What happens when a 22-year-old marketing graduate steps into one of the most male-dominated industries and transforms it with heart, grit, and a fresh perspective?
In this episode of The Strategic Business Influencer, Paige Velasquez Budde had the opportunity to sit down with Angelica Connor, CEO of Stansell Construction, one of the few certified women-owned general contractors in Florida and one of the fastest-growing women-led companies in the country.
Angelica shares her incredible story of joining the company her father purchased, working her way from the front desk to the C-suite, and ultimately purchasing a majority stake in 2021 to lead Stansell into a new era of growth, culture, and innovation.
Here are the top five takeaways from her conversation with Angelica.
1. Influence starts with showing up authentically.
Angelica talked openly about how the most meaningful connections, in business and in life, come from being real, not polished. Her leadership style is rooted in honesty and vulnerability, and it’s a big part of why people trust her.
2. Confidence grows through action, not perfection.
One of the themes she returned to was the idea that you don’t wait for confidence to arrive, you build it by taking imperfect steps forward. Her story is a reminder that clarity often comes after you move, not before.
3. Leadership is a responsibility, not a title.
Angelica shared how stepping into leadership meant learning to steward her influence carefully. She sees leadership as service: lifting others up, creating opportunities, and modeling the courage you want to see in your team.
4. Boundaries fuel sustainability.
A powerful part of your discussion centered on emotional energy. Angelica talked about the importance of knowing what drains you, what fills you, and how boundaries are essential for longevity, especially for women leading at a high level.
5. Owning your story creates impact.
Angelica’s journey is a testament to what happens when you stop shrinking or apologizing for who you are. When you own your story, the wins, the losses, the messy middle, you give others permission to do the same. And that’s how real influence spreads.
To learn more about the work Angelica and her team are doing, visit https://stansellconstruction.com/
For more upcoming episodes, click “subscribe” to my LinkedIn newsletter. I promise you won’t want to miss these upcoming guests!
Want to dive deeper into how today’s most trusted leaders grow their businesses, brands, and influence? Pre-order my upcoming book, The Strategic Business Influencer, and get the playbook for turning leadership into your most powerful business asset. Below is a transcript of our conversation.
Paige: Hi everybody. Welcome back to the Strategic Business Influencer, my new series for leaders who know that in today’s evolving world, trust is the greatest competitive advantage. Today’s guest is Angelica Connor, CEO of Stansell Construction, one of the only certified women-owned general contractors in the state of Florida, and a nationally recognized firm operating in 23 states.
In 2025, she was named one of the fastest growing women-led companies in the country, a recognition that reflects both her leadership and the company’s extraordinary momentum over the past several years. Angelica took the helm in 2021, purchasing a majority stake in the company and leading it into a new era of growth, culture, and client service.
Under her leadership, Stansell has completed thousands of projects for some of the country’s top brands, all while staying true to its four core pillars, which are character, integrity, work ethic, and how people are treated. With a background in marketing and advertising, which I love, Angelica brings a fresh perspective to construction, leveraging brand strategy, storytelling, and innovation to fuel success, which we’ll talk a lot about today.
She has built a team that thrives on execution, urgency, and exceeding expectations, earning Stansell a reputation as a customer service company that just happens to excel at construction.
I first saw Angelica at WPO’s and JP Morgan Chase’s 50 fastest women-led companies. She was up there on a fireside chat right after winning her award, and I was just blown away by everything that she shared with us – her realness, authenticity, and her leadership journey. So I’m just so excited, Angelica, to have you on this series. Welcome on.
Angelica: Thank you Paige, and thank you for the introduction.
Paige: Absolutely, absolutely. Well, Angelica, I’m gonna be honest, I just wanna dive right in. So as I mentioned, you purchased the majority stake in Stansell Construction in 2021 and then became the CEO. After really working in many aspects of the business over several years, which people might not know. Which makes you, you know, one of the few certified women-owned general contractors in the state.
Yeah. I wanna know what that path to that moment of becoming CEO and making that majority stake purchase looked like for you.
Angelica: Yes, so it’s a little unconventional. I joke sometimes that I’m like totally unrelatable, but, um, it, it’s. Really a blessing because I started working at Stansell in 2016 right before I went off to college and my dad had just recently purchased the company, um, from its original founder, Harold Stansell.
