Samantha Lewis, Rice MBA ’17, is the Director of the GOOSE Society.
Before attending Rice Business school, she successfully started two ventures. The first company, New Mexico Green Chile Co., generates over $3 million in annual revenue and boasts of customers like Torchy’s Tacos, HEB, and Trader Joe’s. The second company, which she sold in 2017, was a boutique day spa franchise concept modeled after the huge success of the Blo Dry Bar.
Samantha joined GOOSE in January of 2018 and her responsibilities include portfolio management, company assessments, due diligence, deal sourcing, and operations.
During her time at Rice, she helped launch two tech start-ups, worked with a start-up private equity firm, and interned at Station Houston. Samantha pitched at five business plan competitions including the Rice Business Plan Competition and the Al Napier Rice Launch Competition where her start-up, Trace Matters, won the Grand Prize for a lab-grade, portable chemical analyzer. She now serves as a judge for both of those competitions.
As an MBA student she received the Texas Business Hall of Fame Scholarship, the National Association of Women MBA’s Scholarship, and the Jones Citizen Award which recognizes those students who in the eyes of the faculty and administration have made the most significant contributions to the Jones School of Business. Her favorite position at Rice, though, was as President of the Rice Business Wine Club where she launched the inaugural Rice Business Wine Tasting Competition.
Samantha spends countless hours giving back to the Rice community and the Houston innovation ecosystem. Her peers elected her as the Rice Alumni Class Ambassador for the full-time Class of 2017. She serves as a mentor for the Rice Business Women’s Organization and for numerous Houston-based tech startups. She also serves as a judge for the Global Venture Capital Investment Competition hosted by the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and sits on the Houston Exponential investment committee.
Samantha received her undergraduate degree in political science and history with a concentration in European Union politics from Texas A&M University as well as a graduate certificate in advanced international affairs from The Bush School of Government and Public Service.