From FIT to Fashion Tech: Heritage & AI Strategy [Podcast]
Colombian-American Vanessa Molina’s business success is a result of relentless hustle.
Grab your favorite Cafecito and get ready for a deep dive into the world of career agility, high-level business execution, and digital transformation. Host, Tina Treviño sits down with a fellow Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) alumna who truly embodies the spirit of hustle and ganas: Vanessa Molina, the current Head of Growth and Customer Success at Ground AI.
Bonding over their shared FIT roots, Tina and Vanessa trace an incredible professional trajectory that proves success belongs to those willing to embrace discomfort, hone their networking skills, and step into the unknown. Vanessa opens up about her early days in the high-pressure luxury sectors at Dior and Chanel—gained through pure grit and FIT networking—and shares hard-won lessons on navigating tight margins and high-stakes team environments. She recounts her hands-on experience moving into contemporary markets, where she helped scale a vegan-leather brand from zero to over 200 retail accounts, including major powerhouses like Target and QVC, before taking the entrepreneurial leap to found her own wholesale consulting firm, Good Citizen Collective.
But the journey doesn’t stop in the showroom. Vanessa highlights her recent pivot into the tech sector, pulling back the curtain on how artificial intelligence is rewriting the rules for modern commerce. As direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands face new challenges from skyrocketing ad costs and supply chain tariffs to tightening profit margins, Vanessa delivers highly actionable, low-cost AI remedies that any founder can implement today. From maximizing search engine optimization (SEO) through machine-readable Shopify data to utilizing generative AI tools for scalable content creation. She breaks down complex tech jargon into simple, profit-driven business value.
Infused with a deep Colombian-American pride, a powerful discussion on the resilience built through dual-heritage upbringings, and heartfelt career advice for young Latinas looking to smash boundaries in both fashion and tech, this is an episode you absolutely cannot afford to miss.
Ready to discover how to future-proof your business while staying deeply rooted in your purpose?
Watch the full episode on Latin Biz Today!
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