Many books on startups and business talk about how there are right and wrong reasons for starting a business. So, we asked a handful of successful founders about their reasons and the thought-process behind starting their business.

Giulio Maria Stifani | Brand Designer / Motion Designer

My desire to be a Designer was born when I was 10-12 years old because I made the “collection” of business cards of the places I visited or people who met my parents. My father especially always asked his customers to please give 2 business cards, one for him and one for me. Read more>>

Brandon Wilson | CEO & Founder of InfluenceTee

When starting this business, I was thinking about how I could make the process of creating and selling merchandise as easy as possible. Creating designs, having inventory, and fulfilling orders are among the things that our athletes no longer have to worry about . Their focus can be solely on marketing and pushing their brand out to their supporters and fans. Read more>>

Malika Lewis | Owner of MalikaDanae Photography

I always knew I didn’t want to work a “job” forever. I simply can’t imagine working at a regular job until retirement age, nothing about that sounds enjoyable unless I find a company that is too perfect to turn down. Regardless, I have always enjoyed the idea of a flexible schedule and being my own boss. Read more>>

Evan Morton | Director, Cinematographer, & Producer

I’ve always wanted to start my own production company to create high quality films with captivating stories to share with others. When I was in college and all the other filmmaking students were making short films, I decided to dive into making my first feature film about a hitman leaving the business, clearly I was raised on 90’s action films. Read more>>

Dasha Denger | Personal Development Photographer

At the time I was only 16 and when I borrowed my mom’s point-and-shoot camera I got so excited by the photographs I achieved of my close friends that they quickly nudged me to take my skills public by offering our local high schoolers Senior Portraits. And so my business started right there and then, with a few friends and their portraits being shared on FB back in 2009! Read more>>

Dr. Elisabeth Wygant | Women’s Hormone and Gut Health Guru + Functional Nutrition Expert

Excellent question! I think this really stems from a young age and then trickled into my adulthood which very quickly flooded into my life after experiencing burnout, a toxic work environment, and then becoming a mother of two little girls. I originally wanted to check all of the boxes of the “American Dream.” Read more>>

Christian Ray Flores | Entrepreneur, Investor, Evangelist, Philanthropist

It’s usually a spark. An aha moment that is the result of previously formless ideas swirling around in my head. If I can answer yes to these questions – it’s probably a sign to pursue it. Does it overflow naturally from the expertise I already have? Does it offer a quantum leap in the quality of the value offered? Does it scare me and stretch me? Read more>>

Jessica Muñoz | Designer & Creative

I wanted to created something unique something that make us different wherever we go. Read more>>

Paula Martini | Maker

My small brand, Paula Martini, tells a story – one of sea, sand and steady wind. But most of all, a story of how to adapt to your surroundings. After studying art in Buenos Aires, fashion at New York’s Parsons School of Design, and Dying Techniques at Central Saint Martin´s in London, I fell in love with someone and we had this crazy idea to get settled in the then decidedly uncosmopolitan fishing village of José Ignacio, Uruguay. Read more>>

Rick Berkelmans | Hedof, illustrator

I think even at a very young age things got into motion for me to do something with drawing. From being “that kid good at drawing” in elementary school, to discovering skateboarding and graffiti as a teen, I was always interested in expressing myself creatively. My parents were both entrepreneurs and hard workers so when I combined that hustle mentality with creativity and a bit of rebellion from graffiti and skateboard culture; my studio was born! Read more>>

Andrew Mizzi | Strategic Director at the Insynk Collective

The initial thought process behind starting our own brand came when me and my partner Claude wanted to work on our own terms and create our own path. Our goal was to build something that can grow and attract other like minded freelancers to grow with us. Read more>>

Malorie Kerouac | Photographer

I had gone to college for accounting and was working in that field when I starting photographing professionally. I knew that while I loved being in school, and loved learning, I was really unhappy working in that field. I was young and realized that my cost of living was pretty low and I could likely cover it by taking on paid shoots if I set my mind to it. Read more>>

Michelle Sobel | Wedding and Elopement Photographer

I would not have my photography business without my failed acting career. I had spent the last 16 years chasing a dream-trying to be at the right place at the right time, fighting for the approval of others and convincing myself, teachers, friends, my parents, that I “had what it took” to make it in Hollywood. Read more>>

Taiana Giefer | Artist

To be honest my business started on its own due to just plain old luck and making the most out of a great opportunity! I was given an assignment to create hand felted fabric for Calvin Kleins 2009 runway show and with that show and momentum the demand started, My business started quite quickly, within a couple weeks I went from being an art student and model in New York to having 35 new accounts with high end retail stores across the globe. Read more>>

Heather Brittain O’Scanlon | Actress, Filmmaker & Film Festival Organizer

I tend to think of myself as an actor first; I started in this industry as an actor and, if I had to choose to only act or only produce for the rest of my life, I would easily choose acting. However I find I do love producing… My first taste of producing was when I acted in a short film with my son, 8 or so years ago. After filming wrapped the project sat on a shelf for over a year. Read more>>

