The Entrepreneurship & Innovation Studio

Vintner's Diary: Heritage & Innovation with Vanessa Robledo

• Stanislaus State • Season 1 • Episode 6

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This episode of the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Studio features Vanessa Robledo, owner and founder of Vintner’s Diary and subject of the award-winning documentary Harvest Season. Listen as Vanessa takes us through her personal journey which includes her family's migration from Mexico to Napa Valley and the complexities involved with the balancing of traditional expectations and innovative aspirations.

Vanessa shares how she built her brand in a male-dominated industry and her unique approach to entrepreneurship, built on introspection, authenticity and a desire to forge her own individual identity. This episode also delves into Vanessa’s success in shifting cultural perceptions by blending traditional Mexican cuisine with exquisite Latino wines.

Co-produced by the Warrior Entrepreneurship and Innovation program and the Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing at Stanislaus State. The E&I Studio is edited and recorded in the KCSS studios on the campus of Stanislaus State.
The views expressed by guests on this podcast are not necessarily those of the University.

Welcome to the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Studio, where we explore the passion and the purpose behind some of the amazing people in our community and, above all, their stories. I'm Dr. Pablo Paredes Romero and all my career, I've been fascinated by entrepreneurship and innovation from the moment an idea scribbled on a napkin, drawn on a tablet whiteboard and spoken out loud in the shower or in the car on the way to someone's 9 to 5. It's all about the work and the art behind the venture. Founder and CEO of Vintner’s Diary. Vanessa Robledo’s legacy is of the Earth. She and her family were the subject of the award winning documentary Harvest Season in 2018, directed by Bernardo Ruiz I rewatched it for the show. I'm glad I got to re-experience the film. Rewatching the documentary catalyzed my first impressions of Vanessa from when we first met several years ago at a chamber event at which she spoke to listen to her speak about the things that made her who she is. Family traditions, migration and enterprise that are as elemental to her as the sun and water are to the vine, into the wine is to see her sense of self come through like a fine vintage. To hear someone speak of themselves with such strength and vulnerability at once mirrors the poetry of the grape itself. It can be quite the intoxicating experience, bold and surprising in only improving character and wisdom over time. Welcome back to the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Studio. We're here with our very special guest, Vanessa Robledo of Vintners Diary. How are you, Vanessa? I'm doing well. I'm doing very well. How are you doing? Very well, ma'am. How was your week then? It's been a great week. We just released the wine this week as far as delivering it. So we launched the preorder a couple of weeks ago, and now we're delivering all the orders this week. It feels really great to now have my product or our product out in consumers hands, and people are drinking it and they're writing us and telling us how much they love the wine. So I'm really happy. that's fantastic. Nothing like the beginning of something, especially if it goes so well. Wonderful. With so much ground to cover, I was wonderfully impressed by. Well, I've been a fan for a long time, and especially so by harvest season. Having seen that a bit ago, we'd start off about community. Would you tell me a little bit about the community in which you grew up? I was born in Sonoma and I was there for the first two years of my life, and after that we moved to Napa. So mostly I was raised in Napa. I was raised in a community at the time where the only students that spoke Spanish were my brother and I. So we were immersed in the English language and we picked it up pretty quick. So starting in kindergarten, there was really no other Latino kids at the time. So that was one of the things that I see has changed since I've been in school. But I believe I grew up in a community where you would see, you know, most of the Latinos in the fields working, doing all the labor for the vineyards and farming. So that was really the role models that I had, you know, agricultural workers. So I think that, you know, we had a community that was very supportive. I felt supported at least. But we grew up in the country, so we weren't really exposed to a lot. There was nine children, there's nine of us. And we were all very just tight knit. We worked in the fields. When I say fields, I mean vineyards every day when work needed to be done. So my parents bought a piece of land and they worked very hard. They saved up to be able to plant their own vineyard. And that's where we learned how to farm ourselves. The other nine children. I'm the fourth of the nine, so I have seven brothers and I have one sister. And we all grew up the same way, just really working hard and trying to having a well, we definitely learned to have an appreciation for what my ancestors, the work they did and also my parents. Amazing how many generations back. So in the 1940s, my great grandfather and my grandfather came through the Bracero program. I don't know if you're familiar with that very much so, yeah. So it was it's a sponsored labor program by the U.S. because there was a shortage of the labor force in the United States. They collaborate with Mexico and brought Mexicans specifically from agricultural regions in Mexico. And so my ancestors were where some of those men there were men and women that were brought, but mostly the men were in my in my family that left their pueblos. They came and settled in labor camps in California, and one of them was in Healdsburg, California. And at the time, Healdsburg now is known for wine country, but back then it had apples, it had a lot of other fruit or orchards. My grandfather worked in all sorts of different agriculture, but that's when he started working in the vineyards and they became master grafters. So that's back in the 1940s, 19. By the 1950s, they were known as the master crafters of Robledo. The commercialization of wine also started during that time. So after Prohibition, people started really looking at how to commercialize the wine, planting more vineyards. And so they were a part of all of that. So it's really an exciting history to be part of, and I'm really proud of what they accomplished. It almost seems like way too small a question for such a huge experience in your history of your family, but what what do you feel today looking back is imprinted on your DNA from all these generations? That's a really great question because I feel that I wouldn't be what I am today, which is, you know, and a woman into preneur, a Latina entrepreneur, if it wasn't for them. Unfortunately, in some ways, the agricultural worker is looked down upon. But yet for us, we were to raise them up and honor them and respect their work because our parents put us out there and they made us work just as hard. I've experienced not a not everything my grandfather or my father did, but in a way I got a I got a glimpse. And that's what made me, I think, appreciate who they are and everything that they gave up and what they sacrificed and how hard that work is. You know, once once you you recognize that it it changes you. There's a completely different yeah, it's a completely different way to look at the product that we create and that we work really hard to, to be able to bottle and share with people all over the world, with the work, with the passion, the soil. There's a poetry to that, to that existence, to that kind of history, isn't there? Yes. Yeah, I think so. There's there's definitely it's a passion for me that runs very deep. You know, I runs very deep in the sense of why it's connected to my ancestors that have already passed and to it's something that I didn't realize how fortunate I was to be born into it, because, I mean, this is something that I didn't build on my own. I was born into this family that had this amazing history. So in everything that I do, even with my own daughter, I try to honor that story. I try to honor who they were as people and in their history that they have dating back to Mexico. Does the thought ever arrive to you or did you consider it? Is there any Vanessa, without all this? Because it seems like you were born into it and there was never a question. Yeah, I think, you know, that's a really that's another great question because I think that that's what I've really tried to see, because I grew up in such a family where we were very traditional. So the women had their role. The biggest dream for my parents