Professor of Entrepreneurship at Belmont University Dr. Jose Gonzalez recently launched Latino Emprendedor — a fully Spanish podcast designed for Latino entrepreneurs. Gonzalez recognizes that “there’s never been a better time to be a Latino entrepreneur in the United States.” Nearly one in four new businesses are Latino-owned, and Latino entrepreneurs have started small businesses at a rate 10 times faster than their non-Latino counterparts over the last decade.
With a multitude of business and entrepreneurship podcasts in existence, the Latino Emprendedor podcast brings a resource to Latino entrepreneurs in their dominant language of Spanish– a modality that isn’t readily available. “I think it establishes trust,” Gonzalez said. “The fact that people will not have to listen to the information in English is hopefully an automatic trust builder.”
Gonzalez has over 20 years of experience serving the Latino community of Middle Tennessee and was instrumental in establishing Negocio Prospero, the most prominent Spanish language entrepreneurial training program in Nashville. He is also a co-founder of Conexión Américas, a Nashville-based nonprofit that assists more than 9,000 Latino families each year through programs that focus on social, economic and civic integration.
At Belmont, Gonzalez is a leader of the school’s “Latino strategy,” a phrase that refers to the work being done from the University perspective to better connect and engage the Latino community at all levels. In 2022, he brought Mesa Komal Café, a culinary incubator for food entrepreneurs in the city, to Belmont’s campus as a partnership between the University and Conexión Américas. Latino Emprendedor is one of his newest ventures.
The professor is joined by co-host Frank Gonzalez, the Managing Director of Crown Solutions Spanish at the global financial literacy ministry Crown Financial.
“Frank was the catalyst that made it happen,” Jose acknowledged. “We got to talking and he was like, ‘Oh my gosh. I’ve wanted to do that for a long time and you’re the perfect person to partner with.’”
Latino Emprendedor brings joyful energy to the airwaves, encouraging listeners through lighthearted rapport between two industry experts who share the same surname. The two hosts discuss how to develop an entrepreneurial mindset, the difference between an idea and an opportunity and much more.
“First and foremost, it will have kind of a cheerleading and empowerment theme around encouraging people that have become entrepreneurs and convey the message that it can be done,” Dr. Gonzalez said. “We want to laugh and make it fresh, not using any fancy words or sounding too academic, but accessible.”
Latino Emprendedor launched Tuesday, April 25. Four episodes of the first season are available on all podcast channels. Listeners can anticipate guest appearances from industry experts and conversations that delve into the deeper aspects of entrepreneurship like payroll, insurance and licensing for future seasons.