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Grace Rodriguez Highlight
The one thing that can make or break a person’s venture is how passionate they are about the problem, not how passionate they are about the solution.
About Grace
- I initially thought I wanted to become a cardiothoracic surgeon after watching a surgery demonstration.
- I got into Columbia University as a pre-med student but ended up leaving during my sophomore year because I felt burnt out.
- After taking some time to travel and figure out what I wanted to do, I moved back to New York and transferred to Parsons School of Design to pursue fashion design.
- I felt like I didn’t have the resources to become successful in fashion, so I pivoted to working in marketing.
- I was working on Wall Street when I started feeling burnt out again, so I took some time off, moved to Houston, Texas, and tried out a variety of different jobs and industries.
- I eventually started my own marketing agency, which led to me connecting with Mercury Fund and becoming a co-founder of Station Houston, where I helped tech entrepreneurs launch and scale start-ups.
- From Station Houston, I moved on to Impact Hub Houston where, as CEO and executive director, I’m able to create more impact and emphasize things that are important to me, like diversity and inclusion.
- In addition to my work with Impact Hub Houston, I’m also a board member for Downtown Houston and the City of Houston Office of Business Opportunity.
