Deciding to start a business is an unusual decision. It’s often considered irrational and yet for many it’s the best decision they’ve ever made. So we asked folks to think back to when they were starting their businesses and to tell us about their decision making process.

Lydia Fenet | Founder & CEO of The Lydia Fenet Agency

I spent over two decades at Christie’s auction house, during which time I built my reputation as the world’s most highly sought after auctioneer in a space that has traditionally been dominated by men. Read more>>

Joshua Haynes | Joshua Haynes Graphic Designer & Printer

My thought process behind starting my own business was to not quit. After the selling of the trademark of a clothing line I helped build, my business partner/head designer wanted to choose a different path. I experienced so much during that time and saw my network increase so much in such a short period of time I wanted more. Read more>>

Spencer Falls | I’m an artist that specializes in flowers and botanicals. I drive a lot of my inspiration, if not all, from the natural world.

It wasn’t much of a thought process behind the beginning of my business to be honest. I didn’t in fact know that I was starting a business when I pulled my VW van up on Abbot Kinney, and started slinging flowers from the side of it. It was really just a laugh, and ultimately, the best joke I ever indulged in. Read more>>

Amber Earl | Co Founder

Chris has been making commissioned furniture since 2005 but, it was always a side gig for him. I worked in sales in the fashion industry for a long time and we always thought the dream would be to join forces and start our own business together. We knew we would make a great a team, me as the business manager and him as the designer/maker. Read more>>

Phoebe Yu | Startup Founder & CEO

Starting my own business, ettitude, stemmed from a combination of personal passion and a gap I saw in the market. My thought process revolved around several key factors: Read more>>

Jennifer Dawn | Business Coach

My thought process was, “oh crap what am I going to do now?” because I had just resigned from a position where the owner had taken advantage of me and I could not stay. The good news is people I had been mentoring still wanted to coach with me directly, so my coaching practice was born overnight. Read more>>

Jason Shepard | Actor/Writer/Producer/Co-Owner Grossfilm, LLC

As an artist, you are at the mercy of the creative/finance team on a project to be cast and/or involved in any given project. In creating our production company Grossfilm with my husband John Gross, we wanted to be able to have control of our projects and ultimately make the final decisions on casting, crew, script and location decisions. Read more>> 

Justin Bauer | Brand Designer & Creative Director

So I’m both a brand designer and an artist. Since the artist side is about personal expression, digital art, and paintings on canvas – I wanted make a space devoted to helping people, or their brands make better expression and connect to their humans. Read more>>

Shelly & George Lin & Su | (George Su | Founder & Director of Engineering) & (Shelly Lin | Co-Founder & Director of Marketing)

Hello everyone, Shelly and George here, founders of YUKIMI. It’s our absolute pleasure to meet you all, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to share our story. Read more>>

Lisa Callahan | Podcast Host/Life Coach

Lisa Callahan and Kari Morin have been Life Coaches for over a decade and they talk to so many women, of all ages, that feel the best is behind them. So they started “The Things We Know” podcast in 2023 to let women know that is not true. No matter what stage of life you are in it can be your Best Chapter Yet. Read more>>

Shannon Koszyk | Jewelry Artist

Truth be told, making jewelry was my hobby for years. I have always loved jewelry and I began making jewelry when I was about 7 years old. Over the years I took classes to learn how to do more. Jewelry was always meditative for me so in a way it was my therapy, I have always loved working with my hands. Read more>>

Hiram Sevilla | Drummer & Chef

First of all, thank you for reaching out! It means a lot. At the beginning there was no time for thinking. It all started as a survival thing when covid hit. My spouse and I moved to Mexico and there I created the recipes working day and night on them and two weeks later I felt they were ready-ish to go. Read more>>

Ashton Berglund | Business Owner, Creative Artist

There wasn’t really a whole big idea or huge thought process behind starting my brand, I just did it. At the time I started Drowning Bear, I was 20 years old, just moved to NYC and I had no idea what I wanted to do. I just knew I needed something that was mine and whatever I did, it can forever evolve with me no matter what I made it into. Read more>>

Shauna Higgins MD | Board-Certified Dermatologist

N/A – I don’t own my own business. I am the medical director of a single clinic within a private practice start-up, but the motivation to work in this setting vs another larger institution was based on several factors. Read more>>

Elina Fogel | CEO

Having a child with medical needs is a 25 hour a day job. You want to make sure that they are in good hands and receive optimal quality care. My mission was to provide some relief and assistance to parents with medically fragile children, while providing optimal care to their little ones in a safe, nurturing, loving environment. Read more>>

Comfort

When I started my business, I was fresh out of college and not sure of what direction I wanted to go. I graduated from Ohio State University with a degree in Psychology. I then had a plan to go to graduate school to become a 3rd grade teacher. Read more>>

Vanessa Matlalcuatzi | Baker, founder of Mommy’s Sugar Rush

In my family, food is a way to express love and create connection. Whenever someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I was ready with some plucky, entrepreneurial answer: “own a Thai restaurant with my dad”, “run a sandwich shop with my brother”. Read more>>

Andrea de Lancellotti | Entrepreneur, business owner, interior designer

Starting my own interior design business in Santa Monica was a bit like deciding to jump out of an airplane and making a parachute on the way down.
My thought process? I was standing at a crossroads, one path leading to the predictable 9-to-5 grind, the other to a thrilling adventure filled with creativity, freedom, and the occasional caffeine-fueled all-nighter. Naturally, I chose the latter. Read more>>

