The American Dream with Elias Torres: Recent Episodes
Drift
Did you know that only 1% of startups that have achieved unicorn status are led by Latin American founders? Drift's co-founder and CTO, Elias Torres, is on a mission to change that. Every other Tuesday, he has honest, inspiring, and authentic conversations with underrepresented leaders in tech. Hear from people who have achieved their own version of the American Dream, as well as those who are creating a more equitable future for the next generation.
"I was so dependent on that program in high school that I didn't realize that there's not really something for that in college, and there's definitely not that type of support for post-grad and being in the working world...It would be nice through this ERG or on a larger scale for first-generation professionals to have some other network of support of other mentors who are in higher positions who have navigated corporate America and all that that entails."
For so many us, we feel supported through high school, have some mentorship through college, and then get to the "real world," where we're left floundering with, at first, no mentors at all.
This statement is felt 10x for first-generation employees, who not only have to navigate corporate America for the first time, but who also have to overcome the feeling of being the other while learning financial literacy.
That's why Drifters John Cole and Ezinne Ogbonna founded the First Gen at Drift employee resource group -- a dedicated space for first-generation Drifters to come together, find mentors, and to learn from each other. In this episode of The American Dream, John and Ezinne tell Elias more about the mission behind the First Gen at Drift ERG, why they think mentors matter, and they share the stories that shaped them into who they are today.
Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday.
In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter at @eliast and @DriftPodcasts, and Ezinne and John on LinkedIn.
For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/
"People are dealing with imposter syndrome, we're dealing with kind of a lot of these struggles, so having that extra encouragement and reminding them that they can do it, and they will do it if they put their minds to it, and if they're doing well, making sure you remind them of that and recognize them, that can really help propel those people."
For Pamela Martinez, the co-founder and CTO of Snowball Wealth, community is the fuel that drove her to her CTO role today, and it's why she's hyperfocused on the power of community at Snowball Wealth.
Moving from Mexico to Texas in elementary school, Pamela experienced a community shift early in life. Being one of the only girls in an engineering program at high school brought a whole new community experience, and then attending Stanford University for undergraduate school brought yet another new community. After spending some time at Microsoft, Pamela decided it was time to enter the startup world, join a new community, and empower the community of underrepresented individuals through financial assistance.
In this episode of the American Dream podcast, Pamela explains why she joined and almost left, the computer science community, why she and her co-founder started Snowball Wealth, and the early results Snowball Wealth is seeing by empowering individuals to take control of their finances.
Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday.
In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter at @eliast and @DriftPodcasts, and Pam on LinkedIn.
For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/
"I always wanted to start my own business. I think that's just because growing up, that's how I saw my parents. And the reason I love the name of your podcast is because I feel like every time I talk about my experience, it's like this experience is really the continuation of my parents' American Dream."
What's it like to go from working your way into big tech, just to pivot and start your own company?
Cuco Vega, and host Elias Torres, know first-hand.
Cuco immigrated to the United States from Mexico as a young adult, and he worked in a variety of engineering agencies. When he decided to switch his career to product design, he also made the jump into big tech. But after a few years, Cuco realized it was time to fulfill his ultimate dream -- to start his own company, and Bexi.io was born.
Bexi.io is a tool that helps small businesses create and launch landing page social campaigns in minutes -- something Elias has experience in as well. In this episode of the American Dream, Cuco and Elias swap stories about what it feels like to try to make a name for yourself in US tech as an immigrant, the reality of building a company from scratch, and what the motivating forces are behind everything they do.
Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday.
In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter at @eliast and @DriftPodcasts, and Lisa on LinkedIn.
For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/
"And the fact that we are Latino gives us an opportunity to understand the opportunities that are on the table, that's being left on the table; and that we have a unique perspective and that our lived experiences actually help us in being successful as founders, as investors in startups, or as investors in funds."
Lolita Taub is the general partner of Ganas Ventures -- a fund that invests in pre-seed and seed Web 2 and Web 3 community-driven startups. Lolita's on a mission to create generational wealth in community, and her year-long tour of Latin America fuels this goal.
Calling in from Santiago, Chile, Lolita and Elias discuss what Lolita's learned by living in Latin America, how she got involved with investing, and what it means to build generational wealth in community.
Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday.
In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter at @eliast, @lolitataub, and @DriftPodcasts.
