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The State of Latino Entrepreneurship (SOLE) report from Stanford University
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Latino-owned businesses continue to face significant barriers to accessing capital

SOLE 2024: Despite challenges, 'the trajectory of Latino-owned businesses continues to be one of enduring optimism and resilience.'
By Ramona Schindelheim
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Lack of access to financial capital for Latino-owned businesses remains a “critical bottleneck” to unlocking their full economic potential, according to a new report released this morning by Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative (SLEI). Despite this, says the report, Latino entrepreneurs have significantly contributed to job creation, economic growth, and business diversification across the nation.

The State of the Latino Entrepreneurship 2024 (SOLE 2024) is the latest report tracking the impact of Latino entrepreneurship on the U.S. economy from SLEI, a collaboration between Stanford University Graduate School of Business and the Latino Business Action Network (LBAN)

Its research finds that white business owners are twice as likely as Latino owners to receive all their requested funding, 40% compared to 21%. According to the report, this is a trend that has not improved since the research first began ten years ago.

“Prior SLEI research has shown that even when controlling for business performance metrics such as revenue, industry, and profitability, the odds of obtaining funding approval are significantly lower for LOBs (Latino-owned businesses) compared to WOBs (white-owned businesses),” cites the SOLE 2024 report.

SLEI says that Latino entrepreneurs also don’t get enough feedback as to why they were denied funding, a critical component of the lending process and one that could help them improve their future applications and potentially increase their overall contributions to the economy by more than $1.1 trillion.

“Lenders could add value to the economy by providing greater transparency about why funding requests were not approved, and policymakers could create stronger accountability requirements for lenders to encourage such transparency.”

Latino-owned Businesses are Emerging as Leaders in Workforce Development

Latino-owned businesses are more likely to offer their employees pathways for professional growth, including technical skills, leadership training, and mentorship, compared to their white counterparts, according to the SOLE 2024 report.

SLEI says this is an important business strategy that can lead to long-term growth.

“With a competitive labor market, retaining and attracting talent is increasingly challenging for all businesses. This propensity of LOBs to offer benefits and growth opportunities can provide a strategic advantage. Research shows that companies offering robust benefits and career development pathways experience higher employee retention rates and productivity.”

Additionally, SOLE 2024 finds that 89% of Latino-owned businesses offer employer-paid benefits, such as health insurance, paid time off, and performance bonuses, compared to 75% of white-owned businesses.

Michroma is a biotech startup founded by Latino entrepreneur, Ricki Cassini, that is transforming the food colorant industry with its sustainable fermentation process using fungi.
CCI Industrial Contractors is a full service contractor founded in 1997 by Robert L. Garcia.
Solena Ag, co-founded by Irving Rivera, is a biotech company that provides soil health insights for sustainable agriculture.
CHUZA is a snack company founded by Mexico-born entrepreneur Danny Schwarz who is on a “mission to share Mexican flavors, culture, and flair” with American consumers.
Growth Institute was co-founded in as founded in 2011 by Daniel Marcos with the purpose of helping business leaders to achieve sustainable growth.

The Outlook is Strong. Latino Entrepreneurs are Optimistic and Determined.

This year’s findings show the number of Latino-owned businesses continues to grow, adding to the economy and creating jobs. “The number of Latino-owned businesses increased from 322,076 in 2018 to 465,202 in 2023. LOBs increased in number by 44% compared to a decrease of 3% for WOBs over the time period, pre- and post-pandemic.”

The creation of new Latino businesses during the time period cut across a diverse range of industries, including:

  • Arts and Entertainment (+86%),
  • Construction (+75%),
  • Transportation (+74%),
  • Real Estate (+66%), and
  • Professional Services (48%).

The report says 72% of Latino entrepreneurs have a positive outlook on “their business trajectory, despite navigating persistent funding challenges, market challenges, and economic pressures like inflation.”

The Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative’s State of the Latino Entrepreneurship 2024 research finds, in conclusion, “While financing remains one of the most significant low points for Latino-owned businesses, their ability to adapt and remain optimistic underscores their entrepreneurial spirit and determination. This optimism will continue to drive their contributions to the U.S. economy.”

The SLEI report was conducted between July 31 and September 13, 2024 in English and Spanish. The sample size was 10,018, consisting of 5,012 white business owners and 5,006 Latino business owners.

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Dana Beth Ardi

Executive Committee

Dana Beth Ardi, PhD, Executive Committee, is a thought leader and expert in the fields of executive search, talent management, organizational design, assessment, leadership and coaching. As an innovator in the human capital movement, Ardi creates enhanced value in companies by matching the most sought after talent with the best opportunities. Ardi coaches boards and investors on the art and science of building high caliber management teams. She provides them with the necessary skills to seek out and attract top-level management, to design the ideal organizational architectures and to deploy people against strategy. Ardi unearths the way a business works and the most effective way for people to work in them.

Ardi is an experienced business executive and senior consultant who leverages business organizational transformation through talent strategies. She uses her knowledge and experience to develop talent strategies to enhance revenue and profit contributions. She has a deep expertise in change management and organizational effectiveness and has designed and built high performance cultures. Ardi has significant experience in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, IPO’s and turnarounds.

Ardi is an expert on the multi-generational workforce. She understands the four intersecting generations of workers coming together in contemporary companies, each with their own mindsets, leadership and communications styles, values and motivations. Ardi is sought after to assist companies manage and thrive by bringing the generations together. Her book, Fall of the Alphas: How Beta Leaders Win Through Connection, Collaboration and Influence, will be published by St. Martin’s Press. The book reflects Ardi’s deep expertise in understanding organizations and our changing society. It focuses on building a winning culture, how companies must grow and evolve, and how talent influences and shapes communities of work. This is what she has coined “Corporate Anthropology.” It is a playbook on how modern companies must meet challenges – culturally, globally, digitally, across genders and generations.

Ardi is currently the Managing Director and Founder of Corporate Anthropology Advisors, LLC, a consulting company that provides human capital advisory and innovative solutions to companies building value through people. Corporate Anthropology works with organizations, their cultures, the way they grow and develop, and the people who are responsible for forming their communities of work.

Prior to her position at Corporate Anthropology Advisors, Ardi served as a Partner/Managing Director at the private equity firms CCMP Capital and JPMorgan Partners. She was a partner at Flatiron Partners, a venture capital firm working with early state companies where she pioneered the human capital role within an investment portfolio.

Ardi holds a BS from the State University of New York at Buffalo as well as a Masters degree and PhD from Boston College. She started her career as professor at the Graduate Center at Fordham University in New York.

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