And I just was like, yeah, my friends are gonna go enjoy their last summer home. I really wanna go work. And found myself in the office. And at the time we were just like 10, 15 employees. Wow. Um, it was very small knit group. Um, and I was just helping with anything I could, contracts, lien waivers, um, if somebody needed help with a permit or something, I was that person that kind of did everything.
I stocked the restrooms in the kitchen and all that. But that was really like getting my foot in the door and trying or starting to understand, you know, what my dad actually did. Um, and trying to understand too what the construction industry was. ‘Cause at that time I didn’t see myself. In the construction industry.
Mm-hmm. I was going to college for soccer. School was like, eh, I wanna play soccer. And was gonna get my degree in, you know, marketing and advertising was, you know, my goal. And whatever came of that was what came of it. So getting, getting my foot in the door with construction, I was learning a little bit about that and I was like, oh, this is pretty cool.
And my dad’s like, go enjoy college. Um, do your thing. But I still wanted to work, so I was one of their first remote employees. So I was a D one athlete, full-time student and working remotely. Wow. For throughout college which that’s me. I am a busy body. Like give me everything. I absolutely thrived on that and I loved it.
Um, so continued to do that. And then I actually graduated during COVID and for many people they probably know that that was not a big hiring time for businesses. Right. And, um, I had just gotten my degree. I was super excited and thought for sure I would go into. Some kind of marketing agency, ad agency, um, somewhere in the business side of things and just didn’t have the opportunities that I might have had otherwise if the situations were different.
But that was a real blessing because it ended up pulling me back into Stansil and I started working in accounting, which. Marketing, advertising, not a math person. Um, it doesn’t come as naturally to me. Sure. I’m more of a creative, but, um, but yeah, so just, you know, came back full time, started working and then really had an opportunity.
My dad sat me down one day and was like, listen, like I want this for you in your life, um, and I think you’d be great as our CEO. Are you interested? And I was like, in mid bite of my food. I remember I was like. Um, I was like, right now I’m like, I’m 22. And he’s like, yeah, now. And so that allowed me the opportunity to, you know, purchase 51% become CEO, and then the journey just evolves from there.
Paige: Wow, what a cool story. And I, I wanna challenge what you said earlier, you know, I think a lot of what you were saying is relatable, especially to a lot of entrepreneurs, business leaders, CEOs out there, you know, you saying, Hey, all my friends are going on summer, you know, trips and vacations, and I wanna go work because, you know, we love what we do.
And I just chuckled at you saying I even, you know, stuck the bathrooms. I’m always joking. I’ve taken out the trash, you know, and done repairs in the office. You know that that’s really, you really know. And what I loved too is that it seemed like you worked almost pretty much. Every aspect of the business you could those years leading up.
And so I, I’m curious, just what have you learned about business leadership and ownership the past four years?
Angelica: Yeah, that’s been, um, a huge journey and, you know, be, be coming into it at 22. Um, there was that. Naive side of myself that it was just like, yeah, I’m going to, this sounds great. Let’s do it. And then I realized really quickly, like this is a older male dominant industry that I’m stepping into.
And you know, it took me a bit to kind of find my footing in that leadership style. And also in just gaining respect because. Respect is you have, you earn that by actions. You don’t just earn it by a title. Right? So I learned that really quickly. And you know, my, my biggest lesson learned, I would say was I needed to figure out my leadership style and not be like my dad or our other partner gym.
And I thought that I had to, you know, be this, you know. Big personality a very like, direct and, you know, operations focused. And I was going, I went through a period where I was just like so down on myself. ’cause I’m like, that does not come naturally to me. Mm-hmm. I’m a more like bubbly, I’m upbeat, I’m friendly, like I don’t gel well with.
People like that very much, you know? Sure. And and I also thought, you know, our people might not need another version of them. Mm-hmm. They probably need the version that I can bring. And so that was a huge leadership lesson of just kind of figuring out, you know, what my style is. And someone told me like, it’s okay to be, like, there’s no set leadership style.
