As a small business owner and Chief Operations & Strategy Officer, I’ve traded the 8-to-5 grind for the dynamic world of entrepreneurship and brand-building. My partner and I proudly own and operate Float Wellness Spa (Est. 2016), Evolve Human Optimization Labs (Est. 2022), and Titan—a trio of ventures designed to elevate wellness and performance.
With 15 years of experience in higher education, I’ve specialized in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB), forging impactful partnerships both on and off campus. My decade of work in immigration and international education has given me a global perspective, complementing my strong foundation in business operations.
I hold a B.B.A. in Business from Baylor University and an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies from UT San Antonio. Today, I channel my passion into serving my community, mentoring rising professionals, and championing the small business ecosystem in San Antonio. From wellness innovation to strategy execution, I thrive on crafting experiences and opportunities that inspire growth and connection.
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Alka Bahal: Welcome to The Think Factory’s Workplace Podcast, powered by OGC Solutions, the podcast where we explore the ever-evolving landscape of workplace dynamics. My name is Alka Bahal. I’m a partner with Outside General Counsel, the Chair of our Corporate Immigration Services Group, and I’ll be your host today.
I am very pleased to have with me here today Courtney Balderas-Jacob, owner and chief operations and strategy officer of a trio of ventures designed to elevate wellness and performance, including Float Wellness Spa, Evolve Human Optimization Labs, and Titan. Welcome to the podcast, Courtney.
Courtney Balderas-Jacob: Thank you so much for having me. I’m really excited to be with you today.
Alka Bahal: Thrilled to have you here. Why don’t we start with you telling us a little bit about your trio of wellness and performance ventures.
Courtney Balderas-Jacob: So Float Wellness Spa was our first venture. It’s centered around flotation therapy, so think of sensory deprivation tanks, like Stranger Things, floating in 1,200 pounds of Epsom salt. We opened that back in 2016, and we also offer infrared there and massage, but it’s really meant to bring wellness, you know, to our community here in San Antonio. It was one of the first centers of its kind in our city, and we had fallen in love with flotation as a therapy and really wanted to see that as something that our folks could enjoy here.
Kind of born out of Float was Evolve Human Optimization Labs, so that opened in 2022, and it’s really a social wellness playground. So my husband and I identified a gap in between the spa industry and, like, workout, right? So this wellness recovery space where it’s self-care, but it’s also still productive. So Evolve is structured kind of like a gym where it’s open access, it’s membership-based model, and you just, you come in, and you’re able to kind of choose your own journey.
We have 20-plus modalities there, you know, from cold plunging to compression boots and all sorts of neurocognitive training devices, things meant to help us downshift, like massage chairs, Tri-Vibe, and folks can just really come in, and whether they’re recovering from, you know, their daily workouts or just life, the wear and tear of stress of life, it’s a space for people to come and be in community with each other. And then Titan is our third one, and so that’s really the cold plunge tanks that we offer in our space, and also as a part of our Evolve franchise.
Alka Bahal: You have some really incredible sort of organizations, institutions you’ve created, and I would love to try them! Your career trajectory was a little bit unusual; you didn’t exactly start out in wellness. So tell me a little bit about what you used to do, and do you find that any of your experiences have lent themselves?
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