A display of some of the consumer goods produced by companies in the Latino Founders
network. The group moved into a new headquarters in the North Park Blocks.
LATINO FOUNDERS
By Malia Spencer – Portland Inno, Portland Business Journal
Oct 12, 2026 Updated Oct 12, 2026 8:35am PDT
Two years after opening its first office, Portland nonprofit Latino Founders is on
the move again, this time into a space it could potentially own.
The group, which works with entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, has leased
15,000 square feet in the Modern Media Building, 207 N.W. Park Ave. It’s a much
larger space than its previous 3,000 square feet in Southeast Portland.
Latino Founders leased the space for three years with an option to buy, said the
nonprofit’s co-founder and Executive Director Juan Barraza. The group needs to
raise $1.5 million in the next two years to buy the building, he said.
Latino Founders was created in 2019 to offer culturally specific support to help
entrepreneurs develop ideas into sustainable businesses. The group grew from a
series of ad hoc events over the years such as Startup Weekend Latino and Pitch
Latino. These events were aimed at building a community of support for Latino
entrepreneurs and their companies.
The group has carried on with events — this year’s Pitch Latino was at the
Newmark Theater Oct. 8 — and it has created an accelerator to work with
founders on growing their businesses.
Juan Barraza is executive director of the nonprofit group Latino Founders.
COURTESY JUAN BARRAZA
The current accelerator program is funded by the city and Portland’s Clean
Energy Fund for a total of $1 million. The program is focused on startups working
in climate tech and slated for two cohorts.
The new building, called the Founders Hub, gives the group flexibility to offer a
variety of workspace to the more than 90 companies that are in its network,
said Barraza. These companies include past event participants. The group works
with founders across industries who have traction in the market but need help
to grow.
The current accelerator cohort of four startups has dedicated workspace in the
new building. Founders have 24/7 access to the building. The startups in the
accelerator are:
- FanWagn, a resale marketplace for sports fan gear.
- Photon Marine, which makes an electric outboard engine for boats.
- Carbon Negative Solutions, which is developing carbon negative concrete
products. - Solarcycle, which is developing a mobile power grid for farming.
This hub has room for community events, as well as a podcast studio and photo
studio. There is space for hot desks if the group opts for some coworking as
well as larger conference rooms that can be used as dedicated offices if small
teams need space, said Barraza during a tour through the space with the
Business Journal.
There is also an area in the building where the group would like to build a
prototyping lab, he said.
All of the plans are contingent on funding. All the technical support and
programming is free for founders, said Barraza. The group has a budget of just
over $1 million.
The group’s funding comes from philanthropic organizations such as Oregon
Community Fund’s Latino Partnership Program, Meyer Memorial Trust, Lemelson
Foundation and Collins Foundation. They also have support from financial
institutions like OnPoint Credit Union, Columbia Bank and KeyBank. In addition
to the city of Portland, the state has kicked in some funds through Business
Oregon for technical assistance.
Barraza is now working on building up the group’s private and corporate donors.
To help with this, the group has two more full-time staff including a director of
development and communications.
In the lobby of the new building, the group is planning to host a pop-up store that
will feature consumer products made by companies in its network, Barraza said.
The building has been empty for the last year, said owner Tim O’Leary, president
of O’Cardinal Properties. It is one of several buildings owned by O’Cardinal and
previously housed advertising firm Rain the Growth Agency, which O’Leary
founded with wife and business partner Michelle Cardinal. Both have stepped out
of day-to-day operations with O’Leary retiring in 2012 and Cardinal handing over
the CEO role in 2023.
The agency’s office needs shifted following the pandemic and they no longer
needed the roughly 50,000 square feet they had, said O’Leary. The team is now
concentrated in a recently remodeled building just up the block, at Northwest
Park Avenue. And Northwest Everett Street, he said.
Additionally, O’Cardinal Properties has the Writers Block building at Northwest
Park Avenue and Northwest Flanders Street where it has coworking space for
creative professionals. The group also owns the building at 422 N.W. 8th Ave that
houses the restaurant Lilia Comedor.
“We own enough on the Park Blocks, and the biggest thing is to keep the
space activated and people around,” O’Leary said. He also owns buildings in
the Buckman and Alberta neighborhoods and those have seen higher and
steady occupancy.
O’Leary wanted to get the right tenant in the Modern Media Building and was
looking for someone who would activate the space and have people around. He
told his Realtors to look for such a group and keep an eye out for a nonprofit that
could use the space.
“I cut them a screaming deal to get in there,” O’Leary said. “Down the road there
is a purchase option on it. I couldn’t be happier with them in there. We are very
excited about the mandate and the activity there and the kinds of things they
are doing.”