Doctors Marlow Hernandez and Richard Aguilar founded Cano Health in 2009 to provide quality end-to-end health care for underserved Latino communities in Florida. In 2016, their company generated $1.6M in revenue, but they had an idea to roll-up other smaller medical practices in their footprint to leverage economies of scale. With the help of my friend Sol Trujillo they began accelerating their acquisition strategy. Beyond providing strategic support, Sol helped the doctors raise capital, but while he knew there would be a huge appetite from the investor community, Sol wanted the money to come from other Latino business leaders in order to keep the growing company Latino-controlled. In 2018, the company was recognized as the fastest growing healthcare company in America. This past week, Cano Health went public and was valued at $4.4 Billion.
The public offering generated enormous wealth for the company’s founders and the Latino investors who helped them grow. More importantly, the company has an amazing track record for providing world-class healthcare and now has the capital to scale nationwide. Doctors Hernandez and Aguilar were showcased at L’ATTITUDE in both 2019 and 2020. They had a story we wanted people to know about. Sol and I are confident that Cano Health will be the first of many Latino-founded companies that will be showcased at L’ATTITUDE and who receive early funding from our L’ATTITUDE VC Fund or from our investor partners who participate in Match-Up. Cano Health should serve as an inspiration. Dr. Hernandez is a 35-year-old Cuban immigrant, a brilliant man, with a heart of gold. I consider him a family friend. So, while some people are still obsessing about an election that has long been decided, other people are getting shit done. Companies are being built and fortunes are being made. This is our time. Start thinking bigger!
On Friday evening, the LA Dodgers won game one of the 2024 World Series over the New York Yankees in glorious fashion, with Freddie Freeman hitting a walk-off grand slam home run in the bottom of the 10th inning. For Dodger fans, the game could not have been scripted better...
With the presidential election only three weeks away, partisans on both sides are taking off the gloves with rhetoric that vilifies their opponents and fires up their minions. Most people believe that our country is more divided than ever. Indeed, the days when liberal and conservative candidates can debate their views respectfully seem like a distant memory. At the risk of oversimplifying things too much, let me cut to the chase about what is driving the divisions in the country.
NAHREP shares data at conferences to build a more accurate narrative about the Latino community from an economic perspective. Sharing that data with attendees, influential business leaders, and media at the event helps achieve that goal while arming them with information that can give them a competitive advantage with their businesses.