SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 30, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Latino Startup Alliance (LSA), a vibrant, two-year-old community of Latino tech startups and entrepreneurs founded in Silicon Valley, announced today it has expanded to become a national non-profit organization with the support of Hispanicize.
LSA will use the strength and diversity of its three initial hubs in San Francisco, Miami and New York to build a vibrant ecosystem around Latino tech entrepreneurship in the U.S. The nonprofit organization will be overseen by its three co-founders Jesse Martinez, Ed Martinez (both of San Francisco) and Manny Ruiz, chairman of the Hispanicize platforms that include the annual Hispanicize event, the Latina Mom Bloggers network, Being Latino, Hispanicize Wire, the Hispanic PR Blog and Hispanicize.com.
"Our alliance with trailblazers like Manny and the partners of Hispanicize will greatly accelerate LSA's national footprint in several dynamic and tangible ways," said Jesse Martinez, LSA's national co-chair and an entrepreneur who has raised capital for several of his past startups including his current venture Media Relevance. "This alliance will provide LSA with a national grid from which it can credibly grow into one of the nation's most vibrant, respected organizations for Latino entrepreneurs and potential investors alike."
"Jesse and Ed have built a great foundation for LSA that has proven to be all about action and not words," said Ruiz, who in 2008 sold his first tech media startup to United Business Media for $5.5 million. "Our message to Latino tech entrepreneurs today is that if there is truly a market to fund your ideas and innovations, LSA will cultivate those opportunities. Effective immediately we will focus on tech inclusion for Latinos who wish to play in the world of Silicon Valley and tech."
A Comprehensive, Multiplatform Approach
The San Francisco LSA hub will be led by entrepreneur Deldelp Medina, the New York City one will be spearheaded by Sofrito Media Group's George "Urban Jibaro" Torres and the Miami one will championed by Ruiz and Latina Mom Blogger's Co-CEO Cristy Clavijo-Kish. A national advisory board comprised of tech entrepreneurs, corporate supporters and accredited investors will soon be announced.
Hispanicize is organizing a special evening event for LSA Feb. 13 in Miami Beach that will introduce the regional leaders of LSA and will include other surprises. To RSVP for this event, click here: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/we-love-tech-tickets-10334770577?aff=eorg
As part of its wide-ranging support for LSA, Hispanicize will:
- Host the annual spring edition of the Latino Startup Alliance Tech Summit within the annual Hispanicize event (www.HispanicizeEvent.com) that takes place in Miami every April. This year's Hispanicize 2014 event, April 1-4, for example, will feature a pre-conference day LSA luncheon for entrepreneurs and investors as well as a national tech startup pitch competition and at least 10 sessions dealing with a wide range of tech startup subjects.
- Regularly feature stories about LSA members, tech entrepreneurs and investors in a soon-to-relaunch Hispanicize.com web site.
- Routinely feature stories about LSA members, tech entrepreneurs and investors in the soon-to-launch U.S. Hispanic and LATAM-focused, Spanish-language tech news web site, TekBoom.com.
- Utilize the social media channels of all Hispanicize platforms to promote LSA's efforts, promote membership and build a strong, national community of LSA members in cities across the nation.
- Regularly help host local meetings for LSA members and prospects in Miami.
- Provide special marketing opportunities for tech startups to tell their stories nationally through the Hispanicize Wire press release distribution platform that features the largest Hispanic media and social media reach in the U.S.
- Provide organizational assistance, content and marketing support for LSA's Innovator Summit in San Francisco http://summit.latinostartupalliance.org/, the first annual edition which took place in December. The Innovator Summit features keynotes, lightning talks, investor office hours, panel discussions, and a startup pitch competition.
About the Latino Startup Alliance (LSA)
Co-headquartered in San Francisco and Miami, LSA is a fiscally sponsored project of CEL Education Fund. LSA is committed to building the foundation that fosters an ecosystem to support Latino tech entrepreneurs and future innovators by providing a community of peers, resources, mentors, & investors.
Originally founded in 2011 by first generation Mexican-American entrepreneur brothers Jesse and Ed Martinez as a support group for Latino tech entrepreneurs, LSA's national non-profit is led by the Martinez brothers as well as Manny Ruiz, founder of the nationally known Latino digital and social media platform collectively known as Hispanicize.
For more on Latino Startup Alliance, visit http://latinostartupalliance.org/ & follow the organization on https://twitter.com/Latino_Startups and https://www.facebook.com/LatinoStartupAlliance.
About Hispanicize
Co-headquartered in Miami and New York, the Hispanicize platform of companies includes the annual Hispanicize event, the Latina Mom Bloggers network, Hispanicize Wire, the Hispanic PR Blog and Hispanicize.com. Hispanicize also owns a large stake in Being Latino, one of the largest, most engaged communities on Facebook in the United States.
For more information on Hispanicize, visit http://www.hispanicize.com/ and https://twitter.com/hispanicize and https://www.facebook.com/Hispanicize
About CEL Education Fund
CEL Education Fund empowers organizations and individuals that align with our mission by making strategic, restricted grants. The efforts that we support leverage technology and digital media providing opportunities for people to become informed and then act on their individual and collective concerns to inspire real societal change. CEL Ed Fund is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity.
For more information on CEL Education Fund, visit http://www.celeducationfund.org.