Javier Grevely is a futurist, activating communities with intentionality across borders, making progress with a clear purpose to help others and grow through consistent learning. Today he is the Head of Strategy at gaming & lifestyle brand XSET.
Here’s what you need to know about Javier..
He grew up in Florida in an immigrant household where education was highly valued. Javier was raised by a single mother and grandfather who rose up from sweeping floors to become an engineer at GE. Striving for excellence was a family motto.
As a kid Javier consistently built himself up through learning – always reading, writing & watching. He took cues from his charismatic grandfather, learning to embrace new people & new experiences with open arms, collecting skills along the way. Javier embraced new ideas & trends drawn to the youth of ideas. He respects leaders who continue to find ways of adapting and seeking new perspectives, from finance to fashion. Being unique to your authentic self has been a calling.
At Florida State, Javier double majored in Finance & Real Estate with a goal of breaking into commercial real estate. When he fatefully attended a last minute on campus event hosted by Wellington, he met partner Jawan Parker who led their Asia office in Singapore.
Javier kept in touch with Jawan after the event, seeking mentorship at any hour of the night Jawan was available in Singapore. He learned about capital markets from an experienced leader who encouraged him to apply to their analyst program. After going through the interview process, he landed a unique role on Wellington’s public debt team. At Wellington he analyzed global debt securities for their credit worthiness & sustainability.
As Wellington’s private investing practice grew, both in AUM and team size, Javier was fortunate enough to join their Growth Equity team. He focused on healthcare & consumer investing, figuring out foundational skills like sourcing & curating deal flow. Later, he worked on an earlier stage fund created to do more traditional venture investing at the initial growth stage.
A key part of his sourcing strategy & deal flow curation became community activation. He gained the confidence to become a community builder after he helped design Wellington’s HBCU stock pitch program alongside his original champion, Jawan Parker. Together they recruited a bunch of HBCUs and designed a competition program complete with events, sponsors & content. Getting the opportunity to work directly with senior partners at Wellington was nerve wracking but it gave him new skills outside of financial analysis.
The program has grown from a couple initial schools to 5+ and has become one of the largest stock pitch competition groups on the buy side, with involvement from partners like Citi. Armed with the toolkit to make an impact locally, he began foundational ecosystem work with BLCK VC as one of their Boston chapter co-founders and established Boston Changemakers Convening to convene & inspire local leaders across sectors.
He was named to BBJ’s 2023 25 under 25, a 2023 Rising Star in VC by Business Insider, and he built a global network across different industries touching all areas of private investing.
After four exciting years at Wellington, Javier wanted to try operating at a startup with a particular interest in consumer tech. He met Greg Selkoe, the Co-Founder & CEO of XSET, at an event and recognized him from one of his previous streetwear brands. Greg has led a collective of gamers for many years, building at the intersection of fashion and culture in gaming. The opportunity to participate in this convergence of gaming technology, consumer & fashion was a fascinating opportunity Javier couldn’t pass up.
As XSET’s Head of Strategy, with gaming lifestyle at its core, Javier is helping the Series A startup think through the future of their media & content, experiences, and consumer products. He is leading projects from fundraising to potential international expansion. He is also responsible for facilitating the startup’s data driven culture by developing internal KPIs and owning data infrastructure.
Be Authentic. Grow Through Unique Experiences
Throughout Javier’s childhood and into his career, Javier has always been drawn to authenticity. Maybe it was from watching all of those Shark Tank episodes and then seeing hundreds of pitches professionally.
He’s a huge believer in being unique and being your authentic self. Marching to the beat of your own drum..but also remembering to stay on beat. Have your own swag and vision, but appreciate nuance.
If there is anything Javier has learned over the initial, explosive years of his career, it’s to go do something. Mobilize. There are plenty of people walking around who wear brands like a walking billboard. He realized pretty quickly at places like Wellington – or replace that with Nike, Google, Facebook, Toast, Klaviyo, etc. – it’s pretty easy to wear the brand.
What does that mean? It means that you don’t have to work extra hard outside of the four walls of your corporate halo to get involved. You can clock in, clock out, and have quite a successful career. You can even let the brand wear you.
It’s a privilege to have those brand halos. But there is so much untapped value if you are bold enough to step outside and get involved. Don’t just wear the brand. Don’t just let the brand wear you.
There is something to be said for a career, and a more meaningful life, by diving into “non-obvious” things outside of work across art, culture, or even policy. These unique experiences can end up informing new partnerships, deal flow, and additional opportunities through extracurricular community involvement.
Take calls with more people, spend time outside of your siloes. The world needs more global, diverse, next generation leaders with a more robust understanding of industries & cultures. What are the things your peers aren’t doing? What clubs are they not in?
Have the autonomy & intentionality to go seek out new experiences!
3 Career Insights / Learnings
Having (Directional) Vision – “Even when I was a teenager, I knew startups & investing were interesting career paths I wanted to try. I just didn’t know how to get there. Over time I’ve learned that as long as I’m learning and growing in the right direction, things will play out.”
Don’t Be Afraid to Reach Out – “If you’re poised, positive & polite in your outreach there is not a ton of risk but a lot of upside that can come from it. The worst thing that can happen is no and we all put too much energy on those “No’s”. I set intentional goals to reach out and it has made a big difference in my career”
Take Initiative & Create Your Own Autonomy – “People make time for things they care about and want to do. How do they do it? Because they want to. If you want to get involved and do something, take initiative and create the autonomy to make an impact. Put yourself out there with intentionality in mind”
Javier is working on being a jack of all trades and ideally master of many in the years ahead as a multi-hyphenated person. Guided by his faith, he seeks the eventual convergence of his pursuits, putting a lot on his plate to bring together leaders across the business landscape. He wants to continue to double down, cultivating more ideas and making impactful change, near and far. He continues to march toward building an enduring, unique, and successful career.If you want to learn more about Javier you can find him out in the Boston community, building the future of gaming at XSET, or on LinkedIn. Thanks for sharing all of your lessons and wisdom. We’re excited to see the teams, startups, and connections you cultivate in the years ahead!