A New Entertainment Destination for Latinos

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Garcia-Duran and Frenck aren't worried. Frenck had been developing the idea of building an interactive TV network for Latinos since mid-2006. After being introduced by a mutual acquaintance, Garcia-Duran and investors bought Mio's holding company, Latino Interactive Network, in May, 2007. By June, Garcia-Duran and Frenck had opened an office in New York. They put together an experienced team that includes board member and strategic adviser David Wellisch, the former Time Warner (TWX) executive who founded AOL Latino.

Advertising Interest

So far, Mio has raised $2.5 million in funding. Its five major investors include Talbert Navia, partner at, and head of, the private funds group at Chadbourne & Parke, and Carlos Conde, a principal at Olympus Securities. Garcia-Duran and Frenck hope to raise about $10 million by yearend.

The Mio team has worked its networks to lure advertisers and form partnerships with Hispanic newspapers, radio stations, and Web sites. Because of the 20 or so partnership agreements, Frenck and Garcia-Duran say Mio will have a built-in audience of about 600,000 unique monthly visitors when it launches. And they say about a dozen major national brands, including Volvo (F), are interested in advertising, though none has committed. John Maloney, Volvo North America's vice-president of marketing communications, says he has been trying to increase the premium car brand's presence in diverse markets, and has agreed to let Mio run ads on its beta site.

All in the Timing

He cites three reasons he's considering buying ads: the network's content, premium presentation, and ease of use. "From the perspective of a consumer, the suite of office tools and the content itself could appeal to an audience that extends beyond the intended Latino market," Maloney adds.

Mio is banking on its exclusive content to attract users, and Garcia-Duran and Frenck estimate content creation will account for 70% of its costs at first. That's why it hired Concepcion Lara, a former HBO executive who launched HBO en Español, to run Mio's Los Angeles office, which opened in August, 2007, and recently joined with Nilza Serrano, president of The Media Shop, a 22,000-square-foot production studio in Hollywood, to co-produce content.

Garcia-Duran says building a successful business has everything do with timing. He was right about Spanish portal Terra.com, which he helped found during his time at Telefónica and which became one of the top content networks in Spain and Latin America. Now we'll see if his timing translates to the U.S.

Leiber is Small Business editor for BusinessWeek.com .