Gary Acosta’s Weekly Blog

Featuring Gary’s take on the economy, politics, sports and Latino culture

Gary Acosta is an entrepreneur, investor, and advocate for the Latino business community. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), the largest Latino business organization in the nation with more than 58,000 members and 100 local chapters. He is also the Co-Founder of AVANCE Global, an event platform created with media entrepreneur and New York Times bestselling author, Nely Galán.

Gary also founded AVANCE Sports, a non-profit dedicated to expanding Latino leadership and influence in the sports industry. He is a founding partner of L’ATTITUDE Ventures, the largest venture capital fund that invests exclusively in Latino-led startups. He is the creator of the Hispanic Wealth Project, a non-profit with a mission to advance economic mobility and generational wealth in the Latino community. His video series, “The Latino Brand,” shares his take on business, leadership, and the image of Latinos in America.

Gary attended the University of California in San Diego and Pomona College, where he played varsity basketball for Hall of Fame coach, Gregg Popovich. He lives with his family in San Diego.

Sign up for Gary's Weekly Blog
Never Miss an Episode
Listen to the latest blog

Crabs In the Bucket

I am basically on lockdown from now until the NAHREP and L’ATTITUDE conference. This year we have a concert with Farruko and Juanes, a gala with Lin-Manuel Miranda, a basketball game with Manu Ginóbili, and our usual cadre of CEOs, VCs, entrepreneurs, and celebrities.

Read more

Let the Game Come to You; Then Ride the Momentum

I had the honor of being the commencement speaker at the UC Irvine School of Business in June. I spoke about expecting the unexpected. I like to take a counterintuitive approach to business and life. I told the audience of 4000 students, faculty, and parents that regardless of how detailed your plans might be, your actual career will probably turn out very different than you expect.

Read more

L’ATTITUDE Ventures Raises $100M: What Does That Mean for Latino Start-Ups?

Last week, L’ATTITUDE Ventures closed its first institutional fund, raising over $100 million through a strategic anchor investment by JP Morgan Chase and initial investments from the Trujillo Group and Bank of America. Other key investors in this fund, which is aimed solely at investing in Latina(o)-owned companies with high growth potential, include UC Investments, MassMutual, Barclays, the Royal Bank of Canada, Polaris Limited Partners (Oscar Munoz), Cisco, Nuveen Investments, and Morgan Stanley.

Read more

What Exactly is a Start-Up?

The term “start-up” is one we all have heard hundreds of times, but I have never been totally clear on what the term actually means. I know it refers to companies that are relatively new, but I also know that not every new company is considered a start-up. I decided to ask a few people…

Read more

PPP Program Was Not the Best Way to Help Workers

In the face of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the government launched the Paycheck Protection Program, a trillion-dollar effort to incentivize employers to retain their employees during the quarantine and maintain most of their compensation. The program was administered by the Small Business Association (SBA) and provided forgivable loans to eligible employers…

Read more

Oscar Munoz Announces His Retirement

Oscar Munoz, the CEO of United Airlines, and the only American-born Hispanic CEO of a major corporation, announced his retirement last month. He will step down as CEO in May and will take the position of board chairman. United is the largest U.S.-based airline and the 76th largest U.S. corporation according to Fortune Magazine. Under…

Read more

Venture Capital

I spent the Friday in El Paso with my friend Beto Pallares. Beto is an amazing guy. He holds several degrees including a BA from Brandeis and a PhD from UTEP. He manages a $150M venture fund for one of the wealthiest families in all of Texas. He also sits on eight corporate boards, but…

Read more