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Johny Fernandez: Virginia
Rivera. Yes. Go ahead. Let's

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talk to me. Where are you?
Where's company? Where's home

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base for your company?

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Virginia Rivera: Well, I, I'm
very excited Puerto Rico. Okay,

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so Latin financial will be
opening very soon in Puerto Rico

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and I'm their person.

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Johny Fernandez: Awesome. Let's
talk a little bit about the

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Hispanic community. You know,
Puerto Rico, I talked to

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different people here. They're
saying that that is a growing

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sector, right now. Walk me
through that and walk me through

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meeting everyone here that knows
about you and how they're

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willing to help you.

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Virginia Rivera: Well, you know
what, what's really exciting

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about Puerto Rico is that we are
in a renaissance period,

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everybody's discovering that you
don't need a passport, that you

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pay with dollars, and that
there's incredible real estate.

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But more importantly, we're very
open, we have a really great

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ecosystem an entrepreneurial
ecosystem. So startups are

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amazing technology. There's a
hub that's huge, and it's

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growing. And you know, what,
there are incentives, there's

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some tax incentives. So if
you're looking to loan to fund,

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we are the little little island
that has so many people really

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ready to explode and grow, I
have to say that this event is

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wonderful. My family, their
bankers, and they're

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entrepreneurs. And this is my
first time in the Broker Fair.

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And I'm so excited, because
everybody has this incredible

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mindset of growing, I think,
after the pandemic, you know, we

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didn't really know what was
gonna happen, but thanks to the

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small alternative lenders, small
and medium, and we are able to

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really grow. So I've been an
entrepreneur for a long time.

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And now I'm getting into this
finance sector. And I'm really

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excited about it.

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Johny Fernandez: So what's your
expectation for today? I mean,

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there's literally people from
across the country to kind of

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walk me through that. What's
your expectation?

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Virginia Rivera: Well,
networking is number one. So we

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got in really early, and my co,
Sonia Vela is with me. And we've

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been shaking hands and talking
to everybody, we know that what

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we do is wonderful. And we're
just looking for other lenders

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that are really looking at the
same way we're looking at what

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the prospects are. People need
what we have. And I think that

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any great entrepreneur knows
that if you have a need, you

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just have to find a solution. So
when you marry that with

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funding, it's a win win.

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Johny Fernandez: So there's a
lot of conversation going on

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today, discussions, different
panels, kind of walk me through,

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which one are you most looking
forward to?

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Virginia Rivera: Well, I have to
tell you, I've been to three and

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they have been top notch. The
first one, I love the great

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debate, it was really wonderful,
because you had different

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sectors represented. I also just
had the one with the funding the

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seven figure funding, it blows
your mind, if you really narrow

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down what your niche is. It's
like riches are in the niches.

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So I love that. And earlier
today, we talked about, give

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yourself 20 hours to learn
something new, and that is gonna

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pay off. So I've learned already
three. And I think most

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importantly, is the networking
aspect of it really getting to

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know people. We have a few
people that we have our eyes on.

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So we're hoping to see them and
I know that already for you and

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talk to everyone here.

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Johny Fernandez: So let's talk
about something. A lot of people

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hear that they're new to the
industry. They're people that

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are watching online. As someone
that's fairly green in this

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industry, what advice would you
have and what advice have you

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been given?

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Virginia Rivera: Well, you know
what, I have to say that having

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another woman in the industry
has been really great to have as

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a mentor. I just heard when she
was talking personalization,

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really not look, you know,
technology is great. But you

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can't lose that human factor. We
talk about AI really

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substituting people, you know
what, you use it, but you also

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have to remember that people
want to know there's somebody

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else on the other side. So I
think to anybody who's starting

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like me, go that route, get to
know people, let them know what

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you can do for them. Tell them
about what your benefits are.

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And I think that you will really
succeed because we need that

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special human touch.

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Johny Fernandez: What would you
say to people that want to work

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with you in Puerto Rico that
want to head to the island that

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want to start or people that are
watching this that are already

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in Puerto Rico? What would you
say to that?

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Virginia Rivera: I say you know
what we are in our best moment.

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And don't be afraid to think
big. Don't be afraid to really

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go out there. There are people
out there that want to help you

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that want to fund your
entrepreneur, your business,

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your enterprise and to funders,
you know what? continue funding

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small businesses, women led
businesses and so Latino

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businesses,

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Johny Fernandez: let's talk
about you know, women in this

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industry, be a woman a
businesswoman What advice would

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you have to females watching
this that either are scared or

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hesitant to kind of go inside
this men dominated game?

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Virginia Rivera: You know what
we just heard two great speakers

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say the same thing. You may not
get anywhere your first month

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your second month your third
month, maybe your your 10th

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lead, or your tell call call.
But you have to keep you have to

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stay there. Because that number
20 number 30 may be the right

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one. But most importantly women,
we really need females in the

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financial spectrum, we really
need you involved. All you know

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what women pay very well. We're
very responsible. And the truth

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of the matter is that only 2% of
the financing globally goes to

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women led businesses. So we have
great opportunity. More women

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means more representation, and
more women really saying, You

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know what, I'm gonna go with
her. She sort of like me, she

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gets going. I don't

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Johny Fernandez: Last question
what's what event or what panel

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are you looking forward to the
most today?

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Virginia Rivera: Okay, well, it
already happened. But I'm not

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leaving. I'm not leaving. I
really wanted to see the great

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debate. We had one female, which
was Sonia. And then I had on the

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other the other three gentlemen.
As we had brokers, we had ISOs.

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And we had funders. So the fact
that we can actually see in one

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panel, every different
perspective was wonderful. Now I

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am really looking forward to
just know this is a great

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opportunity that sponsors events
downstairs, and something I'm

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really looking forward to
because you get to talk again,

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that human factor, I will get to
talk to people that I've only

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seen online now get to see them
one on one.

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Johny Fernandez: All right,
well, Virginia. Thank you for

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your time. Thank you, and good
luck, and we're definitely

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rooting for you. We're proud of
you. And we're excited to see

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what is gonna happen in Puerto
Rico.

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Virginia Rivera: I'm so excited.
Thank you.