Dearest Station Fam: It’s been a crazy ride!
When I got the call from Blair Garrou introducing me to Emily Keeton three years ago, I had no idea that joining her, then Chris Root, then the indomitable spirit of John “JR” Reale, for the adventure of forming, launching, and growing Station Houston would become the most thrilling and character-building roller coaster ride of my life … so far.
From the early days at the Surge Shack — when we were building our community, connecting the Lennart’s and Sam’s (Graylog) and the Carolyn’s and Courtenay’s (Circular Board/HelloAlice) with each other … when we tried to squeeze meetups of 60+ people into a room built for 30 … and when we battled to keep the summer heat at bay for Arundo’s team in the tiny office upstairs — to the growing pains of moving downtown and working lean to breathe life and vibrancy into what was once Deutsche Bank’s corporate trading floor, it has been a true adventure. And you, the Station Houston community, have made it truly worthwhile.
As JR has said, while he loves Jules dearly, Station has been like his second (first?) baby. For me, it has been such an honor to have worked with him to launch Station to serve you. It has been such a pleasure to forge friendships and collaborations with you — you’re genuinely like family, to me. And it has been such a privilege to help many of you along your own startup journeys. Today, I am so excited by the vision that Gaby Rowe has for taking Station to the next level, and so confident in the amazing team that Station is growing to execute it, that I know the time is right to move on to the next leg of my journey.
(You know what’s coming next, right? Sending you a big hug in advance …)
It’s with that, that I am officially stepping out of my role as CXO at Station Houston. While I will no longer be involved in day-to-day operations at Station, I will continue to serve you as a mentor and speaker/teacher whenever Milad, Hira, Allie and the team need me (you’ll always get dibs on my time!), and will be working with Station and our community partners to launch a collaborative strategy for an Innovation Ecosystem Impact Report. And, of course, I’ll always serve as a goodwill ambassador for Station to the broader community. Consider my network, your network!
To Station’s Board, mentors, investors, community partners, and corporate sponsors: I want to thank you so much for supporting Station Houston — you help us help literally hundreds of entrepreneurs skill up and scale up. I’m super excited to continue working with you in the broader community to strengthen Houston’s innovation ecosystem and foster even greater impact. And if there’s something in particular I can help you with, I’m just a tweet, message, or comment away!
Looking forward to sharing my next adventure(s) with you…
With much love,
Grace
Co-Founder, Station Houston
Update! P.S. The Houston Chronicle just shared a little more about my next adventure — Impact Hub Houston!!!
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