Latino Leadership Institute

02/23/2026

The Latino Leadership Institute is proud to announce that Diana Guevara, Owner and Founder Colombian Coffee House, has been selected as a member of LEAP Cohort 3.

Colombian Coffee House is a boutique café in the heart of downtown Delray Beach and East Boca Raton, serving authentic, freshly prepared Colombian food and specialty coffee that brings the richness of Colombian culture to every guest experience.

LEAP is a national, growth-stage program designed to help entrepreneurs scale beyond $1M in annual revenue. Through LEAP, founders gain targeted growth strategy, direct access to expert speakers, and a powerful network of peers committed to scaling together.

The future of our economy is being built by founders like Diana.

👉 If you are, or know, a growth-stage entrepreneur ready to scale, learn more about joining LEAP: https://bit.ly/4kklhSN

02/23/2026

Willie Colón’s talent was undeniable, but it was his love for the music, the culture, and the people, that made him unforgettable.

He did not just play the trombone. He felt every note. He honored the rhythms of his heritage and carried them with pride, helping bring salsa to life for millions around the world. His music was joyful. It was soulful. It was alive with the spirit of the communities that shaped him.

Willie Colón loved the culture, and the culture loved him back.

In remembrance, we honor the music, the passion, and the beautiful legacy he leaves with us.

Rest in power!

The South Bronx bandleader took the Latin genre to new heights while recording for Fania Records.

02/21/2026

The Latino Leadership Institute is proud to announce that Adrian Vigil, Owner and Founder of Top-Notch Plumbing, Heating & Air, LLC, has been selected as a member of LEAP Cohort 3.

Serving Northern Colorado, Top-Notch Plumbing has built a reputation for excellence, reliability, and trusted service across residential, commercial, and industrial settings. The company specializes in the installation and repair of waste and vent systems, domestic water lines, and natural gas infrastructure.

LEAP is a national, growth-stage program designed to help entrepreneurs scale beyond $1M in annual revenue. Through LEAP, founders gain targeted growth strategy, direct access to expert speakers, and a powerful network of peers committed to scaling together.

The future of our economy is being built by founders like Adrian.

👉 If you are, or know, a growth-stage entrepreneur ready to scale, learn more about joining LEAP: https://bit.ly/4kklhSN

02/19/2026

The Latino Leadership Institute is proud to announce that Abel Corral, Owner of Minuteman Press Denver, has been selected as a member of LEAP Cohort 3.

Minuteman Press Denver is a full-service printing, marketing and design company providing quality service to the B2B business community.

LEAP is a national, growth-stage program designed to help entrepreneurs scale beyond $1M in annual revenue, the inflection point where businesses accelerate job creation, enterprise value, and generational wealth. Founders gain targeted growth strategy, direct access to expert speakers, and a high-trust network of peers committed to scaling together.

This program is made possible through the generous support of the U.S. Bank Foundation Opportunity Fund.

The future of our economy is being built by founders like Abel.

👉 If you are, or know, a growth-stage entrepreneur ready to scale, learn more about joining LEAP: https://bit.ly/4kklhSN

02/19/2026

From Grit to Growth: How One Founder Broke the $1M Barrier

02/18/2026

If you have been in survival mode, this week's Cumbre Mindset is your reminder that progress does not require perfect conditions. It begins the moment you decide to keep moving forward.

The Year of the Horse is our invitation to move from survival to progress.

Read the full article here: https://bit.ly/4apviLb

If this message resonates, share it with someone who is ready to move forward.

02/17/2026

Rev. Jesse Jackson taught us that unity was not optional. It was essential.

At a time when this country was deeply divided, he stood in the tradition of Dr. King and carried the movement forward. He marched in Selma. He stood with sanitation workers in Memphis. He walked alongside César Chávez and farmworkers demanding dignity in the fields. He helped build the Rainbow Coalition, bringing together Black, Latino, white working-class, and immigrant communities under one shared truth: that our power grows when we stand together.

He refused to accept the lie that our communities were meant to compete with one another. He understood that division was a tool used to weaken us, and unity was the force that could transform us.

Through every speech, every march, and every act of courage, he carried a simple but unshakable message:

“Let nothing and nobody break your spirit. Let the unity in community remain intact.”

