Inspiring Conversations with Katiria Colon of eXpozedTV and GrindCon

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katiria Colon.

Hi Katiria, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My story really started with a love for media, storytelling, and culture. Growing up, I was fascinated by the people I saw on television and heard on the radio. I remember watching Free on 106 & Park, listening to Angie Martinez, and watching Oprah, and Christina and thinking that I wanted to build a career that blended all of those worlds — entertainment, conversation, culture, and impact.

I started working in media more than a decade ago and learned the industry from the ground up. Over the years, I’ve worked across radio, television, production, digital media, events, and content. I became the first Latina woman on JAM’N 94.5 in Boston, worked behind the scenes with nationally recognized platforms like The Breakfast Club, produced for Telemundo in New York, Dash Radio, and continued developing myself as both an on-camera personality and a producer.

But one of the biggest turning points in my career came when I realized I didn’t just want to work within other people’s platforms — I wanted to build my own.

In 2016, I founded eXpozedTV as a platform focused on giving artists, entrepreneurs, and creatives more opportunities to tell their stories. What started as a media platform grew into production, branded content, creative strategy, events, and eventually a physical studio. Building eXpozedTV taught me nearly every side of entrepreneurship: producing, pitching, negotiating, creating partnerships, managing teams, developing programming, and figuring things out when there wasn’t necessarily a blueprint.

That journey also led to GrindCon, which has become one of the projects I’m most passionate about. GrindCon was created to give creators, artists, entrepreneurs, and emerging professionals access to the education, relationships, resources, and rooms that can sometimes feel difficult to reach in creative industries. Over the years, it has grown from an annual conference into a larger creator ecosystem that includes workshops, creator camps, music programming, mentorship, networking, and experiences in multiple markets.

There have definitely been challenges along the way. Building independently means there are moments when you are the visionary, salesperson, producer, marketer, strategist, and problem solver all at once. I’ve had to learn how to keep moving even when funding wasn’t guaranteed, partnerships fell through, plans changed, or people didn’t immediately understand the vision.

At the same time, those experiences are what shaped me into the person I am today.

Today, I see myself as a tv host, media executive, founder, creator, and creative strategist. I work at the intersection of media, culture, storytelling, creators, events, and brand partnerships. I’m still building, still evolving, and still learning, but I’m much more intentional now about creating things that have long-term impact.

What excites me most is that I feel like I’m entering a new chapter. After more than a decade of working in media and building my own platforms, I’m focused on expanding my voice, growing the businesses I’ve created, and continuing to build spaces where talented people can gain access, be seen, and turn their creativity into real opportunity.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. I think one of the biggest misconceptions about entrepreneurship is that once people start seeing the wins, they assume everything behind the scenes has been working just as smoothly.

Building independently has meant having to figure out a lot without a roadmap. There have been times when I’ve had an incredible vision but not necessarily the funding, resources, team, or access to execute it the way I could see it in my head. I’ve had partnerships fall through, heard “no” more times than I can count, dealt with people not understanding the vision, and had moments where I questioned whether I should keep going.

Funding has probably been one of the biggest challenges. When you’re building something centered around creators and community, you want to make opportunities accessible, but producing quality programming, media, events, and experiences costs real money. I’ve had to become extremely resourceful — learning how to pitch brands, negotiate partnerships, build relationships, find creative solutions, and sometimes make things happen with far less than what larger organizations have available to them.

Another challenge has been wearing so many hats. As a founder, there have been seasons where I was creating the strategy, answering emails, pitching sponsors, producing content, managing people, planning events, solving problems, and then still expected to show up publicly as the face of everything. That can be exhausting, and over time I’ve had to learn that being a strong leader doesn’t mean doing everything myself.

There have also been personal sacrifices. Entrepreneurship doesn’t always turn off when you go home, especially when you genuinely care about what you’re building. Learning how to balance being a founder, a creative, a wife, a mother, and simply being Katiria has been an ongoing process.

