Bísness School NBC and Telemundo

When Pedro A. Guerrero entered corporate America, there was one national magazine covering Latinos in business, Hispanic Business. Yet at the time, 1 in 10 people in the U.S. was Hispanic, and the number was growing rapidly. Pedro Guerrero, once a frustrated art school graduate, wanted to make sure there was more than just one magazine for the community. He wanted to create a magazine that would highlight the stories of Latinos in powerful positions across some of the United States’ biggest companies. Today, Hispanic Executive is far more than a magazine. It boasts interviews with some of the country’s biggest changemakers, from Jessica Alba to former Housing and Urban Development Secretary under President Barack Obama Julián Castro. And Hispanic Executive is just one of the lines of business under Guerrero's larger namesake company.

This episode was produced by Fernando Hurtado and Miguel Estrada. It was edited by James Jeffrey.

Follow Hispanic Executive at @hispanicexecmag.

Follow Fernando Hurtado at @byfernandoh.




See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What do you do after you lose your job, you’re $110,000 in debt, are raising a daughter, and you need to make ends meet fast? For San Diego-native Sandra Velasquez, the answer was starting Nopalera, a luxury brand of bath and body products using the nopal cactus. Nopalera is sold at over 400 retailers, including Nordstrom and Free People. Sandra Velasquez joins Bísness School to tell us why she launched a soap company when she herself is not obsessed with soaps, how she managed to build her business off of credit cards and how rejecting offers on Shark Tank affected her business. Plus, she answers questions from small businesses around the country.

This episode was produced by Fernando Hurtado and Miguel Estrada and edited by James Jeffrey.

Follow Nopalera at @nopalera.co.

Follow Sandra Velasquez at @officialslv.

Follow Fernando Hurtado at @byfernandoh.







See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Growing up in Monterrey, Mexico, Ricardo Cervantes and Alfredo Livas were used to the smell of pan dulce, or sweet bread, enveloping block after block. When Ricardo and Alfredo moved to the California for graduate school, they realized Mexican panaderías weren't as uniquitous as they were in Mexico. That wasn't necessarily surprising, but what was surprising was the difference in taste. Armed with a business degree from Stanford, Ricardo and Alfredo set out to create a chain of Mexican bakeries that celebrated Mexican sweet flavors—and created new ones—with La Monarca Bakery and Cafe. Today, the Los Angeles-based company has 12 locations and sells its coffee and cookies in Costco stores all over the Southwest. Ricardo joins Bísness School to explain why people told him it was a bad idea to make a bakery for Latinos and why he wants La Monarca to be a business that does well and good for the community.

This episode was produced and edited by Fernando Hurtado.

Follow La Monarca Bakery and Café @lamonarcabakery.

Follow Fernando Hurtado at @byfernandoh.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Many know Pepe Aguilar as the Grammy-winning artist whose last name is almost synonymous with Mexican music. What many don't know is that more than 20 years ago, Aguilar launched his own record label, Equinoccio Records, followed years later by Machín Records. Aguilar joins Bísness School to explain why he broke off from the big music labels early on in his career, what business lessons he learned from his parents, Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestre, and why he says his kids have the best contracts in the music industry.

This episode was produced and edited by Fernando Hurtado.

Follow Pepe Aguilar at @pepeaguilar_oficial.

Follow Machín Records at @machinrecords_.

Follow Fernando Hurtado at @byfernandoh.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ricardo Sucre, Gabriel González and Gustavo Darquea experienced culture shock when they came to the United States from South America for college. It wasn't just the language or the food — it was what college students drank that was surprising. Beer, vodka and hard seltzers reigned, while rum was nowhere to be found. After graduating from college, the trio decided to create a hard seltzer that was distinctly Latino. Ricardo Sucre and Gustavo Darquea explain how the idea for Casalú, a rum-based hard seltzer, was born — and how they took it from a SodaStream to stores all over Florida and Nevada.

Original photo for episode cover art taken by Irma Fragkogianni - Matsa from Endeavor Miami.

Follow Casalú at @drinkcasalu and learn more at casalu.com.

Follow Fernando Hurtado at @byfernandoh.

This episode was produced by Fernando Hurtado and edited by James Jeffrey.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The founders of MITH Media explain why they made Spanglish music after a top music executive told them not to.