was for me to get married. The goal was for my mom to teach me how to cook and clean so I can be a good wife. And and then my seven brothers. It was different. For my seven brothers. The world was, you know, a huge possibility for them. They could do anything they wanted. But yet we also had to do our part and work in the feet and the vineyards just as hard as my seven brothers as the two, so my sister and I. So we would work in the in the vineyards and then we'd come home and we had to cook for the guys. We had to serve them then, then my mom and I and my sister ate. So we ate after they ate, you know, we had to serve them first. And then there was the the traditions of of also, my dad had rules where we couldn't speak English in the house. It was only Spanish. So my mom never learned to this day, doesn't speak any any English. So there's a lot of things where because we grew up in such a strong family, like, who really am I? So I had to. Little by little, peel layers of who I was because I did get married very young. I was 19 when I got married. And and I had my beautiful daughter, Jocelyn, who's now 24. And so from that, I think, you know, even being a young mother, it's it's very hard to know who you are, someone you're responsible for, another person, you know, so. So it's taken me a really long time. And I think you know, who I am deep in my heart is, you know, a person that loves to see businesses grow. I just love to see businesses, you know, because they've been part of all of my parents helped their businesses. I've helped other people grow businesses, and now I'm growing my own. You know, it took me it took me a long time, you know, to to start thinking of myself. But now at 46 years old, I'm thinking, okay, this is what I want. This is now about me. And who helped me see, that was my daughter also last Christmas, she said, Mom, you've done so much for other people. You need to start doing something for yourself. Wow. And so I have to be really grateful to our Jocelyn for kind of waking me up and saying, you know, you need to start thinking of yourself more. So it's remarkable. You mentioned Napa Valley, the area, the community and the understanding. The business was always sort of in your DNA, a part of your life. Where do you see the business community in Napa Valley going? Have you seen it evolve? I have, you know, since I started in the business and in an executive position, I've seen it evolve in the sense where you see more Latino producers of wine, you know, more than ever before. When when we started there wasn't really anybody else. So so it's just a a great thing for me to see how it's evolving, how these Latinos are creating their own brands, how they're marketing their own brands, how passionate, because it's a very similar story. Their ancestors, you know, started working as a vineyard worker usually, and then they started buying land and then they start making their own wine. So I have a lot of respect for all of the the people that have started their own brand. I'm also seeing little not as much as I'd like to see as far as the Latinos being in executive positions and bigger companies like, for example, in Napa. I would like to see more of that because I think that overall, if anybody wants to market to a certain demographic like, say, Latinos, they want to see people who look like them that are running the company. So I would like to see more of that, but I see it more than when I started. So so I have an appreciation for that as well. So that's how I see, you know, Napa evolving. Napa and Sonoma because I'm connected to both counties. And and so I think when I speak of one, I speak of the other. And those are some of the things that I notice about the business community in Napa. You hit on so many amazing themes. Representation does matter whether it's academia, business, any aspect of life. And it bears mentioning that young people that may be compelled to go into entrepreneurship have all these things that consider these questions surrounding the experience. What would you say is the single most important thing you could tell a young person compelled to start a small business, whether it's in Napa, Sonoma or the Central Valley? I think an entered Preneur ship is Latinos is in our DNA. Like, honestly, I always thought that one of the things that I noticed because my parents every year would take us to make or so we would take three, three days in a van eating baloney sandwiches with Kraft cheese and Wonder Bread Vega for three days, which to this day I can't eat that. So I would all of us in a van and I would see all of these people with stance food stands. They were had their little businesses going. You know for me I was just amazed how people have this mentality where I have a gift of whether it's me cutting fruit or making lollipops, making hotdogs, whatever it is. They just sit there, stand outside and create a business. There you go. And that's and that's really all it is. I mean, as a as a little girl, I got in trouble for this, but when I was little, my dad would send me with my uncles to translate. And so that's when I first started my first business. If I think back so I would I would go and they would give me like a quarter or a dollar, you know, for translating for them. And my dad found out that I was taking the money. And my dad says, Don't you ever take any money from your uncles? If you need money, ask me, you're not. I'll take money, you know. So in my mind, I thought, this is a good business. You know, if they're stopping me now, yeah, I'm getting paid for my uncles for translating. And, you know, as a little girl, I would soon as I learned English, Pablo, I started opening bank accounts, going to doctor's appointments, doing different things where they needed someone to translate for them. And I was there because it would also get me out of the work of the, you know, going in the vineyard. So I do think that the best advice I can give them is that they have something already within them. They have a natural, natural entrepreneurship instinct. They just have to be able to tap into it. Even if I, as a little girl didn't realize I had I had a little business on the side by translating and getting quarters and dollars and saving the money for whatever I wanted, you know, candy or whatever I wanted. Anybody has that, really. They just have to recognize what it is, tap into it and expose it to to people where this is my business here, get it out there. And I mean, certainly it's more easier said than done. There's more steps to that. But but basically it's just recognizing that you have it, that you have something within that you are good at or that you want to create into a business. And and in exposing it to the world and letting them know you're here, the tapping into it, there's so many great things there as well, the tapping into it, the catalyst. It's all an act of learning, at least in my travels. That's kind of what I've what I've gleaned. What would you say has been the most powerful learning experience you've had as a small business owner? I think I've learned the most from my failures, honestly, because there's been so many things where where I've learned, this isn't working. But I think it's it's about how quickly you can recognize that it's not working and make a shift. I think that's what I've learned the most, is becoming an expert and not continuing to do something that's not working. Like not trying to force the shoe to fit. It's not going to work. You got to be quick to recognize that it's not working and either modify it or create something new, because I think that that's when people can lose a lot of money in business. In really doing your research before you launch, I think it's important, yes, to a certain degree it is instinctual. It's like knowing what you want, but also before how other people have failed, I think is very important to learn. So you from theirs and you don't you know, you learn from their failures. And I don't like the word failure, but you learn from their experience and and you don't have to suffer through that yourself. I think that that's something very important that I've learned as a as a businesswoman. There's so many aspects of entrepreneurship that I've observed and certainly people much more brilliant than I'll ever be, where lifelong learning saw sort of mirrors entrepreneurship because, like you said, it's really failure. It's lifelong learning. What or who has been your greatest teacher, do you think? I think my greatest teachers and in business have been my family. My family, because I'm in a very male dominated industry. So I work in the wine industry. Even the owners, the people in executive positions to this day, the majority of them are male. And I grew up in a very male dominated family, you know, where the patriarch is king And so to be able to have grown up in