Long before here exciting life as a proptech founder, Vanessa Alvarez was debating whether college was right for her after poor grades forced her out of school in her Sophomore year.  A not so gentle nudge from loved ones and a starter career in tech as an analyst changed her entire life.  Vanessa has emerged as a leader in blue chip tech companies like Amazon and Microsoft.  She is the perfect “anything is possible” example and is joining us talk more about her life, from a small Latino town in Rhode Island to the mecca of tech in Silicon Valley   In this episode, we really dive into Vanessa’s story as a first-generation child whose parents immigrated to Rhode Island from El Salvador.  She describes her early struggles with school and lack of visions and how love and tech changed her life.  We also dig into her experience in startups and big tech, as well as her decision to keep her job while launching a company.  So many gems to pull from this conversation!   Founder Bio: Vanessa Alvarez is the co-founder of Seattle based startup, Nexme, Inc, an on demand real estate platform that instantly connects homebuyers and sellers with access to homes. Launched in May 2020, Nexme is available in the greater Seattle and greater Boston areas. She spent time at a number of startups in the Bay Area before joining Amazon Web Services and most recently Microsoft, where she is a Sr. Program Manager. She's fluent in Spanish and is a mentor to young Latinos looking to enter the technology industry. You can find her on Twitter: @vanessaalvarez1.