Route receives $100K as part of the $5M Latino Founders Fund, focused on high potential startups founded by Latino entrepreneurs based in the U.S.
CHICAGO, July 15, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Google announced the 50 recipients who have been selected for the first Google for Startups Latino Founders Fund, which provides promising Latino-led startups non-equity cash awards to help fuel their businesses. Route was one of five Illinois-based founders among the recipients, amounting to $500,000 invested in Chicago startups.
The goal of this fund is to increase economic opportunity for promising Latino startup founders in the US, who receive a disproportionately low percentage of investment. In an effort to close the opportunity and wealth gap for Latinos, Google has launched a set of programs designed to open the doors to funding, training for the digital economy and empowering communities. In addition to the $100K in cash, recipients will also receive hands-on programming and support from Google, deep mentorship from technical and business experts, access to free mental health therapy, as well as a vibrant community of fellow founders.
"We are excited to support these talented Latino entrepreneurs as they build innovative solutions and solve tough problems," said Daniel Navarro, US Marketing Lead, and Google for Startups. "I hope the launch of our inaugural Google for Startups Latino Founders Fund not only catalyzes the growth of these incredible Latino-led startups, but also inspires other Latino entrepreneurs, and ultimately generates wealth within the community."
"We applaud Google for its investment in diverse entrepreneurs and congratulate the five local founders selected for the first Google for Startups Latino Founders Fund," said Michael Fassnacht, President & CEO, World Business Chicago, Chief Marketing Officer, City of Chicago. "Funding and support like this is key to the change we seek across the entire startup ecosystem, where more opportunities are available for underrepresented entrepreneurs to grow, scale and expand, and ultimately change the face of what a successful founder looks like."
"The support will be used to develop new product features, hire technical talent, and help us expand to other cities in the U.S." Ricardo Regalado founded Route to empower the cleaning industry by giving the SMB the power of tech to make data driven decisions to not only start but grow and scale their business.
Route is the first to digitize the sales process from walkthrough, to bid, to proposals all on the same platform plus many more features. Ricardo started in the commercial cleaning industry 9 years ago with his Wife, Dad, Aunt and Cousin but quickly realized he wanted to grow and scale his business. Ricardo's mission is to create jobs and help the everyday blue-collar hard-working American to earn a living while making a positive impact on his colleagues and team.
"The Google for Startups Latino Founders Fund means that all of our hard work, blood, sweat and tears have been recognized and noticed," says Ricardo Regalado, Founder and CEO of Route.
"The support will be used for a number of things such as payroll, marketing, development and maybe to pay myself $1 finally, after 2 years of barely getting by in sheer grit and determination! We'll be utilizing the Google family, resources and team to help us continue to learn, build, and grow the company."
"We'll be able to say Google is now assisting us with our mission to Empower the Cleaning Industry. This industry doesn't get much recognition so the fact that Google believes in Route, our mission, and vision is game changing."
About Route Inc. (Route Platform) - Route is now a Google funded tech startup based in Chicago. We are providing a platform of tools for cleaning business owners to start building and growing their businesses. We're doing this by reshaping how they do business, network and share contracts. We're creating an ecosystem where cleaning business owners can leverage both technology and human to human connections. We launched version 1.0 as just a sales tool but are now working diligently on Route+ and Route Marketplace, where we are centralizing all the tools necessary for a cleaning business owner to level up their business and follow our motto of being 'Stronger Together'.
Media Contact
Michelle Souther, Route, +1 (224) 639-2104, [email protected]
Ricardo Regalado, [email protected]
SOURCE Route
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