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After speaking with Jillian Albus about her experiences in entrepreneurship, it became clear to me that she is a Servant Leader; a leader that puts her team before herself and strives to create a supportive environment, wherein those she leads can feel empowered to make their own decisions and take ownership of their work. Where I was able to identify the type of leadership style the most was when asking her about her strengths and values. Jillian carries strengths in creativity, curiosity, attention to detail, and humility, and she leverages these strengths to support her values which include creating teams that are founded on the values of respect, open mindedness, community, and philanthropy. Jillian strongly values being open minded and willing to learn. She believes that it is important to entertain the “silly” ideas and build upon them. These values are reflected in her pivot from her previous venture, Entree Food Co., to Grapevine.
I was able to see how Jillian was able to create these teams and community when she spoke of her experience co-founding the company Grapevine. Grapevine is an app that focuses on connecting people to their community through the promotion of local events and activities. Jillian explained how important her team felt it was to connect individuals to their community and how being connected can bring new friendships, experiences, and perspectives to peoples’ lives.
In her time building this platform, Jillian has also had the opportunity to work alongside two other Longhorns, Arnold and Albert Nguyen. Jillian met Arnold and Albert during her time at the Summer Entrepreneurship Academy at The University of Texas at Austin. Arnold and Albert are twins and one of the greatest things about working with them, she explained, is how they are able to collaborate as a team. Although all of them swing to the more introverted side, Jillian has taken the time to identify this trait and work towards pushing the group's capabilities by attending new events and increasing the team’s networking.
In Jillian’s future, she hopes to continue to push her company Grapevine to connect communities all over the world as well as continuing to pursue work that fuels more of her values. Specifically, Jillian mentioned how one day she would love the opportunity to give back to U.S. Veterans. Jillian is from a large Military family so this effort is especially close to her heart. As she embarks on her future endeavors, it is clear that Jillian will continue to take decisive action and create meaningful change through her leadership wherever she goes.
About The Authors:
Audrey Haugh '23
Exercise Science
Ashley Mireles '23
Economics
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