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.
In today’s evolving economy, many of the jobs that exist today won’t exist in the near future. Robotics and artificial intelligence are changing the world as we know it. If your job can be automated, it will be automated. For someone, fifty years of age or older, this may not affect you as much, but…
I recently read that 40% of real estate agents and loan officers will change companies in the next twelve months. This tends to happen when the market shifts dramatically. Real estate is a cyclical business and after one of the longest bull markets in modern history, it’s not a surprise that things are starting to…
Amazon announced this week that they will no longer locate a secondary headquarters in Long Island after receiving a wave of backlash from local politicians and community groups. Last year, the retail juggernaut completed perhaps the largest RFP process in U.S. history when they selected Long Island, NY and Crystal City, VA to house their…
This past week, interest rates on mortgages broke past the 5% barrier, the highest in almost ten years. The stock market had its biggest two-day drop since the collapse in 2008, and the projected deficit for 2018 was adjusted upward to nearly $1 trillion. Additionally, gas prices are spiking and Ford announced major job cuts.…
For whatever reason, I have never felt like I have learned all that I need to know. Learning is a constant in my life, and I think it has made me a happier person. I can’t think of anything more depressing than the thought of there being nothing left to achieve and nothing more to…
For those of you who follow NAHREP or myself on social media, you probably know that the L’ATTITUDE event took place two weeks ago in San Diego. I have been contemplating an event like L’ATTITUDE for about three years. It’s my passion project and my “moon shot”, so when the event finally came and went it was…
Sol Trujillo wrote a Labor Day op-ed titled, “The ‘Latino Factor’ Will Save America’s Economy”. The article was published in the Wall Street Journal on August 29th and was peppered with data points about the real state of our workforce and why the country should be grateful that we have a Latino population who is…
With a market cap of more than 940 billion dollars, Apple is currently the most valuable company in the world, but Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Facebook are closing in quickly in the race to become the first company worth over a trillion dollars – that’s trillion with a “t”. In fact, these five platform companies…
I have been thinking a lot about leadership lately, especially considering NAHREP will have the great John C. Maxwell at the national convention in September. Maxwell is widely considered one of the foremost authorities on the subject of leadership. Unlike other more quantifiable skills such as those in accounting, legal, science, or technology, leadership skills…
We all know how Amazon is dominating the retail sales world. They can cause the stock valuations of an entire business sector to plummet just by sticking their toe in a new business category (see grocery and pharma). So who is going to challenge them? My bet is Walmart. Walmart has more cash flow and…
The signs are there. Interest rates are rising, gas prices are surging, and the deficit is blowing up. A recession is right around the corner. This is the time to start thinking lean, and avoid any new long-term liabilities. For self-employed people this is especially important. People who own their own business are by definition,…
L’ATTITUDE is going to change everything. The first major convention about America’s new mainstream culture and economy will feature discussions and presentations about the media, entertainment, politics, and business. Confirmed headliners include: Robert Rodriguez (Filmmaker), Zoe Saldana (Actor), Alex Rodriguez (Athlete and Entrepreneur), Thomas Friedman (Author), Tim Sloan (CEO, Wells Fargo), Oscar Munoz (CEO, United…
Running NAHREP has taught me a great deal about leadership and company culture. I get to interface with a lot of companies and business owners, and I occasionally get to see under the hood. By running NAHREP I’ve also learned that in an organization with over 30,000 members and volunteers, inspiration is the lifeblood. Company…
Daniel Lubetzky is the founder of Kind, LLC and his company recently sold a stake to the global candy firm Mars, Inc. In 2003, unhappy with unhealthy or unappetizing snacking choices, and concerned with the rising obesity and diabetes epidemic in America, Daniel launched KIND Snacks with the value proposition to “do the kind thing…
Javier Palomarez, the embattled CEO of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce announced his resignation last week. Palomarez has been the subject of an investigation regarding allegations related to finances and sexual harassment. In a statement, Palomarez claimed that he was completely vindicated of those allegations, but nonetheless felt it was time for him…
I read a very cool story about a young Latina entrepreneur who became motivated to start her own construction business when her father lost his job. Jennifer H. Ramos, the daughter of Salvadoran immigrants, launched Jen Contracting Group, LLC in her hometown of Arlington, Virginia. In addition to her construction business, she owns an online…
We have all read that the most successful people are early risers. It generally has to do with discipline and getting quiet time to think. It may be true for some people, but not for everyone. In the spirit of full disclosure, I’m not an early riser. On average, I get up at around 7:30…