But every difficult season has taught me something. I’ve become more resilient, more strategic, more comfortable advocating for myself, and much more protective of my time and energy. I’ve learned that not everyone has to understand the vision for it to be valid. Sometimes the biggest part of building something is believing in it long enough for other people to finally see what you saw from the beginning.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about eXpozedTV and GrindCon?
eXpozedTV is a media and creative company built around storytelling, culture, creators, and access. What began as a media platform has grown into a broader creative business that works across content, production, branded storytelling, creative strategy, and live experiences.

At the core of eXpozedTV is the belief that talented people deserve strong platforms, strong storytelling, and real opportunities to be seen. We work with artists, entrepreneurs, creators, and brands to develop content and experiences that feel culturally relevant, intentional, and visually strong. Our work can range from original media and interviews to branded content, event coverage, creative direction, strategy, and larger campaign concepts.

One of the things I’m most proud of is how much the brand has evolved without losing its original purpose. We have been able to create original programming, produce content for clients, build a physical studio, work with emerging and established talent, and create opportunities for people who may not always have traditional access to the media and entertainment industry.

That same mission is also reflected in GrindCon, the creator platform and ecosystem we have built around education, access, community, and opportunity. GrindCon brings creators, artists, entrepreneurs, industry professionals, and brands together through conferences, Creator Camps, workshops, mentorship, music programming, networking, and other live experiences. The goal is not simply to host an event, but to help people build sustainable careers and connect them to the knowledge and relationships that can move them forward.

What sets our work apart is that we understand both sides of the industry. We know what it is like to be the creator trying to get into the room, but we also understand production, strategy, partnerships, brand objectives, and what it takes to actually execute an idea. That allows us to create experiences that serve the community while also making sense for the brands and organizations we collaborate with.

Brand-wise, I’m most proud that everything we have built feels authentic to us. We did not create eXpozedTV or GrindCon because the creator economy became trendy. We have been doing this work for years — investing in creators, telling stories, building community, and creating access before a lot of the terminology around the industry became mainstream.

As we continue growing, I want people to understand that we are building more than content or events. We are building an ecosystem where media, culture, creativity, education, and opportunity can exist together. Whether someone encounters us through eXpozedTV, GrindCon, a production project, a brand partnership, or one of our live experiences, I want them to walk away feeling like they were part of something intentional, culturally connected, and built with purpose.

What are your plans for the future?
I feel like I’m entering one of the most exciting chapters of my career because everything I’ve spent the last decade building is starting to connect.

A major focus for me is continuing to grow GrindCon, which has now evolved into a national creator platform and ecosystem. What began as an annual conference has expanded into year-round programming, Creator Camps, workshops, mentorship, music and creator development opportunities, brand partnerships, and experiences across multiple markets. I want GrindCon to continue growing nationally while still keeping the community-centered mission that made it meaningful in the first place.

I’m also continuing to evolve eXpozedTV. The vision is bigger than simply producing content. I see it growing further as a media and creative company where we can develop original programming, tell culturally relevant stories, work with brands, produce experiences, and create intellectual property that we own and can continue building for years.

Personally, I’m also stepping more intentionally into my own platform. For many years, I spent a lot of my energy building brands, producing other people, and creating opportunities for the community. I still love doing that, but I’m also giving myself permission to be more visible. I want to continue growing as a TV host, media personality, speaker, moderator, creator, and thought leader while sharing more of my perspective on media, culture, entrepreneurship, the creator economy, and what I’ve learned from actually building within these industries.

I’m especially excited about expanding into new markets and building stronger relationships with companies and organizations that genuinely want to invest in creators and culture. I want to create partnerships that go beyond putting a logo on an event and instead build experiences, resources, and opportunities that have real value for the communities we serve.

Long term, I’m thinking about legacy. I want to build companies, platforms, programming, and intellectual property that can exist beyond me. I want someone to be able to say that they met the right person, learned something that changed their career, secured an opportunity, discovered their voice, or built something of their own because they came through something we created.

There are definitely big plans ahead, but I’m also enjoying the process of becoming more intentional about what I say yes to. At this stage, growth isn’t just about doing more. It’s about building bigger, building smarter, and making sure everything I’m creating is aligned with the impact I ultimately want to have.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.expozedtv.com , www.katiriacolon.com www.grindcon.co
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialkatiria/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiria-colón-thomas-42a7a5b3/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxbEpc5gPaE3b8XqAuyGMxA