Starting a business is a commitment and requires dedication, resources and sacrifice. We asked some of the rising stars in our community how they thought through the idea of starting their own businesses.

Dave Faige

It started some time ago when I was out to lunch with a colleague. At the restaurant, I noticed they had put up screens with content about their menu items. I pointed this out to my colleague who identified it as digital signage. I thought “I can do that!” Not long after, my last time as an employee of a company came to an end. Read More>>

Jonathan + Ahlise Velasco

Well to start, It’s All Good Coffee is run by me (Jonathan) and my wife (Ahlise). Luckily for us we have a LOT of things in common (as a married couple should!) and one of those things was a desire to be freed from having to work under someone – we wanted to be our own bosses! So we started looking at things we felt strongly about or enjoyed most. Read More>>

Will Brown

My initial thought process was to create something that I did not see , I always saw creative cool catchy brands but not brands that shared an actual message or story. I wanted to share something more purposeful with the world and instead of putting it on a flyer I wanted to put it on a garment which serves as a better flyer to share my message. Read More>>

Alex White

We’re Alex and Anna, the founders of Tivorbox. Our journey started with a simple idea—how can we make trash cans and outdoor spaces look neat and stylish? Like many homeowners, we wanted something that wasn’t just useful, but also added beauty to our yard. Read More>>

Linsey

In high school, my twin sister and I were both really good at organizing our friends’ events and realized that our friends never got together unless we planned something. Proms, winter formals, dinners, and limos were all organized by us as well. Read More>>

Kelly Burton

I’ve always been an artist—whether dancing, color guard, painting, sewing, or working with wood, creativity has been a big part of my life. After my kids graduated from college, I found myself making more and more painted wood signs as gifts and loving every minute of it. Read More>>

Samuel Alexander

Ive been performing at weddings since 2012 and I had never sought to establish a brand specifically for that service. As a freelance musician, my work involves lots of spinning plates and pulls me in myriad directions often. After assessing the kind of work that I most valued and spoke to my strengths and ideals, I landed on the wedding business as my next venture, and I’m so excited about it! Read More>>

Luke Miller

I was working very hard to grow and represent somebody else’s business with my name on it but zero hand in quality control.

I wanted to start a business that offered what I would want as a customer for the price I would want to pay. I wanted to “break the mold” and actually offer the best possible service at the lowest possible rate. Read More>>

Cesar Ramirez

I’ve always worked with 3D modeling and animation, and for a long time, I looked for a way to turn that passion into a personal business, something that was truly my own. That idea started to take shape when I got my first 3D printer. While I had already done some freelance work in modeling and animation, owning a 3D printer allowed me to explore projects on a more personal level. Read More>>

Hector

capture customer moments and get paid for it Read More>>

Lily Kaizer

The idea for Happy Isles came in 2012 when I was working at another vintage shop. People would come in looking for vintage bridal gowns, but that really wasn’t the expertise of that shop. And I thought – there’s something here. The idea of marrying bridal with the high-end luxury vintage business. It really wasn’t something that existed at the time. A few years later, in 2016, Happy Isles was born! Read More>>

April Lugo

I had no idea I would ever create my own business. This business started as a creative outlet while I took a year off with my baby back in 2021. I experienced some PPD after having a baby during Covid in Nov 2020. The losses in culmination with taking time off from my very beloved career as a teacher left me with a lack of purpose at times. Read More>>

Clinae “cici The Stylist” Campbell

I wanted to have something to call my own and to prove it myself that anything is possible when you put forth the effort.Trust me, the effort did not just show up, I procrastinated in so may ways. Since college, I’ve wanted to have my own business, but I wasn’t fully equipped with the mindset to actually make it happen. Read More>>

Claudia Castillo

Starting my own business was both a strategic and deeply personal decision. I had spent years working in the entertainment industry, handling finance, production, and business affairs for major projects, but I always felt something was missing. I wanted the freedom to create, innovate, and work on projects that aligned with my vision and passion. Read More>>

Shannon Lee

I asked SOURCE to give me something to do so I wouldn’t loose my mind going through a divorce. I was given 25 pounds of shea butter and black soap. I wanted to create something all natural and that works. Read More>>

Bri Robert

I’ve been passionate about movies my entire life, and absolutely love the communal experience of seeing an anticipated film in a packed cinema. Over the years I’ve done a lot of production work along with being part of the amazing reparatory film scene here in Los Angeles which only enhanced my passion and love for everything film. Read More>>

Masa The Artist & Inner Sunshine Records

Need. The need to create & leave a mark, the need of under-represented voices to be heard & of course the need to share art with the world. If you can’t find it, create it I say Read More>>

Marina Borovaia

My decision to start my own business came from my deep love for beading. I could easily spend 24 hours beading—it’s something I’m truly passionate about. That passion naturally grew into creating entire collections of beaded jewelry. I’ve always been a crafty person who loves trying different hobbies and working with my hands, making something tangible that I can share with others. Read More>>

Linhao Luo

I’ve always been deeply interested in spatial design. In addition to working in physical architectural spaces, I’ve also been drawn to the possibilities of virtual environments. There were two main reasons behind starting my business in this field. Read More>>

Calvin Kang

I’ll never forget my first day as a full-time content creator. No alarm. No rush. Just me, waking up when I felt like it. I hit the gym, came back, filmed a video, edited, posted… and by 2 PM, I was staring at my screen with nothing left to do. No calls, no meetings, no coworkers—just silence. My friends were all at work, and I had no one to text, no plans to look forward to. Read More>>

Nicholas Doan

I love comic books and I got my first published story as a webcomic for DC Comics, but opportunities to create your own stories with your own characters and in the format that you want create them are rare in this industry. Read More>>

Tiffany Liu

I started sculpting when I was younger after attending a couple art classes and watching my sister’s art journey. It was probably more of a “Well she’s already claimed drawing so I’ll do something different, that’ll show her!” type of decision, but it stuck. Read More>>

Ivan Hruska

This is actually a funny question because I originally wanted to retire from music when I moved to LA and put my focus on film. However, I realized that not doing something you have been doing your entire life is nearly impossible. I just did what I’ve done most of my life and wrote music and just watched where it would guide me. Read More>>

Adam Hayden

The opportunity to share my love of music and records. DJing your own night allows you to better understand how to properly run an event. Read More>>

Sarah Wallner

I started Musotica.com because I am a wardrobe stylist and Costumer and I often was looking for a unique look for magazine covers and could not find what I was looking for. Read More>>

Jack Knight

I was apart of several companies like universal, sony, Emi, Bad Boy, Arista, where i contributed to their bottom lines in the millions of dollars. Forming my own company and following the same exact creative formula, was the obvious nex step. Read More>>

Daniel Goode

We live in a world in which we have the opportunity to have more freedom than ever. Freedom of time, freedom of travel, financial freedom. And yet, most people still opt for the traditional route, which almost always leads to the opposite of freedom. Study, get a degree, work for someone else, stay compliant, stay confined. Read More>>