I build businesses where profit and humanity are not in competition.

Build the dream, but keep the human

✳

Build the dream, but keep the human ✳

I believe business is spiritual. It’s not just about P&Ls, KPIs, and exits — it’s about the energy behind every decision, the healing that happens along the way, and the humans who make it all possible.

I’ve scaled and exited 8-figure companies, led global expansions to over 120 countries, and built movements that funneled millions back into underestimated communities. But the work I’m most proud of? Building spaces where leaders can grow their businesses and themselves at the same time.

I’m here for the founders learning to love themselves while they build. For the leaders unlearning the belief that success requires self-sacrifice. For underestimated visionaries who are ready to architect empires on their own terms.

Vanessa Santos

“You don’t have to choose between building your business and healing yourself. The more you love the human running the company, the better the company becomes. I’ve built companies where culture doesn’t just protect people — it expands them.”
— Vanessa Santos

My Story (as of this moment)

I didn’t plan to be a “conscious leader.” I planned to survive corporate life without losing my soul.

Twenty years in, I had built award-winning products, led billion-dollar brand expansions, and launched platforms that changed the way people shopped, connected, and built businesses. But I also learned the hard truth: the systems we work in are designed to reward a privileged few, while the rest of us — especially women of color — have to work twice as hard for half the recognition.

So I chose a different route. One guided by inner wisdom, not corporate playbooks. One that prioritized humanity as much as profit. One that refused to measure success by burnout badges and sacrifice scars.

As the former CEO & Partner of #WeAllGrow Latina — acquired in 2025 — I co-led the transformation of a beloved community into a powerful economic engine:

  • Injecting over $20 million directly into the Latina economy.

  • Creating 30,000+ professional pathways for our community.

  • Building Amigahood and the Amigas Circle Conversation Cards — now part of the legacy through the acquisition.

Alongside my work as an entrepreneur and business architect, I am a committed advocate for queer and trans rights, women’s and economic rights — with a focus on strategic, sustainable impact and economic empowerment. I have a history of leveraging my platform and network to rally resources and partnerships during pivotal moments for the Black & Brown community — including launching Amigahood Aid, one of the largest and fastest emergency responses for the California wildfires.

What Drives Me

  • Fierce advocacy for women’s and human rights

  • Democratizing access to wellness and business resources for underestimated founders

  • Researching connection — I’ve been studying and writing about friendship and human bonds for over a decade

  • Conscious investing — proud investor in Bloomi, supporting pleasure-positive wellness, Nopalera, Lil’ Libros, and Earth Rides.

  • Serving on boards and advising early-stage startups to help them grow with strong, values-driven foundations

Where I Am Now

Right now, I’m in the in-between — intentionally.
I’m on sabbatical, writing about my free-fall journey, advising mission-driven founders, and designing my next venture from a place of consciousness and wisdom.

This next chapter will be bigger — not just in scale, but in impact. I’m building a media and business empire that inspires, equips, and connects leaders who want to build without self-erasure.

Pleasure is my word of the year, and I’m inviting it into every business decision I make. Because the future of leadership isn’t just about longevity — it’s about quality of life while you lead.

The in-between isn’t empty. It’s where transformation happens. It’s where you hear your own voice again.

If you’re ready to build a business — and a life — that scales your impact and your humanity, you’re in the right place.

Join me in the journey: Subscribe to Letters from the In-Between, my newsletter where I honor the beautiful, messy transitions that shape our lives and businesses. Because the space between who we were and who we're becoming is where the real magic happens.

How I Got Here

I didn’t set out to be a “conscious leader.” I set out to survive corporate life without losing my soul.

That journey took me from leading global expansions for billion-dollar brands to co-building #WeAllGrow Latina, a movement that funneled millions back into the Latina economy and created thousands of opportunities for women of color.

Along the way, I discovered my Human Design as a Reflector — and with it, the radical idea that sensitivity is a business superpower. I learned to reject systems built to control rather than empower, and instead design spaces where ambitious women can write their own daring narratives.

  • Allow yourself to get there. Great things take time and you shouldn’t set expectations for the unknown

    — Vanessa Santos

  • Your vision is there for a reason. Choose to see it, choose to feel it, and choose to put yourself first.

    — Vanessa Santos

  • Money does grow on trees if you believe it can. The first lesson to know about money is that it's a tool.

    — Vanessa Santos

Fun facts

Taurus 🌞, Cancer 🏹, Capricorn 🌕

First-Gen Latina 🇩🇴🇪🇨, born & raised in NYC

Reflector in Human Design — my sensitivity is my superpower

Two fur babies: Elvis & Teddy 🐾

Creative peak: in nature — mountains or desert 🏜️

Favorite foods: pasta, mom’s rice & beans, cherries, olives, and my own vegan picadillo 🫒

Big sis energy in business. I light up when I speak but I’m selective with my energy. I’m an extrovert with the right people, an observer with others, and happiest at home letting my imagination run wild and writing.

Professional stats

Former CEO & Partner of #WeAllGrow Latina (acquired 2025)

CES award winner for an IoT shopping app

Keynote speaker at Forbes Most Powerful Women of Latin America

Co-Developed a digital API platform serving 12M students in 6 Latin American markets

Led Gilt.com’s expansion to 120+ countries

Published Songwriter & Creative Partner of Derik Fein

Investor in Bloomi

Advisor to mission-driven founders building scalable, values-aligned companies

A woman with long wavy hair, wearing a beige sleeveless top, red pants, and colorful high heels, is sitting on a modern white chair against a plain white wall. She is smiling and looking slightly to her right with her chin resting on her right hand.

Building is my jam.

Growing is my medicine.


Growth is messy. It’s rarely linear. And it’s never just about business.

You don’t have to code-switch, over-give, or disappear into someone else’s definition of success.

Building as your most authentic self is freedom.
The in-between isn’t empty — it’s where transformation happens.
The pause is where you hear your own voice again.