That message speaks directly to this moment.

We are living in a time when division is loud. When fear is amplified. When communities are told to retreat into their corners and protect only their own.

Jesse Jackson taught us to do the opposite.

He taught us to build bridges where others build walls. He taught us to see our struggles as connected. He taught us that justice is not a scarce resource to be rationed, but a shared victory to be claimed together.

His legacy is not something to admire from a distance. It is something to live.

To lead with courage.
To build coalitions across differences.
To believe that our collective strength is greater than any force that seeks to weaken it.

Because he showed us that unity is how progress is won and how freedom is sustained.

Rest in power.

02/12/2026

🚀 We are proud to announce LEAP Cohort 3.

Eight bold founders.
Three regions.
One mission: build real economic power.

From the Southwest to the Mountain West to the Southeast, across construction, retail, manufacturing, franchise, and technology, these leaders are not just launching companies. They are scaling opportunity for their families and their communities.

Small businesses drive 44% of U.S. GDP and nearly 46% of private-sector jobs. But economic power is created when businesses grow.

That is why we built LEAP.

LEAP exists to help founders break past the $1M+ revenue threshold, the inflection point where enterprise value, quality jobs, and generational wealth begin to accelerate.

✨ Cohort 3 is already rising.
Together, these eight founders generate more than $7 million in annual revenue, nearly $900,000 per business, and are now positioned to scale and build lasting impact.

LEAP is made possible thanks to the support of the U.S. Bank Foundation Opportunity Fund.

If you are, or know, a growth-stage entrepreneur, now is the time to join the movement.

👉 Learn more: https://bit.ly/467UTG2
📣 Applications are now open for LEAP Cohorts 4–6.

02/11/2026

This piece was inspired by so many of you who reached out after last week’s Summit Up show.

If you have success stories, solutions, or hard-earned advice for anyone who is feeling overlooked, undervalued, or even silenced at work, please share them here.

Your voice may be exactly what someone else needs right now.

https://bit.ly/4aKL0AA

02/08/2026

Tonight isn’t just football. It’s history in the making.

When Bad Bunny takes the halftime stage, our culture takes the world’s biggest platform.

This is language.
This is identity.
This is community.

This is what it looks like to lead, to belong, and to build legacy powered by cultura.

02/06/2026

🚀 LEAP applications are now open for Cohorts 4–6.

At the LLI, we don’t run programs just because they sound good.
We build them because the data demands it.

📊 There are more than 5 million Latino-owned businesses in the U.S.
📊 Latino entrepreneurs are the fastest-growing segment of business owners.
📊 Yet fewer than 3% of small businesses ever reach $1M in annual revenue.

That gap isn’t about hustle.
It’s about access to the right sales and growth strategy, capital readiness, leadership capacity, and high-value networks at the exact moment a business is ready to scale.

That’s why we built LEAP.

LEAP is designed specifically for founders who are no longer in “startup mode” and are ready to:
• build repeatable sales systems
• improve operational efficiency and margins
• strengthen leadership and team performance
• understand financial positioning for growth and capital

If your business is ready to grow and scale this is your next move.

👉 Applications are now open for LEAP Cohorts 4–6. Apply: https://bit.ly/4kklhSN

And stay tuned —
📣 Cohort 3 Founder announcements are coming next week.

The next generation of $1M+ Latino-led companies is being built right now.

02/05/2026

We now have two Summit Up shows planned each month—one that continues our bold leadership and hot-topic conversations, and a new show created specifically for our entrepreneur community.

Summit Up for Entrepreneurs launches with a real, unfiltered conversation about what it actually takes to break past $1M in revenue.

In our debut episode, we sit down with Roberto Meza, founder of Healthy Provisions and LLI LEAP alumnus, to talk candidly about the journey from grit to growth.

This is not a highlight reel.
It’s a conversation about mindset shifts, hard decisions, sales growth, and the leadership required to scale.

📅 Join us Thursday, February 19 at 10:00 AM MST
🎙️ Summit Up for Entrepreneurs: From Grit to Growth
📈 Because building a $1M+ business starts with building the right leader.