There’s not a one size. Yeah. And that was a huge like aha moment of like. Oh, now I can breathe, you know? Mm-hmm. And so that’s been been a huge lesson learned.
Paige: I love that. That is so important and takes time and is a hard lesson for a lot of leaders. You know, I even remember going through a lot of that myself and figuring out what that style should look like.
And at the end of the day is kind of what you said. You’ve gotta just be more of you. Yeah. And, and that’s why people wanna work with you. Which I love. I wanna talk about how you shook things up a little bit. Okay. So, I know that you came from a marketing and advertising background. Mm-hmm. Uh, which we, we have in common and love that.
But I, I’m curious how that perspective shaped the way that you run a construction company, how you communicate with them, what your brand looks like.
Angelica: Mm-hmm. Yeah, that was, um. That was something that was met with a little bit of like, whoa, what is going on? Um, just because, you know, construction, it’s not that cutting edge industry.
It’s not seen very flashy, you know, it, it’s filled with a lot of like doers and mm-hmm. People that like to get dirty and things like that. So the, the flashiness and the, you know, branding of it all is, is a little bit less. Of a priority. And so when I came into Stansell full-time, I noticed that you know, even our competitors weren’t doing anything on a marketing side or a branding side.
And I thought, you know, this is something that I feel is gonna give us a leg up and. Branding, marketing, social media, website, none of that’s going away. Um, anytime soon. And if we’re gonna be a company that’s gonna make it in the long run, we have to buy into that stuff. Um, and along those lines too is like, I’m young, I have a lot of energy.
Like I wanna make our company aligned with that as well. And just say like, mm-hmm. Look at how much like. Positivity and energy you can bring to an otherwise, you know, I don’t wanna call it a dying industry, but it’s not glamorous, you know, it’s not, it’s not something that people are striving for that much anymore.
So, so that was really my take on it, and it was fun. I came in, did a complete rebrand and, you know, brought color to it and changed our, um, voice and our tone, and created a mission statement. Created our values and our vision, and now everything that we do is in alignment with the brand and our vision and where we’re going.
And so it, it’s, it’s helped us a lot too.
Paige: And I have to just give you, you know, high praises because when I went to the website and doing my research on you and the company ahead of this, I was just blown away by the look and the feel and the experience because, um. You know, we, you know, I’ve been, you know, seeing the general contract space.
I I know what that looks like and y’all just stand apart. Thank you. When, when you find your brand online, and I love that even just the visuals of your team that you have up there is a really cool.
Angelica: Thank you very much.
Paige: Yeah. And I, I wanna talk about just the construction industry and how, you know, it’s oftentimes a commodity where bids and pricing, all of that, drive a lot of decisions on whether you’re hired or not.
And so what has been your strategy for differentiating Stansell so clients choose to work with your team versus another gc?
Angelica: Yeah, that’s a great question. You know, we are very transparent in the fact. We are not going to be the cheapest. And we tell our, our clients potential clients, and, and we’re just upfront with that because they’re gonna get the bid they’re gonna see.
But but for us, you know, our. Strategy is really in the value that we bring on the customer service side, and we have a lot of support staff. Um, we learned that we probably have more, you know, overhead than most construction companies. Sure. We have positions that we made up, um, just because we, like, we have a travel coordinator, we have a closeout coordinator.
We have all sorts of people. And we’re just like, people don’t have that. Mm-hmm. And, um, but we do, because we know that by having that it kind of gives us a leg up and allows us to support our people better so they can go and serve our clients better. Um, technology, we invest a ton in technology and that helps the client as well.
Our organization is. Up there, I would argue with anybody and our ability to deliver on that. So, but yeah, no customer service is really the D differentiator and um, we really just invest so heavily in our people and our processes and that really allows us to better serve the customer, which is ultimately our goal.
Paige: Yeah. And I love that customer centric first model. Yeah. Because in your world, you know, it’s heavily built on relationships and reputation, right? Mm-hmm. So, so having that experience over and over again only gets, you know, more advocates rooting for y’all.
Angelica: Yeah, absolutely. And like most of our leadership team come from the client side.
