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.

Patricia Bermúdez | Owner and Founder of Healthy Food Chain

I have to be honest! At the begging i never thought my business would grow to be this big! It all started off as a hobby. When I saw things getting more serious I decided to sit down with my dad, who is my counselor and put everything to the table. We discussed how we were going to open a healthy restaurant in a country where “healthy” is not a trend yet. How would we manage to export our products to different countries, since we had many clients in several different countries. Read more>>

Bea de la Roche | Founder

With my family in the coffee business, I grew up in awe of the spirit and power of plants. I was taught to cherish farming, especially coffee, watching how every year a flower would turn into a bean, then eventually a grain, and ultimately our morning cup of coffee. My family gifted me a deep love for Costa Rica and its unique biodiversity. As a child, my mother captured my imagination with stories of her adventures with my grandfather exploring the jungle, mountains and oceans of Costa Rica.When I became a mother, one of my many new instincts was to ensure every ingredient my baby consumed was of the highest quality. Read more>>

Dr.LéShon Peart | Clinical Researcher, Medical Doctor and Tea Connoisseur

Starting my own business was born from a deep desire to share something I am truly passionate about with the world. Health awareness, the art of brewing loose leaf teas, and caring for my body have always been at the core of my being. I firmly believe that a good quality of life as we age is directly linked to how we nurture and cherish our bodies. Read more>>

Dilara Karayazi | Founder & Head Designer

I started FABRICCA driven by my lifelong passion for handcrafted accessory design and the belief that a hobby could become a venture. Inspired by my studies in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management masters degree and by utilizing discarded fabrics as the foundation of my designs, I aimed to contribute to a more responsible and conscious approach to fashion. Read more>>

MarTrice Jackson | teacHER of All Things

What has been produced from the ingenuity and efforts of Outreach and entrepreneurship, started from self- identification and love. I am today who I needed as an adolescent. My thought process was to prove not only to myself but specifically to young girls and women, that you don’t need the validation of society to prove that you’re beautiful, your space is in this world is trademarked. Read more>>

Jimmy Im | Founder

I was fortunate to be a successful freelance travel writer for top-tier outlets, such as Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, New York Post, Hollywood Reporter, Vanity Fair, Marie Claire and more. I appeared on TV news segments as a travel expert, and I was even a host on a show on Travel Channel. Read more>>

Leide Porcu | Psychoanalyst and Psychotherapist

Since I was a child I was interested in people, their languages and customs. I came to the field of psychology from the field of anthropology. The study of psychoanalysis and psychology developed as I wanted to understand and relieve people’s sorrows, including my own, and bring solutions. Opening my private practice was not difficult, as my psychoanalytic institute, IPTAR, fosters the development of its trainees’ private practice. Read more>>

Kiersten Ketcham | Floral Preservation Artist & Small Business Owner

Crystal Seas Resin Art didn’t really start out as a business. It started as an exploration of this desire to be creative. I literally used to say “I’m not creative at all”. But living in sobriety brought up this desire in me that I never had. I tried a handful of other things like cake decorating and tie dye, but finally landed on and fell in love with resin. After some time I realized I was good at it, and that’s when I decided to sell my work. Read more>>

Johanna Fangmeyer | Dermatology Nurse Practitioner

Building a reputable, professional honest practice dedicated to providing high quality and personal care for the community. I have been in the medical field for 26 years and first 10 years I had worked in different health care settings particularly in different dermatology offices. I witnessed first hand the treatment of patients in an insurance world that has over time become very cold and a factory like environment. I wanted to recreate an empathetic and professional environment that all patients deserve. Read more>>

MICHAEL GENOVA | Graphic Designer & Sports Media Entrepreneur

Starting my own sports media business was driven by my passion for sports and my desire to create a business where I am free to be creative and different. I recognized the potential in the sports industry and believed that there was a need for a fresh and innovative approach to sports media. Read more>>

Gyasi Weir | Serial Entrepreneur & Creative head

Back in 2019, we noticed 3 major problems present in the roll your own segment of the tobacco market: 1. Lack of variety in the segment
2. Noticable lack of customer engagement affecting customer satisfaction
3. Lack of quality control and transparency Read more>>

Manuela Alonso | Industrial and creative designer of Leitmotiv

Leitmotiv arises from the need to generate a much more conscious, dedicated and detailed proposal. I am a clothing designer and I have always worked in design teams for different brands immersed in large-scale and high-speed production. Because of what I felt, that my personal proposal had to be more harmonious with the lifestyle that I intended to lead. This is how I start Leitmotiv, a new brand of handmade fabric. Read more>>