Companies to Watch: Five Latino Founders Shaping the Future of New York Tech
Calls for more diverse representation in tech aren’t new — and have only accelerated in the last few years. Some notable strides have been made, but when it comes to support for Latinx founders, there’s still a long way to go. Even though Latino-led small businesses are expanding the fastest in the US, they cumulatively receive only 2% of the country’s total venture capital funding.
In New York and across the county, Google for Startups is addressing that gap. This month, Google announced $5 million in new funding commitments for its inaugural Latino Founders Fund.
Recipients of the Google for Startups Latino Founders Fund, with Mayor Eric Adams, New York Secretary of State Robert Rodriguez, and Tech:NYC Executive Director Jason Myles Clark.
Of the 50 selected startups nationwide, 12 are New York-based, and last night, Tech:NYC co-hosted the kickoff event with the NYC-based winning founders, Mayor Eric Adams, New York’s first Latino Secretary of State Robert Rodriguez, and other city and industry leaders:
"New York is heavily represented in this cohort of Latino Founders Fund recipients, a testament that the strength of the city's tech sector is its diversity," said Jason Myles Clark, executive director of Tech:NYC. "We are proud to join Google in celebrating local Latino founders, whose businesses reflect tech’s potential to solve some of the most pressing challenges facing our city. When entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds receive equal access to resources and opportunities, there is no limit to what we can accomplish.”
The Latino Founders Fund provides $100,000 non-dilutive cash awards and other business support services to each of the winning founders.
For this month’s Companies to Watch, we caught up with some of the NYC founders in the program to learn more about what they’re building — and how the tech sector can better support Latinx and immigrant entrepreneurs.
NOULA HEALTH
What does your company do?
Noula Health co-founder and CEO Noelle Acosta: Noula is a digital health startup that empowers birthing people to better understand and take care of their bodies through personalized at-home testing, digital care plans, and 1-on-1 health coaching from reproductive health experts.
A question we love to ask every founder: why New York?
NA: When I left my full-time job to build Noula, I packed up my bags and moved cross-country to New York. There was no better place for us to launch. I was energized by the vibrancy and diversity of the city and saw New York as a beaming digital health hub, making NYC the perfect place to establish our roots and build our vision of equitable reproductive healthcare for all.
Reproductive rights (and, as a result, access to connected healthcare options) has obviously been at the front of the news following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision? How did the ruling impact your company’s roadmap?
NA: The attack on women’s bodies galvanized our commitment to our mission: accessible, equitable and empowered reproductive care. We have remained and will always be driven by the needs of our members. And in an ever-changing healthcare landscape, we will always prioritize our ability to move quickly and ensure our product provides every member with the support they need. We were already fired up by our mission to support all birthing people to be informed and empowered in their reproductive journey and now, we remain unstoppable.
Are most people still receiving all of their reproductive care via traditional, in-person office visits? How is Noula making that care more accessible?
NA: One in four birthing people face access barriers to care due to costs and location. Unfortunately, the healthcare system today is designed to work against us, not for us. In fact, only 50% of US counties have access to OB/GYNs. We are on the precipice of a health crisis with patients experiencing long wait times to see providers, shorter appointments, feeling dismissed by care providers, and even physicians leaving the workforce entirely due to burnout. Basically, our experience with the healthcare system feels incredibly transactional, reactive, and impersonal.
I don’t believe in-person care is going away at all. We need it. But in order to improve the lives of patients and their providers, we must embrace empowered care – care that is personalized, preventative, and rooted in accessibility. Noula does this by providing customized health information and virtual support that centers birthing people’s total health and wellbeing, finally putting them in the driver’s seat of their health journey. That’s how it should be.
As one of the founders selected to be part of Google for Startups’ Latino Founders Fund (congrats!), what does the investment mean for how you’ll be able to grow the business?
NA: This investment will allow us to support the local community! With this investment, we can continue to emphasize our efforts to equip Northeasterners with educational resources and access to Noula and our experts.
What’s one high-impact step the tech sector could take to better support Latino founders and other entrepreneurs of color?
NA: Fund them. The tech sector has an incredible power to foster an equitable world by investing in innovative founders of color.
Okay, some rapid fire questions. First: where do you get your favorite pizza slice?
