Entrepreneurial Empire
Learn the fundamentals of where you are in business and how to scale with your host Jacqueline. Your business will go through many stages, and every stage will have it's own set of requirements. Let's unravel the journey ahead together and find strategic solutions that will help you conquer it all.
Entrepreneurial Empire
Building San Antonio’s Next Million-Dollar Wave with Luis Rodriguez
If you think San Antonio is just following Austin, think again. We sit down with Luis Rodriguez, CEO of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, former Austin chamber leader, and tech founder, to map how a century-old institution and a hungry startup scene are building real pathways to wealth. From Toyota’s tier-one supplier strategy that elevated local Hispanic-owned firms to a new push for access to capital and workforce development, Luis shares the playbook turning authenticity into advantage.
We unpack the “zero to one” grind through his own startup story, raising money, hiring people smarter than you, and turning chaos into traction. Then we zoom out. Why are young millionaires emerging faster? How do AI and easy access to information change the odds for disciplined founders? And where does the chamber step in to convert ganas into growth with capital programs, micro-lending allies, and procurement routes that actually move the needle?
You’ll also hear how San Antonio’s ecosystem compounds wins: Geekdom’s collisions, Rackspace alumni fueling new funds, Tech Bloc’s leadership, and global ties across Mexico, Colombia, and Spain. Add an expanding airport, a revitalizing downtown, and a culture that welcomes new ideas, and you get a rare window before critical mass sets in. Timing and positioning matter; this is the moment to paddle into the wave.
Tap play to learn how to align your network, solve real problems, and plug into resources that shorten your path from idea to revenue. If this conversation helps you see your next move more clearly, subscribe, share with a founder friend, and leave a review so more builders can find us.
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Welcome to the Entrepreneurial Empire Podcast. This is the place where you can find business and career strategies, techniques, and real-life success journeys of individuals who have built their businesses to the million-dollar revenue mark and beyond. I'm Jacqueline Hernandez, life coach and business development consultant. I have worked with startups, Fortune 100 companies, network marketing, direct sell organizations, churches, nonprofits, and government agencies, all to become the authority experts in their industry, lead with people and scale their revenue. Let's get started. Welcome back. Today we have somebody very special here in San Antonio. He is the CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce here in San Antonio, Texas. Not only is he the CEO now, but he also was the CEO leading the change in Austin, Texas as well. And all of us know Austin is the Silicon Valley capital of Texas, out there in Austin. And he was leading the charge with Austin as well. He served there for a few years. And then he started his own tech company with a couple of partners. And that tech company, not only did they take it from startup, but they also took it to the million-dollar mark. And he's going to talk to us about that as well and his experience within startup realm, tech, and all of the great stuff that's happening with the chamber today, with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce here in San Antonio. We have our CEO, Luis Rodriguez. Hi Luis, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER_00:Hi, Jacqueline, and hello, everybody. Thanks for watching.
SPEAKER_02:Nice to have you. Yeah, thank you so much for joining us. I know your schedule is so super busy. So let's dive right in. Uh, why don't you tell our uh give our viewers a little bit of background about your own history? I mean, that's uh uh definitely a diverse in uh diversity within your chamber with Austin. Then you started your own tech company, so you're dabbling in that, and then you go back to the chamber in San Antonio. So tell us a little bit about that experience and then what drove you to dive back into the chamber, Hispanic chamber here in San Antonio.
SPEAKER_00:Sure. No, absolutely, Jacqueline. And once again, thanks uh for having me on. We're very excited that you're here in San Antonio, by the way. Your energy and just everything you bring to our community uh is just so greatly appreciated and warmly welcome. Um yeah, so you know, just super long story, trying to uh uh, you know, bring it, uh condense it as much as I possibly can. Being here back, what I call home at the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, it's really a full circle. Before I went to Austin, uh to the great city of Austin, Texas, to lead their Hispanic Chamber of Commerce with their wonderful board and their members, it's such a great city. Um, I actually worked here at the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. I was here prior for seven years from 2010 to 2017, before being recruited to lead the Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. And, you know, one thing uh people have always asked, you know, Luis, uh, what city's better, right? Uh Austin, San Antonio, because these are two cities that are two are very close to one another, right? But they are a world apart from each other, right? We a lot of folks forget that the city of San Antonio was founded by over 300 years ago. It was one of the most uh accurate governments ever formed in America over 300 years ago when the Spaniards founded us. Um, and so you know that I always share the best thing I learned when I lived in Austin for three years was two, two, two critical components. One, uh, the people of Austin, because they're all warm, they're all inviting, they're just great individuals, wonderful entrepreneurs there, right? You said tech startup, and it's just they're ever going. They are a Silicon Valley of Texas for sure. And two, it's how close it is to San Antonio because it's so close. And and same thing with San Antonio. I love the people of San Antonio and how close it is to Austin. So being involved with the chamber, then being recruited to Austin, really gave me a great appreciation for what entrepreneurs and business owners, small business owners do so much so that I learned a little bit about fundraising and we were able to launch a tech company. Uh, coincidentally, ironically, right, not in our our little Silicon Valley of Austin, but back here, home in San Antonio, because San Antonio, I believe it's on the starting edge of just being something spectacular when it comes to entrepreneurship here uh as well. So raised some money, came back to San Antonio, did launched modern managed IT, right? Hired a whole bunch of very, very smart people, much smarter than me, uh, to lead a great company for over four years. Yeah, before returning back to the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as their president and CEO. And and you know, the full circle uh of what's in common between the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, even the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber, most chambers, and when we launched our tech company, Modern Managed IT, our Modern Managed IT was focused to provide, you know, high enterprise level um technology services to small businesses. You know, the majority of chamber members will be small businesses, and I've have grown such an appreciation for what small businesses do in their community that that's what brought me back to the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce because no one champions small business more uh uh not just as strong as the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. I hope that helped kind of full circle, right? Because there's so many details in between. We could be here forever.
