Letters From The In-Between

Vanessa Santos
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Business
  • Updated Weekly

Some women don't fall apart. They just quietly outgrow everything they built. This is a podcast for her, the one who did everything right and still felt the ache of something missing. The one who held it all together so long she forgot what it felt like to come apart honestly. The one who isn't lost. She's just in the middle of becoming something the world doesn't have a name for yet. Every episode is a letter. Written and read by Vanessa Santos, founder, builder, and the woman who chose herself at the height of everything. Welcome to the in-between. These letters are for you.

  1. 2d ago

    Letter #34: Have You Seen This Line Up?

    This letter talks about the inherent power and economic force that are Latinas and why Vanessa and Patty are building Thrive and Lead. Meet the women speaking at Thrive and Lead and join the movement to create a more equitable and profitable world for women. // Join Letters From The In-Between: https://buildthedream.co/letters Follow Vanessa: @vanessasantosleon About Vanessa Santos Leon: Vanessa invested 20+ years building empires. Then she chose the one thing she'd never fully claimed: herself. Letters from the In-Between is the unfiltered record of what that looks like. The rebuilding, the becoming, the refusal to shrink back into a version of herself that no longer fits. It is for the woman who is accomplished by every external measure and still feels the quiet pull of something more. Something she can't quite name yet. Vanessa names it for her. Strategic business architect. Founder of Build The Dream, Co-Founder of Thrive and Lead. Keynote speaker. And the voice for women who are done building lives that don't belong to them. Build The Dream. Honor The Human.™

  2. Aug 19

    Letter #33: Stop Being Quiet About Who You Are.

    This letter was recorded raw, no edits, and to serve as a reminder that even in your season of transformation, you have something to offer. You are worthy of love and support. The reminder you needed to hear is here. // Join Letters From The In-Between: https://buildthedream.co/letters Follow Vanessa: @vanessasantosleon About Vanessa Santos Leon: Vanessa invested 20+ years building empires. Then she chose the one thing she'd never fully claimed: herself. Letters from the In-Between is the unfiltered record of what that looks like. The rebuilding, the becoming, the refusal to shrink back into a version of herself that no longer fits. It is for the woman who is accomplished by every external measure and still feels the quiet pull of something more. Something she can't quite name yet. Vanessa names it for her. Strategic business architect. Founder. Keynote speaker. And the voice for women who are done building lives that don't belong to them. Build The Dream. Honor The Human.™

  3. Aug 12

    Letter #32: The Money Is Coming To Women. The Leverage Is Not. (YET)

    This week's letter is about where the money is going, and who gets to hold it. The largest wealth transfer in history is moving toward women, around thirty trillion dollars by 2030. I map what that actually means: the value we already create for the economy, the leverage that decides whether we keep the money or just carry it for someone else, and the AI adoption gap sitting between us and real ownership. This one is about ownership: of your time, your money, your work, and the tools that compound all three. Sources: McKinsey/Bloomberg (wealth transfer) · McKinsey Power of Parity ($12–28T) · Inc./PitchBook (2025 unicorns) · HBS AI Institute / working paper 25-023 (adoption gap) · Google Cloud + MIT Tech Review + DCD (AI energy/water). Join Letters From The In-Between: https://buildthedream.co/letters Follow Vanessa: @vanessasantosleon About Vanessa Santos Leon: Vanessa invested 20+ years building empires. Then she chose the one thing she'd never fully claimed: herself. Letters from the In-Between is the unfiltered record of what that looks like. The rebuilding, the becoming, the refusal to shrink back into a version of herself that no longer fits. It is for the woman who is accomplished by every external measure and still feels the quiet pull of something more. Something she can't quite name yet. Vanessa names it for her. Strategic business architect. Founder. Keynote speaker. And the voice for women who are done building lives that don't belong to them.

  4. Aug 8

    Letter #31: You Are SO Lucky

    It's 8/8, the Lion's Gate, the most potent manifestation day on the calendar, and I'm interrupting your regularly scheduled life to remind you of something you already know and somehow forgot: you are so lucky, and you are so powerful. In this one I get into what it actually took for you to be here, why contrast is how you finally fall in love with yourself, and what to put down today so ease can walk back in. Read along, or better, listen and say the words with me. I am ready. I am ready. I am ready. / Join Letters From The In-Between: https://buildthedream.co/letters Follow Vanessa: @vanessasantosleon About Vanessa Santos Leon: Vanessa invested 20+ years building empires. Then she chose the one thing she'd never fully claimed: herself. Letters from the In-Between is the unfiltered record of what that looks like. The rebuilding, the becoming, the refusal to shrink back into a version of herself that no longer fits. It is for the woman who is accomplished by every external measure and still feels the quiet pull of something more. Something she can't quite name yet. Vanessa names it for her. Strategic business architect. Founder. Keynote speaker. And the voice for women who are done building lives that don't belong to them. Build The Dream. Honor The Human.™

