Even when Latino-owned businesses break through the US$1 million level, they are three times less likely than white-owned businesses to seek financing from angel investors, Bain found. Their reticence may be because they don’t know how to seek this funding, or “they don’t think they will get funded,” Saenz says.

The lack of outside financing becomes even more noticeable as these companies grow, as even investors who are attracted to Latino-owned businesses tread cautiously. According to Bain, when dealing with private equity, these Latino-owned businesses need to have twice as many investors to approach receiving the same amount of funding as their non-Latino peers.