NA: Roberta’s or Speedy Romeo.
What’s the best place in New York for a coffee or lunch meeting?
NA: This is a hard one! Personally, I’m a fan of laid back environments and love chit-chatting over tacos at Los Mariscos.
What’s your favorite hybrid/remote work office hack?
NA: Make space and find routine in ways to take care of your total health and wellbeing – physically and mentally! My favorite thing to do right now is carve out time for a midday walk. I find a coffee shop within one or two miles and go for a walk with my dogs in my quest to try a new iced latte and pastry. I usually put my phone on Do Not Disturb so I’m not distracted by work emails, Slack or texts, and throw on my favorite playlists.
Who is one other NYC-based Latino founder you’re really excited about?
NA: Pauline Roteta of Pasito!
SPLYT
What does your company do?
Splyt co-founder and CEO Luis Barrera: splyt is peer-to-peer payments for groups of friends splitting restaurant bills. But at the core, splyt is really about making it easier to be present and spend time with your friends, whether that's splitting the bill or discovering places to dine.
A question we love to ask every founder: why New York?
LB: The short answer is there's no place like it. I've lived in many beautiful places, but New York's energy is unparalleled. I'll admit it's not an easy place to live, but most people you'll meet here are pursuing their dreams or contributing to something bigger than themselves. That's inspiring to me; those are the kinds of people I want to be surrounded by.
Splyt is in beta right now — and starting with restaurant bills. Why start with dining? How has COVID-19’s impact on the hospitality industry played into your strategy?
LB: COVID accelerated the adoption of QR codes which is a core function of our app, but it also shed light on how much work there is to be done in the restaurant tech space.
During the pandemic, restaurants brought the only sense of normalcy to our lives and we hated seeing people walk away from the table upset because they overpaid, or even embarrassed because they couldn't afford to split it evenly out of convenience. It was clear that other solutions only addressed part of the problem and something like splyt needed to exist.
What are you daydreaming about for your company’s future roadmap? Are you thinking about bill and expense-sharing in other areas?
LB: Long term, splyt is really making it easier to be present and spend time with your friends. Expense sharing in other areas might sound like a natural progression, but after talking to our users, we've discovered that how they track, share, and discover restaurants is a fragmented process that lacks trust and quality content. What's special is we already have the tools, users, and unique data insights to solve this problem in the billion-dollar restaurant discovery industry. Ultimately, we're looking forward to curating beautiful moments across the dinner table for millions of people.
As one of the founders selected to be part of Google for Startups’ Latino Founders Fund (congrats!), what does the investment mean for how you’ll be able to grow the business?
LB: Thank you! Having Google for Startups fund and believe in us has meant the world. It gives us a stamp of credibility and has allowed my co-founder to go full time – doubling how fast we ship and iterate on our product.
What’s one high-impact step the tech sector could take to better support Latino founders and other entrepreneurs of color?
LB: Giving them access to a community of other like-minded founders that are a few steps ahead in their venture.
Okay, some rapid fire questions. First: where do you get your favorite pizza slice?
LB: Easy. The spicy spring slice at Prince St. Pizza.
What’s the best place in New York for a coffee or lunch meeting?
LB: For coffee: Felix Roasting Co. in Soho. For lunch: Jack's Wife Freda.
What’s your favorite hybrid/remote work office hack?
LB: Get a roommate who has a dog. It’ll cheer you up when things inevitably get tough.
Who is one other NYC-based Latino founder you’re really excited about?
LB: I’m excited to see how Joshe Ordonez at Airpals continues to build! She’s awesome!
CAREFULLY
What does your company do?
Carefully founder and CEO Leslie Borrell: Carefully is a mobile app based platform that allows parents to connect with people they trust to exchange care, organize playdates, and plan events. Families, parent groups, community-based organizations, employers, small businesses, and really any other organizations supporting families can benefit from our app by providing a way to easily help their families connect for mutual support. Carefully is on a mission to make the world better through mutualism, community, and care through a cooperatively owned platform for parents. Based on the principles of mutualism, Carefully believes that we need a reliable and resilient safety net to find innovative solutions to our childcare crisis.
A question we love to ask every founder: why New York?