Jus Jason | Spoken Word artist and Host

I wanted to keep the power of the arts alive in demographical area. Read more>>

Max Perry | Music Producer / Publishing Administrator / Audio Engineer

I feel like the best businesses are built on solving problems. Coming into the music business as a producer, music publishing can be an extremely difficult world to navigate. Once I completely learned the music publishing business from a larger macro perspective I was able to fully monetize my creative assets. Read more>>

Nakia Starr | The Little Oil Lady

I was always into healthy long natural hair. After a lot of my hair breaking off and falling out from perms and dryness. I started doing research on natural remedies with oils and other natural products to rapidly grow and restore hair. That’s how the brand The Little Oil Lady started. Read more>>

Marta Pérez-Coca | Writer, Director and Producer

Honestly, it was a “now or never” kind of thing. While writing my first feature film, I knew I had to open up a production company, but it was only when I got in touch with lawyers, accountants and other people of the sort that I thought, “Wow, I’m opening up a business!” Read more>>

Sam Moses | Record Finisher, Peace of Mind Bringer – Mastering Engineer

I wanted to help bring clarity to a misunderstood part of the audio creation process. Mastering has always been viewed as a “dark art” or some sort of “black magic”, and it really is not. Everyday, I help bands finish their record and bring peace of mind that it is ready to come out. Read more>>

Andi Hanson | Eco-Conscious Esthetician & Holistic Nutritionist

My thought process behind starting my own business came when I was working for a franchise salon and started to notice how many harsh chemicals were in the products we were using on sensitive areas of the body everyday. I was also noticing how much waste there was at the end of each day. Read more>>

Shakira Miller | Hairstylist & Salon Suite Owner

The thought of starting my own business came from. When I graduated college and went into the corporate lifestyle. Let’s just say from there forward when I knew owning my own business was the best for me as well as beauty. When I put the two together that’s how I began to figure it would work. Read more>>

Kendra Valencia | Brand & Graphic Designer

Starting a business wasn’t something I saw myself doing. Before, I didn’t believe I had the guts to do it because I thought I wasn’t good enough. By the end of last year, I reflected on all the accomplishments and client transformations I had achieved on my job at the time. After talking to friends and family, I realized I’m capable of doing whatever I set my mind to. I wasn’t happy with how things were going in my professional life, and I needed a change. Read more>>

Jesse Neo | Music Producer & Technology Expert

Having my own business and being my own boss have always been my aspiration. However, I didn’t just want to get paid. I wanted to use my innovation and creativity to improve a certain field. This is why I started a music-tech company called Gemtracks. Even though I am a musician, I also studied Computer Science in college. Read more>>

Lana Fleischli | Writer, promoter, and DJ

Honestly, it didn’t start as much. I wanted a portfolio of my writing. Then as people read it, I realized I could do more. I began to utilize my brand as a creative space for myself and my peers. Over time, Desperately Seeking Serious provided me many more opportunities like working for It’s a School Night, writing for Flood Magazine, and now promoting my own concerts. Read more>>

Brittany Anderson | ModelBrittany86/Toothg

My thought process for my business was do something that you have a passion for I graduated for a Dental Assistant I’m 2006 and I love teeth so O wanted to still work with people and something related to my field I went to school in. Read more>>

Amanda Layne Miller | comedy writer, filmmaker & performer

My sister Amber and I recently co-founded a fandom-themed comedy events banner called Fangirl Central. Our first event was a One Direction-themed variety show at Junior High LA where we performed a drag routine and screened our short film THE DAY I DIDN’T MEET ONE DIRECTION that I wrote/directed and we both starred in as ourselves. Read more>>

Frenchy Nicolas | Founder of ‘Voices of the League’ Network

I decided to create the ‘Voices of the League Network’ after working in sports for 10 years. As a host and entertainer I’d always get questions from others looking to get in the door but didn’t know how. I also wanted something of my own where I’d be able to help other succeed and navigate the world of sports entertainment. Read more>>

Brennan Tolman | Entrepreneur, creator & lover of people

Freelance videography is unlike any other job in the world – it’s easy to make the same $50k a year as a salaried worker with working only 20-30 days a year. The problem that most freelancers have is how to make money the remaining 335 days in the year since they struggle to book new clients that often. Read more>>

Dayramir González Vicet | Cuban Pianist, composer, arranger and educator.

