Our community is comprised of some absolutely brilliant entrepreneurs and so we asked a few of them to tell us the story of how they came up with the ideas for their business.

Sally Hayes | Founder, Woman Wellbeing Collaborative

This is actually my second company, which spawned from my first. I am the owner of Women In Self Healing, a prenatal massage therapy company, and our clients continually trusted us for referrals for lactation consultants, midwives, chiropractors, etc that specialize in pregnancy. I started looking around for professionals working in this space and started a meetup group around 2019. The pandemic took its toll on us meeting in person and once we were cleared to meet up again, this group grew like a wildfire. It was very clear to me that I was not the only one seeking to serve our clients with referrals. We grew so fast that we had to formalize into a membership based business and Woman Wellbeing Collaborative was born! Read more>>

Joey Bachrach | Co-Founder & CEO

In January of 2021, my husband Andrew Fox and I conceived the idea for Rainbow Hill Sober Living after recognizing a glaring need within the LGBTQ+ community for support in recovering from substance use disorder. We observed that existing sober living options often fell short of providing genuine support and affirmation to LGBTQ+ individuals, despite marketing themselves as LGBTQ “friendly.” Determined to fill this gap, we embarked on the journey of creating a safe haven tailored specifically to our community’s needs. Witnessing the positive impact of our efforts, we decided to expand our services. By the summer of 2023, we proudly opened Rainbow Hill Recovery, a treatment center offering intensive outpatient care designed to provide affirming and affordable support for substance use disorders and mental health within the LGBTQ+ community. Through our continued dedication, we aim to foster an environment where our clients can thrive in their journey of recovery. Read more>>

Mehr Juneja | Founder, producer, booker, host

The idea behind Imposter Syndrome has always been to create a safe space for queer, POC, and female/non-binary comedians in LA. It is a place for the young, diverse comedians in our community to perform, network with each other, and build a community. We are an independent comedy production that will always try to highlight those that have not, historically, gotten enough stage time. Read more>>

Amanda Moody | Cake Artist and Baker

I started Manda Bakes initially as a way to bake for friends and family. My baking journey officially began in 2008 when I attended culinary school at the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of California San Diego. I have always loved baking and finally decided to officially pursue a career I the field. Read more>>

Guillermo Careaga | Feature Animator at DreamWorks Animation

Paraguay Animation is a non-profit organization, for which I serve as the President. Its goal is to bolster the animation industry in Paraguay, my home country. We do this through short film festivals, workshops, classes, networking, scholarships and many other initiatives. The idea came about when we got together with some friends who shared the same passion for animation. Together, we saw the huge gap in opportunities, expertise and knowledge that Paraguayan artists had, especially compared to our neighboring countries. Fueled by the excitement of possibility, we decided to create an organization that would work towards closing the gap by equipping Paraguayan animators with the tools and resources they need in order to create the own animated content. Read more>>

Essence Iman | Founder and Creative Director, The Established

The Established was born out of a career pivot that coincided with a specific need to improve my long-standing frustrations with extreme persistent dryness and keratosis pilaris (aka strawberry bumps). My skin was chronically dry and textured, especially behind my arms is legs. It’s something that has both frustrated and embarrassed me my whole life! Read more>>