Strategy, Power and Knowing Your Worth with Vanessa Santos

Strategy, Power and Knowing Your Worth with Vanessa Santos

From Wine & Chisme by Jessica Yañez

March 11, 2026 · 1h 25m · Season 6 · Episode 23

About this episode

Jessica Yañez interviews Vanessa Santos about her journey of resilience and self-discovery after facing significant life challenges.

What Jessica's Drinking 🍾 Casa Martinez Wine, Bonitas 2023 Chenin Blanc. A Latiné-owned family brand out of the Napa-Sonoma area, where Daniel Martinez not only runs his own label but stewards vines for other brands. A perfect sip for a conversation this rich. What happens when the woman who has helped others build empires finally lets her own walls come down? In this deeply honest episode of Wine & Chisme, Jessica sits down with her amiga and one of her favorite humans on the planet , Vanessa Santos, entrepreneur, board-level strategist, Forbes Most Impactful Woman of Latin America honoree, and the woman behind Letters from the InBetween. Vanessa grew up as the eldest daughter of immigrants in Washington Heights and the Bronx - navigating survival, community, corporate rooms she wasn't supposed to be in, and a love for storytelling she didn't even realize she had until she got there. She worked her way from retail to the C-suite without an Ivy League degree, scaled ventures to multi-millions in revenue, became a millionaire before 30... and then watched it all come apart. In this episode, she shares what it really looked like: a divorce, a business exit, losing her home, and…

People in this episode

Host: Jessica Yañez

Guest: Vanessa Santos

Topics covered

  • entrepreneurship
  • personal growth
  • immigrant experience
  • resilience
  • storytelling

Keywords

  • empire building
  • C-suite
  • divorce
  • business exit
  • immigrant daughter

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Forbes

Products: Casa Martinez Wine, Bonitas 2023 Chenin Blanc

Places: Washington Heights, Bronx

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