that family and still have been able to survive, it really taught me a lot on how to build from that knowledge in working in the wine industry and succeed, because I always believe that my my family prepared me to be able to succeed in an industry like the wine industry just the way. And at the time I didn't realize, you know, I always thought, well, why, why is it this way? You know, why? Why can it be different? Why am I not equal to my brother? But that really, if you look at it, that model was what society is. Because even to this day, women is not equal to a man in certain industries. So I think who I learned from I think is definitely my family in general. You know, when did you first become aware of that? So I think I became aware of it when I started going to school, when I was in kindergarten, where I saw that girls and boys would sit together, I thought, you know, why is it happening here at school? And so I went home. I remember going home and telling my mom, Mom, I'm not serving my brothers anymore. I see girls sitting with boys at school and I don't. And she said, my mom, I remember saying clearly, it's the way things are here in the house. You have to respect it. So I did. I would respect it, but at school I got to be more of who I was. I felt this freedom, you know, because because we would have like our either our little breaks or our times to have lunch together and everybody would just sit together. It didn't matter if you poor girl. So that's kind of when I started to notice it. It must have been really powerful at that age to see to such, I mean, such different examples of the lived experience. And so, I mean, so early on. Yes, for sure. Yeah. Because they were so different. We're just so opposite from each other. You mentioned the importance of research. What role does research play for you, would you say, in your everyday life as a small business owner? I think like what I mentioned before, is constantly checking that I'm doing things right. And for example, right now we have a social media presence. We're just starting like we're starting from scratch, you know, but we're seeing what works because one of the other businesses that I'm building, in addition to the winemaking, is video, video educational content in regards to the wine industry, I said, but it's not just video educational content about wine, it's also about the Mexican culture. So we're not the normal, I would say vintners. You know, we're in the in the sense of we're in the wine business, but we have such rich culture. We have totally different food. So when I first started Pablo back in 1997, I first representing my family winery. I remember going into a restaurant, Latino restaurants, and they would tell me what we sell. Beer and tequila wine does not pair with our food. I see. Back then, so my mom and I created food and wine pairing at the winery. Wow. At our winery because of that? Because Italy is we're buying our wine. The Italian restaurants were buying our wine. French restaurants were buying our wine, but I couldn't get it into the Latino food. And I was used to the pairing. I grew up around it. Right? So then my mom and I started pairing it at the winery and it just took off. It was just such a successful thing. And and so that's what we want to do in the video is also work. My mom's going to cook her traditional Mexican dishes that have been passed down for generations in her family, and we're going to pair them with wine. So we're going to talk about what pairs with what and also having these traditional recipes that are family gifts there. There are some that, you know, my grandmother passed on to to my great grandmother, to my grandmother, and then my grandmother to my mother. And then now she's passing it on to us and me and Jocelyne. Well, or Justin, I so that's that's kind of but we want to share it. We want to be able to share these videos. And so it's going to be a video subscription on, on our website. And so that's going to be a part of it. That where I think in everything that I do, I want to be able to bring in our culture. And part of what what your question is, how have I learned? Well, I've learned that it's always worked to be who you really are and to embrace it and to create something that is more authentic than me trying to be something I'm not. You know, where I know the Mexican culture because I grew up in it and my parents are both born in these small pueblos in Michoacan. So I want to embrace that. And I didn't have the privilege that they did to be born in these small little pueblos, but they exposed us to what that's like. And of course, that's why I want to get it out there and so it's an innovation through authenticity and folklore. Almost, you know, And so that's for how it lands for me, I suppose. Yeah. Their ideas and then their innovations. Because you take me back to a moment where you were part of an innovation and you knew it before most people knew what was going on. What was it about that that made you draw a quicker breath? Going back to what I just mentioned about pairing the Mexican food with the wines back back in the 19 late 1990s, I was part of that because a lot of people when they came to the winery, they mentioned, I didn't know that Sauvignon Blanc paired with CBG. And we would promote that because a lot of people, you know, would either pair other other types of drinks or they would say, we didn't know that carne asada paired with Cabernet, for example, Pinot Noir with possibly my mom makes these chicken empanadas and then she puts cheese in them and she is like a tortilla by hand, but then she stuffs it with chicken and then she puts the cheese in there and they just flavors just blend together. We pair that was chardonnay, all these different things that people felt, I don't have to think about it like you're you're showing me how I get I'm going to do that. You know how we. PERRY And so it became this innovative thing that wasn't innovative for me, but it was for other people where it's not just about, you know, beer. If you really want to have an experience of of culinary experience, it has to be with white wine was me. I mean, how old is wine? There's a reason why it's so old. I have been taking notes and you actually beat me to a question I was about to ask you. What pairs with porcelain specifically in a row. So Pinot Noir, It depends on, you know, of course, your spices. But we pair Pinot Noir because it's a very light style wine. So Pinot Noir, out of all the reds, it's very elegant, very temperamental, because it can change in the barrel. It can fluctuate from one day to the next. But it's a very elegant wine in the sense that it can pair with similar to what a white can, and it doesn't have the high tannin. So it's very smooth, soft as long as it's well-made. A Pinot noir is my safe bet when it comes to it's a red wine and and so that's what I would recommend. We've done a winemaker dinners where that's what we do. So with the solo, we always pair the Pino. We've also done our Chardonnay, but we noticed that as long as it has, you know, the it's made without blending. So a lot. Sometimes you can blend other varieties into the wine and it's 100%. Pino It goes really where with Rosalie that's what I would recommend for sure. I think. Frankie we're going to change the theme of the podcast, man. This is like, we'll have to have a separate podcast for, for wine pairings with Mexican food. This is fantastic. Well, that's why the next time you guys have to have a podcast in Napa and my mom will cook her amazing dishes and we'll pair them with wine. It's suddenly in the budget. That's it. And you get to bring your family. Absolutely. no, absolutely. They would never let me get away with that. No, no. I'm saying that it's it's I'm looking through your history and through your through your career. And even Susan, you're in the Spanish. What historian and education has played a significant part, both formal and informal. What should the word application mean, do you think, in the context of a business education? Well, I think it's very it's crucial because I know that for me, if I wouldn't have taken advantage of business courses when I was very young. So right after I graduated from high school, I started going to college. The thing about in my family is that I wasn't allowed unless I was escorted by one of my brothers. So I had to convince one of my brothers to take the classes with me. And then I was allowed. But after I got married at 19, I was able to go. I was free, you know, I was able to go to college. My my ex-husband, thankfully, was very supportive. And and if I wouldn't have had those courses, that knowledge that I learned, I wouldn't have been able to help build the businesses that I did for my parents. I just would not have been able to do it. So it was it was definitely something that I immersed myself in