Meet Juan De Lascurain of Dream Big in Century City

Today we’d like to introduce you to Juan De Lascurain.

Juan, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My background was always in sports. I grew up playing tennis since I was eight years old. Studied international business and afterward went on to compete in triathlons around the world. Was able to compete in the 1999 Hawaii Ironman and many other races. Afterward, I moved to Los Angeles and started coaching tennis at the Beverly Hills tennis center on La Cienega.

I was very successful had many clients but after four years, I felt I wanted to do something more. One day I was at the gym sitting on the bike pedaling away and watching the tv screen in front of me and came upon a hispanic tv network I had never heard of. Later that day I asked my mother who was visiting if she had heard of the channel. She said no, but told me we should call to find out who the owner was.

I really had no intentions to call but my mother was organizing an event for the hispanic community in San Antonio and wanted to see if they would be sponsors. A few days later, we were sitting on the owner’s office and after a few minutes he asked me what I did for a living.

He then offered me free air time on Saturday morning to do a show to inspire young people to follow their dreams. I went home that night and wrote down Dream big, which was going to be a company dedicated to inspiring people. I started that show without any experience and within six months I was hosting, producing and editing the show on my own. For more than four years, I was able to interview some of the biggest celebrities, athletes and cover major events around the world. Since it was a non-profit network, I started figuring out ways that I could earn money with the show.

I started a t-shirt line which didn’t work much but I kept trying to figure out more ideas. In 2008, while sitting at a friends house I started doodling on a napkin. A lady who was there and was an artist was watching me and told me I should paint.

I thought she was crazy but decided to do it. I went and bought a piece of wood at the local Home depot and paint at Walmart and a few months later I had finished my first painting. I was a bit surprised at the outcome and decided to keep painting every night. It was during the 2008 crisis that my tennis job started going down so I thought it would be the perfect time to dive full time into painting.

My only problem was that I had high expenses living in Santa Monica and realized I was not going to be able to make it just painting. One day I decided to give up on all the expensive material things I had and ended up asking my brother if I could stay in his apartment. He also lends me a cheap car since he was in the car business.

I ended up working with a friend of mine who was a contractor in Beverly Hills and also started working at the Apple store in century city. Most days I had only enough money to buy a burrito at the Chipotle on Beverly drive. But I had a vision of where I wanted to go.

It was while working at the apple store that I bought an iPhone, one day I started playing with some of the paint apps and realized I could do some amazing designs which had a commercial feel to them. By that time I was wearing my hand painted jeans and printed some t-shirts with my designs as well. Most places I went people asked me where I had gotten my clothes; I had my backpack full of t-shirts and started selling right there to them.

In 2011, a friend of mine from Mexico invited me to an art show in Mexico City. Since I was originally from there and hadn’t been back for almost 17 years, I thought it would be a good idea to go. My only problem was that I was still living at my brother apartment and only had $200 dollars to my name.

My friend told me she would pay for the ticket and that I could stay with her while I was there. I decided to go, landed in Mexico city and started meeting a lot of people who were interested in my designs. I thought I would stay for a while and see what would happen. After a few months of staying with my friend, I felt I had to find somewhere else to live. I went to a family member who had a lot of money to see if he would be interested in investing in my brand but he said no. I also asked if I could stay in his house, he also said no.

I had a few options, one of them was to go live at a youth hostel downtown Mexico city paying $5 dollars a night. That was really my other option with the money I had. So I did that and every day I would go to a Starbucks in the nicest part of town. I would sit there and paint on my i phone and talk to whoever would sit next to me.

It was there that I met a lady who manufactured notebooks, I had enough money to print ten notebooks with my designs. When she gave them to me, I started thinking where I was going to sell them. Starbucks!!! Everyday I would sit in my table with the ten notebooks laid on the table and my goal was to sell one to whoever sat next to me. Things started looking brighter and brighter everyday.

One day I decided to talk to the manager and see if she would let me sell the notebooks on the counter, after a few weeks she agreed. She also let me cover the Starbucks with my paintings. Overnight Starbucks became my first point of sale, my gallery, and my office.

It was not until a year later that I went back to Los Angeles, by then I was already licensing my brand In Mexico and started looking at opportunities in the US. Today I have licenses in 10 countries, have over 40 products and 10,000 designs. Two years ago, I started manufacturing some products to open retail shops and partner with tourist destinations around the world. I also speak in events and expos around the world talking inspiring others to follow their dreams.

Has it been a smooth road?
It’s been up and down but an exciting adventure. The main struggles have been to find financing, most banks won’t lend you money unless you have money or collateral. Most angel investors want to take advantage of you and big private capital thinks you are too small.

I started with a $500 dollar AMEX credit which has grown and that is what I have used to build the business.

In licensing some of the struggles have been that most big companies only work with Disney, Star Wars, etc. Because they want to make sure they make their money back as soon as possible. But when you have a good product, believe in what you are doing and you are persistent then it’s only a matter of time until you start closing deals with those same companies. That was an example for me of now working with Kleenex.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Dream Big – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
I have several business, one I license the brand Dream Big and a collection of over 10,000 designs into all sort of products. Second I manufacture some products like t-shirts, caps, souvenir items but about 90% of those products are manufactured locally in the country they are sold.

In Mexico for example there is a foundation that works with underprivileged youth who screen prints all of our products.

My other platforms include my books, speaking and a tv show in the works. The thing I am most proud is that we are able to inspire people everyday and make them realize that you can make a difference in the world and accomplish your dreams.

What sets me apart is that I don´t base all my decisions solely on money, I base my decisions on what my intuition tells me.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
LA is an amazing place, I have been able to live in Santa Monica while I was coaching tennis and then afterward while living in my brother’s apartment and afterward in Century City. The weather, the creativity of the people that live there, amazing talent.

Its a city that inspires you to be better everyday. So many inspiring stories come out of LA everyday that I think is one of the best places for creative people in the world.

Least – traffic, traffic, traffic

Contact Info:

• Website: www.juandelascurain.com
• Email: [email protected]

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