Empowering First Builders: With Moneda Moves, Lyanne Alfaro is Elevating Latino Voices in Business and Tech
Story written by Marivette Navarrete
Lyanne Alfaro, creator of Moneda Moves /Photography by Lindsay Eberly
“Moneda Moves is part of a growing ecosystem demonstrating that these stories are not only important because they are led by Latinos but because Latino business owners, innovators, and problem-solvers actually contribute a lot to the United States. We are a powerful cohort.”
In a rapidly changing and evolving world, Lyanne Alfaro is one of those voices that stands out in the crowd. With her finger on the pulse of the latest technology, business, and entrepreneurship trends, Lyanne is passionate about exploring Latino influence in business. As a result, she launched a newsletter and podcast called Moneda Moves, where she shares stories and insights about the Latino community's impact on the business world.
Growing up in a working-class Latino neighborhood, she saw first builders' hard work and determination first-hand but noticed that their stories were often absent from US national headlines. So she set out to change that.
Lyanne has built an impressive career as a reporter and producer at CNBC, Business Insider, and NBC Latino, where she worked to increase coverage of BIPOC stories. She also served as content director at Nasdaq, where she helped companies going public share their stories through the stock exchange's multimedia channels.
But Lyanne's passion for storytelling extends beyond traditional media outlets. She launched Moneda Moves, a media platform and consulting agency that shares stories about Latino leaders, our relationship with money, and the cohort's contributions to the American economy. Through the Moneda Moves newsletter and podcast, Lyanne provides a space for discussing money and culture, empowering first builders to create generational wealth.
Lyanne's expertise in storytelling has made her a sought-after speaker and consultant for companies looking to share their stories with the press. She has been recognized by NextAdvisor, NextGen Collective, and NYC Fintech Women, among others.
Through her career as a multimedia producer, strategist, and founder of Moneda Moves, Lyanne continues elevating first builders' voices and inspiring others to share their stories. Join us as we dive into Lyanne's inspiring journey and her work at Moneda Moves, exploring her passion for empowering first builders, documenting the Latino story in mass media, and shaping the narratives of Latino leaders in business and technology.
(M) Marivette for The Mujerista
(L) Lyanne
(M): What inspired you to create Moneda Moves, and what do you hope listeners gain from tuning in to your show?
(L): Growing up in a working-class Latino neighborhood in Chicago, I saw first builders everywhere. We owned small businesses lining the blocks from grocery stores to construction shops to panaderias. But we were absent from US national headlines when I worked in these newsrooms. I set out to change that. I built my career as a reporter at CNBC, Business Insider and NBC Latino, and Nasdaq and doubled down to learn about the industry and increase headlines about BIPOC, Latinos, and money. At the same time, I started reporting on BIPOC entrepreneurs and specifically focusing on the contributions of Latino entrepreneurs to the American economy.
Finally, I created a newsletter and podcast to cover these stories: Moneda Moves. And in the last year, I’ve also begun to consult on storytelling with founders of scaling companies to provide strategies for telling their stories as well.
Lyanne Alfaro
M: How did you develop an interest in exploring the Latino influence in the world of business, and what are some of the most interesting stories you've covered in this area?
L: I developed an interest in this thematic, when I fell into business news and saw us missing from the headlines when I felt we were so prevalent as business owners in the worlds I transited. I identified a gap and I really wanted to be a part of the solution.
Some of the most interesting stories I’ve covered are the stories of Latinos building their own ecosystems in the business world when traditional institutions are not creating them for underestimated communities. For instance, Brittany Chavez created ShopLatinx without a fancy education and was able to raise more than one million dollars for her marketplace. Cheryl Campos is creating an ecosystem for founders and funders to interact and build community through La Familia, which grew out of a need for this missing connection amid a pandemic.
M: How do you identify and select the topics and guests for your podcast episodes, and what is your process for researching and preparing for each interview?
L: I identify the guests by finding Latinos who are already vocal about money topics and have scaled their companies or ecosystems, solving an issue intersecting Latinos and money. These issues can range from socioeconomic issues to addressing the fact that Latinos are seeing a big gap in the market when finding products that are catered to them and made by people who understand them, from fintech to food, to personal finance offerings. These guests can share their learnings navigating growing their company or organization as a Latino entrepreneur. The idea is to create an informative but empathetic interview.
For each interview, I make sure I read up on the person’s journey to where they are today, their motivations for the company, and what they talk about on social media. Oftentimes, these founders or interviewees are already vocal online and their tweets or posts provide content for me to develop more insightful questions about their approach to their work and identify what others can learn from it.
M: Can you tell us about some of the most memorable moments from past episodes of Moneda Moves and what made them stand out to you?
L: I really appreciated our interview with the founders of Jen Zeano Designs, Jen and Vero. They were able to get real about how they got into Target and the very non-linear process to get there. Their emotions and back and forth over the journey really made the interview all the more richer. I love the tidbit where they revealed that Target asked them for three designs, and they delivered 30 because they didn’t want to hold back in terms of what they knew their potential was to deliver for this big brand. Their decision was rewarded with more products in the Target store.
M: How do you balance presenting complex business and technology concepts in an accessible and engaging way for your audience?
L: I do think that the platform we serve is speaking to people who are already in the industry and understand some terms because they’ve done the research themselves in their process as budding entrepreneurs or professionals also very invested in this ecosystem. There are many BIPOC builders out there who are coming up against similar kinds of barriers we discuss in the show, like raising funding for a company, scaling a company, or preparing a pitch deck. The best way to illustrate concepts others might not know, however, is by asking our interviewee to break down more advanced terms and, through the story, illustrate what these concepts look like in action.
M: What role do podcasts like Moneda Moves play in highlighting the perspectives and experiences of underrepresented groups in business and entrepreneurship?
L: Moneda Moves is part of a growing ecosystem demonstrating that these stories are not only important because they are led by Latinos but because Latino business owners, innovators, and problem-solvers actually contribute a lot to the United States. We are a powerful cohort. These podcasts emphasize the work being done by our diverse communities and explore how to uplevel these stories so that they get noticed by bigger networks.
M: How has the podcasting landscape evolved since you first launched Moneda Moves, and how do you see this medium growing in the future?
L: When Moneda Moves first started, we were literally recording out of our New York City apartment closet. We were mimicking the radio journalist style of doing these interviews, and while effective for getting out the content, podcasts have evolved further, and my biggest takeaway is this: You need to find your audience where they’re at. That doesn’t have to be every platform – just where you know it will reach your listener. So that is exactly what we intend to do. We are now diving into video and creating systems for sharing video bites from the podcast where our audience is and creating awareness for the stories in written form where our audience can find them. Moneda Moves is shifting towards becoming an ecosystem and community where we support our entrepreneurs through storytelling in addition to telling their stories.
M: Finally, what upcoming topics or guests can we look forward to on future episodes of Moneda Moves? What are some of the most exciting projects you're currently working on, and what can we expect to see from you in the near future?
L: Currently, we are working on a season all about multi-hyphenates in the business world! You can listen to it on Moneda Moves.
Coming soon are live events for Moneda Moves, starting in Chicago. Keep an eye on our website on social channels, where we will absolutely share more information.