Hispanic Entrepreneur Places Bets On English-Speaking Medium
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Habla usted Espanol? Surprisingly, even if you hope to reach the 40 million Hispanics that now call America home, you may not need to.
“You must have Latinos as part of your core strategy if you are looking for growth,” the founder of Internet platform VOY, Fernando Espuelas, says.
The demographics bear him out: Over the past five years, Hispanics accounted for half the growth in the American population, and in 2001 they surpassed blacks as the largest minority group. Latinos comprise about 14% of the country’s population and are projected to be the fastest-growing group for the foreseeable future.
Not all of them will speak Spanish, though. In fact, over the next generation some 70% of the growth in the Hispanic community will come from children born in America. Research by the Pew Hispanic Center indicates that 57% of Latinos – a clear majority – think that immigrants should speak English. Already, more than half of today’s Hispanic voters read or watch their news in English. Among younger, second-generation Hispanics, English is the preferred language, even as they celebrate their Latin backgrounds.
It is this crowd that Mr. Espuelas is targeting. The VOY Web site describes itself as “creating a community that is culturally relevant and empowering to today’s new generation Latinos and those discovering Latin culture.”
Mr. Espuelas, who was born in Uruguay and whose mother worked as a housekeeper, firmly believes in the upward mobility of the Latino population, and in his ability to cash in on its inexorable growth.
In his last business incarnation, Mr. Espuelas was a dot-com star. He built a business called StarMedia, which he said “connected Latin people across countries and cultures.” In effect, it was a Hispanic online community. Like so many Internet comets, the fortunes of the company soared and then plummeted. The ultimate cost to Mr. Espuelas, who considered selling his stock a breach of faith, was an estimated $450 million.
All was not lost, however. As a bigtime Hispanic entrepreneur who was described by Time magazine as one of the “leaders of the Millennium,” Mr. Espuelas has received considerable press surrounding his new venture and his book “Life in Action,” which chronicled his ups and downs and subsequent self-discovery. With the assist of all that publicity, he was able to build VOY as a brand in the Hispanic community before any products were even offered. In this way, he developed the Web site, which received 75 million “page views” this month while spending less than $30,000 on marketing.
What is VOY? It is a brand. It is also a portal, an experience, a Latino happening. Clearly, it is slightly hard to define. The concept behind VOY is that the Latino population is “bifurcated” and underserved, Mr. Espuelas said. “Historically, there have been Latin Americans living in the U.S. But there are also new Americans,born here,who happen to be Latinos. It is a large group of self-identified consumers which to date has not been targeted by any brands.There is an opportunity to offer this group a message of optimism and self-empowerment, which are very American values. We are offering a brand, a mindset, not a bunch of products.”
In fact, VOY is an Internet hub established at the end of 2003. On the site, Latinos can access music, blogs, films, financial services, and other products that are mostly produced by strategic partners of VOY. The first component to be put in place was VOY Music, launched jointly with a rejuvenated StarMedia in November. This division was given priority because Latin music was thought to appeal to a broad group that reached beyond the Hispanic community. Today, enthusiasts can go on the VOY Web site and tap into 28 Internet radio stations offering original programming. Not only can listeners access (and legally buy) all types of Latin music, they can also hear new music by unknown artists who are able to sell their virtual recordings to the site.
This month,VOY Music celebrated a milestone when it counted more than million users. With critical mass thus established, advertising sales are climbing, with one large auto company just signing on.
Another offering on the VOY Web site is a student loan operation, which started up two months ago and is fully bilingual. Mr. Espuelas describes the venture as the first product of its kind and an example of VOY’s intention to partner with the best of brands. It is also something of a sentimental journey. Mr. Espuelas recalls that his mother did not speak or read English well enough to help him apply for a college loan. “She earned $7,500 a year, and college cost $10,500.” If his guidance counselors and teachers had not helped out, he would never have been able to go beyond high school.
VOY also intends to produce and promote films and TV shows that carry positive messages for the Latino community. Spotlighted on the Web site is “Favela Rising,” which debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival and has won 25 major awards. The movie deals with one man’s heroic efforts to combat the violence of South American slums. Mr. Espuelas claims that he rejected more than 300 movies before agreeing to promote “Favela.”
Similarly, the company has partnered with a major studio to launch a soap opera, or tella novella, starring a powerful Latino family that lives in New York. Surprise: The family is not a bunch of drug lords. Rather, the show will be in English and will feature members of a wealthy family; they just happen to be Hispanic. One of Mr. Espuelas’s missions is to combat stereotypes, and to attract a large cross-over audience.
VOY is now in the start-up phase.The company is owned by a group of about 20 shareholders; Mr. Espuelas’s family is the majority owner. If all goes well, they will likely bring in some strategic partners as the need for capital grows.
Meanwhile, Mr. Espuelas has high hopes for VOY. Where does he see the company five years out? “We would like to be the leading integrated Latin media marketplace,” he said.
The focus will continue to be America, but he also sees opportunities abroad. “We might take the music Web site to China,” he said. “Did you know that the no. 1 tango market in the world is Japan?” We never would have guessed.