  5. Aug 2

    Letter #30 - The Paradox Of Growth

    This week, 110 people unsubscribed from my letters. A few marked me as spam. A few called them inappropriate. I could have spiraled over it. Instead, I want to tell you the thing nobody says out loud about growth: every time you become more of who you actually are, you lose people. That is the tax. In this episode I get honest about why the ones who leave were never yours to keep, why a shrinking circle is what growth looks like from the inside, and how to stop letting other people's comfort keep you small. / Join Letters From The In-Between: https://vsantos.co/#newsletter  Follow Vanessa: @vanessasantosleon About Vanessa Santos Leon: Vanessa invested 20+ years building empires. Then she chose the one thing she'd never fully claimed: herself. Letters from the In-Between is the unfiltered record of what that looks like. The rebuilding, the becoming, the refusal to shrink back into a version of herself that no longer fits. It is for the woman who is accomplished by every external measure and still feels the quiet pull of something more. Something she can't quite name yet. Vanessa names it for her. Strategic business architect. Founder. Keynote speaker. And the voice for women who are done building lives that don't belong to them. Build The Dream. Honor The Human.™

  6. Jul 22

    Letter #29: Men Get To Fail. Women Get Judged.

    Vanessa has been saying this to her girlfriends for years. Now she's saying it to you. A man burns the whole thing down and we call him a visionary who was just early. He gets the comeback story, the press tour, the second round of funding. A woman has one season of stumbling and suddenly the story is about her character. This letter names why that happens, the receipts, the villain era, and why you're not failing, you're exiting.  The room Vanessa built for exactly this work, F**k Around and Find Out, is open. It's for the woman who's done putting herself second and ready to find out what happens when she puts herself first, surrounded by women doing the same brave, terrifying, funny-as-f**k thing at the same time. Join in the link below. 👉 https://vanessasantos.kit.com/fafochallenge 🎧 New letters read aloud every week with a reflection at the end on Letters from the In-Between. / Join Letters From The In-Between: https://vsantos.co/#newsletter  Follow Vanessa: @vanessasantosleon About Vanessa Santos Leon: Vanessa invested 20+ years building empires. Then she chose the one thing she'd never fully claimed: herself. Letters from the In-Between is the unfiltered record of what that looks like. The rebuilding, the becoming, the refusal to shrink back into a version of herself that no longer fits. It is for the woman who is accomplished by every external measure and still feels the quiet pull of something more. Something she can't quite name yet. Vanessa names it for her. Strategic business architect. Founder. Keynote speaker. And the voice for women who are done building lives that don't belong to them. Build The Dream. Honor The Human.™

  7. Jul 15

    Letter #28: The Friendships That Don't Survive The New You

    Growth means having to let parts of you go, and growth also means having to let people go. This is the part that most people don't talk about when it comes to growth. It's the friendships that don't survive the version of you that you're loving, that you're becoming. This letter talks about it, in addition to a reflection on what it means for you to stay the course, to honor yourself, and to choose you. / Join Letters From The In-Between: https://vsantos.co/#newsletter  Follow Vanessa: @vanessasantosleon About Vanessa Santos Leon: Vanessa invested 20+ years building empires. Then she chose the one thing she'd never fully claimed: herself. Letters from the In-Between is the unfiltered record of what that looks like. The rebuilding, the becoming, the refusal to shrink back into a version of herself that no longer fits. It is for the woman who is accomplished by every external measure and still feels the quiet pull of something more. Something she can't quite name yet. Vanessa names it for her. Strategic business architect. Founder. Keynote speaker. And the voice for women who are done building lives that don't belong to them.

  8. Jul 8

    Letter #27: Would The Younger You Be Proud, Or Just Tired?

    I broke a 50-day posting streak on purpose, and I don't regret it. This letter is about the privilege of choosing when to show up, why presence beats performance, and how joy and grief can live in the same week without canceling each other out. If you've ever felt guilty for stepping back to take care of yourself, this one will make you exhale. / Join Letters From The In-Between: https://vsantos.co/#newsletter  Follow Vanessa: @vanessasantosleon About Vanessa Santos Leon: Vanessa invested 20+ years building empires. Then she chose the one thing she'd never fully claimed: herself. Letters from the In-Between is the unfiltered record of what that looks like. The rebuilding, the becoming, the refusal to shrink back into a version of herself that no longer fits. It is for the woman who is accomplished by every external measure and still feels the quiet pull of something more. Something she can't quite name yet. Vanessa names it for her. Strategic business architect. Founder. Keynote speaker. And the voice for women who are done building lives that don't belong to them.

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About

Some women don't fall apart. They just quietly outgrow everything they built. This is a podcast for her, the one who did everything right and still felt the ache of something missing. The one who held it all together so long she forgot what it felt like to come apart honestly. The one who isn't lost. She's just in the middle of becoming something the world doesn't have a name for yet. Every episode is a letter. Written and read by Vanessa Santos, founder, builder, and the woman who chose herself at the height of everything. Welcome to the in-between. These letters are for you.

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