For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/
Mario Ruiz grew up on food stamps in the Bronx. He credits this experience to being instrumental in how he's able to manage wealth and run his investing firm, Infinity Ventures, today.
But, it's also an experience he hopes very few other Latinx people need to have. That's why, as co-founder and partner of Infinity Ventures, Mario is focused on investing in infrastructure and new companies with the mission to democratize wealth.
In this episode of The American Dream podcast, Mario explains how reselling sneakers in high school taught him the basics of investing, why having the confidence to take risks is crucial to entrepreneurship, and what we all need to do to democratize wealth.
Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday.
In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter at @eliast and @DriftPodcasts, and Lisa on LinkedIn.
For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/
The secret to helping students succeed in computer science isn't a secret at all. They just need access to a high-quality, robust, curriculum.
But opening those doors to an adequate computer science curriculum is easier said than done.
Lisa Andrew, president of Silicon Valley Education Foundation (SVEF), has dedicated her adult life to working with students and teachers. Through her experience, Lisa has seen how a bureaucratic education system can create obstacles for certain community sectors. She and SVEF are on a mission to break down those obstacles by advocating for more doors to be opened for all students in California, and providing both students and teachers with the services they need to help them walk through those doors.
In this episode of the American Dream podcast, Lisa explains how and why there's unequal funding for students in Silicon Valley, the importance of not only advocating for students, but delivering services to them, and how her own childhood experience, followed by her experience as a mother of biracial children, informs her work today.
Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday.
In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter at @eliast and @DriftPodcasts, and Lisa on LinkedIn.
For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/
In 2015, the Federal Reserve Bank of Massachusetts found that the average net worth of Black households in Boston was $8.00. The average net worth of white households was $247,500.
$8 for Black households, $247,500 for white households.
This disparity was enough to make Nicole Obi spring into action in a new way and commit to a career in nonprofit. Nicole is the president of BECMA, which stands for Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, and it's focused on policy and advocacy around elements and efforts that need to be made to advance the wellbeing of Blacks in Massachusetts.
In this episode, Nicole helps Elias understand why these disparities exist, what needs to be done to close the racial wealth gap, and how a background in urban planning helps her to lead BECMA today.
Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday.
In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter at @eliast and @DriftPodcasts, and Nicole on LinkedIn.
For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/
CTO of Wizeline, Aníbal Arbaca Gil, defines his tech company as "an American company with a Mexican heart." That's because Wizeline - a global technology services provider - is headquartered in San Francisco but has its biggest office is in Guadalajara, Mexico.
In the episode of the American Dream, Aníbal explains why Wizeline invested in Guadalajara, what the tech scene looks like across Mexico today, and he gives advice to other American companies, including Drift, who are thinking about establishing a base in Guadalajara.
Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday.
In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias and Aníbal on Twitter at @eliast, @anibalabarca, and @DriftPodcasts.
For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/
As a straight, white, male, Bob Rivers is far from an underrepresented individual. But that doesn't mean he's not aware of his privilege. Taking on the role of CEO at Eastern Bank 15 years ago, Bob has made it his life's purpose to ensure that the next generation of corporate America looks nothing like him.
In this episode of The American Dream, Elias highlights a represented individual making a difference. He and Bob talk through how Eastern Bank's board reached a 50% diversity metric, why that matters, and where Bob thinks the city of Boston still needs to improve in the race towards equality.
If there's one thing to take away from this episode, it's that having diverse companies is not only the right thing to do but the smart thing to do.
Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday.
In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias and Bob on Twitter at @eliast, @rfrivers64, and @DriftPodcasts.
For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/
You can find Vanessa Calderón Rosado's name on Boston Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in Boston list, but that's just one accolade of her many.
For the past 18 years, Vanessa has served as CEO of Inquilianos Boricuas en Acción, a Boston-based nonprofit focused on empowering underrepresented individuals through high-quality affordable housing, education, and arts programs. As she built out programs with IBA, she's also become the first Latina to serve on the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in Massachusetts, served on Boston’s housing task force, and founded the first dual-language innovation high school in Massachusetts.
There's so much more to Vanessa's story, and Elias gets into it all on this episode.
Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday.
In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias and Vanessa on Twitter at @eliast, @VanessaVcrosado, and @DriftPodcasts.