Prince Studstill | Skin care guru | CEO & Founder of Haus of Prince

My initial thought process behind starting Haus of Prince, was all about creating a brand that provided a space for individuals to feel confident and powerful through the lens of fashion and beauty. Read more>>

Erika Vaught | Hair stylist

My thought process was to learn as much as possible- I was blessed to find someone early on who could mentor me through all aspects of being an independant. Read more>>

Jazmin Evers | Pottery Teacher and Artist

My entire life I’ve seen people do jobs that don’t make them happy just for the money. I always promised myself that my career would be doing something that I loved to do, even if it didn’t necessarily make me rich. I began by getting my welding degree. Read more>>

Erika Renae | CEO

Prior to starting my brand “Compton Isn’t Dangerous”, I never pictured myself owning a clothing business nor making the clothing myself. When talking to a family member who was not familiar with the city of Compton, they had a negative mindset from how the city was portrayed in movies and music so I told them “Compton Isn’t Dangerous” and they responded “you should put that on a shirt” and I did just that. Read more>>

Ryan Ahmed | Co-Founder & CEO, Niura

When I was in high school, my father suffered a sudden and severe brain aneurysm—a brain bleed without any prior signs or symptoms. Later, while working at Mass General/Harvard Medical, I observed patients monitoring their heart health using Apple Watches, which inspired me. Read more>>

Conor Jaafari | Founder/CEO

When i was a little boy i found coziness in my beloved teddy bear. It was my faithful companion, bringing me comfort and joy! As I grew up, I realized the immense power of coziness, how a simple snuggle could turn even the worst day into something magical. Read more>>

Khaula Kai | Actor/ Director/ Entrepreneur

Starting my own business was a combination of my passion for hot sauces and my love for cats. I wanted to create something unique that reflects my interests and gives back to the community. The idea of combining these passions into a business that donates a percentage of profits to animal shelters felt like a natural fit. Read more>>

Heejo Kim | Painter & Artist

Reflecting on my journey, as a child, I was captivated by the stories I could create through painting and how the characters within them seemed to come to life. Looking back now, it’s fascinating to see how this ties into my current work. Read more>>

Isabel Abramyan | Co-Founder of Jewel City United

Kristine Demirchyan and I, Isabel Abramyan, are both seasoned professionals; Kristine as a physical therapist and myself as an insurance agent, each running successful businesses. Our shared vision for starting Jewel City United stemmed from a desire to enrich and support the development of youth soccer, aiming to foster their social, community, academic, and athletic skills. Read more>>

Corban Damukaitis | Musician/Composer & Window Cleaning Business Owner

A lot of people throughout my life have known me as a business person of one sort or another, mostly because I’ve always done sales. However, I’ve also almost always – perhaps despite my better judgement at times – pursued music with a serious intensity. Read more>>

Brittny Abad | Tattoo Artist

There wasn’t a lot of thought process behind it. I had quit my remote 9-5 office job and was selling drawings/prints/stickers while taking on as much commission work as I could before I started tattooing. I essentially accepted that I would rather do that and not know when my next paycheck would be, than return to a 9-5. Read more>>

Adriana Montoya | Owner/Baker

My thought process took about 6-8 months driving behind the wheel without listening to music. It was the moment I was able to really think to myself and figure out saying “okay I want to get into this, where do I start”. Read more>>

Magi Avila

After over 20 years in the industry, reading scripts and performing on stage and in front of cameras, directing and producing felt like a natural progression. You can’t read a script or watch a film without appreciating the hard work of every team member. Read more>>

Devon Moody

Well my very first business was a candy store lol but when I started business consulting my first firm’s name was Creatively Strategic Solutions, it fit for a few years, however in 2020 right before the pandemic started I created CEOMom Empire LLC. I started the CEOMom movement in 2016 and it only made sense to rebrand. Read more>>

Shani Sibrian-Boyes

Creepy Sweets was created to combine my love of baking, art, and horror. Originally, I was baking cakes, treats, and cupcakes for my family and close friends as a hobby. Once I began combining art, design and horror into my baking and putting those images and ideas out into social media, I began finding like-minded individuals who also enjoyed unique treats. Read more>>

Jaqi, Ava, and Leah Clements

Shortly after Ava & Leah started modeling when they were seven years old, companies from all around the world were offering to send them their clothes to model. The girls would wear the clothes once, maybe twice, but for one reason or another they’d all end up in a bin inside their garage. Read more>> 

Alexander Mel Estrella Catedral

In 2011, I started a community of artists called Persevering Destiny (PD) with over 30 artists. We wrote, recorded, and produced our own music and videos, handled marketing, and designed album covers. We raised money on Kickstarter and organized events. Read more>>

Daniela Soto

For years, I dealt with a chronic illness that significantly impacted my life. This diagnosis led me to the world of health and wellness, where I discovered the profound healing power of food and lifestyle choices. Read more>>

Andrew Garcia

Starting a business is often seen as the epitome of the American dream, embodying the spirit of innovation and ambition. For me, it represents not only a pursuit of financial success but also a personal challenge to achieve what has never been done in my family: Read more>>

Branden Lee

That it is actually work. Maybe harder than someone working a 9-5 starting up. It’s comes with a lot of bumps and bruises, but if it’s worth it the wounds would heal. I feel that if you form the right team around your business it’s no way you can lose. You just have to keep steady with the pace! Read more>>

Ben Ballentine

Having grown up in a family of realtors passionate about architecture, I spent my childhood visiting numerous houses and experiencing firsthand how a space’s design influences the feeling of a home. This initial interest in design grew into a passion for creating spaces. Read more>>