Monica Vialpando
Founder and CEO, Via Innovations, San Francisco, California, USA
Advice?
Seek a diverse set of mentors and unexpected heroes – and then strive to become one yourself.
Make the extra effort to get to know shy and quiet personalities. They often have a lot more insight and interesting things to say. As the Danish expression goes, ”Empty drums make the loudest noise.”
Many people will discourage your dreams — some may even laugh in your face. There will be unfair situations and outcomes. People will try to put you in a box, especially if you are trying to break ceilings. Some days will be utter garbage while others may be magically surreal. The key is truly getting to know, understand, and honor yourself. Because if you don’t genuinely believe in your purpose and mission then nobody else will.
Have patience! Despite the fact that the cannabis industry is changing rapidly, things at times can move very slowly.
