Luther College entrepreneurship speaker Juan de Lascurain to speak on May 6

From humble beginnings, Mexico City based artist Juan de Lascurain took chances and learned from his experiences to grow as a designer and entrepreneur. Now running his own brand, de Lascurain will speak with Luther College students at 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 6, in F. W. Olin Building, Room 102.

“I think it is a great opportunity for all Luther students” said Tim Schweizer, professor of management and coordinator of de Lascurain’s visit to Luther. “Juan is very inspiring and students will learn from his stories of both failure and success.”

All current Luther students are encouraged to attend, regardless of major.

de Lascurain began as a collegiate tennis player in the United States as well as a triathlete who competed in the 1999 Hawaii Ironman in Kona. In 2004 the owner of a non-profit television network offered him free air time to make a show to inspire young people. The show went on to air in more than 23 Spanish speaking countries. In 2008, he was inspired to paint by a woman commenting on doodles he had drawn on a napkin, which led him to start designing commercially.

When de Lascurain moved to Mexico City in 2011, he had very little money and began selling notebooks with his designs in them outside of a Starbucks. The manager of the store eventually agreed to let him sell the books in-store and put his paintings up on the walls.

Today, de Lascurain is the first Latin American artist to have work displayed on the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa in Dubai. His brand, Dream Big, has collaborated with several name-brand companies, such as Kleenex, Kotex and more.

The entrepreneurship speaker series is sponsored by the Luther College Economics, Accounting and Management Department.

A national liberal arts college with an enrollment of 2,005, Luther offers an academic curriculum that leads to the Bachelor of Arts degree in more than 60 majors and pre-professional programs. For more information about Luther visit the college’s website: http://www.luther.edu.