SPEAKER_02:Well, I think that's what actually makes you the best fit for the position, right? Because you're well versed in not just knowledge, but experience as well. And even when you look at small businesses, you actually have insight on how that small business can actually scale. So maybe they're not trying to scale as big as you know a tech company, but at least they can have some advantage from your insight on how to fundraise, how to raise more capital, who's the right people that they can be in contact with. And you have that that knowledge and that insight that you know really comes from experience. And you brought that experience by jumping into a startup yourself. So congratulations there.
SPEAKER_00:Thanks, Jacqueline. Thank you so much. Uh, you know, there's no greater appreciation for uh entrepreneurs because the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, that that zero to one, right? That zero to one is the hardest thing ever for any entrepreneur because there's not no data, there's nothing to uh compare to what you did last year that you could fix for the following year. You're literally uh building the plane as you're in flight. Uh, so there's no landing gear because that comes much later.
SPEAKER_02:That is definitely a startup. You summed it all up right there. You're uh launching the rocket as you're building it and putting it together and it's in the sky and already going. Definitely the startup, the startup cost, right? Now, I I love what you also stated here about, you know, the chamber is Hispanic Chamber is really an amazing place for small businesses. And I mean, everybody kind of knows what uh a chamber does, but can you explain it just in, you know, really briefly, explain what the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce does for their community of small businesses?
SPEAKER_00:Right. You know, I think we're unique in a way, uh, because the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, it's it's it's it's a one of a kind. It's it's first of its kind. You know, it launched in 1929. Back then it was a San Antonio Mexican Chamber of Commerce or La Cámara Mexicana de Comercio in San Antonio, and later it evolved to the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Uh, really, if you think about it, San Antonio, we're so fortunate. We're nearly 70% of our population here in the greater San Antonio metro area is almost 70%. So being Hispanic in San Antonio is a state of mind, right? We share with folks. And it just so happens that a majority of small businesses in San Antonio are Hispanic business enterprises. But that's not to say, right, the number one question that we always get asked is Luis, do you have to be Hispanic to join the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce? Absolutely not, right? Uh again, being Hispanic is a state of mind. Uh, we're a champion for all small businesses in the city of San Antonio. And we've done so for so many years. This chamber has led the efforts in talking with our the county leadership at Bear County to the city leadership in San Antonio, ensuring that when they it comes to procurement opportunities, um, and you know, for them to spend their our taxpaying dollars here, that they really look at the small business enterprises that are here in San Antonio. You know, we live in an era where what we used to say is you look at you look at the small minority women-owned businesses, but in in today's times, right, uh you can't say the word minority, you can't discriminate on gender, right? Whether you're woman or male, right? It's it's all small business enterprises. So what we're doing today is uh learning how to adapt and still be have that strong presence of the importance of small businesses and knowing the majority of San Antonio small businesses um are of minority, right? They're either Hispanic, Black-owned, veteran-owned businesses, or women-owned businesses. And what we're gonna do is continue to champion for all small businesses here in San Antonio, as we've done in the past, and we'll learn how to maneuver on how to appropriately do that in today's times.
SPEAKER_02:Definitely love that because I mean, you and I both know I do business development. So you've been in the startup realm as well. And starting a business, not only is it tough and it's hard, um, you you know, a lot of people say you have to have the right connections, and sometimes that's not always available for people. So definitely being a part of the Hispanic chamber changes all of that because you are very well connected. But you also talked about and highlighted something super amazing. You talked about um that right now, this is a pivotal moment here in San Antonio. Uh, the you're starting to see like a whole different uh demographic here, uh, different movement when it comes to business, uh, different insights, and people from all over the world are starting to come into Austin, and you're starting to see that spillover happening here in San Antonio. The houses are cheaper. Uh, Austin isn't that far of a drive, especially if you're doing online or you're, you know, a hybrid kind of work uh workspace. So I definitely see that. And it's pretty interesting when I look back, even being in the Silicon Valley and growing up there, but also seeing it go from like orchard fields, canneries, and you know, very well connected families to what it is today, Silicon Valley, uh the tech center of the world, you know. And so when you think about that and you look at the behavior that's happening here in Austin, you see the kind of that same environment that was that happened in Silicon Valley, where um, you know, you what you said is Austin is so completely different than San Antonio, and San Antonio really has those roots. So, what my question is for you is how do you see yourself positioning San Antonio's small businesses to really create not just uh not just a stability, but that true financial wealth and generational opportunity? Because as we're seeing, I mean, I've been here in San Antonio for three years, and just going back and forth to Austin to hear, I see a whole different dynamics and the way that they're looking at wealth and finances and how they're building it. Even at the small business level, they're looking at it and approaching it very differently. So, what how do you see yourself positioning San Antonio small businesses for that?
