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.
There has been a ton of research and debate about the subject of leadership. Thousands of books have been written and millions of dollars are spent each year on leadership training, and there is good reason for it. Leadership mastery is probably the most valuable skill set anyone in sports, business, or politics can possess.…
As business people, we are taught to find someone who is doing what we want to do and copy them. If our goal is to have a business that makes money, this is excellent advice. Why would you want to reinvent the wheel? However, if your goal is bigger than that, you have to think…
When we were kids, our daydreams were about grandiosity. I dreamed about being the world’s greatest athlete. Others dreamed about being famous singers, entrepreneurs, or movie stars. As we get older, our aspirations change, but for many of us, our desire to be special remains strong. That desire to be special is a positive in…
When people ask me what do I love most about my work as the leader of NAHREP, I always say it is the people who I’ve met along the way. Over a twenty-year span, I’ve met thousands of people. Now, with L’ATTITUDE, it seems like that number is increasing exponentially. Most have been amazing. NAHREP…
I would not call myself a social media expert, but like everyone, I have my preferences. The truth is most social media posts are boring as hell, and I think we all know why. For most people, social media isn’t about conversation anymore, it’s about vanity. Almost every post these days are about one of…
If you’re in business, you probably hear a lot about the importance of managing your relationships. Good sales professionals maintain a database of past customers and prospects, but I actually know only a handful of people who are truly exceptional at relationship management. Here are some tips on managing relationships that can help you business-wise and personally…
The coronavirus pandemic was the crisis of the 21st century. For those of us who were fortunate enough to emerge healthy should be asking: did we take advantage of the opportunity to pause, evaluate and reinvent ourselves? I have been working on it, and I have been asking my team to do the same. I’m…
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers were knocked out of the NBA playoffs last week by the Phoenix Suns. As expected, the LeBron haters were in full force on social media calling him overrated and a fraud. At 36 years old, LeBron James has been in the NBA for more than half of his…
We purchased a Peloton just a few weeks before we all went into quarantine last March. I must admit I was skeptical. I walk and shoot hoops when I can, but I have never regularly used any sort of exercise machine. The technology is what first piqued my interest in a Peloton. The more I…
There has been a lot of conversation lately about whether college is still worth it. There are some notable people, like Elon Musk and Grant Cardone, who think that college is a waste of money. Coming from two successful entrepreneurs, that’s not a surprise. Musk believes that success in college may be a good indicator…
We all know great musicians have great rhythm, but I believe the concept of rhythm can be applied to a lot of things. Last week, I was watching my son go through a basketball shooting drill with a trainer up in LA. He was making most of his shots, but he didn’t look fluid. His…
Let’s face it, we all have a burning need to be liked and respected. We want people to think of us as smart and sophisticated. In fact, our need for admiration is so powerful it can drive almost everything we do. We want our kids, co-workers, friends and strangers all to think of us as…
While so many people are suffering because of COVID-19, it seems wrong to suggest that anything good will come of this, When things settle down, I think there will be positive outcomes we can point to. The time spent with my immediate family is something I know I will cherish. I am very close to…
I drafted the NAHREP 10 four years ago as a tool for the Hispanic Wealth Project and a guide to NAHREP’s growing membership. The goal was to establish a set of principles that position the Latino community for greater prosperity and an enhanced quality of life. The NAHREP 10 has also provided NAHREP with a set of…
I’m big believer in the concept of original thought. While I admire people who can run a business, play an instrument, or perfect a process, I have always been more interested in people who write the music, invent new technology, or essentially have the ability to create something that is totally original. Some of us…
I’ve been talking about leadership a lot lately. It’s an interesting topic because the qualities that create a great leader are sometimes difficult to define. The concept of emotional intelligence has become better understood in recent years and there are some good books on the subject. Great leaders have vision, integrity, good communication skills, and…
According to Wikipedia, Juan Enriquez is a Latino academic, businessman, author and speaker. He is a Harvard graduate who joined a multi-stage world sailing discovery voyage led by J. Craig Venter, who sequenced the human genome. In other words, he’s a bad-ass genius. Enriquez, who has published several books on Genomics and societal issues, recently…
I’ve had the good fortune of being friends with some of the most successful people in the country. Not just people with large bank accounts, but people who have been trailblazers – who by the sheer virtue of their will have accomplished things that most people can only dream about. As I have said before,…
The playwright and activist George Bernard Shaw once said, “Those that can, do; those who can’t, teach.” Nowhere is this truer than in the “success” industry or success racket as I like to call it. The reason I call it a racket is because most of the people who are selling their services as “success”…
It’s no secret that smart phones, the internet, and social media having been constantly eating into in our lives, and the number of people who regularly carve out time to think and work distraction-free has become fairly miniscule. Not surprisingly, the scarcity of deep thinkers will make them the biggest winners in our economy in…
