Founder

I'm Karen Yeates — Trinidad & Tobago-born entrepreneur, ecosystem builder, and international speaker based in Houston, TX.

As founder of Excel to Elevate LLC and former Vice President of SCORE Houston, I've spent 15+ years helping founders, organizations, and leaders get clear, get aligned, and get moving. I've mentored 50+ entrepreneurs through HCC's Entrepreneurship Program and the University of Houston's SURE Initiative. I've helped small businesses win their first government contracts. And I've taken those lessons to stages in Miami, Washington DC, England, and Spain — and to an international Caribbean business platform where I serve as the recognized American voice on U.S. market strategy for Diaspora entrepreneurs.

My work lives at the intersection of three things most people treat as separate: strategy, entrepreneurship, and leadership. I bring all three to every engagement — along with the honesty, clarity, and genuine care for people that makes the work actually stick.

I hold an MBA with a focus in Project Management, along with SAFe, CSPO, CSM, and PSM certifications, and I'm a Certified SCORE Mentor.

My core belief hasn't changed since day one: the most overlooked founders carry the most disruptive ideas. My job is to make sure they get the access, clarity, and strategic leverage to prove it.

In Purpose and Power, Karen Yeates