SPEAKER_00:Sure, you know, one of the biggest things I saw uh in Austin, the differentiator between San Antonio, when we we talk about the Hispanic community, especially Hispanic entrepreneurs, is you you look at the um the more successes San Antonio has had from Hispanic uh legacy business owners. And I'm gonna use Mitierra, downtown San Antonio, as a prime example that when the Cortes family came in here in the early 1900s, they started with a little piece of almost before that, you know, just a stand. Uh, but what they did is they saved pennies.
SPEAKER_02:By the way.
SPEAKER_00:Right, and they kept buying pieces and pieces of market square and pieces of market square and educating and including their family. So now we're on their fourth generation of the Cortez family.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And you look at the big piece of downtown that is owned by a Hispanic family, the Cortés family, right? It's prime real estate, prime location. You don't have a Fiesta San Antonio without going to Market Square as well. And I think San Antonio's done a really good job of ensuring that Hispanic entrepreneurs are positioned for success, just like the Mitiera family. Another area that I've seen San Antonio do extremely well, you know, um Austin just got the Tesla plant, right? That's that's exciting. That it really is. It's exciting for Austin for Texas in general. Uh San Antonio in 2006 got Toyota Motor Manufacturing, where we started making our tundras and our palmas here of automotive manufacturing. But what what the uniqueness that San Antonio did through the partnership of the Hispanic Chamber, the prior CEO, Ramiro Cavazos, who was the director of economic development for the city of San Antonio, was when we were recruiting Toyota, we uh instead of Toyota bringing in their tier one suppliers, right? The folks that are going to make the beds of the trucks, the steering columns, the seats, the tires. You know, these these are these are made with tier one suppliers and then put together in the Toyota plant. Instead of having them bring their own tier one suppliers, the city said, um, uh, you know, you'll they'll work out their agreements, an incentive package, but you need to have minority small business owners be your tier Toyota Tier One suppliers. And they said, sure. Uh, who who do who do you have in San Antonio that has manufacturing experience? Pues no tiene amas a nadie. We didn't have anybody, but what we did have was a lot of successful Hispanic uh entrepreneurs and black entrepreneurs that were able to partner up uh with Toyota, get the training they needed. And we have uh our Toyota Tier 1 suppliers, they're called the compadres, right? There was the Max Navarros, the Fernando Reyes, the Berto Guerras, the first ever, it's the compadres y la compadre, because there's a uh a woman named Rosa Santana who also uh is a tier one Toyota supplier, and she wasn't only the first Latina Toyota Tier One supplier in the world, she was the first woman Toyota Tier One supplier in the world. So, what San Antonio did is they maximized on the recruitment of Toyota Motor Manufacturing to build the tundras and uh Tacomas here. Now we build tundras and sequoias, but to also include successful businesses here that were already established to be a part of that. And what you see happening today is this happened a few years ago, right? In 2006. And so, and it happened at a level for these tier one suppliers, the founders, where they were already uh of of a very established age. So, what you really see, what's happening right now, is now you see that second generation taking in, right? You see, it started with Frank Herrera, now you have Jorge Javier Herrera stepping in. Rosa Santana, now her daughters, two other Latinas, Nicole Veloci, Lisa Navarro Gonzalez stepping in, Berto Guerra, Christian Guerra, you know, a Max Navarro, Max Navarro III, Fernando Reyes, Jason Reyes. So you see that like the founders, but now their children are stepping in. Millennium still with KJ as well. I mean, it's just so many, and they're here in San Antonio, and the plant just committed earlier this year to build another to uh another$500 million investment to expand as well. So more opportunity, right? So um I share that with you because I thought that was very smart of San Antonio to offer to one, maximize Toyota, choosing San Antonio to the location. They put it in the south side of San Antonio, where um uh once upon a time uh we're military city, USA, uh, but two major Air Force bases were shut down in Brook City Air Force and in uh Kelly Air Force Base. And so that really hit the south side of San Antonio and it removed that median income, right? The Latino median income. It provided a good stability, good paying job for so many. Now with Toyota being back kind of in the south side of San Antonio, it's it's helped fill that void, that gap that was left when the military bases closed as well. So uh I, you know, I applaud the city of San Antonio for what they did back then and what we continue to do now. We just recruited JCB. They're the ones that build, they're like the caterpillars, but they're competitors, but just to give you a perspective of what they build, the big machineries. Now that's being built here in San Antonio, too, from London. And so a lot of opportunity. So, you know, and the way things are going too, the automotive manufacturing, the advanced automotive manufacturing, there's so much technology behind that, right? Because it's not what we see in the TVs from the 90s, right? Of, you know, people just one person drilling, one person's, you know, it's now it's machinery, right? It's robotics. And so what you need is a lot of uh folks to know how to maintain and maintenance those robotics to ensure the assembly line continues to be efficient. So we're we're excited uh about what's happening that's taking place. And I can't go on without saying the importance of companies like Rackspace that launched here in San Antonio, a great tech company that went public uh in 2008, that's just been uh a great success for San Antonio. You know, Austin has their Dell with the Dell Enterprises. We're so fortunate to have Rackspace as our technology uh success story as well.