Being in control of my career has always being a goal to me. Since I started playing piano at the age of 7 years in Havana, Cuba I realized that in order to be leader in the school, in order to really separate myself from the rest of my peers was through my compositions, arranging and band leader skills. Read more>>

Jill McDonald | Fine Art Reproduction Specialist

Before I started The Design House, I had worked for a fine art reproduction company who never allotted adequate time to create precise reproductions of the artist’s original work. I saw a great need for a business that specialized in producing accurate fine art prints, of which the artist could be just as proud of as their original work. Read more>>

Shannon Koszyk | Artisan Jewelry Artist

I didn’t set out to start a business, it just sort of happened. I started making jewelry for myself, I couldn’t find any that really felt like me. I was working in PR in the home furnishings world, working primarily with high end interior designers and they began asking me where I had gotten the jewelry I was wearing. It started organically, there was no plan in place. Read more>>

Margaret Jones-Paige | CEO & Founder of Bad Beez Beauty LLC

My thought process was to leave the job I was working at in which had little opportunity for advancement despite having multiple degrees. My next thought process was that I have always had the ability to make people feel good and I wanted to do that. I’ve always wanted something that I could pass along to my children. Read more>>

adam chuck | artist

as my work gained popularity online and I was making sales regularly, it seemed like a great thing to be able to just sell my work and not have to worry about a day job or working for someone else. I don’t mind having a day job ever, but I value my time and I need a lot of it for my creative process. Read more>>

Lindsey Anell Harvey | Medical Esthetician & Mentor

I grew up watching my mom & dad go to work. I would some days go to either work & school with my mom. Some weeks I wouldn’t see my dad for days at a time because he is a truck driver. As I got older I have always wanted my own family. Most of all, I would want to be able to be there for my children. Read more>>

Yeshiva Davis | LMFT, MBA —President & Founder, K&S Therapeutic Services Inc.

I took the scenic route to this career. I studied communications and psychology in undergrad, so my first jobs out of school were as a counselor for troubled kids, and as a production assistant at a television station –shout out to WCVB-TV Channel 5 in Boston! One of my jobs was to bleep the swears on the Jerry Spring show << true story. Read more>>

Maddie Indré | Singer/Songwriter

I kind of always wanted to be in a band. I was playing alone for a while. About 3 years or so as a solo artist. Then I asked my brother if he wanted to do it with me, and he was like “yeah!” Then we found Sam, then we found TJ, and then Don! We are going at it as hard as we can, and it is a lot of fun! Read more>>

Roxana Izquieta | Artisan

I had been wanting to start my own business for a long time now . I use to manage a luxury boutique in Studio City back in 2014 for a few years and said one day I’d like to have a small business like this of my own. I just decided to do it. I came up with a name i liked, also things I wanted to make and sell Throughout the process I started evolving artistically, creating a website for my abstract paintings roxanaizquietaart.com. Read more>>

Jenn Jett Barrett | Visionary and Founder of The Well Summit

The Well Summit exists to cultivate experiences and environments that bring healing and wholeness to communities from the outside in. We believe that when women (and men someday) can unpack the lies and fear that hold them back from true soul rest, they impact the communities they return to. The values we bring to small intimate spaces are hospitality, authenticity and courage to talk about the hard things. Read more>>

Crystal Morris | C-Suite Psychedelic Integration Guide

Like many, my journey into coaching came as a result of my own personal growth and inner work. In 2019, I was on my healing journey from the complete destruction of my marriage, career, and life in Hawaii. It had been a few years and through inner work and support from mentors, I began posting online, leading to becoming an accidental coach for divorcees. Read more>>

Don Oldie

For starters, I believe my purpose is rapping or being an emcee. I believe God blessed me with the gift of articulating my thoughts, real-life problems, stories, and anything He gives me in a way that both appeals to others and glorifies Him. Read more>>

Jamilla Cagnolatti | Fashion Designer

I honestly didn’t have a thought process I just knew I wanted to be a designer after I left High School and pursued that dream every since. Read more>>

DJ The Party General | DJ and MC

Its in my genes. My dad was a former DJ in NYC. I enjoy bringing joy & fun to people so…..The Party General was born. Read more>>

Xinhui Ma | Animation Director & Illustrator

As an animation director, coming out of school and going into the freelance world, there’s a lot of people hiring me to make the whole animation video on my own, but I was still very new to the industry, as I hoped around from different gigs from all kinds of media like ads, tv and and feature, I also worked in house for a while at an advertising studio, Read more>>

Martina Mifsud | Artist/painter

Fold came to life from a shared desire to creatively explore new and unknown territory – a recognition of the playful craft of seizing an idea and transforming it from abstraction to reality by Tina and Suzi. Read more>>

Rusty Thornhill | Tattoo artist & shop owner

I really wanted to start my own business to be able to push things in the direction I want to go instead of working for someone else. I created Tattlogic with the idea that we would bring something new to the tattoo industry. We really aim to change people’s perceptions about tattooing. It’s not a hole in the wall shop with artists that are late to their own appointments. It’s not a studio that doesn’t follow up clients. Read more>>

Tracy Debi | Embodiment Coach, Breathwork Facilitator & Doctor of Chiropractic

If I am being honest, I didn’t really think about starting my own business! I just assumed I would be a Chiropractor my whole life and maybe take over someone’s practice. Working as a Doctor, I realized that many people’s definition of healthcare varied; Read more>>