About
The builder, and the human.
Vanessa Santos started her first business at 13. She has not stopped building since.
The daughter of Dominican and Ecuadorian immigrants, she is first-generation everything. She didn't wait to be chosen — she chose herself.
Her career is a study in scale. She expanded Gilt.com to 120+ countries. She spent six years at Mastercard driving global product innovation — including a CES Innovation Award–winning platform and a co-developed digital API that reached 12 million students across six Latin American markets. She co-scaled WeAllGrow Latina, the largest community platform for Latina entrepreneurs in the world, through growth, transformation, and acquisition — generating over $20 million in economic impact and creating 30,000+ professional pathways for the Latina community. A Forbes Most Powerful Women of Latin America honoree. A Kennedy Center inaugural entrepreneur award recipient.
01 The human
I’m not one thing.
- Writer of Letters from the In-Between
- Founder & CEO of Build The Dream
- First-gen Dominicana & Ecuatoriana — NYC born & raised
- Reflector in Human Design — my sensitivity is my superpower
- Two fur babies: Elvis & Teddy
- At my creative peak in nature — mountains, water, slow mornings
- I light up when I speak — but 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.
120+
countries scaled
12M+
students reached
$20M+
economic impact
30,000+
pathways created
I didn’t wait to be chosen.
I chose myself.
02 The receipts
The proof, on the record.
- 01Former CEO & Partner of #WeAllGrow Latina (acquired 2025)
- 02Co-led a transformation contributing $20M+ in economic impact and 30,000+ professional pathways
- 03CES Innovation Award winner for an IoT shopping app (Mastercard)
- 04Co-developed a digital API platform serving 12M students across 6 Latin American markets (Mastercard)
- 05Inked the first and largest multi-million-dollar brand partnership at Gilt.com
- 06Co-led global expansion to 120+ countries (Gilt.com)
- 07Inaugural Entrepreneur of the Year, Kennedy Center (Nationwide × Hispanic Heritage Foundation)
- 08Keynote, Forbes Most Powerful Women of Latin America
- 09Board Member, Wellness For The People Foundation
- 10Mentored 217 founders to date
What drives me
Researching connection, women's circles, and collective power
Fierce advocacy for queer rights, women's rights, and economic empowerment
Teaching women that wanting wealth isn't toxic — but building it by erasing yourself is
The investor
I back women building what’s next.
- Bloomi
- Nopalera
- Lil' Libros
- Agua Bonita
- Earth Rides
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