How are we feeling today?” Asks Startup Chica Emcee Bessy Martinez to a crowd full of excited students. Though there are many cheers in response, it’s not enough for the emphatic Emcee, “One more time, okay? How are we feeling today?!” Martinez screams out to a thunderous applause. Students chant a unanimous “Good!” as Martinez smiles in approval. It’s only 9 in the morning, and already the students can’t wait to get the day started. This is Startup Chica–Latinitas one-day-only conference that guides students from ages 9 to 14 through making their own business, from concept to pitch!
As a business owner, Martinez hopes this conference instills in the students a sense of confidence, “Seeing what is possible and allowing them the space to be creative. Also having a support system that is empowering that creativity, saying that there’s no right or wrong when it comes to starting a business because that’s really the entrepreneurial journey–creating that space for them is really going to be impactful to these girls because now they walk away knowing that there’s a community behind them and their creativity.”
After Martinez gets the students warmed up, she introduces Latinitas’ special guests, District 2 Representative LaRessa Quintana, and Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes who gives the students some much-needed encouragement, “I believe that Latinas are incredibly powerful and understand the potential each and every student has… hope today inspires all of our Latinitas to dream big, have all of those big ideas, and know that you can achieve it, and you can do it, and that we’re here to help you,” says the longtime Latinitas supporter. Mayor Pro Tem Fuentes has been known about the organization for years, volunteering with Latinitas right out of college. A core part of the organization’s mission that speaks to her heart is representation, “When I first met a Latina elected official…when I saw someone who looked like me and talked like me and had similar values, it changed my outlook.” Mayor Pro Tem Fuentes shared with me.
After they speak, Martinez introduces the woman who’s about to show the students everything they need to know about starting their own business, Ana Ruelas. Ruelas is the Founder and Managing Partner of The Agency Austin as well as the Co-Owner of Austin Woman Magazine, making her a true expert in entrepreneurship. As she speaks with the students, she shares how she got started creating a business, and the basic fundamentals for starting one of their own, “So, in summary; speak clearly, own your story, practice your intro, show up strong, be on time, smile, shoulders back, energy on.” After Ruelas’s talk, the students break into their teams and, with the help of their mentors, begin working on their business ideas. Coming up with a concept, a name, and a mission that will set them apart.
The teams worked together for over two hours, and by the end of it, they’d worked up quite the appetite. Fortunately, it’s lunchtime. As the students enjoyed food courtesy of Bambino’s Pizza, Pollo Campero, and Thundercloud Subs, eleven-year-olds Jaqueline and Sophia chatted with me about their favorite parts of the day, “What we’re doing for the businesses.” Jaqueline explains. “I’m really enjoying making new friends,” Sophia adds, explaining that she was a part of Camp Latinitas last summer, and was excited to come back, “When I went to [Camp] Latinitas, I found myself comfortable talking in Spanish, and also that the teachers were really amazing.” She says with a smile.
After a hearty meal, they were ready to get back to work! Startup’s second speaker, Gretel Perera is Expedia’s Director of Public Relations, Co-Founder of Latinas in Tech, and the President of L500, making her the perfect person to share the importance of marketing with the students, “Who here likes writing stories?” She begins, staring out into a crowd of tiny raised arms, “Who likes to tell stories?” Perera continues, emphasizing that every campaign, every commercial, is just an exercise in storytelling. If you like to tell a story, then chances are you like marketing. As she continued to speak lightbulbs were turning on in the student’s heads, and they began to understand how to connect the business ideas they’d come up with to Perera’s expertise. As Perera began wrapping up her talk, she offered some advice to the students, “You gotta love writing–remember that! Writing is so important. Keep telling those stories, love to tell those stories.”