SPEAKER_02:Nice. I, you know, it's it's interesting. Since I've been here in the last three years, over the last year and a half, I have to say, I've heard a lot of mention of Rackspace. A lot of people talk about it in a very uh, you know, very high way that they they say they're doing great things here. Um, a lot of people that I've known that even work there at times, you know, so a lot of uh a lot of good things coming out of Rackspace. I can say that for sure. Thank you for sharing that. I I did not know that about the Toyota, but again, I have to agree with you. That is extremely smart on the city's behalf to give that to small business owners and you know, the community here to to really provide those those efforts to work. People want to work, people want to live in their purpose, and their purpose is their craft and their skill and their talent. And when you give them the opportunity to do that, they will show up. So I love that the city of San Antonio did that and they thought of that, you know? So and that you also talked about young entrepreneurs as well, and you talked about the the next generation. So you talked about how you know some of these families are passing this on to their the next generation, fourth generation you talked about as well. Um, and in that, also we look, we're seeing, we're living in an era in time, like in history, it never before in history in the United States have we produced the most multi-millionaire young, young entrepreneurs. So, you know, being when we're talking about young millionaires and young tech millionaires, right? Young people in tech as well. Um, what do you think about this shift of millionaires becoming younger and younger? And I only say this even from my perspective, because I we, you know, I have a uh I founded a nonprofit, and the nonprofit is yes, youth entrepreneurship services, right? So we're teaching young youth from the ages like 10 to 18 years old to build their own businesses. And some of these guys are pumping out like$600 a week. And we have a gentleman that has his own 3D printing, he's 12 years old, and he's just not only is he on fire, but he also got students from other schools to actually be his like 1099 employees as independent contractors, and they're selling on behalf of him, and he gives a percentage. So it's just like that thinking, and this guy's 12 years old, you know? And so, as we're seeing again in history, for the first time in history, we got even you're looking at uh under 30 years old hitting a billion dollars, you know. Um, you think about like Kylie Jenner and just like, you know, people that come to mind like that. And then you also, I I know of a gal that sold her business. Um, she is, I I can't remember her name, but she's out in Austin. She started in Austin and she started door knocking her lemonade and it's organic lemonade, and then she sold it to Pepsi for like hundreds of millions of dollars. So before she was even on her way to college. So when I say that, in respects to young millionaires, there is a shift that's happening, and and young people are are finding purpose a lot sooner than some entrepreneurs in the past decades. And and I think also, too, we've really provided a landscape for these young individuals to jump on that train quicker than like you and I probably, because we're collapsing that time by information um with AI, with Chat GBT, like all these different AI entities that they are using to build and start businesses. So, my question, I want to go back to that question, is what do you think about this shift of millionaires becoming younger and younger along with new technologies? And, you know, really how does this impact the entrepreneurs that the chamber services?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and you know, I think it's great. You know, it it really, really is. And um, I I one of the main reasons I feel we're having so many success, so many young millionaires is, I mean, we live in a area of access to information, it's in the palm of our hand. It's so easy. So, you know, there have always been a lot of on the entrepreneurial spirit in just the United States of America is so strong, uh, especially in the Latino community, too. We're just entrepreneurs by heart. So if you put the passion and the grit and the ganas, you could say, along with the information. That's right. Uh, you you the odds are, and Las Ganas include a lot of hard work and and a lot of patience and hard work and understanding. It takes a minute to build something, you're gonna be successful and you're gonna be, you're gonna succeed and run a million-dollar business. I I will tell you, our our community, the his the Latino community, uh, I think we make up about seven to eight percent of that. So the delta's huge, right? Um, and I think we're poised to see that increase year over year. Um, but what happens is uh sometimes we we have the the grit, the ganas, uh the right pathway, we have the right idea, but we don't have the access to the capital per se to really launch it. We're so many others that do, and I'm not talking that your parents have to be multimillionaires, so you could be a launch a million-dollar company, but if you have parents that are pretty well off, like you know, just middle class or little above, you know, they could help their son or daughter's idea become a reality. And and and it's and I think we're starting to see more of the Latino population get get break ground, but you know, we've still got ways to go. And and in San Antonio, again, being Hispanic is a state of I'm majority Hispanic. So you see a lot of successful entrepreneurs. What what a great success story that I like to share, and I it was when I was in Austin, as you mentioned, the uh the lemonade story um was this uh a young lady, uh I believe it's the Martinez family, they own Siete Foods. And Siete Foods, uh, they're those nice chips and tortillas that are gluten-free. Uh right, they they she started the making the tortillas, her and her brother, while they were attending the University of Texas in Austin because of her allergy to gluten.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, I heard about this story.
