Abogadazo Empowers Latinos by Connecting them with Vetted Attorneys

QUICK PITCH: Abogadazo is a web platform that connects US Latinos to a network of vetted attorneys. The main feature of the site is a free Q and A forum that allows clients to ask legal questions in Spanish. The platform serves as a lead generator for attorneys.

THE BUSINESS: A great portion of the 54 million Latinos living in the United States do not have adequate access to legal information; fear and fraud is rampant within the community. At the same time, in the age of the smart phone and laptop, lawyers still pay millions of dollars to advertise in newspapers,  the radio, yellow pages, and on billboards. Abogadazo uses tech to make it easier for Latinos to obtain legal information while making it more efficient for lawyers to reach their clients. For the client, the process is a easy as visiting the platform and asking a legal question in Spanish. For the lawyer, the platform serves as the conduit to start a relationship with a client.

THE “AHA” MOMENT:  As a second year law student, I worked in the Legal Aid immigrants’ rights office in New York. During this time, I noticed the great need of the Latino community in searching for legal help. The AHA moment arrived after reading about new legal tech companies; I knew that I could help solve the need of the Latino market by using technology.

HOW DOES IT MAKE MONEY? Lawyers pay to have access to the Abogadazo platform. The pricing strategy will be most likely based on a subscription model.

BUSINESS IT COULD DISRUPT: Abogadazo disrupts Spanish legal advertising. Millions of dollars are spent on newspaper, radio, yellow page, and billboard ads.

MARKET SIZE: 10,000,000 Latinos and 25,000 lawyers.

LIKELY COMPETITORS: Avvo.com, RocketLawyer.com, or Univision.com

PARTNERSHIP OR COLLABORATIONS : Avvo.com, LawDingo, QuickLegal

MANAGEMENT TEAM:  Diego Lafuente (CEO/Founder), Hector Lafuente (Co-founder), Miguel Cabrera (Advisor)

CONTACT INFORMATON: diego@abogadazo.com, 175 Varick St. New York, NY

WHO ARE YOUR ROLE MODELS? My role model is Felix Dennis. Felix was a British Entrepreneur, founder of Maxim magazine, and poet. He wrote the book The Narrow Road which I think should be required reading for entrepreneurs. In this book, Felix discusses the hardships endured by entrepreneurs while treading the metaphorical narrow road. According to Felix, the greatest trait a successful entrepreneur must have is tenacity. Apart from being an entrepreneur, Felix was a celebrated poet and philanthropist. He donated most of his vast fortunate to charity.

WHAT’S THE BEST THING ABOUT BEING AN ENTREPRENEUR? There is great satisfaction in seeing your entrepreneurial ideas come to life.

WHAT’S THE BEST ADVICE ANYONE HAS GIVEN YOU?  Just do it.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHERS? Classical advice from the Ancient Greeks: Know Thyself. This advice is especially applicable for someone thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.