Following Perera’s conversion, the students once again broke into teams and continued working on their business ideas–this time focusing on marketing. Since the students were using Canva to create their presentations, Canva invited two experts to help them out wherever they needed. It was a beautifully collaborative environment, and the students gained real-world experience conceptualizing, creating, and executing pitches. After finalizing their presentations, the students began practicing. Pretending they were in front of the judges, and deciding what order they would speak in. With the help of their mentors, the presentations were taking shape–and just in time too because before they knew it, it was time for the official presentations to begin.
Latinitas invited industry experts Aynee Roque (Team Lead at eBay), Linda Martinez (IT Product Director at Dell), Rina vonFrisch (Technical Project Manager at Kendra Scott), Hannah Burch (Manager Engineering at Zen Business), and Andria Whalon (Vice President, Sr. Bank Manager at Comerica Bank) to judge this year’s Startup. As the judges began to take their seats, Martinez turned the audience full of excited parents toward a large screen on the stage, gearing them up for a surprise message from a “special guest”. The guest turned out to be none other than Kendra Scott herself, who wanted to offer some words of wisdom to the students, “Latinitas is all about empowering girls like you to be leaders, innovators, and creators. You’re exploring new ideas, you’re problem-solving, and embracing new challenges–that is at the heart of being an entrepreneur. So go out there and let your passion drive you. I want you to be bold, be brave, and most importantly–be you!” It was a beautiful message, and exactly what the students needed to hear before stepping out on stage.
One by one, the presentations went off without a hitch as team after team showcased their brilliant new ideas, how much money they would need for their startup, and how their startup was needed in this world. It was inspiring to watch, and at the end, the judges separated for a long deliberation. There would be three awards given out, each revolving around a central focus–innovation, sustainability, and philanthropy. Finally, the judges returned with their verdict.
Winning the Innovation Award: Team 8, Electric Sirens On The Rocks
With a mission to lessen the effects of bullying, Electric Sirens aimed to create a music software app and website that helps you craft songs to share your bullying story and build confidence by listening to others’ story songs. They planned on running through a monthly subscription and asked for $1 million for two years of runway.
Winning the Sustainability Award: Team 7, Locally Global Conservation Group
Locally Global is an educational app that can tell you facts about all the animals in your specific area of the world, share migration patterns, and include fun games! The app was inspired by a cute rolly polly, Jeffree, which the team found while coming up with ideas. Upon doing more research on the species, the students wanted to create an app that would make it even easier to discover.
Winning the Philanthropy Award: Team 5, Helpcare
Helpcare offers physical housing for stray animals and unhoused people all in one place. The three-story building includes a first floor specifically for animals, a second floor for adults, and a third floor for children. They asked for $2 million but aimed to make everything accessible for the patrons at their facility.
Once the winning teams were announced, and gifted their prizes (gift boxes from Kendra Scott) Latinitas Executive Director Gabriela Kane Guardia was welcomed onto the stage to deliver the closing remarks, “Congratulations on all of your pitches, I want to support all of your businesses!” Guardia cheered, “I want to thank each of you for taking time on a Saturday to invest in yourself. I want to thank your parents and your guardians for making it happen and bringing you here today. All of the mentors, thank you for spending a full day with our students and making this a really specific Startup Chica,” Guardia says, asking everyone to give the mentors and volunteers a big round of applause, “So, at Latinitas we really envision a future where Latinas lead with confidence, that is what we’re all about here today. Giving you these experiences so you go forward in the world feeling confident about yourself. And today we really proved that when we give girls and students like you the tools to lead, you rise to the occasion and you make things happen with a vision for what’s possible for your family, your communities, and the world that you want to see. So, thank you for bringing all of these ideas with you today.” Executive Director Guardia’s heartwarming words signified the ending of yet another inspiring Startup Chica.
Latinitas would like to thank Ann Richards School For Young Women Leaders for housing the event, along with our generous sponsors:
eBay, Dell, Kendra Scott, Zen Business, Applied Materials, Cadence, First United, Glimmer Austin, SailPoint, Siete Foods, Bambino