learning everything from accounting to business management to even the technical financial program, arms to marketing, sales, everything. So I had I've taken so many classes, I don't have my degree, but I've taken so many classes. I was also I got a scholarship for Dartmouth and the Tuck Business School. Yes. In 2006 and then another one in 2008. Those also changed, you know, the way that I saw business. So I think the education plays a huge role in, you know, going beyond, you know, and being able to protect yourself, knowing and understanding the laws in business in general. I think all of those, especially in mine, because I'm in a in a legal I selling alcohol is seen as a legalized drug, you know, and so we have to we have so many laws, we can't just ship wine across the state lines. There's there's like so many things that we need to learn. So it depends on what business they want to get into. I really think that it's important to to apply as much education as possible, you know, whatever. And it's continued. It never stops. I think, you know, today today I was taking a course on digital media because it changes so fast and I want to make sure that I understand it. So I never stopped learning, not to this day. So I'm very proud of that too. I'm not ashamed of saying that I still go to school or take courses, you know, And it's lifelong learning, right? Absolutely. How did it land for you? How did it feel for you when you first became aware that your family was noticing that your education outside of the family was beginning to impact the family business? I think when they noticed it was when specifically the winery became such a success so fast. So we started the winery in 1997, and by the time we opened the tasting room in 2002, within that year we became very successful very fast, very, very fast. And I'm not just saying that it was me, but I do think that the implementation of the of being innovative with the food, that even though it wasn't innovative for us because we grew up in it, but to have that paired with the Latin dishes, the wine and the food, I think that at that time was pretty innovative and that made a big difference in also being able to treat people well, because I've done every single position in the winery. So I was the only employee at the winery for the first five years after that. Then I started hiring people and I had worked in their position. So I had a lot of respect for what they did. I knew what they were doing. I was able to be a better manager, respecting and also rising them up where they feel good about themselves instead of pushing them down. You know, I don't I don't believe in any of that. I believe that we need to treat our team as a team and in with respect. And so so that's kind of one of the the things that that I can say, you know, really made a big impact in in the business when when they saw how how quickly it increased. Do you think it's and I agree completely with you it changes things when you've done the job and then you ascend to a leadership position in emotional intelligence is such a huge part of leadership is what is the word leadership in and of itself mean to you? I think leadership is you know, I've always seen it close to what being a role model is like. People seeing or looking up to you for one reason or another and having a certain respect where you it's a big responsibility. Being called a leader, I believe is a big responsibility because it means that you've done something that other people either haven't or you've done something that other people or that you're doing it well, maybe, maybe it's just put you in a position where other people are respecting and trying to see how you did it. So I do believe it's a big responsibility. And in addition to that, you are seen as a role model. And in so because of that, we just have to, you know, respect that. We have to give it a certain amount of of of, you know, respect and just honoring that position because it's not something that it's it is earned a lot. It I mean, I'm hoping it's earned by by people. Some people are just given to it. They're just naturals. And someone who's the leader who impressed Vanessa the most in her early career and why I always go back to family, because you have to remember, Pablo, I grew up in a family business. As my boss says, where my parents go, to me, you know, I always saw both of my parents as leaders. And I learned so much from both of them. And for my dad, I learned the business side of things. He was always a natural entrepreneur. He would seek opportunity before anybody else did, and he would, for example, he the land that was purchased by the family, everybody would say, You're not going to be able to grow grapes. It's too cold, it's ripe. It's right near the lake, the Napa River, and it's just too cold. But he knew the vines so much so well, and the soil and the science behind it that he said, I know I'm going to plant what I know there and it's going to thrive. And it did. And, and and so I always honored the leadership that my dad had where he created things before anybody saw, you know, that they had value this in this in a in a with my mother. I think it's her positivity the way that she she's very positive. She loves people. She she's very social. She loves to talk. You find her in the kitchen mostly with her Mexican music, playing in the background, cooking away all these you know, she has this Mexican apron. She always wears embroidered. And she's just a very just an a remarkable woman that nothing brings her down like she's had such a tough life and she still wakes up every morning completely positive, always bring rising me up, telling me, things are going to get better. You know, the situation that's difficult. And so I have that. You know, they both complemented even though they're not together anymore. When they were together, they complemented each other pretty well. And so those are definitely the leaders that I saw growing up. And I and I still see as people that I respect very much. There's an elegant expression of what you're describing specifically about your mother in harvest season, where all seems to be in peril, where the emotions is running so high and she in person was then will we begin again? Yeah, you know, and it's it's very moving. Who would you say was your hero growing up? In a lot of ways, I saw my older sister as my hero. So my oldest sister is very traditional. She's more like my mom really, than I. Yeah, but she's very strong and and her name is Lorena, and she is someone that I always looked up to. I wanted to be. I would follow her around. I wanted to be like her. She's five years older than I am. And but I loved her strength and I loved, you know, her care character, where she also tried to stand up for against what she didn't think was fair in the culture or, you know, And so when I saw her doing that, I thought, you know, I respect her for that. She was always braver than I was. I would never speak back to my dad because I was always afraid of my dad. But my sister, she just had this bravery to say, No, that doesn't feel right. And I'm I'm not going to accept this. My sister and I were escorted everywhere as girls, but we never were allowed to leave the house without a brother. So they were planning to go around. We had seven brothers. So. So we both had to have this strong bond that we understand each other, even though we're very different. So we have such respect for each other. My sister had a six, six, five daughters and one son. Wow. She's a very busy mother. But she's also, you know, she helps her husband also. They also make wine. It's called me Swing. You the wine brand. And and then and I only had one daughter for me. I dedicated a lot of my time to my daughter, of course. And also to to building businesses. So that's like the differences where my sister didn't compromise for her, it was more having a big family and she was always there for them and she's a tremendous, beautiful mother. And I just have a light show. She was my hero. Just learning, seeing how because my mom didn't really ever stand up to my dad, it was my sister who I saw standing up for what her beliefs were. Well, and I, I think that that's why in my mind, I always saw her as a hero, that, yeah, women can be strong and Latina women can be strong and give me permission to be strong. And so so I would say she she she's my hero. It's wonderful in there. Who is it now? Now, staying with the theme of family, even though I have so many women that I admire all over my daughters, my hero now, I've learned so much. I've learned so much. I always thought we teach our children. They teach us. They teach us a lot more. And my daughter has taught me so much about life. She's taught me so much about what is important in this world. There's nothing that beats family to me. I give up anything, you know, For family, her