Our city is home to so many incredible businesses and so we asked the founders how they came up with the ideas for their businesses and have shared their responses below.

Crystal Daye | Global Book and Marketing Coach, CEO of DayeLight Publishers

In 2016, I decided I wanted to write a book and I was searching for a publisher and it was such a struggle to find a Caribbean publisher and when I looked internationally I struggled to find faith-based ones. Eventually, when I found a publisher, I didn’t think they offered enough support on my author journey. Read more>>

XCLEOX | Chef | DJ | Photographer | Event Curator

I came up with the concept of my business through putting together all of my favorite hobbies under one umbrella. Considering i’ve been an active DJ for 17 years and an Event Curator for 9 years , I gained experience on how to run a business. Music was always number one for me since I was a kid, I started collecting records at the age 16 , DJing at the age 20 and a Photographer at 17. Read more>>

Vicky Blanco | Content Creator, Social Media Manager, and Entrepreneur

HNDL.D came to mind in the midst of the pandemic after being laid off from my regular 9-5 job. Unfortunately, like many people, I was laid off due to the closing of many businesses and in marketing as much of a necessity as it is, it is also very much a luxury to be able to market your company in creative ways. Read more>>

Richard Ribeiro | Co owner : Superwow Coffee

My business partner and I came up with the idea of opening up a coffee shop, and having it be car related in some way. We both are avid car enthusiasts and would always meet up at coffee shops, we wanted to combine the two worlds together, specialty coffee with an automotive theme. Read more>>

Jean Marie De Bernardi | Vintage curator

Fly Boutique was created from my love of finding great vintage pieces that I knew I could resell. I opened my first boutique in 1995 in South Beach with a few boxes of amazing things I had found in NYC and Chicago along with some jewelry and vintage Pucci and Gucci clothing my grandmother had given to me. Read more>

Abby | sommnights™ founder & sommelier

After I discovered my passion for wine, I had a tasting at my home with some family and friends to celebrate my new certifications. It was such a success and so much fun. After that first at-home wine tasting with friends, I came up with the idea to start sommnights™. My goal was to share my knowledge during private at-home tastings to allow people to approach the world of wine in a relaxing and fun way. Read more>>