LB: For me, there just isn’t any other place I can imagine calling home. I found my tribe in New York. I’ve thought about leaving in the past, but haven’t really been able to come up with a viable alternative. That might change one day, but I really feel lucky to have raised my son in New York for the last ten years. I think that being a New York kid definitely gives you grit. Beyond my personal bias for NYC, Carefully is here (1) for all the Black and Latina women in NYC who have been forced out of work and need more support, more options, and more care; (2) for the New Yorkers who are ready to help each other when they need it most; and (3) for the parents and families who are pulling their hair out trying to navigate the staggering cost of care in NYC.
The COVID-19 pandemic, on one hand, could make childcare exchange challenging for parents worried about safety concerns, but on the other hand, feel even more valuable during a time when we’ve all been disconnected. How have the last two years shaped or changed your company’s roadmap?
LB: I was preparing to launch an updated version of our alpha product in March of 2020, and I would say it’s been quite an unexpected journey since then. My vision was always that the app would instigate real life experiences, so transitioning to a virtual world was not my first choice. However, the world had other plans. We were really just trying to survive in my house, and that guided the evolution of the platform.
My mom offered to do Zoom cooking sessions with the grandkids to give us a break, and I had a friend who had been running a brick and mortar kids art school for 20 years who was trying to figure out how she was going to survive when classes were canceled. From there, we launched virtual events, and I learned I really loved working with small businesses. I realized that they were such a critical part of the ecosystem I was building that I hadn’t really thought about before because I was so focused on the parents.
Beyond the evolution of the platform itself, the pandemic really brought childcare into the spotlight in a way that it hadn’t been recognized up until then. The recognition of the magnitude of the problem, the time we’ve had to evolve and refine the platform, and where I see us headed as a society has not only reinforced my vision for Carefully, but it’s also expanded it and made it even more meaningful. We are at a time and place where a lot of people are more open to trying something different because what we’ve been doing up until now clearly isn’t cutting it.
Access to affordable childcare has been a major issue in NYC and many other cities, but a record $7 billion of New York’s recently-passed state budget includes new funding for childcare. How should New York be focusing those resources?
LB: First of all, it’s amazing that this money has been allocated for funding childcare, and it speaks volume to how far we have come with advocating for this issue and recognizing its impact. I know some of the funds have already been distributed to support new and existing childcare centers with expansion and operating costs. This kind of support and help is so valuable and there will probably never be enough, unfortunately, to solve the current state of affairs.
That being said, I would love to see some of the resources focused on more innovations in childcare solutions, cooperative-based childcare, and more support for FFN (friend, family, and neighbor networks). For example, parent-led childcare cooperatives have explicit provisions in other states making it a clear and viable option for setting up these types of coops when no money is exchanged. Programs like 3-K for all are absolutely important for many people, yet there are also many families for whom these programs are not a good fit. They need support and options as well.
As one of the founders selected to be part of Google for Startups’ Latino Founders Fund (congrats!), what does the investment mean for how you’ll be able to grow the business?
LB: As a bootstrapped startup, first and foremost, it means I can breathe a little easier, at least on the finance side of things. I think that there is a lot to be said for being scrappy and that’s not going to change. However, I have a nice backlog growing over time that I haven’t been able to get to because of limited time, resources, and capacity that comes with bootstrapping your company. The great thing is that we’ve been able to build an amazing platform, and now that we have this injection of cash, we can use it to focus on getting to revenue through sales, marketing, and community development.
I'm getting back from a long overdue vacation next week, and I’m looking forward to kicking off a few new initiatives that have been percolating in the back of my head while I try my best not to think about them too much this week. Keep an eye out for updates!
What’s one high-impact step the tech sector could take to better support Latino founders and other entrepreneurs of color?
LB: My thoughts may be a bit complex and nuanced to answer in a couple of sentences here, but I’ll do my best. I worked for many years trying to improve the ingrained bias and power dynamics of the tech industry as an engineering leader and ultimately, I felt like the issues were systemic, so the next step for me was to find or create an alternative way of working by building a business that I believed in from the ground up — and that was based on a different set of values.
