Small Business Spotlight May 2019

Small Business Spotlight May 2019 2021-05-03T18:30:18-04:00

Small Business Spotlight

For this month’s Small Business Spotlight, we catch up with Guzman & Company and Guzman Energy.

1. Tell us about your business; and what is your business philosophy?

Guzman has two operating companies. Guzman & Company and Guzman Energy. Guzman & Company is an investment bank and brokerage firm founded in 1987, providing capital market services to HNW, corporate, and institutional clients. Guzman Energy was founded in 2013, as a full services energy firm. Guzman Energy primarily operates in wholesale energy markets, as well as in renewable infrastructure and energy commodities. Both companies are formed with the same DNA: to find inefficiencies in markets and create value by providing innovative solutions to our clients.

2. Why are you passionate about your commitment to United Way?

Our Founder and CEO, Leo Guzman has always been committed to creating opportunities for others to succeed in the places we call home. Leo is a big believer in the power of education to transform lives, as that’s been crucial to his success, so we’re excited about the early education programs United Way provides. As a financial services firm, we also recognize the value of programs like the Center for Financial Stability for the community. Furthermore, much of our senior management team is Navy veterans and we appreciate the vital support that Mission United provides to local veterans.

3. How did your business get started?

After many successful years in the finance industry, Leo Guzman founded Guzman & Company in 1987 here in Miami as an investment bank and equity brokerage firm. We were the first Hispanic-owned member firm of the New York Stock Exchange, and after 32 successful years continue to service clients ranging in size from Fortune 100 corporations and large pension funds to small companies and local investors.

Seeing an opportunity to innovate and expand into new markets, Guzman Energy was created in 2013. The business has rapidly grown since then including the expansion of a Denver office. Guzman Energy serves cooperatives, municipalities, and native American tribes in the American West. And currently provides more than a million megawatts of electricity to customers annually.

Leo and the Guzman family remain actively involved in the operations of the businesses, with both companies headquartered in the same Coral Gables office on Aragon Avenue.

4. What is a lesson learned?

At an early stage, we recognized the value of data and quantitative metrics. As such, we incorporate these factors into everything we do.

5. What’s your favorite quote?

“It seems to be a law of nature, inflexible and inexorable, that those who will not risk cannot win.” – John Paul Jones, Founder of the U.S. Navy