and I are extremely close. We work together, you know, So she does all my social media, she does the video, she does the editing for the business. And and so we talk every day in the morning. And so now, because of the lessons she has taught me of the importance of being one, being a mother, and to how important family is, is that's why I consider her my hero. Because without that, I don't think life would be the same for me. I just it's it's great to be successful in business, but without having someone to share it with, it's just it just doesn't mean anything. You know, at least to me, you know, so. So I I'm very thankful and grateful that I had my daughter, you know, very blessed for sure. Children are a blessing. They teach us about our fundamental humanity. They become our mentors and spin in amazing ways. Yes, they do. And the beauty is it never ends because you think, when they grow up and go to college, no, it's just different. It's different stages and you continually learn from from them. And I think it's such a beautiful thing as long as we stay open to it. And of course, being a mentor is a very privileged position. Profound. Can you describe the feeling of speaking to early career professionals and becoming a mentor and what it means to your career today? For me, being a mentor here, because I started so young in business, I would shy away from that. I would always say things like, I don't feel like I'm a mentor. I, you know, it's a big responsibility. I always thought that word was such a big idea, and so I always shied away from it. But now it's a privilege like. I recognize what that means. Now I recognize the importance of it. And and for me, I think being especially because if we go back to what I had said in the beginning with business and and if you don't have anybody that looks like you since it's very hard for you to think that you can you can go beyond that. Like I honestly in the wine industry, there were other remarkable women that were succeeding in the wine industry, but not Latina women, not when that was not when I started. And I think that to be able to be that for someone else, I would love that like I would. And I do receive little messages from people, like short little messages where they say, what an impact I've made in their career and that they've gotten into the wine industry because of me and things like that where I'm just like, I'm so honored because that that's really it's humbling. It's humbling to think that other people think that about you, you know, so so I am very impressed with these young women and they're all Latinas. And so I really feel blessed to also have that type of feedback from them. Who is Vanessa? I think Vanessa Rolo the best way that I can describe myself is, you know, one first and foremost, being a mother, a daughter, a businesswoman, someone that doesn't give up. I work very, very hard. I believe in myself more than ever. I think I've had to work through a lot of insecurities in my life. So I'm in a in a place that I've worked very hard to be in and and given myself the opportunity to be who I truly am and be proud of myself. Like, for example, one time I received this. Social media can be a little cruel. yes, I received a message. It was three men. It was the first I posted my photo because, you know, this is my white, white hair. So I do tone it, but it's my naturally white hair. And I've had white hair since I was 21. And and I received this message on Facebook. And then after that, two other messages followed all men. And they said, You really need to be proud of being a Latina and have your dark hair. And my daughter read them first. And I didn't respond because for me, I I'm very proud of being a Latina. But it's also I'm embracing my hair. You know, I've had it since I was 21. Like that don't bother me if I'm going to be you know, if these men have these ideas of me not being proud of being a Latina, they're welcome to their opinion. But I'm so I feel so good. And who I am now that I don't care whether I'm being teased, whether I'm being criticized, I've like I said, I've very hard to be in this position where I'm more secure in myself than ever, and I deserve to feel secure in myself because I've worked very hard in life. So that's kind of how I see it. It's so I'm a very strong person and I think that life in my life has not been easy. And I always find a way to get back up. I always find a way to start new life. My mom said the cycle of life in the vineyard is just that. It's a cycle of life. Every year the vines go dormant, they go to sleep and it looks like they have no life. Even though they're sleeping, they look like they died. But yet in spring again, you see the Bud Bright. You see all the beautiful, beautiful life starting all over again. And that's, you know, my my example of of my own life, that in life sometimes, you know, we die in different ways and then something else is born asked in. It has to happen that way that if we are able to say that we do that, then we grow as people. We're not staying at the same place. We're able to, you know, shed our skin and move into something new and start again. Like my mom's in the movie. That's all we can do, you know, because life would throw us, you know, difficult challenges. And we can't just we have to keep going. We have to believe in ourselves and have faith. I want to go back to Vanessa. In her early career. What was she like? I was very insecure when I first started. It was very, very insecure. But I knew I had a job when in in 1997, when my sister married Rolando, the winemaker from Florida, my dad told me, Vanessa, we're starting a new business. And before that I worked in different in the different businesses that my parents had, which were a vineyard management company where they go and they farm for other people and they developed their land into a vineyard. And then Robledo Vineyards, which is the vineyards that our family owned, and we would sell the grapes to local wineries. So now my dad says, okay, your sister's marrying a winemaker. We're starting a new business now. Federal leaders are making their wine. So this was in 1997, okay. And my dad says, You know, I've worked very hard for my money. Make sure you don't lose it. I'm 19 years old. Imagine the pressure and pressure. What pressure got me. So that's when I would go to school. By that time I was married. I would go to school at night and I would work during the day. And so that's that's how I was able to educate myself in business. I wanted to know everything about sales. I did not what an important role sales was going to play in business, which is one of the most. It's the engine that drives the force within sales. So I knew I learned that at a very young age that sales was going to be what drives it. So I, I learned I try to learn everything about it. And, and so my career, I remember going into an account for the first time to sell wine. I was shaking. I was shaking at how nervous it was the first time I made an appointment. It was this company in Santa Rosa that sells wine on the farm. It was called Wine Direct back then they changed their name. Now I think I remember that name. Yeah. So they did everything on the phone and it was probably about ten. Sales team was a And I go in there and I start telling the story about our family. And, you know, my dad is a vineyard worker and my mom and they both started this winery and we're very passionate about what we do. And I have seven brothers and we're all in the business. And and so I walk out of there and I start crying because I thought I did such a horrible job. So I felt so bad because I said, I'm not representing my family. Right? So I thought I have to be better. How can I not tremble to go into these these meetings and not, you know, and not be so nervous? So I was so disappointed with myself. But two days later, I get the call from the the head guy, the owner, and he said, please send me three cases of Chardonnay and one case of Pino. So the two wines that I brought in in there sold. Wow. I was so happy. And I thought, maybe I didn't do so bad, you know, But I was so insecure in myself. And I thought, my God, I gave such myself such a hard time. And I was so happy when I got that order. I jumped up and I broke one of my heels like I was in my office. I remember I was so excited that I had made my first sale. After that, I never look back. After that. I started just I just kept going. I try not to speak any negative thoughts in my head to create insecurity within myself and I really because they always came. All these negative thoughts would tell me, you know, you're pronouncing the words wrong, you're not doing this right or whatever. But I would always tell myself, Stop, you know, I'm doing a good job, you know, because it kept me going like that. So so I think that that's the memory I have. I was so, so