Mm-hmm. Um, they’re not like full on construction folks that, you know, have all these years. Um, even my dad, you know, spent 20 years with McDonald’s on the operations side, working for an owner operator. So he comes with that experience of knowing what the custom as the customer, what he needs in his restaurant, right.
So mm-hmm. He brings that perspective along with so many other people. That perspective allows us to better serve the customers. Yeah. So it all kind of comes together on that front too.
Paige: Yeah. That’s powerful. Yeah. Um, since becoming CEO, you have done a lot to emphasize both culture and growth. Yeah.
And you talked a lot about that in your fireside chat. Mm-hmm. So what has been one of the. Important leadership decisions you’ve made that’s helped the company scale while keeping that culture intact?
Angelica: Yes. So this has been a challenge because we grew so fast, um, between, you know, 2021 and 24, like insane.
And we realized we were across, you know, 20 something states had people in all those states and culture. It’s hard when you’re in remote environments or you’re on the job site alone, um, and you’re not in the office, you don’t feel it, you’re not, you know, buddy-buddy with somebody and it’s just a whole different landscape.
Right. And so, you know, it was a big undertaking for me of like, just trying to find out what our team needed to feel like they were still a part of something big. Um, and part of like a family. And so, you know. Establishing the vision. Um, and the four pillars have been a huge, uh, game changer for us because now that we have those four pillars, character, integrity, work ethic, and how people are treated, we now point to those things and say, this is the expectation.
Mm-hmm. And then we have the vision, which is to be the contractor of choice and. We can point to that and say everything that we are doing, all the decisions that we’re making, they’re in alignment with that vision. We are heading somewhere big and just the buy-in that we’ve received from both of those, um, things and just everyone excited about the direction that we’re going has really made it.
Easier. Easier, not. Mm-hmm. It’s not perfect, but it’s allowed us to better reach our team and make sure that we’re all aligned countrywide.
Paige: Yeah. That, that’s powerful. Clarifying that vision and then being able to articulate that and repeat that, and a lot of that I’m sure falls on you as the C
Angelica: Yeah. Yeah, that’s, that’s something that I learned.
Pretty early on was like, it is my responsibility to ensure that people know the vision. Because if you, if you don’t, and we’re all gonna be doing different things, we’re gonna be focused on different things. There’s not a path, a clear path of where we’re going or why we’re doing this. Um, it’s not always fun, but there’s a purpose behind it.
Right. And Sure. Um, and just sharing that always and keeping it top of mind and everything that we do is super important.
Paige: Amazing. Yeah. And in your leadership journey, what do you feel like is the most surprising lesson about either manning, relat, managing relationships with clients or with your team internally?
Angelica: Yeah. I love that question because there’s so many, um, I think, you know. Uh, people are everything and mm-hmm. It was clear, you know, and it becomes more clear all the time that not everybody is gonna align with your values or your company’s values. I think that’s okay. But it’s important to surround yourself with the people that do, and even more so like.
Clients that do. Mm-hmm. We’ve been aligned with clients in the past that just don’t align with the way we’re trying to operate our business and the way that we like to treat our people and them, you know, have that reciprocated and we’re not gonna allow, you know, other companies and, and things of that like to bully our team and because we wouldn’t do it to them, you know, so just kind of establishing those, um.
And learning those lessons along the way, um, has been a huge thing. Um, and even me personally, like I’ve lost so many friendships. I’m sure any person in leadership that’s grown has, and it’s just a part of that journey of just the right people are gonna stick by you. The ones that wanna see you succeed, will stick by you and the ones that don’t just fall off.
And that’s a, a sad reality and something that’s stunk a lot. Yeah. But it, it’s been looking back, it’s been good.
Paige: Yeah. I mean it, and it’s the hard thing, right? You know, I think a lot of leaders or maybe even myself, didn’t anticipate. Relationships and holding values and all of that, you know, it’s easy, but it’s also very challenging to, to do and continue to uphold.
Angelica: Yeah. And, and no one tells you how lonely leadership is sometimes. Yes. Um, you know, and, and that’s why I love that you’re doing this because it’s showing stories that you can connect. Um, and say like, Hey, you’re not alone. Like, like even how we started this, you’re like, actually no. Like people are gonna relate to you.