The principles of both cooperatives and mutualism embody many of those things and help to hold me accountable to the business, the community, and the workers I’m here for, so perhaps embracing some of those same principles could help the tech sector in similar ways. Also, the money really is a huge piece of the puzzle. I know from the other founders in my network how difficult it continues to be for women and entrepreneurs of color to get funding, so the more we can invest in Latino founders, the more it will inspire others to take the risk and the more likely it is that our businesses will have the capital to grow and succeed.
Okay, some rapid fire questions. First: where do you get your favorite pizza slice?
LB: Tony’s, mostly because it’s the closest one to my house.
What’s the best place in New York for a coffee or lunch meeting?
LB: When I’m in the city, La Colombe is definitely my go to spot. I recently discovered Pueblo Querido and definitely will be doing more meetings there — for the coffee, the snacks, and the low-key vibes.
What’s your favorite hybrid/remote work office hack?
LB: The Esthers opened up at the end of my block this year. They open up at 3pm, so when I don’t have after school pick up duties, I can take my laptop there for a change of scenery (and then a glass of wine after). My co-founder also lives nearby, so he can come meet up when we need or want to.
Who is one other NYC-based Latino founder you’re really excited about?
LB: I’d have to say Noelle Acosta of Noula. We are both in the City Fellowship at Company Ventures. The work that she is doing to build an inclusive solution for women’s reproductive health is as inspiring as she is. It’s been great getting to know her through the City Fellowship and I’m excited to have a friendly face at the Latino Founders Fund.
THIMBLE
What does your company do?
Thimble founder and CEO Oscar Pedroso: Thimble is a STEM and CTE curriculum for K-12 schools that teaches kids the most relevant technical skills needed in today’s workforce. The program teaches subjects such as robotics, coding, cybersecurity, engineering, and other fields. Thimble provides reusable kits, lessons, and professional training for school day or afterschool activities.
A question we love to ask every founder: why New York?
OP: New York is home for me; I was born in the Upper East Side, and then raised in Queens and Mamaroneck. When you’re in a city that never sleeps, it helps to find the network, communities, and support that you need to grow your business. I’m happy to say that there’s a healthy community for edtech founders in NYC. I’m currently a part of it and looking to help other founders thrive in it.
There are hundreds of tech training and skills resources in NYC alone, but most are targeting college-aged and young adult participants. Thimble is serving younger kids in grades 4-12. Why are you focused on that age group?
OP: To teach kids STEM and CTE skills, you need to get them while they’re still young. Teachers often say that by the time kids get to middle school, it’s already too late — that’s especially true for women, underrepresented minorities, and students with special needs. With kids now growing up with iPads in their hands by the age of two, I believe we’ll continue to see future generations of kids surprise us on what they’re capable of doing. So we target kids in grades 4-12 (and soon PreK-3) to provide early exposure, access, and familiarity with various tech disciplines so they can start to consider it as a potential interest and career path.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced a lot of STEM programs that have historically been in classrooms, online. How have schools been able to adapt over the last two years? Do you think virtual learning will have staying power beyond the pandemic?
OP: The pandemic brought to light many of the challenges educators have been facing for several decades. Despite those challenges, schools moved as fast as they could to address those challenges by setting up pandemic pods, virtual learning groups, and building necessary infrastructure to create and enhance learning for kids. Unfortunately, not all schools were able to keep up with the addition of new systems and practices so we’re still seeing the aftermath, including high turnover among teachers, student learning loss, and lack of STEM and CTE enrichment across the board. Virtual learning is here to stay, but it’s only an additional method to educate our kids.
As one of the founders selected to be part of Google for Startups’ Latino Founders Fund (congrats!), what does the investment mean for how you’ll be able to grow the business?
OP: This investment is everything to us and is coming in at just the right time as we enter a new academic year. Over the last year, we’ve won vendor awards in 31 school districts across the nation, so we’ll use the funding to hire BDRs and a field rep to expand in Texas, Florida, and New York where we already have traction.
What’s one high-impact step the tech sector could take to better support Latino founders and other entrepreneurs of color?
OP: We definitely need more messaging around diversity and inclusion, including support groups and special events that bring the community together.
Okay, some rapid fire questions. First: where do you get your favorite pizza slice?
OP: Sottocasa on Malcolm X Blvd. is fantastic! Highly recommend for a romantic dinner with your significant other.
