Made in the Shade is excited to further expand our presence in Texas through welcoming Jennifer Schwegman and Jose Cancel-Ortiz as the new owners of Made in the Shade East Austin. Their professional experience, education, and determination to succeed combine for a winning formula in their new business venture.
Professional background
Jenn comes to Made in the Shade with an impressive education having earned a B.B.A from Texas A&M and an MBA from the University of Houston. She brings 17 years of experience working in HR systems implementations.
Jose has enjoyed a successful career in sales aided by an uncanny natural ability to immediately befriend strangers. His experience includes customer service call centers, bank management, used car sales, and most recently working at an Austin start-up venture selling meat products to reduce waste.
What hobbies/interests do you enjoy doing in your free time?
We are avid supporters of the Austin FC Soccer Club and attend every home game. You might see Jose wearing his “Iron Verde” mask at games. We also love volunteering with the supporter group to help paint the TIFOs, (tributes to our players, team and city), at games. When we’re not cheering on our sports teams, we are hosting a weekly friend dinner, listening to history podcasts, and shuffling our kiddo to band events.
Tell us about your family and their interests.
I am often described as an “extroverted nerd” who loves history, crafting, and being part of multiple organizations focused on supporting and uplifting women.
Jose is the jock of the relationship and has or does play almost every sport. When he’s not supporting his teams or playing games, he is raising his amazing son, playing video games to keep in touch with his high school friends, or diving into his artistic side by painting. He even loves close-up magic which keep our nieces and nephews entertained for hours. Our family is rounded out by our furry child Nox.
What appealed to you about the Made in the Shade opportunity?
We originally heard about this opportunity from my brother when he first started as CFO of Made in the Shade. His excitement was contagious and learning that this is a family-owned franchise based in Texas had us sold. We have both had plenty of experience working for large corporations and being able to work for ourselves, doing what we love, was an opportunity too good to pass up.
