Aquila Mendez-Valdez didn’t always see herself as an entrepreneur. But today, the founder of Haute in Texas and Haute in Network Agencies is not only a nationally recognized public relations and marketing powerhouse, she’s a trailblazer creating a path for other women to follow.
“I didn’t grow up thinking I’d own a business,” says the San Antonio-based NAWBO member and 2025 Woman Business Owner of the Year Award finalist. “But when I was pregnant with my second daughter, I felt that pull. If I’m going to be working this hard, I should have my name on the door and build a legacy my kids can admire and respect.”
Aquila had already spent years developing her PR and marketing skills through formal education and agency work, all while building her own online presence. In 2014, she brought everything under one umbrella—naming her agency after her blog, Haute in Texas—and launched a full-service firm supporting small to mid-sized businesses, especially female founders and startups.
From that humble start, she grew a client roster that reaches across industries and the U.S. She’s spoken to audiences in the U.S., Europe and Asia, and made numerous TV and podcast appearances. Her blog collaborations and client roster feature some of the world’s biggest brands, including Vogue, Prada, Lincoln, Neiman Marcus, Kendra Scott and Orangetheory.
But her journey wasn’t without its balancing acts. In the early years, Aquila worked as a solopreneur while traveling internationally with her husband, a professional basketball player, and raising two young children. “A lot of women are afraid to take it slow in the beginning,” she says. “But for me, that gradual pace helped me grow with intention.”
Once their daughter started school, Aquila and the kids settled full-time in San Antonio while her husband continued to travel, and the business accelerated. She added team members, now totaling seven in San Antonio (their headquarters), Houston, Dallas and Austin, Texas and in Florida. She also began thinking even bigger.
During the pandemic, Aquila was struck by how the majority of childcare responsibilities fell on women while kids weren’t in-person at school and how few options existed for women wanting to start their own businesses. That’s when Haute in Network Agencies was born: a franchise model that equips women to run their own PR and marketing firms with Aquila’s support.
“I always struggled with expanding and going into other markets, but launching my franchise model allowed me to do two things: empower other women and expand at the same time,” she says. “They have the local connections and market expertise and we give them all the tools and training to do it.”
What sets the Haute in Texas team apart is their high-touch approach. They’re part business consultants, part therapists and part trusted advisors. Aquila loves being a connector and saying, “You need to meet this person or that person.” They’re different from agencies with strict boundaries—they meet their clients where they are.
Her connection to NAWBO began when she was hired to do PR for the San Antonio chapter’s annual awards gala. “Once I learned more about the chapter and saw the women involved, I thought—why am I not a member?” she recalls. She quickly joined a committee, then became marketing director. This summer, she’ll become NAWBO San Antonio’s president-elect and the next year president.
“I am surrounded by women I have so much admiration and respect for,” she says. “They have such a heart for helping others. When I call them, they always pick up the phone and talk me off the ledge or help me solve an issue and that’s invaluable to me.”
Aquila credits her overall business success to a strong, trusted team that enable her to focus on the big picture and be a true CEO as well as a leadership style that blends high standards with compassion and understanding. “No one is perfect—I’m not perfect,” she says. “As a leader, I have to remind myself that we’re all human.”
When Aquila learned she was a finalist for the Woman Business Owner of the Year Award, it was a special moment. On a tough day recently, the NAWBO sister who nominated her sent her the kind things other chapter members said about her for the application. Aquila was so touched she cried. “She had no idea how much I needed to hear these things,” she says.
“When you’re the owner, it’s hard to take a moment to pat yourself on the back,” Aquila continues. “I think that moment of taking a breath and realizing how far you’ve come is so critical to give you the strength and energy to keep going.”