What’s the best place in New York for a coffee or lunch meeting?
OP: The Lazy Llama Coffee Bar!
What’s your favorite hybrid/remote work office hack?
OP: Sitting behind a desk can get monotonous and taxing on the soul. Whenever I need to take a step away, I end up cuddling with my two dogs. It’s amazing what pets can do to your emotional well-being when you have a lot on your mind. In fact, I’m going to hang out with them for a bit now.
Who is one other NYC-based Latino founder you’re really excited about?
OP: Sebastian Martin of Cambio Labs. I love the work he’s doing in education to get more kids to go into entrepreneurship at a young age.
DIVYSCI SOFTWARE
What does your company do?
DivySci co-founder and CEO Ariana Abramson: DivySci Software is a communication analytics tool that helps teams adjust their behavior to reduce biased and micro-aggressive communication.
A question we love to ask every founder: why New York?
AA: I am a proud Nuyorican! I grew up in the Electchester Housing Complex in Queens, attended the Carl Sagan Science/Math Honors Academy in Forest Hills High School, and received my Master’s of Science from Columbia University in Harlem.
I do not come from a family of scientists. I am the first woman in my family to study STEM. However, I come from a community of hustlers, dreamers, and activists that not only poured into my creativity, but pushed me to embrace my love of STEM, even when my white school teachers told me I would never get into college. DivySci is a testament to all of the lessons I learned as a New Yorker, most importantly of which is to radically believe I can transform the world and to do so.
Some studies have shown that remote work during the pandemic had been particularly positive for underrepresented workers and had the effect of making workplaces more equitable. But as tech companies implement hybrid models and expect more in-person time, what should be top of mind to ensure communication bias doesn’t creep back in?
AA: Remote and hybrid teams are the future of work, and I believe all companies should embrace the option for their employees while also addressing the digital divide.
But just because teams are no longer in a physical office, exclusionary, biased, or toxic behavior doesn't just go away — it’s just now online as well. So, to say hybrid work is particularly positive for underrepresented employees is a dangerous and one-sided statement. I would encourage readers to read Project Include's workplace report titled "Remote work since Covid-19 is exacerbating harm: What companies need to know and do." This study points to the fact that people are now leveraging digital tools and work platforms to increasingly communicate workplace hostility and harassment, which hurts all employees, especially Black Latinx/Hispanic women.
There are plenty of DEI tools out there for workplaces. Why did you choose to build one that’s AI-powered, and how is it different?
AA: Communication is not just a DEI issue; it’s a human Issue. I would safely bet that everyone can become better at not just speaking but at conversing — the act of interacting with another human.
DivySci shifts how humans converse. We augment how language and verbal cues are leveraged in social interactions and workplaces to ensure folks are using courteous, charismatic, and inclusive signaling DivySci is at the intersection of natural language processing and communication research.
As one of the founders selected to be part of Google for Startups’ Latino Founders Fund (congrats!), what does the investment mean for how you’ll be able to grow the business?
AA: We love the Google for Startups program and the resources they have poured into us. It truly has changed the trajectory of our business. We are using it to fund our research and technology development.
What’s one high-impact step the tech sector could take to better support Latino founders and other entrepreneurs of color?
AA: Google for Startups is a prime example of how the tech industry can better support Latino Founders and other entrepreneurs of color. The tech sector can create initiatives and programming that give us the resources to scale, build a team, and access experts and networks to grow our businesses.
Okay, some rapid-fire questions. First: where do you get your favorite pizza slice?
AA: I will forever be a fan of the Dollar Pizza spot in Harlem by the 125th Metro-North train station.
What’s the best place in New York for a coffee or lunch meeting?
AA: I have had coffee and lunch meetings everywhere in NYC. If I have to pick only one, I suggest Partners Coffee in Long Island City.
What’s your favorite hybrid/remote work office hack?
AA: A standup desk, the best thing ever!
Who is one other NYC-based Latino founder you’re really excited about?
AA: Trick question! I love every founder in my Latino founder familia. We are all doing amazing things and would recommend everyone go here and elevate our work. Follow us! Join our Newsletter! Or just send us a nice note — I love inbox notes.
