One of our greatest amigas, Patty Rodriguez, is back for a new episode! If you’re Angelenos like we are, you know that she just made a major move, leaving KIIS FM after over 15 years as a producer. Now she’s ready to grow in other ventures and she’s starting with helping her community. Patty talks to us about equity crowd funding for her company, Lil Libros, and why the time is right for our community to learn to invest & build generational wealth. She reminds us that it takes courage to change & make our dreams come to life, and we can’t wait to watch her dreams come come true during this next chapter of her life.
Patty is a great role model, an example leader and an inspirational super mama just looking to make her community a better place. We are honored to know her, excited for her next moves and hope you enjoy her episode!
More about Patty: Patty Rodriguez is one of the most influential American Latino leaders as a nationally recognized entrepreneur, radio producer, media personality, founder, angel investor, and best-selling author. Proudly raised in Los Angeles by Mexican immigrant parents, she has dedicated her work to elevating the voices and stories of the American Latino experience.
Patty founded Lil’ Libros, the #1 family-trusted bilingual children's media publisher, inspired by her journey toward motherhood and desire to raise her children in a bilingual environment that valued understanding, respect, and appreciation of their family's culture. After Lil’ Libros received numerous rejections from major publishers, she immediately recognized the historically underserved market she represented. Patty took matters into her own hands, partnering with childhood friend Ariana Stein to propel Lil’ Libros into what would become the critically acclaimed publishing company and industry titan. With over a million books sold, Lil’ Libros is recognized in the Latino community and beyond with shelf space at Target, Barnes & Noble, museums, boutiques, and independent sellers alike nationwide.
Her passion for uplifting her community extends past children's books, as Lil’ Libros became the first children’s media company to be community-owned. In 2021, over $2 million in equity crowdfunding was raised from over 5,000 investors in less than five days. As an influential Latina entrepreneur, Patty has also made angel investments in early-stage startups, including Hedley & Bennett and BLVD MRKT.
Being a storyteller at heart, Patty launched sin miedo productions in 2021 with longtime friend, Erick Galindo. Their first project, Out of the Shadows: Children of ‘86, is currently in production with iHeartMedia and explores the lives of children who were raised by the three million immigrants granted amnesty through the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.
Patty got her start at iHeartMedia’s 102.7 KIIS FM Los Angeles, infusing culture on and off the air for over 15 years working as a Senior Producer and On-Air Talent of the internationally syndicated radio show, "On Air With Ryan Seacrest." She also founded MALA by Patty Rodriguez, a jewelry line aiming to empower women to take pride in their identity through fashion. Fans of the collection include Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, and Becky G.
Among her accomplishments, Patty launched a grassroots campaign asking MAC Cosmetics to create a line in honor of the late Selena Quintanilla. Her petition collected over 30,000 signatures in just days, receiving national coverage in English and Spanish and capturing the attention of the makeup giant. The MAC x Selena collection was successfully released in October of 2016, making it the best-selling cosmetics collection of all time, proving the buying power of the Latino community.
Patty has been recognized as California’s Woman of the Year, along with having received the LA Times Latinos De Hoy Cultural Influencer Award. She has been featured in the New York Times, Forbes, NPR, USA Today, LA Times, People, Buzzfeed, Univision, Rolling Stone, CNN Latino, Latina Magazine, People En Español, Cosmopolitan, and American Latino TV to name a few.
She currently lives in Los Angeles with her two beautiful boys, Alexander and Oliver, and their ten guppies.
Gems from this week’s episode
“Have the courage to make a change in your life.”
“What I want for my kids to understand is that there’s a purpose for every step that we take.”
“If you know me, my inner compass is what drives me 99% of the time. If I’m not excited, that’s the universe telling me that’s not the decision you should be making.”
“I felt that this was the least we could do for the community that helped build lil libros.”
“It was never for us, but now it is.” - Patty on financial literacy , generational wealth and becoming an investor
Become an Investor!
You still have time to invest in Lil Libros! Visit wefunder.com/lil.libros until 4/30/2022 to invest in this community built company. If you have questions, send Patty a DM on Instagram (linked below)! We can build generational wealth together.
“Let’s make our children feel that this is part of our environment.” - Patty Rodriguez
Links
Follow Patty on Instagram @pattyrodriguez
Learn more about Lil Libros on their website and follow them on Instagram @lil_libros
Club de Cuervos on Netflix - the show that Patty was binge watching when she had the idea for equity crowd funding for Lil Libros