SPEAKER_00:So then the whole family got behind it, right? And just started it, started what started with you know, uh gluten-free tortillas made with almond milk, almond flour, and all that. It's now making chips, you tortillas, you name it, right? They were just purchased, if I'm not mistaken, for a billion dollars.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, wait a minute. So you know them?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, they're they were yes, I mean, they're from Austin, they're very good people. The entire family's nice. And so they she was kind enough to sit on a panel as we were promoting Latina leaders uh in in Austin uh as well. I mean, but they worked hard, they had the ganas, the patience, and and and to keep going and persevering. And and so uh they're they're a great story, a success story, not only just for Austin, but for Texas, for the US in general, um as well. And you know, we need more of those. We we we do need uh more of those uh as well. But what you saw there with the family is there was uh um they like most entrepreneurs, there were it was an allergy problem, food allergy problem, and they found a solution. And when they found the solution, they had the ganas and the grid and the capability to move it forward and and make siete foods, you know, for for us to enjoy. So I what that's just a really great story that recently happened uh as well.
SPEAKER_02:What you said right there, um, I can't even begin to tell you. That was something that was ingrained in me as a very young person. And that's actually what I built my business development company on, which is what how what problem are you solving within the community? Because if you are a chen trend chase trend chaser, it's not gonna work. You know, you're gonna you're gonna exist as long as trends are are existing in that moment, you know. But when you look at it, you have to lean into your strengths, number one. But out of your strengths, what experience has risen within you that has caused like this revival in you, in a sense, to go out there and solve that problem that you see within your community with the what you see in the world. And that's even how we lead within our nonprofit as well. We're teaching the students the first part of the nonprofit or the mentorship is what problem do you see in your community, in your society, in your neighborhood that you can solve a problem for? And I cannot tell you the amount of uh things that these students have come up with, but the imagination and what you just said right now, too, about parents being able to fuel these dreams by being the first, their first investor, you know? How nice is that that your parents are your first investors because they believed in your dream and believed in what you were doing, you know? Um, and I just talked to another woman, she's also involved in the chamber as well, and she says um she didn't have her parents that believed in her dream, but she did have a mentor that believed in her dream enough to give her$50,000 to start her business. So that's incredible. So mentors definitely right up there with parents as well.
SPEAKER_00:For sure. Absolutely, absolutely okay.
SPEAKER_02:Now looking ahead, we talked about you mentioned it's been around. You guys are gonna be coming up on a hundred years here shortly. What in the next three years, right?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah, because we're yeah, 2025 is we're all we're almost at Q4. I can't. This year has really flown by.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, it did. I'm like, wow, it's been an amazing year so far. So so yeah, so you're about you know, uh three and a quarter away from from hitting a hundred years from being a Senti chamber, Hispanic chamber, right? So that's amazing now. In the landscape, uh, this just real quick question here because I I want to move on here, but in the landscape of the chambers throughout the United States, in the Hispanic um chapter of it, how many are uh Hundred years old.
SPEAKER_00:Well, I know from a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, from what I know, uh uh, is we're the first. So we are the oldest Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. I believe there's one out of California that's right behind us at you know 92 or something like that, uh, as well. But when we were formed in 1929, now there's over 350 across this nation.
SPEAKER_02:Um, you guys you really San Antonio sparked a they they lit a spark, right?
SPEAKER_00:Little cheese bat right, we we la cheese, right? We're that spark, and and so um, yeah, so I believe we are the first, and we're coming on our centennial in 2029. So we're very excited uh about that. And you know, Jacqueline, the the the way you get there is um you know, to to to um thrive and survive and thrive for almost a hundred years is having a really good board of directors and and just a solid uh vision and mission, right? That the board uh uh executes uh on a day in, day out, year in, year out basis. And we're so fortunate because this chamber has had so many incredible chairmen and women who have done great things in our community, uh from especially when it comes to uh the entrepreneur from business owners. Um we've had wonderful folks, uh um like uh Patricia Pliego Stout who um maximized uh with Alamo Travel Group for a while in the 90s, it the the majority of the Department of Defense, she handled the majority of their bookings, right? I mean, could here in San Antonio, Texas, just an extremely successful empresaria. She's from Mexico, who came here to uh live the American dream and is doing that as well. Um, we mentioned Berto Guerra, uh, who used to be the chairman of the Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce before coming to San Antonio and being the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, he owns so many businesses across the state that does so well as well. To today's um uh chairmen and women, we had recently had uh Denise Hernandez, who uh is a part of a great catering company called True Flavors Catering here in San Antonio. Jacqueline, they're part she's uh part of the Hernandez family that owns La Gloria and the E and she also started the eatery. You see a lot of their uh uh food services being implemented in University of San Antonio. Yes. And uh Steve Alanis, who, you know, it's funny, when uh former chairman Alanis started, he owned the clinic, uh physical therapy clinic. Uh, you know, I remember seeing uh Steve, and you know, he was started with one, now he has 13 across the greater San Antonio area, to our current chairman, uh Juan Antonio Flores, who's doing great things here at the Port San Antonio, uh, which is just gonna be an innovative center here at the port. What's happening here is amazing. Uh, to our chairwoman elect, Ana Maria Sweskinfass, who owns a fantastic uh PR firm here in San Antonio uh that continues to grow and scale. She's one of the best. And she she gets to be our chairwoman next year, too. So I think great leaders are what really helps us uh uh make it to 100. It really is our chairs and our board of directors and our members. And and then, you know, if you're fortunate to work here, like like me, work here and come back and and just drive that mission and vision uh to ensure small businesses are doing really, really well here in San Antonio.
