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.

Mia Funt | Co-Founder & President of ByHeart

When I had my firstborn, Neve, I found my feeding journey to be rockier than I had anticipated. As any parent will tell you, raising a newborn is full of twists, turns, detours—you name it. But when it came to feeding, I had my plan laid out and thought breastfeeding would be a breeze (spoiler alert: it was not). Read more>> 

Daniel Silbert | Photographer

For 10 years I was in a band called Steel Train. We toured 9 months out of the year and the band always came first. That was the way it had to be at the time, and then when I fell in love with photography I realized that I wanted to explore this creative outlet on my own. I never looked back. Read more>>

Christine Chang | Founder & Creative Director

Sassy Woof was created to fulfill my personal need of cute and stylish pet products. My inspiration behind the brand was our two petfluencers @Mayathedox and @Winstonthedox. I wanted to get harnesses and other dog accessories that truly represented their personalities, but I could not find exactly what I was looking for.  Read more>>

TJ Johnson | Owner & COO, All In Creative

I had 27-year career going at NBCU and like many entertainment divisions over the past few years there was structural shift and unfortunately myself and my entire department were on the bad end of it. I had seen and been through these types of changes before obviously this time was different. Read more>> 

Charlie Bellarose | Actor & Filmmaker

I entered the film industry at a very strange time. I moved out to Los Angeles in 2019 before the pandemic hit, which was then followed by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike. So, needless to say, it wasn’t exactly the most opportune time to start an acting or filmmaking career. Read more>>

Dr. Kierra Carter | Licensed Mental Health Therapist, Motivational Speaker, Author, Model

I just wanted to help as many people as I could with the multiple gifts God has given me. Read more>>

Kala Maxym | Chief Chocolate Officer

Both Dale and I have had businesses before: Dale as the owner of a production company Picture Road, and I as the owner of Five Senses Tastings, a multi-sensory tasting events company. So, entrepreneurship wasn’t exactly new to us. Read more>>

Sayali Upadhye | Producer & Entrepreneur

As an independent producer, I’ve witnessed firsthand the profound impact that effective producing can have on a production’s success, the cast and crew’s safety and well-being, and the overall quality of the final film. Read more>>

Anna Gomà | Multidisciplinary Opera Singer

Before starting my own projects I found myself caught between two worlds, similar in some ways and very different in most of them. I have studied acting and then opera singing in the conservatory. Read more>>

Steven Bradshaw | Clinical Psychotherapist

Through a lot of reflection and inner work, I realized that my own problems were shared by many others and that by helping them I could help myself (the classic meta-solution described by Erik Erikson). Agency took root in me. I was not powerless. Read more>>

Dr. Sanam Shamtobi | Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Founder of This Life Therapy

After nearly a decade of seeing clients, I started This Life Therapy to offer personalized and high-quality care to those seeking mental health support from all walks of life. I seek to hire and train therapists who are deeply caring and highly professional, blending warmth with expertise in a way that I believe can foster the greatest change. Read more>>

Mike Robinson | Drummer & Podcaster

I started Food on Tour as an Instagram account for fun while I was on the road playing shows. I’m constantly seeking out the best and most convenient food near venues and always had friends texting me to either ask for suggestions or share something they found while touring. Read more>>

Stewart Cubley | Founder, The Painting Experience

It happened organically. My training was in math and science, nothing to do with the arts. I met my future wife at a spiritual conference in Switzerland and one thing led to anther. Read more>>

Kurt Devonshire | Producer/Writer/Director

After making my first couple of short films, I knew that I wanted to start my own production company to create a place for the stories I want to tell to live. My parents both have their own businesses, so I guess it’s always been in my blood, but growing up it certainly wasn’t something I ever thought about. Read more>> 

Hope Carew | Big Deck Energy

I originally started Big Deck Energy because I’m a comedian and creator, with comedian and creator friends! I wanted to create a space to showcase my standup and my crafts, while elevating my talented friends who also have jokes to tell and homemade crafts to sell! I wanted to create an event where we could all shine. Read more>>  

Mike Golder | Freediver, Surfer/ Founder

I am a fan of art and design. I personally feIt I needed a creative outlet for my ideas and this was a perfect way to channel that. There were also things I felt were missing in clothing brands. There were things I looked for in purchased clothing from other brands. Read more>>

