TU CIUDAD
Jaime Gamboa founded TU CIUDAD, a magazine that celebrates Latino culture in Los Angeles. With eleven years of experience in the publishing industry, he decided to start his own magazine. He financed the company with his own money and with the help of Emmis Publishing, the number one city regional publishing company in the nation. The magazine, which is written in English, highlights entertainment, music, fashion, and food with a Los Angeles Latino perspective. Jaime credits his success to his tight spending without compromising the product’s quality. He hopes to expand the magazine with New York and Miami editions.

PALAPA AZUL
Michel Algazi and Roni Goldberg were successful businessmen, working for Fortune 500 companies. They decided to leave their corporate jobs and use their marketing and business experience to create PALAPA AZUL, a unique line of ice cream and frozen fruit bars. They invested $400,000 to start the company, working without pay for the first two years. They started by experimenting with 30-40 flavors and eventually debuted their product with eight different flavors. Their authentically Mexican desserts, with flavors such as sweet corn, hibiscus, and mango chile, can be found in specialty stores. The product can be found in more than twenty states, mostly in the western and southwestern United States. Michele and Roni are working to cross over their product into the mainstream market.

In Secrets of Success, Stacey Kumagai (mediamonsters@yahoo.com) of Monster Media Communciations discusses her philosophy for business brain power: to be open to new ideas and to take risks.

Studio Guest Rochelle Newman-Carrasco (www.enlacecomm.com), CEO of Enlace Communications, Inc., shares the different approaches to crossing over products from predominantly Latino markets to the mainstream market. She suggests that companies do not underestimate their audience and the differentiation among the Latino cultures.