FAQ
Find answers to commonly asked questions about LBAN
Find answers to commonly asked questions about LBAN
General LBAN Questions
No. We are an independent non-profit. However, our founder/visionary is Stanford Graduate School of Business Professor Emeritus Jerry Porras. Other LBAN founders include Victor Arias, a Stanford alumni and former Stanford trustee. Additionally, several other Stanford alumni helped establish LBAN and forge the collaboration with the Stanford Graduate School of Business from the beginning. We deeply value this collaboration and are grateful for the strong, ongoing relationship we continue to share.
LBAN collaborates with Stanford Graduate School of Business to create the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative (SLEI) to analyze, research, and grow Latino-owned businesses and entrepreneurship across the U.S. LBAN and Stanford Graduate School of Business lead and support SLEI.
We are a non-profit. We make our research on Latino entrepreneurship available to the public free of charge. For our Business Scaling program and StartUp Accelerator at Stanford Graduate School of Business, we only charge participants a fraction of our costs. We are able to do this because of the generous donations of our sponsors and supporters. The donation sources include alumni of our program, individuals wanting to make an impact, foundations, and corporations that want to grow the U.S. economy with greater access for all.
We maintain strong connections to the alumni of our program, and we invest in building a national ecosystem to support them. We cultivate various networks of individuals and organizations that serve as mentors, capital providers, corporate procurement partners, etc., for our alumni. If you are interested in learning more, please contact us here info@lban.us.
Every year, we host our State of Latino Entrepreneurship (SOLE) Summit at Stanford GSB. This event is usually in March, where we present the findings of our SLEI Research and invite business and government leaders. This event is open to the public, but registration is required. It is free of charge. The report itself will be made available online on our website you can find it here.
No, we welcome people of all backgrounds to join our events and receptions across the country; our goal is to create a stronger and mutually supportive ecosystem for everyone.
LBAN’s Programs at Stanford
Graduate School of Business
The program cost is based on a tiered system according to the applicant company’s revenue in the previous year:
- For entrepreneurs under $2M, the net tuition cost to the participant is only $2,750.
- For entrepreneurs between $2M-$7.9M, the net tuition cost to the participant is only $3,300.
- For entrepreneurs at $8M+, the net tuition cost to the participant is only $3,800.
The program cost to all admitted participants is $1,400
No, we welcome people of all backgrounds to join our programs. At the application page, you will be asked to voluntarily report the race/ethnicity you identify with, but that information will not be used to determine your eligibility.
Our programs are industry agnostic, and we encourage business owners from all industries to apply. We are proud that our cohorts represent all industries, including brick-and-mortar, services, and tech businesses from across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
No, to be eligible, the company must be located in the U.S. or Puerto Rico. LBAN’s goal is to grow the U.S. economy by empowering Latino entrepreneurship in the U.S.
No, U.S. citizenship is not required. However, the business must be headquartered in the U.S. or Puerto Rico, and the business owner must reside in the U.S. or Puerto Ric
Yes, for every Business Scaling cohort, we can only accept about 75 entrepreneurs from across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and 40 for the Startup Accelerator cohort, and we receive many more applications. However, we encourage all to apply, and we can consider people for future cohorts. Currently, we conduct two cohorts per year.
No. We do not require any academic degrees whatsoever to participate in the program. Stanford professors teach the program, and there will be assignments. However, you will be asked to apply the learnings to your business, and you are the best expert on your business. Some participants have not received a high school diploma, and others have advanced graduate degrees from prestigious universities. The program is demanding, but we are proud that 95%+ of the participants successfully complete it.
The language used in the program is English. The lectures, class discussions, and readings are in English. However, we are not assessing participants on their English language skills. For many people in our program, English is their second language, and their first language is Spanish or Portuguese. And for many others in our program, English is their first and primary language.