insecure and and so now that's why I celebrate where I am today, because it took me so long to get here. Where did Vanessa in that moment then see Vanessa now? I never imagined I'd be where I am now. Only because back then I. I was such a determined young person. I was very determined where I thought I could change the way my dad saw me. I know he put me in the position because he trusted me. You know, I knew I was put in a position at a very age because he he knew I could do it. But at that even at that time, he said, you know, all of that, all of what we're building will someday be your brothers. I just want you to know that in the very, very beginning, but in my young mind, as a young woman, I thought, I can change my dad. I'm going to show him. I'm going to prove to him that how good a business that I'm going to change his mind, you know? And even though we created this business and it became very successful very fast, by 2007, we were selling 80% direct to consumer. We were 20,000 cases from 100 cases, you know, and we had the opportunity to grow even more because we were only producing about 20% of the whole crop into wine, you know. So we had a lot of potential for the future. So that's one of the things that at that time I had a talk with my dad and I said, Dad, have I prove myself to you now? Do you see what I can do? And at that time he said, Yes, but I cannot change our culture and my traditions. You know, it's, you know, So for me, at that point, I realized I had to leave the company. So I was 20, 28 when I had to talk to my dad. Well, so by 30 I ended up leaving the company and I respected my dad. I don't I don't hold it against him because he's he's respecting his tradition. He's respecting who he is. But back then, yes, I was angry. You know, now that I've evolved, I see it as if he wouldn't have done that. I would have stayed there for the rest of my life. I would have been comfortable. And I and I ended up leaving. And believe it or not, I cried for a whole month. Like I would go drop off my daughter at school after I left because I didn't know who I was. The whole my whole life I've been working with my family and I have to restart again. I had to pick myself off the floor. I didn't know what I was going to do. By that time I was raising my daughter on my own, even though her dad was in her life. But the majority of the time Jason was with me and I just trusted that everything would work out. I started consulting for food and wine festivals, you know, in L.A., in Mexico, in Sonoma. So for a whole year I did that and then I was offered a position at a luxury brand. It was called Black Coyote Wines. So then I started working with a luxury wine brand, Napa. But I wouldn't have had those experiences if my dad was in as hard as he was. So I really I grew so much as a person to be able to go off on my own and figure it out on my own and not always be protected by the family. Right. So so that that brand, the owner did give me opportunity to become owner ownership. He was an African-American neurosurgeon, very successful doctor. And he did say, you know, we're going to give you a small percentage of the company. And then as you you show us what you're able to do, then at that point, we'll give you more. And that's exactly what happened From 2008 to 2011, I was majority owner of the company. I was there from 2011 till 2015 because at that time my mom and dad divorced and my mom said, You need to help me. You know, you need to help me create a new company because my dad kept all the companies, so my mom had to start all over. So we did that and that's when the movie comes in. So harvest season was in 2000. It was the hardest when they were filming that movie. Pablo It was a hardest time of my life, you know, so much had gone on with the family, the divorce, and it was like four years battle with my parents. My mom didn't speak English, so I had to go in and be the one representing my mom in the divorce with with attorneys. So that wasn't easy. You know, there was my dad in my brothers against my mom, and it was just a mess, of course. So fast forward, my mom. We've built a very successful business for my mom. So she's a grower. She sells her grapes to local wineries and independent. She she goes anywhere, everywhere she wants. She's she loves, you know, who she is now. And that and that shows me. That's why starting over doesn't have an edge. You know, my my mom just turned 70. She feels like she's starting over. She's just, you know, she has an amazing spirit still. So that that kind of is is how my career has has culminated to where it is now and how I'm starting now. My own company. You know, now I have that freedom to do that. And and also the bravery to do that because you have to be very brave to start a company. Absolutely. To start a business. It's it's a leap of faith. Yeah. What would Vanessa now say to start a conversation with Vanessa then? I would just say how proud I was of her. You know, that the fact that she tried to change things, even though she couldn't change things, that it's okay, that she even tried, that she believes so much in herself, that because in a way, she did change things. I have there's 27 grandchildren now in 27 between my parents, 27 grandchildren. Half of those 27 grandchildren are are young, young ladies and young and girls. And they see they're seen different with the way my brothers raised them because of what I was able to do within my I feel that they're my brothers are now because they're raising their daughters differently than my dad raised me. They really see their daughters as equals and in it's just different. And I think that that influence had a lot to do with the fact that I did stand up to the cultural beliefs and respected them, but found it important to because I couldn't change them, I would have to get up and leave. As hard as it was, I, I had to change. I had to pave my own road away from the family. So so I think that that is probably the most impactful thing that I could tell that young woman that, you know, was very insecure but yet had a fire within her, that she wanted to change the world at the time. So at least her world, you know. So that's what I would share with her, how proud I am of her. So she changed more than her father's adherence to tradition, didn't she? Yes. Yes. What does it mean to be a Latina leader in this current business climate? For me, I'm very proud of being a Latina leader because I have a lot of ideas. I have a lot of ways that I want to bring Latinos together. You know, for me, I think that if I look at the big picture, that's really what I've always wanted to do, not only Latinos, but just people together to start a conversation on how we can how personally, how I can improve the way the world of wine is, how I can make it more accessible, how I can make it more simple for people to understand how I can become a better farmer, how I can give back to to the environment the way I should, how I can give back to my community what I need to do, you know, like I want to open myself to all those things. Because for me, I've always had a passion. I was very young. I would always try to raise money for the vineyard workers, you know, for the rights of the Vineyard. Workers help with housing, providing housing. My mom and I were always do auction lots where we would give that money back to our community. And it was always to go back to the vineyard workers. So for me, I still want to continue in a way doing that. I did serve on a board that creates leadership out of the vineyard workers where they see opportunities above and beyond with what they've seen in the past, everything from going to the capital and meeting, you know, politicians that can make change to just opening doors and saying, you know what, you want to start your own business, you can do it. You know, even though I know that they're already a natural at it. So I want to open up myself up to learning about young Latina women on how I could support them and how I can help them and so those are things that my daughter and I are talking about now, like how our brand can also help create opportunity for other Latinas. And I think that that's something that's evolving right now. We might not have all the answers right now, but that is our goal. That is one of the things that we want to do that we find a need for right now. I think it's a fine legacy to pursue. Tell me about vintners diary and the visions that you had for it in the gestation period when you were first dating and on through its evolution until now. So Vintners Diary The reason I wanted to start that company was knowing that wine and that wine was intimidating and how we can simple and and so we wanted to create a platform where people can come and feel comfortable learning about wine in their own home so they can have access to all of this video content