Grace Kraaijvanger is a visionary entrepreneur, artist, and community-
maker who created The Hivery as a realization of her longstanding
dream to bring a community of women together in a beautiful space that
would inspire and empower them to reach their fullest potential. From
the beginning, The Hivery has been a metaphor for so much more than
just a physical space; it represents a movement and an elevation of
women.

Before launching The Hivery in 2014 and after a decade-long career as a
professional ballet and modern dancer in San Francisco, Grace entered
into motherhood and began working as a marketing executive for
Fortune 500 technology companies. But the unexpected loss of her
mother catalyzed her to search for something deeper; her life’s true
purpose. On that search she realized there were women, just like her, in
pursuit of their next chapter: women who wanted to switch careers, start
businesses, go back to work, or change direction to pursue a passion.
Coupled with the realization that there was no “space”, both literally and
metaphorically, for women to find and create meaningful work outside
of “work” norms, she decided to go after her dream and The Hivery was
born.

Over the years as The Hivery continues to grow, Grace has discovered
much of what she knows to be true about starting and running a business
is rooted in dance and artistic expression: the importance of showing up
every day and doing the work; surrounding yourself with people who
believe in your unique purpose; and leveraging setbacks as invaluable
learning tools. “Entrepreneurs are artists of life,” according to Grace.
Grace is a go-to speaker and business mentor who has spoken at high-
profile events such as Watermark, The Girls Lounge at Dreamforce,
Listen to Your Mother, Woven Women’s Conference, as well as

countless Hivery events and gatherings. The Hivery was awarded “Best
Office Space in the U.S. and Canada” by Wayfair, Inc. in 2017, and
Grace and The Hivery have been featured in outlets such as Domino,
San Francisco Chronicle, Marin Independent Journal, Huffington Post
and Entrepreneur. She is on the board for the SF Dance Film Festival
and the Nasdaq YeX Advisory Board. Grace currently resides