SPEAKER_02:No, that's amazing. I mean, looking ahead as you're approaching this uh this hundred years that's coming up here shortly, um, what do you believe that needs to actually, or what do you see that needs to evolve for the chamber to remain relevant for the next hundred years, for the next century of entrepreneurs and leaders?
SPEAKER_00:Well, you know, Jaclyn, between you and I, I sincerely hope uh uh maybe we'll be around, maybe we won't. Who knows what's gonna happen. But but I hope there's no need for a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in the next hundredth year, right? I hope that by then it's it's irrelevant, right? It's just it's just you know, it's who we are. Um but until then, um what I'd like to do with this chamber is continue to do what we we've done, which is um be a champion for small businesses, help create tomorrow's leaders today, uh, through our Alex Riceno Leadership Development Program. Really, it's helping mid managers or directors advance to be VPs and presidents just through issues, uh finding resolving issues and just being good problem solvers in our community. To also um we're working with our board this year. Um, you know, one of the biggest number one when you ask a small business, regardless of Hispanic, minor, just any small business, what is your number one issue, right? Access to capital. Access to capital, access to capital, access to capital. So we're what we're hoping to do at this chamber is to find a fund that we could create where we're able to provide small businesses access to capital. We're working with, we're gonna start working with Lyft Fund and other financial institutions. So, because when when you hear access to capital, access to capital, and you also say, you know, small businesses struggle with access to capital, what's it's time to stop talking and it's time to start doing. Uh so I'm looking forward to working with our board to see how we can help uh be a some what whatever type of platform we can be to help small businesses with access to capital. And then right behind that is workforce development, right? So access to capital, you know, money and people, right? Money and people, uh, they're so important. So we'll continue to uh take place in workforce and education development here in San Antonio through our Core Force STEM program and just ensuring that we're checking the right boxes, not just any box or a box to check, but the boxes that are creating impact to help San Antonio move forward.
SPEAKER_02:You know, maybe even something to consider on more of the lightweight is micro lending as well. So yeah, that could also be a possibility.
SPEAKER_00:I really helps.
SPEAKER_02:That's turned nations around.
SPEAKER_00:That's so true. So that's right, that is correct.
SPEAKER_02:So okay, well, you know, that that there's a lot to do with tradition versus pace, right? And so now as you're rolling in, like what do you think about or how do you see the chamber balancing tradition versus this kind of like this new pace or new way of doing businesses now that you have like other people coming in from all over the world coming here because they're attracted to what's happening and the boom that's happening here? How do you how do you see the chamber balancing that tradition, not losing that that Ghana, like what you're saying, and that tradition also that's been built in over a hundred years, but now with implementing that new pace and and actually kind of embracing it too, right?
SPEAKER_00:For sure. No, you know, I think a lot of chambers of commerce has really had to uh uh reposition, reevaluate who they are and what they're doing for their members when COVID struck everybody, right? Because the the two main uh uh sources for any chamber of commerce is uh membership revenue, right? And then uh special events revenue. Well, one, we you couldn't have a special event because you couldn't come together, right, at the time. And then at that time, too, if you're a small business owner, which is the majority of any Chamber of Commerce membership, is you start tightening those budgets. And one of the first things that that's gonna go is a membership to an organization, right? Because there's just no value at the time. Uh, but you know, I think the chambers that pivoted correctly, right? The uh and and started going to technology advancements, they they just swung into Zoom. Uh, Zoom used to be just for a select few, now it became something for everyone all across the world.
