Risk is the most common topic that comes up in our conversations with entrepreneurs and so each week we ask entrepreneurs to talk to us on the record about how they think about risk.

Katrin Czinger

Risk goes hand in hand with life and death! If you want to experience life to its fullest, you must love. Loving with all your heart makes you vulnerable, but also incredibly rich. Putting all your eggs in one basket, having skin in the game, committing to a person, a profession, a sport, a life where you can lose it all, is risky! Read more>>

Trisha Cole

I’ve done a few risky things in recent years, and I think timing, age, and a general sense of self have all played vital roles in where I am in life and my career(s) today. My favorite thing to do is connect good people with good things and good places, which is essentially how I look at all my work. As a true Gemini, I straddle between my job as a publicist and my other job of author/artist/partner/mom. Read more>>

Erica Qing

I think time waits for no one and if you really want something, you should go for it. The last thing you want to do is look back months or years later analyzing how much time was wasted and what you could’ve did with your time to reach whatever goal you had in mind. I recently had to make a time sensitive decision myself being laid off from my job and deciding on waiting for a transfer or going to school for the next 4 months to become an esthetician. My biggest fear was starting school and having to stop in between my program if I got called for a job assignment. Read more>>  

MerryNell Fullmer

Taking risks is simply taking action outside the box. Action is inspired by the desire for change and growth. When the desire is strong, the risk factor gets overshadowed by the inspiration and driving desire. Therefore the fear of risk taking is transformed into excitement. In 1987 I left a great career as a Development Engineer at Hughes Research Labs in Malibu, CA to pursue a career in the health and wellness field. Read more>>

Maryna Chepenko

Taking a risk has always been a part of my life. There is this phrase in Ukrainian “Who does not risk, does not drink champagne.” Even though, it’s been over a year since I quit alcohol, this phrase still speaks to me. I believe that nothing really valuable and “delicious’ grows in comfort zone. It’s like choosing between a greenhouse grown strawberries and the ones that were grown in the farm and went through heat and rain, and bugs. Those will always taste sweet and real. Same thing with a person that takes risks. Read more>>

Jili (Gigi) Chen

In both my career and personal life, taking risks serves as a crucial driving force that encourages me to make bold and sometimes seemingly whimsical decisions in the filmmaking process. Take my undergraduate thesis short film, ‘Hysteria,’ as an example. We chose to shoot day for night to save on budget and ensure everyone could get enough rest. However, this involved the risk of potential technical issues arising from the day shoot for night, along with post-production challenges. We also included a car scene to better capture the urgency and character development within the frame, but this required the presence of a stunt coordinator to ensure all safety measures were met. Read more>>

Karmelina Moore

Taking risks comes with achieving personal success. Anything worth having comes with a price, and even though people have told me that my entire life, it has become painfully present these last couple of years. Whether the risk is financial, social, or personal, it takes a piece of you. Sometimes it’s not worth it, and sometimes it is. In the arts, the payoff for risks is not recognized until much later… it is a waiting game. Read more>>

Danjul

My art is all about storytelling through music that feels both cinematic and deeply personal. I create pop music that’s not only catchy but also has a sense of depth and drama, reflecting my love for unique melodies and intense emotions. What sets me apart is my commitment to every detail, I’m a perfectionist when it comes to my work. I want each song to take listeners on a journey, almost like they’re watching a movie unfold. Read more>>

Tommy Marudi

Running a food truck is all about taking risks. Each time we go out on the streets or work at an event or festival, we do not know the outcome of it; depending on a lot of factors, it could be a successful run or a complete failure. Each event is a risk since you could either sell out quickly if it’s busy and then you are missing sales because you don’t have enough product, or if it’s slow, you can get stuck with extra product therefore, each run is very risky. We have learned over time how to minimize the risks but you still have to take the risk in order to be out there and learn how to improve from time to time.
All great things in life come with a risk. Read more>>

Diamante Murru

Taking risks has been a fundamental part of my career, not only in tattooing but also in my other projects, like fashion (Minimal.Ethic) and developing my biodegradable tattoo supply line (Minimal.Ethic Tattoo Supply). My entire artistic journey has been rooted in embracing the unknown and constantly pushing boundaries without any certainty about what the future might hold. I’ve taken financial risks, moved from country to country in a short span of time, and continually put myself out there to create fresh, exciting work. Read more>> 

Abraham Martinez

As a business owner, you need risk in order to grow. Trying a new menu concept, new service, expanding, or buying new equipment is all risky but you need to take it to grow. For us, we took the risk to not only create a new service that not many companies were doing but consistently growing our team, menu, and services to meet the demand of our clients. Sometimes our plays don’t develop in our favor but at least you learned from that attempt and evolve from it. Read more>>

Paul B

Risk-taking is the first step to starting a business. You can’t launch a business without embracing some level of risk. When I first began, I had no idea about inventory management or common business jargon. A freight forwarder once asked me, “How many SKUs are in your product line?” My response was, “What on earth is a SKU?” I didn’t know how to create barcodes, source the best fulfillment centers, ship products, or even calculate duties. Intellectual property? That was another area I had to figure out from scratch. Read more>>

