On a Saturday afternoon, a few minutes after the Puerto Rico and United States basketball teams went head to head on the Olympic hardwood, Ric Elias, founder and CEO of Red Ventures, welcomed a Platea team at his residence in San Juan.
That afternoon, we sat down with Elias for an interview, something uncommon for him, marking the launch of the podcast Punto Aparte. A space created to talk about initiatives, ideas and thoughts that contribute to the future being built in Puerto Rico.
Community is a through line in the projects under Elias's stewardship. The blow dealt by hurricanes Irma and María in 2017, and the broader context of Puerto Rico's economic crisis, pushed him to launch Red Ventures Puerto Rico in 2018.
That initiative, together with the start of the Forward movement, were conceived with a specific goal: to drive the Puerto Rican economy and community forward.
With that in mind, Forward was created as a support entity for digital projects and an incubator for companies.
"At the end of the day, Forward is the belief that this country belongs to the next generation and that the best thing my generation can do is give them every opportunity to come back to their country, to bring people from other countries to this country. It's more about creating the Puerto Rico we all wish for but don't all know how to build," Elias said.
What began six years ago as an idea that demanded a large-scale strategy took shape quickly. Today, the incubator is headquartered in the heart of Santurce and has more than 200 employees, some of whom have recently relocated from various U.S. cities.
"We want to help create communities and to be part of them."
Ric Elias, CEO of Red Ventures and Forward
From engineers to analysts and marketing professionals, Forward's portfolio started with Red Ventures Puerto Rico (RVPR) and has grown to include major projects such as Nave, the digital bank; Xtillion, which specializes in technology services; Guide, the artificial intelligence travel tool; and Platea. The most recent addition under this umbrella was the Criollos de Caguas franchise.
Basketball has always been part of Elias's life. As the businessman tells it, he speaks three languages: "English, Spanish and basketball." That passion for the sport led him to acquire the Caguas upper-division basketball team. After 15 years away, the Turabo Valley squad returned in the 2024 season to the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN), exceeding all expectations with strategy and planning and reaching the BSN finals.
"Competitive character is something very different from what people think. It's not who plays the hardest; it's what you do when no one is watching. It's when you win by 20 and show up early the next day, when you lose by 20 and show up early the next day. That takes time, and it takes repetition and years, but it helps you when your leaders have a competitive character," the executive said.
Betting on local
In addition to retaining local talent, Forward seeks to connect with Puerto Rican professionals living off the Island who want to return and contribute to the local economy, start families and establish their lives permanently on an island where a high rate of migration to the United States persists.
For Elias, retaining and training young Puerto Ricans are fundamental pillars for achieving the transformation of a Puerto Rico that can compete in the technology sector at a global level, as well as for serving as a key piece in the permanent building of the Puerto Rican community that wants to stay on the Island.
With a strong commitment to future generations, Elias, and by extension Forward, are betting on a future in which investment flows into the Puerto Rican community and strengthens it from within, with the long-term goal of continuing to compete comfortably on the outside. The executive says the Criollos de Caguas fit perfectly into that vision.
"Forward is a youth movement, an investment movement, a growth movement, an optimism movement. What better channel to do that through than sports? Sports connect us, they connect us much better than other things," he said.
The Forward community:
Red Ventures Puerto Rico: a technology and marketing company, headquartered in San Juan, that connects brands with consumers through content and digital strategies.
Xtillion: a leading consulting firm specializing in technology, known for its focus on cutting-edge tech services, including data engineering and analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Platea PR: the digital plaza. A space to stay informed about things to do, what to know and where to go. A place to discuss the most relevant issues affecting Puerto Rico, ideas for imagining our realities differently, and actionable proposals that spark critical thinking and conversation from the different corners of Puerto Rico we inhabit. The conversations you can take to the sobremesa, to coffee or to the new spot.
Guide: an artificial intelligence tool for travelers looking to build personalized, highly configurable itineraries for their trips and stays around the world.
Nave Bank: the first bank built with a digital focus in Puerto Rico, insured by the FDIC. Nave has been designed to help businesses navigate their finances in a fast, simple and secure way, with up-to-date banking products. It offers savings and operating accounts for businesses, loans with competitive rates and an easy-to-use banking platform.
RV EDU: The Red Ventures Education team connects more than 220 online education institutions with 80 million prospective students annually, making it the largest online postsecondary education digital platform.
Criollos de Caguas: A new franchise in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional, marking the return of professional basketball to Caguas after 15 years. The Criollos are focused on building a culture of sports and community, with a vision, discipline and respect for the area's athletic history.
Connect: We develop extraordinary solutions for ordinary problems in the roadside assistance industry. We innovate with a user-centered approach to transform roadside, home and personal assistance across Latin America. We operate in Puerto Rico, Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia and Mexico, providing solutions based on proprietary technology and quality service.
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
