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.

EDUARDO ABAD

Without a doubt, the essential factor in my case has been to understand that there are innate conditions or abilities that make us unique. In some way you should be grateful and cultivate those abilities if they coincide with your spiritual vocation. On many occasions, the circumstances of life itself lead you towards that goal, even if you have not intentionally planned it. Read More>>

Gerson Sanchez

We wanted to build something Miami had never seen before. At the time, there wasn’t a platform that truly captured the voice of the city — its people, its culture, its stories, and its everyday reality. We saw a gap in how Miami was being represented and felt the responsibility to create content that reflected the thoughts, energy, and identity of our community. Read More>>

Anna Halliday, LMHC-QS, CST

Like many big changes, it started with a feeling- the sense that I could do more good if I built something of my own. In early 2020, just before the COVID shutdowns, I realized I wasn’t feeling fulfilled working for other group practices. I wanted the freedom to create something that truly reflected my values: therapy that felt warm, intentional, and deeply human. Read More>>

Nichole Sando

My thought process behind starting my business came from a deep desire to heal, not just myself, but my community as well. After healing my body naturally from Crohn’s Disease and managing eczema through lifestyle and ingredient awareness, I realized how powerful intentional self-care truly is. I didn’t just want to use clean products. Read More>>

Lexi Sidle

I grew up watching my dad run a business. He owned retail stores that started here in Miami, so entrepreneurship always appealed to me. But I also saw how much he worked. When he got sick with cancer, one of the last things he told me was not to wait to enjoy my life. That stayed with me. Read More>>

Dr Jackie Machado

After 20 years practicing hospital medicine, I kept seeing a gap—families who knew something wasn’t quite right with their child’s health, but conventional approaches weren’t giving them answers. They’d cycle through specialist after specialist, treating symptoms without ever addressing the why. I realized these parents needed a different kind of partner: someone who could look deeper, connect the dots, and create truly personalized solutions. Read More>>

Andrew Hanna

The decision to start my own business came from a deep need for creative control and long-term freedom. I’ve always been driven by the idea of building something meaningful, something that reflects my standards, my values, and my vision rather than operating within limitations set by others. Read More>>

Xavier Bryant

My thought process was really about alignment and impact. I realized early on that I didn’t want to build someone else’s vision forever, I wanted to create something that reflected my values, my work ethic, and the way I genuinely care about people. I saw a gap between what most gyms were offering and what busy professionals actually needed: convenience, structure, accountability, and real results. Read More>>

Mario Salazar

The decision to open my first boxing academy was not something that happened overnight—it was the natural progression of a lifetime spent in fitness, athletics, and entrepreneurship. I’ve always been an entrepreneurial person. I’ve owned and operated gyms and fitness facilities since the 1980s, including being the first person to open an exclusive women’s gym in Puerto Rico back in 1980. Read More>>

Ana Despres

My career started as a graphic designer, and I’ve been one for more than 15 years. I worked on branding, visual identities, and all kinds of graphic systems. But after a while, when you do the same type of work for many years, you start to notice repetition. Read More>>

Alberto Cardoso

What truly makes me happy is being with my family. They are my foundation, my refuge, and the reason I find renewed strength each day to keep growing. Sharing moments, conversations, laughter, and silences with them gives me a sense of fulfillment I can’t find anywhere else. I am also deeply happy when I’m creating art. Read More>>