L'ATTITUDE Ventures (LAT VC), a venture capital firm dedicated to catalyzing financial investment toward Latino-led businesses, recently announced the closing of its first institutional fund, raising more than $100 million through a strategic alliance with JPMorgan Chase and initial investments from Trujillo Group, and Bank of America.

LAT VC highlights how this recently completed fund presents a unique opportunity to direct economic efforts towards the demographic group with fewer investments and fewer catalysts, but which is presented as the market with the highest current and future growth.

Other key investors in this fund, which is aimed solely at investing in Latina(o)-owned companies with high growth potential, include UC Investments and MassMutual, Barclays, Royal Bank of Canada, Polaris Limited Partners (Oscar Munoz), Cisco Investments through its Aspire Fund, Churchill, an affiliate of Nuveen, and Morgan Stanley.

“I commend the institutions who came in—and stepped up first. This $100 million fund, backed by some of the biggest financial names, represents an opening salvo for what should become an investment boom directed toward this sector of early-stage companies that are either founded or run by Latina(o) entrepreneurs and that have significant potential,” said Sol Trujillo, L’ATTITUDE Ventures Founder and General Partner. 

Trujillo underlined:

These are the smart investors who know it’s time to stop merely giving speeches and begin investing in this crucial Latina and Latino growth cohort, which is so essential to our economy.

Noting figures exposed by the 2021 Bain Capital Study Report, the Latino community constitutes the most entrepreneurial but undercapitalized growth cohort in the U.S., representing the equivalent of the seventh largest economy in the world.

Its total economic output in 2019 was $2.7 billion, generating $1 billion of incremental GDP between 2010 and 2019, but it receives less than 1% of all invested capital from private equity and venture capital.

According to LAT VC, nearly $1.5 billion of economic value would be unlocked if U.S. Latino-owned businesses achieved growth parity with non-Latino-owned businesses.

“These businesses do not achieve the size and scale of non-Latina(o)s because of a lack of capital, especially equity capital. Thus, it is vital for investors to pay attention to the U.S. Latino community, since it has become the largest, most prodigious cohort in the country. As the creators of the majority of net new businesses, Latino entrepreneurs are playing an increasingly pivotal role in creating new companies and jobs, while enabling wealth creation to broaden the labor base,” it is highlighted.

L’ATTITUDE Ventures

The venture capital firm, whose partners, along with Trujillo, are Oscar Muñoz, Gary Acosta, Kennie Blanco, and Laura Moreno Lucas, offers companies owned by Latino Americans the following services:

• Create visibility for those companies in which L’ATTITUDE has invested
• Mentor and provide access to global leadership and operational experience, including two former Fortune 150 CEOs, and founders at critical stages of scale.
• Provide access to L'ATTITUDE's network of partners, who can provide unique connections to businesses and distribution channels for founders to grow their businesses by shortening cycle time and customer acquisition, as well as distribution cycles.

“Investing in these entrepreneurs, who have not traditionally had equal access to capital funding, provides investors entrée into the companies that are shaping what we describe as ‘The New Mainstream Economy.’ Latina(o)-owned companies enjoy a built-in relationship with a rising generation of young U.S. Latino consumers; investing in their early growth promises strong returns on investment for the next 30-40 years at a minimum,” noted Trujillo.

For his part, Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, stated: “Latino-led businesses are critical to the U.S. economy but often lack access to capital and resources for growth. Our investment in L’ATTITUDE Ventures builds on our broader commitment to support U.S. Latino entrepreneurs and small businesses across the country.”

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“This rising generation of Latino Americans represents the single biggest market since the baby boomer generation, with a GDP output greater than most developed nations’ entire economies,” said Muñoz, former United Airlines CEO and Chairman.

Brian Moynihan, Bank of America CEO, pointed out: “Bank of America’s equity investment in L’ATTITUDE Ventures reinforces our ongoing efforts to address the persistent gap in access to growth capital and open more doors for emerging companies led by diverse entrepreneurs.”

“When Sol spoke to me about creating L’ATTITUDE Ventures, I knew immediately that he was the one person who had the business relationships and experience to create a world-class investment fund for Latino-led startups,” said Gary Acosta, General Partner and CEO of National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP).

L'ATTITUDE Network

Held each September, the L'ATTITUDE Conference creates a forum for founders to compete for up to $20 million of capital to be invested by L'ATTITUDE Ventures during the cycle. Additionally, the competition is a platform for startups to introduce themselves to other vetted potential investors.

Trujillo—who has served as CEO of three large market-cap global companies—underlined: “What we are doing here isn’t just ensuring the success of Latin(a)o-owned businesses. This is a smart economic strategy that we know will absolutely help the U.S. economy remain competitive not only now but for the rest of this century, while creating wealth for a broader base of Americans.”