The Early Days: why did you start a business

Are you thinking about starting a business? If so, we think you’ll enjoy reading about how these seasoned entrepreneurs thought about the question when they were in your shoes.

Natalia Pye | Owner and designer of Wolf & Mishka

I had always previously worked in design roles for bigger companies and really started to notice how fast fashion and mass production was affecting me on a moral and ethical level. So by starting Wolf & Mishka I really wanted to see if I could harness my love for print and clothing design while focusing more on quality rather than quantity. Read more>>

Vanessa Sanchez | Owner and Designer, Nice Cosas

I’ve always loved fabric and textiles, and have been sewing since 2008. I have a little shop on Etsy that’s been a great creative outlet for me over the years, but I never had the time to devote to making it a full-time business. Right before everything shut down due to the pandemic in early 2020, my husband was laid off from his job. His was our only income, and after the initial shock and panic, we decided it was time to turn my years long hobby into an official business. Read more>>

Abigail Burns | Founder Of Female Owned, Life Elevated Raw Dog Treats

As a woman sales leader in the tech start up space, and one who has a deep passion for my three dogs: Life Elevated was bound to happen..it was just a matter of what, when, and how. Before we dive into Life Elevated, let’s go back to 2002, when I was growing up. I would sneak table scraps to our family dog, and I loved the feeling of rewarding them with “human food.” Read more>>

Tony Massey | Personal Chef and Author

I have a passion for cooking that started in my childhood. My grandmother would literally feed our neighborhood and her only requirement to eat at her table was that you came hungry and you prayed over your food. As I grew older and started traveling, I became obsessed with different cuisines and flavors. No matter where I ate or what type of food I enjoyed, the one constant was that people from all over the world show honor, love, and respect with one another with food. Read more>>

Lucas Burtin | Illustrator and comics artist

It was step by step that I created my own buisness. First I study in art school. Then I was doing a lot of fanzines. I took part to a zines festivals, exhibitions… It made me discovered the world of the comics. I published in 2021 my first graphic novel. This publication finally lead me to the field of the illustration. Read more>>

Fiona Flyte | Artist/Coach/Entrepreneur

Whether they realize it or not, most singer/actors ARE running businesses, they just don’t realize it. We often think of ourselves as independent contractors and freelancers, but not as business owners. Early in my career, I discovered that traditional “day” or “survival” jobs like temping and working in food service, were not the only options for supporting myself. This is when I started my concert business and my voice studio. I was legitimately running two different music related businesses, but I still wasn’t really thinking in terms of owning my own business. Read more>>

Simonetta Lein | Mega Influencer and TV personality

My thought process changed so much as I have learned how to be better and scale what I do. I have started as an artist who wanted to express herself. I had to learn soon the clarity of my delivery and message, where did I want my message to be seen and heard, what was the outcome I wanted. Therefore I became first a model, then a writer, then an influencer, then a mega influencer, the I founded my non for profit The Wishwall Foundation and then my PR and media company Ausonia Partners. Read more>>

Rikki Sabiniano | Filipino & Asian Inspired Candlemaker

In Summer of 2020, I was looking for a gift online and wondered if there was an Ube candle available for purchase. I quickly found out that there weren’t any, which sent me down the rabbit hole of researching candles that were inspired by Asian and Filipino scents. In the multibillion dollar candle industry, there was very little representation for scents and flavors that I grew up with. I decided to become the representation I sought for, and spent around 6 months formulating unique scents like Mango + Sticky Rice, Green Tea + Lychee, and of course, Ube Cake. Read more>>

Tremaine Tre” Woodard | Small Business Supporter and Entrepreneur”

During the pandemic, some people lost their jobs some developed mental illnesses issues such as anxiety and were in need of outlets and helps. We all were impacted by covid one way or another. It was then when I’ve noticed family and friends were doing things like starting their own business to help cope with what they were dealing with and it was so awesome! I saw people creating things and selling things on social media. Read more>>

Anna Ten | Co-Founder of Papaton Kids

Thank you for your question! To be honest, the idea for our business, Papaton Shadow Theater, came about quite spontaneously. While on vacation with our 1-year-old daughter, my husband and I discovered that she loved watching shadows on the ceiling when we used the flashlight on our phone to read her bedtime stories. The next day, we were already creating a prototype of an app that could be used to create shadow stories without any concrete plan for our business.  All the thoughts about the brand and business came to us much later, only when we decided to create the playset itself. Read more>>

Joann Kenyon | Certified Breathwork Practitioner, EFT Practitioner, and Registered Dental Hygienist

I believe in a world where we celebrate our failures more than we celebrate our successes. When I found Breathwork it helped me put the pieces together that we are perfect just the way we are and our adversities give us the greatest gift: to help others. I started facilitating Breathwork with others to process where they are stuck in their lives. I realized when we move WITH our challenges and process these complex emotions we are seen and heard. Read more>>

Meagan Broy | Technology Consultant & Business Owner

For as long as I can remember I have always been entrepreneurial. As a kid and teen I remember starting neighborhood clubs and creating businesses to help clean houses, organize or babysit to make my own money! Both of my parents are immigrants – my mom from Zacatecas Mexico and my dad from Huancayo Peru. Both of my parents have always engrained into my (and my 4 siblings) mind that we could do anything we wanted as long as we worked hard; Read more>>

David Levine | Co-Founder and Executive Director of Hit Like A Girl, Inc.

One day, back in 2011, I took a phone call from a young woman named Mindy Abovitz. She explained that she was a drummer and the publisher of a new magazine by, for and about female drummers called “Tom Tom”. She asked if any of my marketing clients might be interested in placing an ad in the publication. Read more>>

Alex Mak | Managing Editor

Initially, I simply did not want a boss (lol). I wanted the freedom to write whatever I wanted, and to work with whoever I wanted, outside of the corporate world. My business partner Stuart and I share a common philosophy and goal; namely we want to amplify the voices of working people and those who may not always have a platform to speak from, we want to protect and nourish the creative and artistic community in the San Francisco Bay Area, and we want to do those things by working with great, locally owned businesses we love. Read more>>

Alexander Botkin | Independent Music Label Owner

I’ve been involved in DIY music for a long time, primarily through playing in bands but also by booking shows for touring bands coming through California. I always saw amazing bands but felt like so many of them lacked the support they needed to get their music out to the world and give it the best shot at being heard. Starting a music label seemed like the best way to achieve this, and it started just by making cassette tapes for bands out of my room. Read more>>

Autumn Reaghard | CEO & Founder, Magick Goods Vegan Cookies

My business was inspired by two of my closest friends (Maggie and Cameron), my students, and my passion for creating healthier and delicious treats that align with my values and beliefs. As someone who lives a plant-based lifestyle, I struggled to find vegan baked goods that were just as delicious as their non-vegan competitors. Read more>>

Camerun Hannah | Cartoonist

As someone who loves the genre of good conversation. I would go live on Instagram every week as a way to stay social during the first phase of social distancing. Before I would go live I would write down some of my topics and questions that I was preparing to ask my friends/ family. I decided to put some of my knowledge, conversations, and entertaining spirit into a business opportunity. Read more>>