) is the world’s first Social Network Marketing Site—a unique, exciting and valuable new concept in networking that combines the most popular features and benefits of the Internet’s top-ranked social and marketing destinations in one. What's interesting about this site is the fact that they've amassed a huge social media following in a matter of months. It will be exciting to see if Dubalu can capitalize on a subscription based model fueled by the power of social media.

StudentMentor.org

An innovative national mentoring program based on a pioneering technology platform where college students can conveniently find and collaborate with mentors from diverse industries and professions to achieve their academic and career goals. StudentMentor.org has amassed an audience of students from 1,000+ colleges and counting including a network professionals from all industries contributing 40,000+ years of experience is part of the reason the site has been able to partner with none other than the White House.


Latino Startup Alliance

Based out of San Francisco, the Latino Startup Alliance is leading the charge in new ideas. The mission of the LSA is to encourage the inspiration and cultivation of Latino led technology startup ventures by providing a strong support network of fellow Latino entrepreneurs, investors, innovators, and business owners. A hub of startup activity and leadership sure to thrive in 2013 and increase the amount of Latino led technology innovation not only in Silicon Valley but across the United States.

The breadth of Latino startup activity is fuel for the visionary and a symbol of opportunity. If you have an idea, forget about fear and move fast because the crowd is waiting, watching, and looking for opportunities to fuel innovation and power genius throughout the U.S. Here's to continued momentum and positive iteration in 2013!

The Muy Interesante Future of Latino Entrepreneurship

There's no denying it, minority entrepreneurship matters in the United States. And for the budding Latino business entrepreneur, embracing technology and social media is invaluable. When it comes to the future of Latino entrepreneurship, why not start them young with an innovative approach similar to SparkAmerica.us?

Better yet, why not learn from some of the most dynamic Latino entrepreneurs that are building interesting things and amassing a growing user base while developing innovative technologies.

Say hello to Interesante.

The place to discover and share Latino interests. Interesante is a unique startup in beta focused on immersive cultural shear-ability and fueling diaspora-driven commerce. It's a gateway to cultural interests in its most beautiful visual form. Interesante places a special focus on the deeper cultural nuances of social engagement commanding a user base representing over 41 countries including Argentina, the United States, Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Venezuela, Brazil, and Peru.

Interesante is the brain child of Rebecca Padnos Altamirano (CEO) who gracefully assembled a team of approximately ten individuals, largely based in Argentina.  These professionals are led by Antonio Altamirano (COO), Pablo Gamba (CTO), Claudio Cossio (VP Marketing), and Leandro Henflen (Design).  Antonio is also the co-founder of virtual postcard startup Dabble.

Our founder Jose Huitron, recently caught up with Antonio, one of the most prolific Latino entrepreneurs amassing a cross-national track record of unique startup activity.

Antonio arrived in the U.S. 13 years ago armed with a keen focus on the huge potential and possibility of entrepreneurship. "I needed to prepare myself to be the best I can be and be ready to launch and test my ideas in the real world. Not only by building a company but helping the community as a whole and in particular, the Latino community," said Antonio.

The allure of possibility combined with a passion for action has fueled an environment where Latinos are the future of entrepreneurship in the U.S. Latinos are now trendsetters, cultural icons, successful business people and are at the core of the American cultural fabric. However, no tool has placed the Latino consumer at the top of their pecking order. Enter Interesante.

"There are huge highs and massive lows. You go from a place where you feel you're going to conquer the world and some days it looks as if you are climbing Everest. Preparation is paramount to succeed in this environment. The fluctuation is so big you have to be careful, but that is what makes it fun." said Antonio.

"Other tools were born out of necessity for a particular need. Facebook doesn't even provide Open Graph in Spanish. We want to be the largest database of interests that are Latino based in the world.

For many budding Latino(a) entrepreneurs, the road to real impact requires a focus on identifying, enabling, and mobilizing champions and committed advisors. A real challenge lies in trying to bridge the gap between Latinos who want to do something big and Latinos in the U.S. who can invest and nurture the nascent Latino startup community. Interesante is a benchmark in how to bridge this gap and move inspired Latinos with bold ideas to a place where passion meets action.

Rebecca and her team at Interesante are a legitimate force to be reckoned with. They stand as a great example of an innovative startup that is built for Latinos by Latinos.

For Antonio and his team, Interesante is much more than a hub of diaspora-driven commerce. It is also a rallying cry for Latino entrepreneurs to step into the arena of innovation with confidence and a belief that your identity fuels the prolific.

The future of Latino entrepreneurship is already here.