For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/
Jody Rose is the president of the New England Venture Capital Association, but her first day as executive director 6 years ago was one of the scariest days of her life.
Jody’s bullish attitude led her to be able to overcome imposter syndrome and rise through the high ranks. Now, by co-founding Hack.Diversity, she’s determined to empower the next generation of underrepresented individuals and provide them access to opportunities in tech.
In this episode you’ll hear how Jody and Elias conquer their own imposter syndrome and how organizations like Hack.Diversity are critical to giving underrepresented individuals a foot into the corporate door.
To learn more about Hack.Diversity and how to get involved, click the link in the show notes.
Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday.
In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias and Jody on Twitter at @eliast, @jodyarose, and @DriftPodcasts.
For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/
Stacie de Armas knows what it feels like to be the other.
Growing up a Cubana in California, Stacie embraced her Latinx community wherever she could find it, and she quickly noticed the inequalities between them and her white counterparts. Now working in media research at Nielsen, Stacie feels responsible to represent her community and raise awareness of social inequity, which is what she and Elias talk about in this episode.
Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday.
In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias and Stacie on Twitter at @eliast, @StaciedeArmas, and @DriftPodcasts.
For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/
"To me, it makes humanity better and safer to help people as much as you can."
William Murrell, publisher of BlackBoston.com, found a void in Black cultural resources when visiting Boston with his family. To solve the problem, he built a website where residents and tourists could find all the information they need in one place.
12 years later, BlackBoston.com has expanded to provide affordable housing resources and advertising opportunities for underrepresented communities.
In this episode, William explains how his upbringing impacts his work today, and why community is essential to helping BIPOC businesses grow.
Like this episode? Please leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter @eliast and @DriftPodcasts, and William on LinkedIn or at www.blackboston.com
For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/
Richie Serna doesn't take no for an answer.
After hearing that he shouldn't study computer science because he hadn't been studying it since he was 10, that he shouldn't go to a better high school because he wouldn't stand out, and that he didn't have the skill set to succeed in the tech world, Richie graduated from Harvard University, taught himself how to code, and started his own financial tech company in San Francisco.
Now 6 years into his work with Finix, Richie reflects on the early days and shares his experiences playing the long game as an underrepresented individual in the tech world.
Like this episode? Please leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias and Richie on Twitter @eliast, @RSerna2010, and @DriftPodcasts
For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/
Holding leadership positions at companies like Motorola, Microsoft, Salesforce, and now Cisco, Maria Martinez made a name for herself in the tech space. But as she says, "the hard part was not the technology but was the people. But it was also the most important part." -That's how she learned the importance of transparency in the workplace.
In this episode, you'll hear all about Maria's career journey from high school math class, to working with Bill Gates, to being COO at Cisco. Make sure to listen to the end for her opinions on how we can fix the lack of diversity seen in corporate America today.
Like this episode? Please leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter @eliast @DriftPodcasts and Maria on LinkedIn.
For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/
Alexandra Paredes (Engineering Manager at Stripe), and Tatiana Carett (Lead Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton) may have grown up 10 minutes down the road from each other in Caracas, Venezuela; but they didn't know each other until they both joined the Latinas in Tech community in New York City. Both Ale and Tatiana believe community is crucial to the success of Latinx in tech, so in this episode, Elias goes deep on what it actually means to be a community, and how to create a sense of community in the workplace.
Like this episode? Please leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias and Ale on Twitter @eliast, @ale7714, and @DriftPodcasts, and Tatiana on LinkedIn
For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/
Thanks for listening to American Dream. We’re always looking for ways to level up our podcasts, so today we’re asking for your feedback. Head to https://now.drift.com/podcast, and fill out our 1-minute survey. As a thank you, you’ll be entered to win an Elgato microphone and Logitech webcam ($200 value).
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re lifting up voices from Drift’s own Latinx community.
In this episode, Elias sits down with four members of Drift’s Latinx employee resource group (ERG). Spanning across the marketing, recruiting, sales, and customer success teams, Lorraine Chon-Qui Rodriguez, Luisiana Cruz, Orlando Gomez, and Francisco Oller Garcia share their stories of what brought them to Drift.
