MBN USA Portal

MBN USA

January 18, 2023

Laguna Media’s Silvana Rosero journey lands her in NMSDC spotlight

By Suzanne Squryes

Switching gears is, perhaps, what entrepreneurs do best. Characterized by a penchant for taking risks, embracing agility and causing disruptions, they blaze their own trails. At least, that’s what Silvana Rosero did.

She had a successful career as a public relations professional at ACES Airlines in her native Colombia, South America. It was a coveted, high-profile job for someone who had recently earned a bachelor’s degree in corporate communications and journalism from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Medellin, Colombia.

But the end of the 1990s was a challenging time in Colombia and her safety was compromised by guerrilla threats. In 1998, Rosero and her husband sold everything they had, trekked some 2,300 miles north to the suburbs of Dallas, Texas, and arrived with their talent, education, three bags and some funds to get them started.

The quest begins

In the United States, she worked in several businesses, became bilingual and learned to appreciate the differences in Latin and American cultures. By 2004, Rosero was working as a producer at Small Pond Video Productions Inc., where she led the creation and production of videos and live events for a variety of clients.

After only a year of joining this team, she became a partner in the business. By 2011, Rosero became the majority owner of the company and transformed its mission. The next evolution came in 2017 when she enlarged the business scope to include, digital and social marketing strategy, visual content and live audiovisual experiences. Small Pond Video evolved from a firm that brought high-end technology video production and events to small businesses into what is now Laguna Media Group, which serves clients of all kinds and sizes. Clients include Accenture, Ericsson, Oncor, Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health and Vistra.

Projects run the gamut. When Airbus Helicopters SAS wanted to announce that it was moving production of its top-selling helicopter production line to the United States, Laguna Media Group was selected from its competitors due to its ability to complete the whole project in one week. When General Motors Co. wanted to promote its history of supplier diversity, Laguna Media Group was chosen because of its ability to generate original scripting and integrating it with visual historical archives with motion treatment and new footage commissioned for the video and interviews with stakeholders.

Giving credit

Despite working in an industry focused on what some might call boastfulness, Rosero is hesitant to brag about Laguna Media Group’s growth and success. She prefers to do the boasting on behalf of her clients.

“At Laguna Media Group, we are used to putting our heads down and working hard to share everyone else’s story in innovative and impactful ways,” Rosero said. “As a Latina, it has been culturally challenging bragging about our own work, but we have learned the value of inspiring others through sharing our journey.”

The firm’s latest accolade speaks for itself, however. Laguna Media Group was named National Minority Supplier Development Council Inc.’s Supplier of the Year in Class 1 (annual revenues up to $1 million).

“The NMSDC recognition was validation that great things are happening,” she said. “I was very surprised given the quality and number of competitors, and still feel like pinching myself just to make sure this is real.”

Laguna has received a plethora of fanfare in other circles, as well: The Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce presented Rosero with its Quality and Excellence Groundbreaker Award. Oncor gave her its Supplier Diversity Rising Star Award. She has also received the Excellence Award multiple times from the Dallas Fort Worth Minority Supplier Development Council and the Telly Award for cinematography.

Rosero gives credit for Laguna’s evolution to those she has met along the way.

“Those relationships built over the years with clients, mentors and colleagues have helped us grow tremendously,” she said. “They come up with ideas that help improve the way we do business. If I could change anything, I would have been quicker at being in the right networking circles.

“You must cultivate your network,” Rosero continued. “The larger it is, the better. Not everyone will offer you a contract, but I appreciate that everyone has some insight or connection that can help grow our business.”

Returning the fervor

After working with minority-owned businesses, “I also came to appreciate that, as a Latina-owned business, I have a certain uniqueness to leverage in business and in the community,” she said.

Rosero uses her distinctive frame of reference to help up-and-coming businesswomen.

“I started mentoring young women last year,” she said. “Many of them are about to graduate from college. I want to help them transition into the workforce.” In particular, Rosero has developed a passion for helping Latinas. “Some of these young ladies have so much potential and I want to help them reach it.”

One of the most powerful tools in Laguna Media Group’s arsenal has been certification as a minority-owned business by the National Minority Supplier Development Council, Rosero said.

“It has made the difference in being in business and not being in business,” she explained. “Thanks to that certification, we have been fortunate to have advocates opening doors for us to compete and being considered to earn business from large corporations. “

But don’t underestimate the “value of doing business with minority-owned firms,” she added. “I’m fortunate to have worked with a lot of exceptionally talented minority-owned businesses and appreciate their spirit and innovative outlook. They often come to us with great ideas and allow us to improve on them. I’m very grateful for my creative teams and for companies like Teltech Group and MW Logistics [LLC] that count on us to help them portray their stories and expand their digital footprint.”

To learn more about Laguna Media Group, visit lagunamg.com.