SPEAKER_01:Even for kids.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, for school. Oh my gosh, you're so right. Um, and how do you create and a platform in this chamber? I was so thankful I was a member of it. I wasn't working here, I was with the tech company at the time. And you know, it was the PPP funding, the ever uh, but they provided Zoom virtual seminars on how to access those, how to apply for those. So it quickly became a platform as a resource, a major resource needed uh to help small businesses uh make it through COVID, right? Make it through COVID. It was so new for the world, let alone the US, and and and so it maneuvered uh as well. But you know, one thing I think that makes San Antonio San Antonio unique is our authenticity, right? When we talk about tradition and how do we kind of combine the two to ensure you continue to propel forward uh as well. I think utilizing uh the technology today, uh realizing that you don't need to uh have an event at a place at all times, what used to be tradition, it could be done virtually, you could do seminars virtually with the right experts at you know, providing that for your members is super critical uh as well. And then also when we talk about uh an international effort, you know, we're so fortunate this chamber, since it was founded by the Mexican consulate in 1929, uh, we have a great relationship with Mexico. We we go on these annual trade missions to Mexico, we go to Spain this year. As you talk about how do we evolve, we looked a little bit past Mexico and we went to um Colombia and what and their their uh energy that what they're having there in Medellín and in Bogotá as well. So this chamber will continue to focus on on Latin America and how do we continue to strengthen those ties? Because you never know uh who you might meet. Uh, I know uh we've met with folks in Guadalajara, they're a sister city of ours, and a firm here that they they were growing, but they didn't want to offshore to India. But you know, the the solution was Mexico, uh, and it was direct flights to Guadalajara. So these types of relationships are important. Um, and if we're a chamber that just helps two two companies connect to uh find to resolve an issue, then that's what we're doing, something right. So we'll continue to do those efforts. We posted a delegation from Spain earlier this year, and and we'll continue to focus on those international efforts. It's one of our five pillars um as well. So we'll also be going to Spain next year from from that visit that came this year as well. It's just it's important, you know. One of our goals too, I'll I'll say this publicly, is um we had our first ever transatlantic direct flight uh to Germany uh last year. Uh, and and unfortunately um it was uh dissolved due due to something with the German government uh and something along those lines. So now we're really focusing with working at the city of San Antonio International Airport is how do we get a direct flight maybe to Madrid, right? It makes sense to have a direct flight in Madrid. And with the growth that San Antonio is currently experiencing, you know, right now it's it's a great time to live in San Antonio. We're uh really in our airport's expanding, right? When our airport is expanding, it's pos it's in a great position in San Antonio, it's not on the outskirts, it's right in the heart of San Antonio. So when you land in there, it's you're you know, minutes away, minutes away from where you need to get to, whether it's La Cantera, downtown, you know, the frost center, wherever. Um now we're expanding that airport. So more direct flights, more opportunities for direct flights as well. And what's happening with the downtown area, too, we're gonna have a baseball field, uh baseball stadium being built down downtown on the west side of downtown. And then, you know, hopefully we're gonna have a new San Antonio sports district downtown where the Spurs will get a new arena and we'll remodel the Alamo Dome and then the frost center where the Spurs are currently playing on the east side of San Antonio. That will become an annual uh type of rodeo experience. Uh, we have a great rodeo here annually that generates nearly$400 million. It's right up there with Santa Southwest, right? Um, on the annual revenue impact. And so to be able to extend that, agriculture is really big in the state of Texas. Um, so it'll be very helpful for us. So I mean, there couldn't be a greater time to live in San Antonio than than right now.
SPEAKER_02:Absolutely. I definitely feel that. I mean, everything that's happening here, even in the last three years, Luis, I've been here for three years and I've seen things literally change drastically in certain arenas. So, and then different, you know, a lot of different populations are coming in and and now kind of giving their ideas, and people are embracing that too. I've been seeing that as well. Um, you know, and how do you really see this diversity shaping the local entrepreneurs? Like, um this is, I believe San Antonio is really turning into a melting pot. Um, you're starting to see more and more people coming here. Um, even meeting a lot of people that are coming from Austin, and they're now moving here to be in the San Antonio environment. So you got people from all over the world coming in to San Antonio. How do you see that, you know, those cultures, those ideals, you know, are shaping the entrepreneur world right now?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, no, I think one thing that makes San Antonio such a great place, it's it's so welcoming, right? So when you have folks coming from anywhere, any parts of the state, the nation or the world, it's really we're very welcoming. It's such a such a warm city. And then when you get to come here and you experience the river walk and everything that San Antonio has to offer, you you quickly fall in love with the city, not just because of the people, but everything that San Antonio has to offer. And I really think what's making San Antonio much more successful from an entrepreneurial uh perspective is what's happening downtown at Geekdom and Velocity, right? And just we now have a place for anyone who has a good idea and the Ghanas who wants to do something great and start start up, have a startup. There's there's a there's a place, there's a location, there's a platform, and there's resources available, right? That wasn't always the case in San Antonio, but now it's become the status quo in San Antonio. Well, I'm excited. Uh uh Jacqueline's uh San Antonio Startup Week is about to launch in October, and every year it's bigger and better. And I'm just sharing it's it's a great time to live in San Antonio, to be a part of this ecosystem that's happening in downtown and all across San Antonio when it comes to entrepreneurs because you know we're we're there, we're we're here. I think you meant we mentioned Rackspace earlier. So many folks who were successful in Rackspace, um, who who eventually uh left Rackspace, you know, they didn't leave San Antonio, they stayed here and started other tech companies and became private equity firms, right? To help startups and technology and other startups succeed and um scale. When we launched Modern Managed IT, we launched that at Geekdom. Uh in it was during COVID, but the ecosystem in Geekdom is one that is just uh opening, welcoming, friendly, and you could you never know who you bounce into. The elevator, I remember we needed uh a widget to do something with to automate our payment system, and we met someone there on the elevator. I was just sharing my it my uh issue, and he's like, we could do that. And sure enough, he he did it. Uh, I don't know what it is I was looking for, I wasn't the technology export, but I just remember our engineer sharing what it is we needed, and when I connected the two of them, what I felt was a multi-million dollar, that's what it felt like to me, problem ended up being an under$5,000 fix, right? I was just so grateful. But that happened at Geekdom, right? And so, I mean, just the inner the synergy in San Antonio is incredible. And they just announced that uh Beto Altamirando is going to be the CEO of Tech Block. Uh as well. Tech Block is an or I don't know, it's it's a membership-driven organization that really focuses on the technology startups here in San Antonio. Tech Block, it had a great CEO and Eliana Gonzalez, who now is with HEB. And prior to her was Marina Gavito Aldarete, who's now a councilwoman for District 7. So who used to work at Rackspace and USAA. And Beto is just uh uh he he ran for mayor, right? He ran for mayor. Um, but it's a really good campaign.
