“I chose to create something, and then to take care of it, in order to get the life I wanted to end up with.”
Eric Taylor,
Founder of Salon Republic
“I know a lot of people that don’t really associate COVID with a great experience. But for me, it’s a little different.”
Leticia Herrera,
Founder of Wonderfully made Ultrasounds
“I was very intimidated by my business idea for many, many years.”
Anke Bodack,
Founder of Twelve Senses Retreat
“My old boss was making it too easy for me to just quit my dream in LA and become comfortable in my old life.”
Daniel Odesanya,
Co-Founder of Luxe Bites
“You can’t really get into restaurants without having a screen playing with your attention.”
Anthony “Dutch” and Vikki van Someren,
Founder of Bike Shed Motorcycle Co.
“I realized that I was making an impression on young girls in particular, and be a role model, whether I would like it or not.”
Elisa Donovan,
Actress & Author
“When we present ourselves in a traditional environment, like a mariachi festival, I still fear backlash.”
Carlos Samaniego,
Director and Founder of
Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles
“At the end of the day, what mattered the most, was me connecting musically with my surroundings.”
Taku Hirano,
Recording Artist & Percussionist
“Having the idea to bring a Women’s Professional Soccer Team to LA, was not a slam dunk.”
Julie Uhrman,
Co-Founder of Angel City Football Club
“The pandemic coming along took away that ability for me to be fearful, there was simply no other choice.”
Kieran Wright,
Founder of Small Scale LA
“I learned what it meant to build something from nothing, in business and in life.”
Taly Matiteyahu,
Founder of Blink Dating App
“Deciding against a career in law, even though I worked so hard on becoming a lawyer in the first place, was actually very easy.”
Bruce Kafil,
Founder of Celeste Helicopter Tours
“I definitely had a ‘fake it till you make it’ mentality in the beginning.”
Mesha Kussman,
Founder of Aqualillies
“I only have one shot! There are no do overs in my business.”
Andrew D. Bernstein,
Hall of Fame Sports Photographer
“I had to believe in myself, no doubt. If I was crazy enough to take other peoples’ money and build this, then I better do it well.”
Lien Ta,
Co-Founder of All Day Baby
“There´s not a lot of support for people wanting to open a nonprofit.”
Kiara Nguyen,
Founder of Artistas de Color Unidos
“Something in my heart always told me that I was entrepreneurial – and still I failed many times.”
Zahraa Berro,
Founder of Zahraa the Label
“As far as independence and financial freedom, if those were my main goals, I probably wouldn’t be designing mastectomy bras!”
Dana Donofree,
Founder of AnaOno
”To be 100 % honest, 85% of our sales in the first year came from friends and family.”
Jessica Sosa-Cardenas,
Co-Founder & CEO/COO of Baby PeaTree
“I watched my parents become successful entrepreneurs, and as a child of immigrant parents, that’s a huge deal.”
Rekha Brar,
Founder of Blossom Box Jewelry
“Entrepreneurs have to be spam filters and make sure to toss the spam and save the gold.”
Golda Manuel,
Founder of Leksi
“I never would have thought that I could create a multi-faceted career and also earn money building and toppling dominoes.”
Lily Hevesh,
Domino Artist
“The most important thing I’ve learned is not wavering from the identity of my brand.“
Kirsty Stone,
Founder of Retrouvai
“I have gumption and persistence which is more what it takes to become successful at something than almost anything else.”
Amelia Rudolph,
Founder of Bandaloop
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