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Ruben Flores Martinez Founding a new financial service
Age: 31
Title: Founder
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Organization: CASHDROP
Ruben Flores-Martinez, an immigrant from Mexico, saw the reality of setbacks Latinos face.
At age 13, Flores-Martinez and his family immi- grated to the states from Guadalajara, Mexico. FloresMartinez had many scholarships to attend different universities but couldn’t due to his immigration status.
He began watching YouTube videos on coding and taught himself how to build websites and mobile apps. A few years later, he successfully founded CASHDROP , a point-of-sale and online ordering platform with zero merchant fees, and joined the 1% of Latino founders who are venture-backed.
CASHDROP’s product and mission attracted investors that include Harlem Capital,
Flores-Martinez’s story has placed him in Forbes 30 Under 30 and Crain’s 40 Under 40, and the CASHDROP founding story has become a case study at Harvard Business School.
Age: 39
Title: Owner & CEO
Organization: Latino Tax Corp.
Judith Deniz Bucio is the owner and CEO of Latino Tax Corp., a tax office located in the heart of Hermosa on the northwest side of Chicago. At Latino Tax Corp., Bucio coaches small businesses on managing their books and achieving financial success. Inspired by her own personal struggles as an immigrant, she serves the Hispanic community and educates people on the U.S. tax system.
Bucio was born in Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico. Her education in the United States began in the second grade. In 2001 her world was shaken after learning that college was not an option due to her immigration status. Bucio’s perseverance and drive led her first to real estate. Soon after becoming a DACA recipient, Bucio became a mortgage loan officer.
After knocking on many doors, Bucio decided to start her own business in tax preparation. With online courses, seminars, inperson classes, and the IRS website, Bucio obtained her tax preparer certification. In 2009, she founded Latino Tax Corp. Today Latino Tax Corp has a team of four fulltime employees and thousands of returning clients.
