About
The builder, and the human.
I grew up between Washington Heights and the Bronx. No Ivy League degree, no network that opened doors for me. I built my career in rooms full of people who had both, and I was usually the one closing the multi-million-dollar deal.
Those rooms don't open for women from where I come from. So I learned exactly how they work, and then I started building my own.
I'm the daughter of Dominican and Ecuadorian immigrants, first-generation everything. I started my first business at 13. I didn't wait to be chosen. I chose myself, and I've been choosing myself ever since.
01 The human
I’m not one thing.
- Writer of Letters from the In-Between
- Founder of Build The Dream
- First-gen Dominicana and Ecuatoriana, NYC born and raised
- Reflector in Human Design. My sensitivity is my superpower.
- Two fur babies: Elvis and Teddy
- At my creative peak in nature: mountains, water, slow mornings
- I light up when I speak, and I'm selective with my energy
- When I win, I share the notes
- Queer. Multifaceted. Uncategorizable. I'm not one thing, and that's my power.
In 2026 alone
200+
founders and creators mentored, through Build The Dream and Thrive & Lead
Across two decades
20+
years building
120+
countries reached
12M+
people reached
30,000
community grown
I didn’t wait to be chosen.
I chose myself.
02 The work
A career built on firsts.
Two decades of my life have gone into businesses that built billions in enterprise value. Gilt's global expansion. Mastercard's category-defining innovations. Work that reached hundreds of millions of people.
At Gilt I turned two designer cars into immersive worlds. The idea was mine: put Thom Browne and Zac Posen inside a car and let people walk through it. I brought in the talent to build it, I directed the whole thing, and I took it across the country. Both cars sold, and the New York Times covered it. Then I closed the biggest brand partnership in the company's history and helped take Gilt into more than 120 countries.
At Mastercard I built what the market hadn't seen yet. A first-to-market AR and VR commerce experience that won a CES Innovation Award. A product that reached twelve million students across Latin America. I left running digital product strategy for the region, and leading the women's network while I did it.
Then I grew #WeAllGrow Latina into the largest community of its kind for Latina change makers, and led it through its acquisition. I built programs with Indeed, Capital One, JPMorgan and Microsoft that reached millions of women.
I've keynoted Forbes' Most Powerful Women of Latin America. I was named the inaugural Entrepreneur of the Year by the Hispanic Heritage Foundation and Nationwide, at the Kennedy Center.
What drives me
Researching connection, women's circles, and shared power
Fierce advocacy for queer rights, women's rights, and economic power
Showing women that wanting wealth isn't toxic. Building it by erasing yourself is.
Backing what’s next
I back women building what’s next.
- Nopalera
- Bloomi
- Lil' Libros
- Agua Bonita
FAQ
The questions I get asked most.
- Who is Vanessa Santos?
- An AI brand and culture consultant and global community builder. She is the operator who became the voice: twenty years building at the intersection of technology, culture, retail, and the women's economy, now a keynote speaker, host, and writer. She founded Build The Dream, a brand world and culture consultancy for startups and Fortune 500 companies. She started her first business at 13 and has not stopped building since.
- What does Vanessa Santos speak about?
- AI and culture is her signature: AI builds the business, the human builds the culture. Her second theme is culture as commercial advantage and the women's economy. Every talk is proof-led and sold as growth, brand, and AI readiness, for corporate, conference, and university rooms.
- How do I book Vanessa?
- She is booked for keynotes, hosting and emcee, workshops and offsites, and brand partnerships. Use the inquiry form on the booking page with your event, date, format, the people in the room, and budget range, or reach her team directly at jennifer@camilacreative.com.
- What is Build The Dream?
- A brand world and culture consultancy for startups and Fortune 500 companies. It designs the world a brand lives in, then convenes the people who make it real: culture relevance strategy, brand world architecture, and convening. It lives at buildthedream.co.
- What is private counsel?
- Advisory for a small number of principals, by introduction only. Price on inquiry.
- What are Vanessa's credentials?
- Two decades building things most people never get to. At Gilt she turned two designer cars into immersive worlds with Thom Browne and Zac Posen, covered by the New York Times and both sold, and closed the biggest brand partnership in the company's history. At Mastercard she won a CES Innovation Award for first-to-market AR/VR commerce and built a product that reached millions of students across Latin America. She grew #WeAllGrow Latina into the largest community of its kind for Latina change makers and led it through its acquisition. She keynoted Forbes' Most Powerful Women of Latin America and was named Inaugural Entrepreneur of the Year by the Hispanic Heritage Foundation and Nationwide, at the Kennedy Center.
You don't have to break apart to prove you're worthy.
You don't have to be loyal to who you were when you can choose who you're becoming.
I'm building it in real time, with 20+ years of proof that I know how to build, and the audacity to do it without self-erasure.
Vanessa
Letters from the In-Between