I’m like, okay, great. Um, and that’s been so great too about just like what the WPO is doing and like, I’m part of the women in construction, um, stuff and it’s just connecting people with similar stories and yes, you, you meet such great people, um, that want to see you just shine and that’s the best.
Yeah.
Paige: Absolutely. And that’s who you should be surrounding yourself with, right? Yeah, I agree. Now, you’ve been named, as we mentioned, the fastest growing women, one of the fastest growing women led companies in 2025. What do you see as the biggest opportunities ahead for both Stansell but also. Women in construction and leaders in construction?
Angelica: Yeah, that’s a great question. I mean, progress is being made, I would say, of just the acceptance of women in construction. Mm-hmm. Um, I think it’s getting to where it’s normal and it’s valued and it’s supported and celebrated. Um, I still believe there’s so much work to do. I hear it all the time. Just women not being treated well.
Um, even one of our superintendents who’s a woman, I just heard that, uh, our subcontractors are treating her really poorly, and that breaks my heart. And so I just feel like there’s still opportunities there just to, to make it the norm. And really, you know. Something that I’m kind of leaning into is like, hey, like I can be a voice and um, I can help support that growth and that journey.
Um, and using Stansell as a platform to do it and just show that like you can have a construction company that’s successful, that’s woman owned and led and builds women in construction. We’re promoting so many women, which is amazing. Um, we women out in the field. So, just using both as an opportunity just to build up women is, is super important for me.
Paige: Yeah. Do you feel like you’ve received a, a piece of advice or a lesson learned from another woman that has just like really stuck with you?
Angelica: Um. You know what’s crazy is most of my mentors have been old men.
Paige: And that’s not crazy though, but I love it.
Angelica: Yes. But it’s been like the most beautiful thing of like mm-hmm.
People just referring to me as their daughter and like wanting to help me succeed like that. Um, but no, I’ve been getting, I get such amazing advice all the time and I honestly like. I couldn’t tell you one because I’m on the spot and I don’t know, but, um, sure. That’s okay. Yeah. But no, really like the, the amount of like love and support that’s been poured into me the last four years in this role it has just been incredible.
So
Paige: I love that. I love that you have so many mentors. Um, I similarly have had that too. A lot of amazing men in my life just, um, sharing experiences and lifting me up and that’s so, so powerful as well. Um. There are two questions that I love to ask every leader that comes on this series. The first question is, who are you in addition to being a CEO?
Angelica: Hmm. Well, my two favorite titles outside of being CEO are wife and dog mom. I love my boys so much. So everything kind of revolves around them. What kind of dog? He’s a golden doodle. Um, his name is Bear. And, um, oh yeah, he’s literally everything. I’m kind of crazy. Oh, I
Paige: love that. How precious. That’s amazing.
And then the second question I love to ask is, what is the impact that you wanna have at the end of every single day?
Angelica: It’s just to. Be a light in somebody’s life. Really it’s, it can be so dark and absolutely hard. And life is hard. Work is hard. Construction is hard. And if I could just, you know, be a light to somebody or put a smile on somebody’s face, or impact someone’s life in any way, I, I consider that a win.
Paige: I love that, and I feel like anybody listening to this episode right now has a smile on their face and feels your light and hears your light, and so I appreciate you just sharing that with us. Thank you, Angelica. Um, if anybody wants to learn more about you, follow you, or learn more about Stansell, where should they go?
Angelica: Yeah, so LinkedIn, I am Angelica Connor. I think all my platforms, I’m just Angelica Connor, so hopefully you can find me. Stansell is Stansell construction.com or Stansell Construction on LinkedIn.
Paige: Awesome. Thank you so much for sharing. And y’all go check out Stansell one because the amazing branding and just see what she’s done to, to shake up the cons, the construction field.
But Angelica is just a wealth of knowledge and so authentic online, so I appreciate you coming on and just sharing your experience with us. And it’s just so incredibly relatable to hear your story, um, what you’ve learned, and I’m just so appreciative of your time.
Angelica: Yeah, thank you Paige. This has been wonderful and it’s great to meet you too.
Paige: Awesome. Thank you. Well, we’ll be back soon y’all. Thank y’all for tuning in.