Tune in to hear why Lorraine’s tennis coach is the reason she made it into the tech world, how Orlando found a community on Twitter, how Francisco learned to honor his roots, and what Luisiana was asking for for Christmas when she was 12 (hint: it wasn’t Barbies).
Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every month.
In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias, Luisiana, Orlando and Francisco on Twitter at @eliast, @LuisianaC, @OrlandoGomezzz, @VitaminCisco, and @DriftPodcasts and Lorraine on LinkedIn.
For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/
Be confident, and do whatever you need to do to let that confidence shine. That’s the CEO of ALPFA, Damian Rivera’s, motto – and why you’ll always see him wearing suits with fun patterns on the inside.
In this episode, Elias and Damian talk about what it means to bring your full self to work, especially as a LatinX employee. They cover important topics like how to confront microaggressions, how psychology influences relationships, and the importance of employee resource groups (ERGs).
Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every month.
In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias and Damian on Twitter at @eliast, @DamianfRivera, and @DriftPodcasts.
For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/
Easier said than done. That’s how Samara Hernandez describes building her VC firm, Chingona Ventures. Like Elias, Samara ditched her stable engineering career to start her own company, and she hasn’t looked back since.
In this episode of The American Dream, Samara and Elias share stories of what it was like growing up as immigrants in the U.S., how that shapes the way they work, and the imposter syndrome they still feel today.
Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every month.
In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter @eliast @DriftPodcasts.
For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/
Getting more at-bats. Making connections. Pitching investors. Building capital. Playing the long game. This episode of The American Dream is all about the lessons that Elias and his guest Manny Medina (CEO of Outreach) have learned as Latinx founders.
Like this episode? Please leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter @eliast @DriftPodcasts.
For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/
We're only two episodes in, and we already blew up our own schedule. Why? Because recently, Elias led a conversation with our partners at Inner City Weightlifting that was too important not to share. In this special episode of The American Dream, you'll meet four members of the ICW team who are sharing their experiences with systemic racism and mass incarceration – and the work ICW is doing to drive change by turning suffering into solutions (and mud into flowers).
Thomas Washington - ICW Coach and Advocate: Thomas, M.P.H., joined ICW in 2018 as a Coach & Advocate who specializes in helping students achieve their ICW certification. He has been designing and leading workouts for students and clients there.
Jermaine Taylor - ICW Trainer and Gym Assistant: Jermaine was introduced to ICW in September 2012. Prior to ICW, Jermaine was a reputed leader of one of the most historically violent street gangs in Boston’s recent memory. Prior to that, he spent time with the Department of Youth Services, with the earliest incarceration being at the age of 7. The direction in which Jermaine has come from is not indicative of where he is heading. Jermaine said, "ICW is the first program I've been a part of that wholeheartedly understands this. The fact that we take the time to deal with individuals on a case by case basis, and need by need basis really separates ICW from a lot of other programs. One mountain at time, one muscle at a time!”
Feliciano Tavares - Chief Program Officer: A Boston Native, Feliciano has spent the majority of his almost 20 year career working with the "proven-risk" population across the state of MA. Prior to ICW, he spent the last 7 years of his career at the Boston Public Health Commission working for the Division of Violence Prevention's Safe and Successful Youth Initiative (SSYI). Throughout his career, he has shown a dedication for the improvement of the lives of the most vulnerable people within his community.
Ian Kilpatrick - Head of Corporate Partnerships: Ian’s role at ICW is to build and create strong community relationships through its Corporate Training program.
Learn more about ICW here: https://www.innercityweightlifting.org/
Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every month.
In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter @eliast @DriftPodcasts.
For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/
On the first episode of The American Dream, your host Elias Torres is joined by David Cancel (Drift co-founder and CEO), and Dena Upton (Drift’s Chief People Officer). Elias and DC talk about their backgrounds and upbringing (Elias in Nicaragua and DC in Queens, NY), what it means to be Latin American in tech, how Drift is addressing systemic racism in the industry, and more.
Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every month.
In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter @eliast @DriftPodcasts.
For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/
Did you know that Drift is part of the just 2% of VC-backed startups led by Latin American founders? Drift's co-founder and CTO, Elias Torres, is aiming to change that. On his brand new podcast, The American Dream, he's highlighting stories of underrepresented leaders so we can learn how to change the face of corporate America together.
Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every month.
In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter @eliast @DriftPodcasts.
For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/