Nelson and Fanny Grande at annual business conference in San Diego. (Credit: L’Attitude)
Los Angeles-based Avenida Productions headed by Fanny and Nelson Grande has received a seed investment of $250,000 from L’Attitude Ventures, a venture company that funds U.S. Latino-led and owned startups.
The company secured the working capital during the recent L’Attitude business conference in San Diego. More than 100 candidates vied for seed money, 23 were invited to showcase their business and five were selected to pitch on the conference main stage in front of industry leaders serving as judges. The final terms of the investment were just finalized in the past few days, confirmed Avenida COO Nelson Grande in an exclusive interview with Latin Heat.
The quarter-million dollars arrive at a crucial time for the five-year-old young company. Just two months ago it opened up its very own 14,000 square-feet production studio space in a Latino-majority neighborhood about five miles from Hollywood. Currently, a series of sets are being built in order to kick into full production mode next year. “We’ll have various sets–a full apartment, a courthouse, a chapel, a bodega, a 747 airplane fuselage, a hospital and an elevator,” said Grande. He added that set construction is expected to be completed by mid-January.
The company is also gearing up to launch a new streaming service, the Indie Film Network, and crowdfunding platform for filmmakers next year. “This new seed fund will go primarily towards the company’s growth,” stated Grande in regards to the L’Attitude investment.
All new and upcoming services mean an extraordinary expansion of a company that aims to be a one-stop-shop for filmmakers from Latinos, women, LGBTQ and other underrepresented groups in film and TV.
The new Avenida Studios have screened films like the PBS doc Light Camera Acción! by director Ben DeJesus. (Credit: Eddie Sakaki)
Originally, the company was started by Grande and his partner and wife Fanny Grande as a production and crowdfunding consulting enterprise serving indie filmmakers and has reportedly helped raise several million dollars for nearly 200 projects, including Social Security, an action-comedy starring Danny Trejo currently in development, and the 2017 family drama feature Shine, starring David Zayaz. Other projects include the shorts Esta Es Tu Cuba and Always a Thorn and the feature drama Rich Kids. Other services also included capital raising and film distribution. Recently, the company raised more than $80,000 for John Leguizamo‘s Phenom X comic book about a Latino superhero.
“We were honored to participate in the L’Attitude Match-Up Business Showcase and are very pleased to learn we’ve received $250,000 in funding,” said Fanny Grande, Avenida’s CEO.
The new investment is part of the duo’s efforts to bring in the financial resources needed expand Avenida into the next phase. “We’re completing our seed round of capital raising as we work to bring Latino-led productions to market with funding, production, marketing and distribution,” said Nelson Grande. “This investment doesn’t just help Avenida. It helps every creative person with an idea or dream to make their movies and tv shows.”
The issues of representation, diversity and inclusion have been a hot topic in Hollywood in recent years with some progress being made lately thanks to the arrival of streamers who cater to diverse audiences both here in the States and internationally. However, Latinos and other underrepresented filmmakers lack access to capital. Avenida is one of only a handful of U.S. Latino companies striving to create content from start to development to premiere, helping filmmakers deliver their products to the masses.
“We’re seeing a massive wave of growth and entrepreneurship by Latinos like Fanny and Nelson Grande,” said Laura Moreno Lucas, Venture partner at L’Attitude Ventures. “We know they and others like them are overlooked by capital markets. They could drive high investment returns, and they exemplify successful founders.”
Latino venture capital could be a game-changer for Latinos in Hollywood. Founded in 2018, L’Attitude dubs itself as a “purpose-led venture fund” that invests in early-stage U.S. Latino-led and owned businesses with large and high-growth opportunities capturable through technology. It is helmed by global executive Sol Trujillo, reportedly the first U.S.-born Latino to lead a Fortune 200 company and who has long underscored the economic importance of Latinos in the US. Trujillo has served as the CEO of telecom corporations like Australia’s Telstra, U.S. West, and Frances’s Orange S.A. He also served as a trade policy advisor to two presidents, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
Featured Photo: From left, Oscar Munoz, L’Attitude Ventures partner; Avenida’s Fanny and Nelson Grande; and Sol Trujillo, L’Attitude Ventures partner and CEO (Photo: L’Attitude Ventures)
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