Naomi White

In her novel Written on the Body, about the power of desire, Jeanette Winterson writes “You risk what you value most.” By definition risk means putting into jeopardy something you love, implying a potential loss. But the lessons from failure, from experimentation and play, unlike anything material, are catalysts for transformation. Transformation is the key. It is the way out of the mess we are born into, and offers hope for the future. Read more>>

Kristin Calabrese

Once I know everything about what I’m doing, after attaining the initial glee at competence and possible efficiency, I tend to become less interested. Risk taking and uncertainty tend to be a motivating factor for me. Painting is both a finite and infinite. A painting has only be a small number of variables in materials/craft choices – basically paint and substrate. It’s scary to make something so wholly invented on a canvas that is you, that the artist alone is responsible for. Read more>>

Cory Grimes

I think taking risk’s is something that everyone needs to do more often. I literally have a tattoo that says “Fear is not real”. You can’t be scared of taking a risk at something, especially if it’s something you think will make you happy. If it wasn’t for me taking a risk, I would not be where I am now in my life and career. I took the risk of buying a one way ticket from my hometown to Los Angeles to come out here to try and pursue my dreams. I pretty much only knew 1 person out here in LA, knew I needed to be here, and knew that it would be a great decision for my career and my overall life. I 100% believe that taking that risk has Read more>>

Yolotzin Martinez Olea

For me, risk is inseparable from the journey. As an undocumented filmmaker, risk is part of every step—from pursuing a career in an industry where there are few opportunities for people like me to choosing to create High Stakes, my first big project right out of college. I’ve always known that if I wanted to see my stories on screen, I’d have to build that path myself. I didn’t wait for the industry to hand me an opportunity because I knew that, as someone with my background, it wasn’t likely to happen. Taking this risk means telling stories I believe in and opening doors for those who’ll come after. Read more>>

Katie Webb Brundige

I’m all about embracing the unknown! Taking risks has been my way of experiencing personal and professional growth for as long as I can remember. At a young age, I lost two people close to me and it made me realize just how short life can be. Nothing is promised, so if an opportunity could make a difference for our business or family, create a unique experience in something I’ve never done, or touch someone’s life positively, I will almost always say YES! Read more>>

Ty Xiong

This is my perspective on risk-taking. In terms of following my career and dreams, you have to do it alone. I am not trying to make this melodramatic, but based on my personal experience, every decision that I had to make was best to do it alone. Once I lay down all of the factors on my decision making, the ones who choose to take on the risks with me will stay. Read more>>

Jennifer Skiffington

Risk taking is everything when it comes to pursuing an artistic career of any kind. I think anything worth doing in life has an element of risk to it. To quote T.S. Eliot “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” Moving to Los Angeles when I was 20 was a risk. I had no connections and no clue what I was doing at first, but chose to take the leap. Time after time I find myself being challenged and inspired by each new leg of this journey. In 2016 I branched out and formed a theatre company with Giselle Fischman called Palm Tree and Pine. We started producing classic plays like Crimes of the Heart as well as new plays by local playwrights. Read more>>

Genesis Calderon

Taking risks can sometimes feel intimidating but that’s the whole point. You need to get out of your comfort zone for growth, both personally and creatively. Every risk you take can lead to new opportunities and insights. Whether it’s trying out a new product, reaching out to someone, or simply being open to new experiences, each step can expand your horizons. Don’t be afraid to send that email or dm. No question is a bad question. It’s all about embracing the discomfort and seeing it as a chance to evolve. Read more>>

Ellie Posadas

The idea of ‘Risk-taking’ can be so so so subjective, especially for an actor or artist like myself. Becoming an artist is already a risk in itself, it is the first risk you take (my immigrant Filipino parents were the first to remind me of that haha)! As a theatre kid, I took pride in being labeled a ‘Risk Taker’ in my performance choices until I suffered a few awful injuries, which ultimately led me to be someone who ‘played it safe’ it was an awful feeling. After that injury, I realized how to practice grace with myself as I learned that risk-taking can appear differently in your life as you change and evolve, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. The risk is only worth it if you ultimately feel safe! Sure, it’s uncomfy, but i think you intuitively know the difference. Read more>>

Akane Flows

Risk, to me, is the ultimate act of self-trust—a willingness to step into the unknown and believe in your potential to grow, even when you can’t see the whole path ahead. It’s about recognizing when the life you’re living no longer supports your highest potential and having the courage to step out of that comfort zone, even if it means facing the possibility of failure or loss. Read more>>

Diksha Malhotra

Taking risks is essential for growth—you never truly lose when you take a chance. No matter the outcome, you gain invaluable lessons. For me, moving from Bollywood to Hollywood, crossing continents without connections, was one of the biggest risks I’ve taken. I started as a stranger in a new world, united by a shared passion for art and the entertainment industry. This leap has shaped me in every possible way—changing my life and broadening my perspective. While I remain the same person with the same dreams, I’ve grown by learning about people, places, cultures, and languages. Read more>>

Xiaopeng Zhan

To me, risk represents an opportunity to push boundaries and challenge myself. As a young photographer, I’m constantly exploring the unknown and finding ways to innovate. Taking risks has played a significant role in my career, whether it was the transition from being a student to a full-time freelancer or founding my own company, Yummy Production. While these decisions came with uncertainty, I believe that taking these leaps has allowed me to pursue unique creative opportunities and develop a distinct artistic voice. Read more>>