and in there. And they're able to, when they go out there into the world, know how to, for example, taste wine, you know, because there's there's different everybody has their own ideas of how to taste wine, but there is kind of a proper way to do it. And also showing people making it easy to understand that how to read a wine list, for example, when they go to a restaurant. And it can be a little intimidating when you look at all the wine listed and you're not sure how to how to order, you know, and the importance of wine by the glass and how you can experience different wines by ordering in that way, it really is to make wine more accessible and in making it simpler through entertainment, which my mom's food and also, you know, events that we plan to have bring our community together, which I hope you and your family will join. US. Absolutely. And so so those are kind of the things that we the real reason is just making wine simple, that that's really the best way I can put it. And, you know, because I believe we we should all be enjoying, you know, what wine is. So I'm excited it I don't have the most cultured palate and I'm a bit of a philistine that way. But the impression that I get is that wine in the world, the is sort of premised on a degree of exclusivity. It seems like you're going in the opposite direction, whereas or inclusion. Absolutely. And that's what I've noticed being in this industry for so long that it isn't inclusive. I don't want to say it's purposely done that way, but It can be very intimidating because there's so many people that have told me that you are so many people that are wine knowledgeable, but to give you permission, Pablo, to say it's all about what you like and what you don't like, it's that simple. It's that simple. Not everyone is going to like what you like, and not everybody's like what I like. So you were able to develop your own taste for a while by trying it, First of all, trying it and and usually consumers begin always with sweeter wines. So that's one thing that I've always known, is that they'll, you know, like the late Harvest Wines, the sweeter wines, and that's perfectly okay. But to start somewhere because it really does settle your stomach in a in a way. So it's different chugging wine than sipping and drinking wine with food. Right? So you're not supposed to drink wine. You're supposed to sip it and then have it enhance your food more. And it does change the experience of of pairing and pairing food. And so so that's kind of, you know what? I want to be able to be part of like a movement that gets me that I'm no wine snob. I'm not, you know, I really want people to feel comfortable because I remember one time when I was hosting a tasting this one gentleman, very knowledgeable, great person said, So how do they put the peaches in the in the wine or how, how does the butter get into the chardonnay? And I'm like, you know, those are great questions. Like, I, I think that it's it's just a description. It's how people describe the wine and what is butter to me could be butterscotch to you. Like it's just about you developing those senses, which it takes time, you know, And I think that people don't realize it and it does it can become intimidating and it shouldn't. It should be fine. It should be part of life. It seems like such an act of intentionality on your part and in the entire venture and your entire life in so many ways. When you look at the word itself, intentionality, what does it mean to for me, it's really looking at everything that I've gone through and creating something that's going to make a difference. I think at this point in my life, I want to be able to create something that people need and people want to that they'll benefit from. You know, that that for me is is is creating something, you know, that people will talk about for, you know, long in when I'm long gone before I wish I can make that impact someday, you know, I really do. And so that's what intentionality is for me. What role has your played in your life and in your life's work? Everything you know, a face to me is like you said, everything is like taking a leap of faith and just trusting, not being afraid that you you might not be successful right away because you'll learn from whatever you're doing. Even if you're not successful, you'll learn. Maybe that's not the direction to go. Maybe, maybe tweak it a little bit or make it go more this direction. But I think that everything is a learning. But to have that faith is really important, you know, to have a faith in something bigger for us when we're farming, you know, grapes and all that, we have to have that faith that everything's going to be fine because especially when the weather doesn't, which is cool, you know, go where you want it to. You have to have faith that something will happen, that those grapes will ripen, those grapes will turn out with amazing flavors, and we can only do so much. And it's really in the hands of Mother Nature. So to say that I don't have faith, then I shouldn't be in this business because it's very risky. Agriculture business is extremely risky because you don't have control of anything. You know you don't. And so that's kind of the same way that I see in business is like I have to trust and I have to be able to have faith in the unknown. As scary as it is, just have faith in what is not, what is not predictable. When and how do you feel the most creative in your career? I've always had a sense of creativity. Like I was saying before, trying to do something that nobody else has done, or if someone else has done it, do it better. Like I really push myself to try to go beyond my own boundaries, own business boundaries in my own creativity. I think certainly I've always had that sense of creativity, but now I really have a tremendous freedom in it. You know, where I'm I've done been doing this for so long, and I have I'm in a position where I can make mistakes and be okay and not be hurt by them as much as I was, you know, before. So I think my my daughter's off on her own. You know, she even she works with me. She also does film filming and editing for the White Sox in Chicago, the baseball queen. So she she does a little of work for them. And so she's independent now. It's like I have to worry about me. I still worry about my mom a little bit, but but mostly me. So that's different for me. I haven't got that, you know, it gives me a little bit more permission to be having it open myself up to new things and so many wonderful themes in your story. It seems almost uninspired to ask you what role family has played throughout your journey, but on that score, how has it evolved to go from the visionary wunderkind in the wine industry to now looking to establish a legacy in the wine industry for the people that are following you? And how does it feel to have your family be watching this whole thing happen? I try not to think about it too much, but now that you've brought it up and you're very crushed, you have great questions. By the way, I, I think that in a way, even though my dad has never said it, I think my dad's very proud of me in its own way. I think my brothers are very proud of me in their own way. There's a lot of machismo in my family, but I love them for who they are. That's just the way it is. And what I was saying about my mom always being supportive, that that's very true. That feels really good to me to have my mom, my sister, one of my brothers, Luis, who I'm very close to, is very supportive. He's he's probably the brother that I'm closest to, even though I love all my brothers. He when he found out about the brand, he called me, congratulated me. I felt that that felt really good. My nieces are wanting to be a part of it, so they do a little delivering for me. So I have we live in the outlaw country, but we have neighbors and the properties are connected to each other because it's like long rows of vineyards. Wow. We'll have a neighbor who order the safer bottle of wine. So they take that bottle of wine, they deliver it for me. They walk it out where it's like right next door. So they want to be involved in it. They I think they see something where they see a possibility for themselves, you know, for sure, like, maybe they want to start making their own wine for the future. So that those things for me are although they may seem small, but they're so fulfilling be like brings such joy in my heart and it just makes me excited, you know, to see those type of things within within my family. And and I don't I think that all of that gives me a lot of a lot of internal satisfaction and it gives me a lot of happiness within my heart to to be part of, you know, the even though all I don't think any family's perfect, they all have their things and you know that come up and and and I know I'm not perfect but but at the end of the day, I do anything for