Alejandra Grisolia

I attribute my success to staying hungry and never becoming complacent. When I decided to leave corporate after my brain aneurysm diagnosis in March of last year, I thought about what really mattered to me. I have a daughter in Buenos Aires in school and a son in the United States, and I wanted to travel to see my family when I need to, not according to a vacation policy. I realized that if I stayed complacent on my big paycheck, I wouldn't put as much energy into building my own business. I thought, well, if I stay hungry, I'll make it work. I just bit the bullet and went for it, and it's going great. It's growing, it's working, and it's been interesting. I'm the oldest of 11 siblings, and 3 of them are entrepreneurs with wildly successful companies. My dad always had his own company offering professional services. Once I understood the real core of what it is to take care of oneself, I realized that working 60 to 70 hours, waking up at 4 AM for meetings with Europe, and going to bed at midnight wasn't really a great career. That was actually putting my whole self in the service of a company at the expense of burning out, not having a life, and missing time with my son. When you understand that there's a real need to take care of oneself, things around fall into place. I realized I was working to realize somebody else's dreams, and I thought, what is it that matters to me? That shift in perspective has been key to my success.

The best career advice I’ve ever received is simple but powerful: You can and you will—just never give up and always keep going. It reminds me that persistence is often the defining factor between success and missed opportunity. No matter the challenges or setbacks, staying committed, believing in my ability to grow, and continuing to move forward has been essential to achieving my goals.

I would tell young women entering this industry that you can absolutely take care of your health while building a career you truly love. Success should never come at the expense of your well-being. Prioritizing your physical and mental health allows you to perform at your highest level and sustain long-term growth.

I’m especially proud of having contributed to a $10 million salary increase while working in the corporate space, and that achievement reinforced my belief that women can lead, negotiate, and deliver meaningful financial impact. Today, as I continue to grow my own business, I carry that same confidence forward—knowing that ambition, balance, and self-belief can coexist.

Being a new business owner, the biggest challenge for me is getting out there more on social media. I'm not a fan of social media necessarily, but I found out that when I started to talk to people organically in a lot of groups, they started to follow me just by having conversations. I thought, well, if I can grow organically but to more people at the same time, that's very interesting. I actually freeze when I post on social media, so last week I decided to hire a social media manager. She's fresh out of college, and I wanted to give somebody an opportunity to really create a career because talent development is my strength. This week we're having meetings in the afternoon planning for the social media, doing the social media plan, and reviewing postings before they go out. Learning about marketing and advertising is a whole lot to learn that's new on top of what I'm doing. My day-to-day changes a lot according to the needs that sometimes I anticipate and sometimes I discover or stumble upon. Having a company has a lot of ups and downs, and you go through a whole lot of emotions.

The most important value to me is being able to take care of my health and have time for my family while building a successful career. After doctors found a brain aneurysm in my brain in March of last year, my first reaction was a lot of fear. Once I removed the fear of dying, I realized I don't want to leave an 8-year-old son without a mom. That strength to take care of my health in a very intentional way comes from the fact that I really want to stay around for my son. I changed a whole lot in the last 12 months as far as how I eat, how I exercise, how I relate to people, what I tolerate, what I don't, how I stress, and how I don't. I have a daughter in Buenos Aires in school and a son in the United States, and I want to travel to see my family when I need to, not according to a vacation policy. My experience in corporate was working 60 to 70 hours, waking up at 4 AM, having meetings with Europe, going to bed at midnight. I was making a lot of money and putting in a lot of effort, but at the expense of burning out, not having a life, and missing my son's time. That's not really a great career. Once you understand the real core of what it is to take care of oneself, things are perceived in a very different way. Being mindful and intentional in everything I do, from the ingredients in my products to the decisions I make about my business, is extremely important to me. I don't want to do things in a way that is not mindful. I want to make sure whatever I bring into the space is done with conscious, intentional decisions.