Our city is home to so many incredible businesses and so we asked the founders how they came up with the ideas for their businesses and have shared their responses below.

Valentina Martelli | Entertainment Global Matchmaker and TV Forum & Festival Creator

In 2018, as I observed the rapid growth in the streaming and OTT platform market, as well as the increased demand for original international content, I saw the need for an industry event that combined the glitz of a festival with the learning and networking opportunities of a forum/conference. As an Italian, I was also extremely proud of the brilliant and innovative content coming from my home country, particularly in the TV arena. I decided to create the ITTV Forum and Festival, an event that combines screenings, teasers of new projects, industry discussion panels, networking opportunities, red carpet premieres, parties, and awards, all with the intent of fostering new relationships and collaborations between Italian and American media. Read more>>

Sarah Waldron | Certified Nurse Midwife & Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner

Wildflower Birth & Wellness was created with the spirit of my daughter, Violet, in mind. She is my greatest inspiration and joy. Wildflowers are resilient, beautiful, and limitless; qualities that birth possesses as well. As a homebirth Certified Nurse Midwife, I provide wellness care, preconception, pregnancy, labor, birth and postpartum care in the comfort of my client’s homes. Providing this in-home care was inspired by the varying care I have seen throughout the years both observationally and personally as a provider or recipient of care. The ability to care for families in their safest space is truly special. Read more>>

K Ryan Henisey | Founder, Artlounge Collective

The idea for Artlounge Collective came to me on the road. Driving across the country with a friend, I had a lot of time to think about my involvement in the creative sector as an artist, curator, and president of a Los Angeles cooperative gallery. Linking these with research on the arts, a business plan began to form. In the following months, that nascent idea turned into a fully fledged program for artists, a retail focus for consumers, and a business-to-business proposition for partner companies and organizations. Read more>>