Celeste Flores | Artist Blacksmith

My first intention was not to start my own business but to be an independent artist. I went to school for fine art sculpture. I worked almost full time when I went to college and always had the intention of decreasing my work hours and making a living off of my sculpture instead. Read more>>

Meegan Gregg | Creator of Backbody Project & Mama of 2

I was living in New York City, teaching workout classes and running operations for a fitness company that gave me an unlimited R&D budget to take other classes. I’d take different workout classes all over the city and I’d think, “this would be cool with more of this or less of that,” but I never found something that totally resonated with me. Eventually, I moved back to Portland and created exactly what I was looking for. Read more>>

Harmony Speech Therapy & Diagnostics Lusine Balian & Taline Ashekian | Pediatric and Adult Therapy Services

When we began our journey in opening our practice, we have two goals in mind: first was to create a space where our consumers would receive tailored and evidence based clinical treatment. Read more>>

Jesse Ocampo | Dancer, Applied Medical & Embodiment Anthropologist, Dance Educator, Health Equity & DEI Consultant, Social Media Manager

I feel like I have always struggled trying to find “professional” infrastructure that I could “fit in”. Whether it was being a dance educator, a dance studio manager, a researcher in academic settings, or even just in retail- the expectations of capitalist culture never sit well in me. Read more>>

Georgia Scheible | Child behaviorist

There are not enough clinicians working with children these days and i wanted people to be able to have access to mental health that might not be able to otherwise. Read more>>

Sean Woolsey | Furniture Designer and Maker

I grew up making things by hand, and always knew I would have my own business one day. My father made stained glass doors, windows and lamps for people all over the world, and I grew up deeply involved in skate and surf culture. Read more>>

Magdalena Paladini | Diseñadora y Emprendedora

Brilla Gringa was born 10 years ago, with a search that was both conscious and unconscious, to find a business created my way, that represents me and where I can pour all my creative energy and at the same time be profitable, so I can make a living from it. Read more>> 

NIls JIpnter | recording artist / music producer

As a recording artist , I realized at one point that it is important to approach my career as a business. In the beginning I was hoping on things to happen for me, but after a while I switched my attitude and started working on making things happen for myself. I started by asking myself critical questions: Read more>>

Guillaume Bienaime | Restaurant Owner

I found the space first. At a reasonable cost, downtown Palo Alto, with minimal construction needed, I felt confident I could be busy enough to pay the bills with only 42 seats to fill every night. The concept came as I spent time in the space and thought about what the neighborhood needed and what my strengths were. Read more>>

Yakuman

I’m Korean, but I do Japanese-style tattoos. Traditional Japanese opera (Kabuki) makeup techniques are expressed through tattoos. In the future, we will show you cool tattoos with more diverse ideas. Read more>>

Emilio Izcal | Anime Tattoo Artist

It was a bit of a coincidence, a moment in which I needed to mix my creative restlessness with something that made me happy, to investigate how to create something permanent, with anime or pop art. Read more>>

Shellsy Ashen | Real Estate Agent

My first career was as a high school science teacher and volleyball coach. It was a steady, stable job that was rewarding for me, at times. But every year, I felt like I would start all over again and was left deflated. I felt like all of the hard work and effort that I poured into my class, my team, and the kids I taught was quickly forgotten as they moved on and I was left back at square one. Read more>> 

Giulia Barba | Saxophonist and Composer

Music has always been present in my life even when I was doing other things. At a certain point I stopped looking for excuses that would have distract me from what I really wanted to do. Read more>>

Ivan Illán | Author, Founder, & Chief Investment Officer

After a decade distributing the investment offerings of larger institutions to financial advisors, I noticed there was less “advising” and lot more selling going on. I decided to launch my own investment advisory firm to address what I saw as a gap in the marketplace. Read more>>

Lauren Schuchman | Advertising Rep (And Recovering Actress)

Paying my bills! Haha. No – I had been in a short-lived business partnership, but really knew nothing at the time about running a business (or being a partner for that matter). I didn’t know what questions to ask, what to put in writing, how to safeguard myself, etc., and ended up getting kinda screwed out of all but one client. I call it my ‘Jerry Maguire’ goldfish moment: “Who’s coming with me?” I had no choice but to hustle. Read more>>

Jiayu Liu | Film director & producer

As a film director and producer, the decision to start my own business was fueled by a combination of creative freedom, entrepreneurial spirit, and a desire to bring unique stories to life. Here’s a glimpse into my thought process: Read more>>