Paola Santana
Founder & CEO
Social Glass
San Francisco, CA USA
“You don’t need to lean in, you need to jump in. If you see an opportunity, you lead it. If you see a problem, you go and fix it. Commit to something.”
Videos
By Roadtrip NationPaola Santana
Milestones
My road in life has been direct.
Born and raised in the Dominican Republic where I grew up surrounded by poverty and inequality.
Seeing the struggles that people like myself dealt with growing up in a poor country, I decided to take on inequity and has made that a central focus of my life.
After receiving my bachelor's degree in law in the Dominican Republic, won a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue my master’s degree at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
After working as a paralegal and in the Constitutional Court in the Dominican Republic, I realized that the conversations within government weren’t solving problems in the way they should.
Made decision to leave politics and began pursuing paths in technology that might solve the “big” problems I saw countries facing all over the world.
Joined a Global Studies Program at Singularity University in Silicon Valley where I worked with leaders to research and develop ways to apply exponential technologies to the world’s problems.
In 2011, I started my first company, Matternet, a drone company enabling organizations around the world better access to goods—we've partnered with Boeing, Mercedes Benz, NASA, FAA, and the ICAO.
Founded in 2017, my second company, Social Glass, is a software ecosystem that uses AI to help governments digitize, streamline, and scale good processes and decision-making.
Keep following my journey
Education
Career
Founder & CEO
I am the founder of a software ecosystem using AI to power high-performing governments.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Technology
Entrepreneurship
Upholding a Cause and Belief
Day to Day
I'm working on waking up early...I meditate, plan my day, check my agenda and priorities, check my email, work on my priorities in the morning (MVP, fundraising, recruiting), take calls in the afternoon, work on complementary projects in the afternoon, workout / dance twice a week, coding and AI classes twice a week.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for everyone
Be curious and research everything you can about what you want to do. Caring about even the tiniest of details is imperative. Have guts and remember why you are doing what you are doing.
Recommended Education
My career is not related to what I studied. I'd recommend this path instead:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Society in General:
"Why are you talking about drones and technology if you are a lawyer from the Dominican Republic? You should just go home and leave it to us to figure out."
Challenges I Overcame
Socio-Economic Origin
First-Generation Immigrant
Work Stress
Interviewed By
Venture Forward
Tech entrepreneurship’s next generation