my family. At the end of the day, I I'm very supportive of my family and I love them. And, and so that's kind of how I see it. Do you see yourself as a high achieving individual? I mean, do you see yourself in those terms or is it something different? It's hard to say that because again, I was given such strong responsibility at a young age and I felt I didn't have that option to fail. I felt like as a young as a young woman, I wanted to sure that I succeeded. So I put a lot of pressure on me. So in a way to be high achieving. And it came at a cost because it did take away, you know, I had to travel. I represented the family nationally. Granted, when I was working in my family business, I always had to take a brother, depend on the market. If it was your my dad would send two brothers because he thought New York was dangerous. I'm reluctant to say it came easy for me because it didn't I. I have issues like dyslexia. I have, you know, I do things a lot slower, so I'm not a perfect person. But what I do do I try to do it well, even if it takes me longer. I've made my mistakes. I, you know, certainly learn from from the mistakes in business. But the good thing about it is that I know to get back up and keep going, like I've always had that fire within me to keep going forward. Not get stuck, even if it's embarrassing sometimes you know of the mistakes that I've made. I just keep moving forward and and think that that is probably the biggest gift that I have, you know, And in recognizing that I can't stay stuck and I I wanted to do a good job for my family. Looking back, I feel like I did and I'm very proud of it. I don't want it to ever be erased, you know, And and so from that perspective, I think history will tell you how how things will evolve in the future. But those are all things that are very important to me that that they weren't easy to achieve. I can't say it came easy when you reference imperfections mistakes, you express it very elegantly. I find that people in their creative process are similar to one that they have. They have their character, you know, their own sort of character in the manner in which they create. Have you ever found yourself in a place where or in a space where the creative act of what you do helps you lose track of you and the art of what you do? You ever become completely consumed by it? Yes, absolutely. There's times where I lose track of time when I say I love what I do. I you know, there's a lot of the business management part that I do like, the accounting, the financial reports, legal compliance that I don't love so much when it comes to the creative part of it, of creating a business, of marketing, of branding, of, you know, even being out in the vineyards and just connecting with the land. But I think that in those times I can absolutely lose myself and become one with what I'm doing and lose track of time. And for that I'm really grateful because it fulfills me in such a way. I don't think that, you know, I mean, yes, I've had amazing things happen in my life, but it can be scary sometimes. How happy in what a zone I can get into when it comes to those those times that I am so immersed in what I'm doing. I'm thankful that that I have that because, you know, to be able to create a business out of it is really special so the artist can become the art. I think so. I think so. What do you think this is in my podcast book or film that changed your life? Well, I've always loved the film Citizen Kane. I don't know if you've seen it. I just love that movie. I watched it in my twenties and it made such a huge impact on me, on on what success can mean and in the end, what is important. So I was very influenced by that movie song that you've heard that made you say, That's my life, that's me. So my favorite song has always been imagined by John Lennon. It just, I don't know, there's something about it that I just connect and I lose myself in it. I can listen to it over and over and over, not get tired, know it's John Lennon. There's something about that melody and the sincerity of it. It's very sincere. Complete this sentence. Okay. Recently I've come into my own. The longer I do what I do, the more I love it. Just get out there and believe in yourself. There will always be people in your life who will support you. Life has taught me to keep moving forward. My philosophy on life and work is never give up. Winning teaches you. Winning teaches you. Life is good. Losing teaches Who teaches you your own strength. Being a business leader means you have to help others. The hardest thing about learning to trust your instincts or intuition is locking out the negative voices. What I wish new career professionals would know about relationships and networking is that it's important to work in community. You can't do it alone. Vocation is, for me, the love of my life. Random association. You know the rules. I'll say word and if you like, say the first one that comes to your mind. An origin Mexican-American vintage. They're all they're all great pairing food, beginnings, endings, traditions, family values, transitions amongst authenticity. Always a way to go. Growth Vines lend passion, education never ends. Devotion, heart, circle, cycle of life, alchemy magic harvest Once a year legacy. My ancestors And now we come to the segment that we affectionately refer to as the 11 first composed by Proust, later taken by a letter taken by Lipton, and now shamelessly appropriated for this podcast by myself. What is your favorite part of starting something new? Seeing it grow is my favorite part of starting something. What is your least favorite part of starting something new when it seems like it's all finished? What interests you the most? Creating creativity interests me the most. What interests you the least? Not being able to keep learning. I wonder if that's ever possible or staying in the same place. What music, artist, genre or song reminds you most of your early days in entrepreneurship and innovation? I love classical. I love to listen to classical, and I create, I would say Moonlight Sonata in Beethoven. It's an elegant piece of music. It's a little sad, and some of the most beautiful pieces are what food or beverage reminds you most of your memories of your first startup. These chicken die that my mom makes, tipped in tomato sauce and she makes the sour cream. We put cottage cheese on top and that with paired with the chardonnay wine because that was one. The first wines we started making was a sure thing. And that that is probably some of the first pairing that we ever created. What profession, non entrepreneurial do you admire the most? Well, that I admire the most is definitely all agriculture workers all over the world, you know, people that work the land because I believe they're truly connected to what is important in the world is a growth in the food. And without them, we wouldn't be able to eat. What job Prior to entrepreneurship did you like the most and why? I used to love working in the lab, so I used to do I used to do the lab analysis for the grapes as a teenager and you basically picked the berries, you put them in a bag and you find out what the tea page and sugar level are. So I used to love doing when I was younger. What job prior to entrepreneurship did you dislike the most and why? Believe or not, didn't like working so much when I was younger. Now I do. I was younger. I didn't like working in the vineyards because I was always the last one to was never strong, like my brothers or my sister. They were always ahead of me. So I they would always come back and help me and they never left me stranded, but only because I was very competitive. Okay? And I didn't like being the last all the time. I work very hard to try to better and better, but I could never win. My brothers and my and my sister, they were always super fast. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? I would love for him to just welcome me and embrace me. That's what I would love immediately thereafter. What idea innovation would you like to pitch to him? Her They it with the universe as, your marketplace. For me, I would say either world hunger or yeah, I would say world hunger would probably be the most important thing. It has been a sincere honor to have you as a guest at the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Studio. Thank you so much. It's my pleasure. Thanks for listening to this episode of The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Studio. This podcast is part of the Warrior Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program, affectionately known as the WEI. Our series is recorded on the campus of Stanislaus State at the KCSS radio station and produced by Frankie Tovar. Follow and subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform. I'm Dr. Pablo Paredes Romero wishing me the best of everything. Always.