From Finance to Furniture: How Alexa Centeno Built a National Home Staging Franchise from Scratch

In this inspiring episode of The Franchise Woman Podcast: Where Passion & Purpose Collide, hosts Rebecca Monet and Tracy Kawa sit down with Alexa Centeno—entrepreneur, designer, and founder of VELLA HAUS, a national home staging franchise revolutionizing how homes are styled and sold. Alexa's journey is one of bold reinvention. With degrees in finance, accounting, and taxation, she left her corporate career to co-found a home automation business with her husband. Years later, a chance opportunity led her to home staging—and a new passion was born. 💬 In this episode: How Alexa pivoted from corporate finance to entrepreneurship The incredible story of saying yes to a $10M staging project she'd never done before Turning rejection into opportunity and growing a thriving business The link between home automation and design—and why technology and beauty go hand-in-hand How she built VELLA HAUS into a teachable, scalable franchise model Why designing your own time is the ultimate form of wealth Alexa's philosophy is simple yet profound: Build your business one brick at a time. Her story proves that passion, perseverance, and creativity can transform not just spaces—but lives. #FranchiseWoman #AlexaCenteno #VilaHouse #HomeStaging #WomenInFranchising #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #RebeccaMonet #TracyKawa #SmartHomes #DesignInspiration