SPEAKER_02:I'm so surprised he did not win the mayor.
SPEAKER_00:Smart guy, um, you know, owns Iris, who is it's a great technology company here in downtown San Antonio. So now he's gonna also lead tech block. So you have a lot of really good leaders in important organizations that are really gonna guide this city into what's we've already started to see that's energy, it's synergy, and it'll just continue to build upon with the right people in place, like Bethel leading tech block right now.
SPEAKER_02:Wow, thank you for that insight. Um, definitely amazing, amazing uh leader he is for sure. Again, I can't believe he didn't win. But next time.
SPEAKER_00:Well, it's up to him, right? So, but you know, we had 27 people running for mayor, bitch. It was hard. I don't know. That is I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing, right? 27.
SPEAKER_02:Well, 27 people thought that they needed to to shake things up here, so that's that's awesome.
SPEAKER_00:That's right, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:All right, well, now I know, I mean, you're just such a wealth of knowledge, and you give in so much great insight here today. What would you like to leave our audience of entrepreneurs to, you know, what advice would you give our entrepreneurs? We talked about having the ganas, we talked about, you know, really uh sticking things through. And we also talked about, you know, how businesses are hard, you know, getting capital seems to be the biggest running problem, you know, for the Hispanic culture. And, you know, I know we're not saying minorities, but we're gonna say minorities. Um, you know, and so file finding and solving that problem, I feel like is definitely that's gonna be the next startup right there.
SPEAKER_00:Right, yes. Well, you know, I'll I'll leave with them with, you know, first and foremost, thank you, gracias for you know, taking the big step into entrepreneurship. You know, it's uh they say it's lonely at the top, but it doesn't have to be, right? I I believe that um your net worth is your network, and I believe that tremendously with the right people around you, uh, any entrepreneur, good product, good service, and the Ghanas and the right circle of influence per se, your network, you can be extremely successful. And I think doing something here in San Antonio, uh you can have picked a better time to launch uh something here in San Antonio for the world to see. Uh it's just uh with what's happening with our startup ecosystem downtown and the and so much support uh uh from some so many who want to see a startup succeed here in San Antonio, uh the support system couldn't be bigger. Um, so you know, again, thank you, gracias, and and no, you you have a whole city who stands behind you and wants to see you succeed.
SPEAKER_02:You know, I I want to definitely highlight on what you just said, right there. Timing is everything. And they always say in business, it's about time. They say that there's a little bit of luck that's sprinkled in there, right? But that luck really is timing. And right now, what you talked about was timing and positioning. And positioning right now, here in San Antonio, is everything. Sky is the limit, and you are creating, you can go out and create whatever you want because this is this city embraces it, and they're embracing that change and innovation. And this is like a whole playground right here for entrepreneurs and positioning and timing. I can't say it, I can't say it enough. Those two things combined together, it creates success. It just prints paper, basically.
SPEAKER_00:Very true. Timing is everything, and you know, San Antonio right now is poised uh for greatness in San Antonio. I will share 15 years, I think from now, it might be too late, right? We might have it evolved, and right is kind of getting in front of the hundred percent wave, right? And and right now it's the perfect time to ride the wave to get on.
SPEAKER_02:That's what happens. That's what happens in any type of rise or economy that's starting to build up, uh, an area that's becoming centralized with information. The smartest people in the world are starting to come here. Like there's a concentration that's starting to happen, but it's also before it hits critical mass, and that's the important part, right? So we're right before the critical mass part, but once we get there, it's like what you said too late. All right, thank you so much, Luis, for joining us. Entrepreneurial Empire here. We brought you guys the best of the best, uh, lots of insight. We talked about Rackspace, we talked about Geekdom, we talked about startups, and then we also talked about the future of where um the chamber, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is headed and where they've been. And we just heard it here, they are the first to hit a hundred a hundred years. Yeah, a hundred years and sane in business, but it also comes with connection, it comes with deep ties and those traditions also not deviating too far from those traditions, but really keep keeping a united uh community and not just a united community, but like what Luis said here today, which is we want you to succeed, we want you to win, and that's the environment and the landscape that these guys are playing at. So thank you so much, Louise, for jumping on today. We greatly appreciate you.
SPEAKER_01:Thanks for having me.