We reached out to some of our favorite entrepreneurs and asked them to think back and tell us about how they decided to start a business. Check out their responses below.

CLINTON TAYLOR | Founder-Executive Director

To create a program that would impact young peoples live and help them learn financial education in way that would help prepare them for successful futures. I wanted to be a part of the solution and help change lives for the better. Read more>>

Joshua Da Costa | Actor & Fitness Entrepreneur

From a young age, I was always more engaged with sports than academics. The practical aspects of learning, such as participating in sports and performing, were what I thrived on. Read more>> 

Natalya Velky | Energy Healing & Intuitive Coach

I genuinely did not have one, and never really thought I would be running my own business. I was laid off last April after 15 years in the advertising industry. I was struggling with putting my resume together as I felt strongly that I just couldn’t do this work any longer. Read more>>

Christopher Wong | Composer for film and theater

I knew I wanted to try to make a career as a musician somehow since I was a teenager, but my specific career direction didn’t come into shape until I studied film composition under Jerry Goldsmith during my last year in college. A pivotal moment in my life was when I saw him conduct the sessions for Star Trek Insurrection at Paramount, and I decided it would be exciting to try to do that someday. Read more>>

Tanya Wannemacher | Self Empowerment & Law of Attraction Execution Coach

I was inspired to start my business as a way to reach individuals who had tried so many ways to find true happiness, to be successful and to feel fulfilled, and were trying to live the best they could to follow their parents or friends’ well meaning advice, yet still were struggling with most areas of their life to basically just stay afloat in their happiness, finances, health. Read more>>

Roula Aljabban | Certified PMU Artist & Licensed Esthetician

My business was built with the thought of empowering women thru beauty. We juggle so much everyday and we tend to forget taking care of ourselves, that’s when some might lose self confidence because of the lack of time.  Read more>>

Trisha Irizari | Co-Founder & Marketing Manager

It technically started with Kōbe our furry boy who had severe allergies to food that’s how we started to learn about dog food and treats, and that’s how our motivation for starting our own business stemmed from a desire to support and educate fellow dog and cat parents like ourselves who need honest, no bull pet treats. Read more>>

Rich Renken | General Manager

I did not start my own business but I am now the General Manager for a boutique guitar shop. I am doing the job and it was kind of a surprise to me that I am good at it. But then I was reading an article about why Product Managers make great General Managers. Read more>>

Madalyn Higdon | Artist, Writer & Director

Créer Artists Salon was started in December 2023 by my close friend/collaborator Madison Condra and I because we both felt that there could be more spaces for up-and-coming creatives to share their work. Créer, meaning “to create,” pulls from French, as we were inspired by the 17th-Century artist salons held in Paris as a reference for our own events. Read more>>

Emily Entz | Photographer

Ever since I was very little I knew creating worlds, characters, and storylines was something I needed to do for as long as I could. Of course, being a kid in the early 2000s I had really no idea of what creative jobs were out there available to me. Read more>>

Jamie Primack | Comic Artist and Illustrator

My whole life, I’ve loved art and writing, but I never considered any of it to be a potential career option. It was always something I did on the side while working other jobs. When I worked in a cafeteria, I’d doodle on the sandwich shop signs. When I worked in a bookstore, I’d draw on the staff recommendation cards. Read more>>

Brandon Beattie | Owner of Breezeway Air Duct Cleaning

As a small, family-owned business owner, my thought process behind starting Breezeway Air Duct Cleaning was driven by a desire to create something meaningful for my (future, at the time) family and community. Read more>>

DVS & Will Bace | The dopest flyest crows you’ve ever seen

We are identical twin brothers. We are very close and we have always loved to make each other laugh! Because of the twin connection – we have a unique abilities have a very funny banner with each and make people laugh! We were excited share our comedy & jokes. Read more>> 

Chike Onuchukwu | Creative Entrepreneur

Starting my own business was a big leap, but it came from a simple realization: I needed to follow my heart, not the path others laid out for me. I took a detour from law to pursue content creation because it’s where I found my true purpose – making people feel good. Read more>>

Sierra L. Boone | Creator, The Nap Time Show

Realizing that even in isolation, no one is an island. Yet, there are so many experiences that will lead us to believe the opposite. This is even (or especially!) applicable when it comes to family relationships. Did you know that most of our dysfunctional behaviors stem from childhood? Read more>>

Ashay Javadekar | Filmmaker and Tech Entrepreuner

I am in the business of building technology solutions (software and hardware) for creativity. Right now my business focuses on building tools for filmmaking. The idea behind starting this business was very simple. I am a filmmaker. I love films, I love watching them, and I love making them. Read more>>

Sumita BATRA | CEO Ziba Beauty

Our business started 38 years ago, when my mom lost her job. She had three kids and a Beauty license. We used to go to shop in Little india in Artesia and one of our friends Mrs. Jyoti Nagrani from then Sari Boutique encouraged us to open a salon on Pioneer Blvd. Read more>> 

Athina Via | House of Social Creative Director

of Social was created to bring your behind-the-scene moments to life by capturing real-life events like business behind-the-scenes, weddings, and more. Read more>>

Andrew Bonello | Producer, Videographer, Editor

After graduating from university, there was something about the corporate world that never meshed with me. I remember the early days of interviewing for jobs and every time I sat down, I felt so out of place. I pursued these 9-5 jobs convinced it was the only way to make money until my brother bought a basic camera kit and started creating some really amazing videos at the time. Read more>>

Jerome Chang | Architect, Founder

I’m social, and when I dreamed of going out on my own as an architect, I only envisioned sharing an office with a few ppl, including sharing expenses. I then stumbled upon this new cultural trend of work nomads…ppl who work in coffee shops and other social places b/c they wanted to work amongst others. Read more>>

Ege Akdemir | Co-founder at fam°

As Ege, co-founder of fam°, our journey began with the desire to provide a platform for young illustrators to transition from novices to professionals. Initially, we launched as an online illustration shop, but quickly evolved into a representation agency, and now, a full-fledged creative agency. Read more>> 

Miguel Gallardo | Filmmaker & Visual Artist

Forming For The Xperience into a business came several years after starting to do photography and music videos. I would get the occasional client but my main focus for picking up a camera was a medium to get my ideas out. As the ideas started to grow, I knew I needed to legitimize and expand my circle; Read more>>

Tarun Parmar | Photographer & Artist

The thought process behind my career transition was quite simple: follow my passion. Despite my background in business management, I chose photography as my career path solely because of my passion for it. I had two guiding principles in my life: firstly, to choose a career that offered financial stability, which led me to leave my job once I started earning more through my photography, and secondly, to fully commit and never look back. Read more>>

Sam Madani | Co-Founder & CEO of BOMANI

Like many of our friends, we were coming home Fridays after work and enjoying our drinks with some caffeine before a night out. Existing options totally missed the mark: we were limited to synthetic lab-made energy drinks mixed with vodka or ridiculously inconvenient espresso martinis that were often filled with sugar to mask the flavor of subpar coffee. Read more>>

Avedon Arcade | Creative Strategist

At the time I wanted some way to be able to support creating the things, or more specifically products, apparel accessories that I wanted for myself and offset those costs. I thought, “well I know I’m not the only person who’s a fan of this or who would love this, so I should definitely make more, keep some for myself and sell the rest.” Read more>>