Valerie Lewis
I never expected to be running my own business, but after 13 years of teaching for someone else, I began to feel stifled. The large school where I taught emphasized standardization over that unique relationship between teacher and student. Read more>>
Yvon Nguyen
As an entrepreneur and business development expert, I started VANT4GE, a marketing and business intelligence firm serving family-owned businesses to global corporations. VANT4GE specializes in target marketing, sales strategies, and branding with a strong emphasis on multicultural marketing and community relations. I’ve always been a multi-tasker. Read more>>
T.J. Dawson
In 2009, my wife and 2 friends decided we wanted to open a theatre company. It later involved my 2 siblings as well. We started as a for-profit company as we waited for our nonprofit status to go through and then finally became a nonprofit a few years ago! Read more>>
Jessica Nettles
When I was 11, my father worked at a high-quality printing company as a color image assembler. He would take film and strip each print layer-by-layer, working on the single image with such precision and detail. Read more>>
John McKernan
We started with an idea that shopping should be customer service oriented and fun! Hats are a great accessory and easy to play around with. With this in mind, we wanted to cater to our customers in an environment that is open, friendly, and high energy! Read more>>
Jacquelyn Harlan
I decided to start college in 2003, when my daughter was 6mos old. I also had a 3yr old son. I started at a junior college and was there for far too long. I was also working as a server at the time. Read more>>
Steve and Angela Watts
The idea for Slyde was born on a beach in Durban, South Africa, where Steve spent his childhood surfing and swimming. He and his friends especially liked to bodysurf the coastline known for its challenging surf, with the help of flat, wave-riding objects like flip-flops, Frisbees and even fast-food trays. Read more>>
Dr. Aaron Montgomery
Well, as a teenager I had been interested in psychological subjects like motivation, behavior, perception and the unconscious. Growing up I was aware of psychology as a profession as I have family members in the field. Read more>>
Gary Zhu
Our journey started 20 years ago when we first came to the United States from China with hopes and dreams to expand and share our knowledge of Chinese medicine and acupuncture in the West. What kept me going is my deep/unshakable belief in the healing powers of Chinese medicine practice, combined with all the loyal clients who have experienced these healing powers, whom we regard now as family and friends. Read more>>
Kevin Melody
Bought my first home in Long Beach in 1986 for $89,000 and sold it a year later for $130,000. That 40k and a review of what the mortgage and real estate brokers made on both the purchase and sale of my first home got me interested in possibly getting licensed. Read more>>
Ray Wright
Ray Wright’s wife said she’d never marry a police officer or a pastor. With Ray, she married both in the same man and, 32 years later, that former police officer husband of hers is also a long-time REALTOR®. “These days she might say she’d never marry a REALTOR®!” says Ray, who began his Southern California real estate career in 1996. Read more>>
Michael Hood
The company started by venture capital group using our parent company to design and manufacture their idea. From 1962 through about 1975, Thermobile operated independently from Hood Manufacturing. Read more>>
Bill Blackburn
I always enjoyed cooking for myself, family and friends but didn’t understand the nuisances and fundamentals of what I was doing. I wanted to learn more but I had a nice corporate career that was 8-5 and I was very active in various sports leagues in the evening. Read more>>
Cole Carson
I grew up in the small ski resort town of Bend, Oregon where I spent my free time snowboarding, mountain biking, golfing and just about every sport in between. My passion for healthy food and an active lifestyle is ultimately what brought me to Southern California. Read more>>
Brent Concolino
Concolino was born and raised in Orange County, CA. In 1999, Brent came to Rock Institute Sports Performance Training for Baseball, Football, Soccer and Lacrosse. Brent went on to play Varsity and Letter every year in all sports he played in high school as well as becoming League co-MVP in Baseball his junior year, and honored with all-league selections. Read more>>
Andrea Swanson
I’ve been a stylist for over 25 years, working in Corona Del Mar most of my career. My client of over 17 years became my partner and mentor truly giving me an opportunity I couldn’t refuse literally going outside of my comfort zone of cdm., then landing in Mission Viejo to build one of chicest salons in south county. Read more>>
Angela Corey
In 2015, my husband and I were a typical two-income household with two teenage boys living with us and things were “ok”. Since we both had full-time jobs, we were just ok living paycheck to paycheck since we always thought as long we have each other we don’t need much…until the bills piled up and my husband, being an independent contractor, wasn’t doing as well as he used to, I had to find a way to make extra income without sacrificing my current job. Read more>>
Peter Aylett
I’m originally from London, England, where my great-grandfather was a carriage maker. I’ve always loved cars — my mother kept a drawing of one that I did at age three. As a boy, I played with toy cars and was intrigued by different shapes of cars on the road. Read more>>
Garrett Wdowin
Grew up on a family farm in central New York, college at Brown University, then medical school in Arizona. After that, worked my way through medical offices from NYC to LA and settled in the OC. Read more>>
Josh Frisby
I am a native Orange County resident and Firefighter / Paramedic in Orange County and discovered my passion for wine and the winemaking process following numerous wine tasting trips and tours in the central coast. With my physical and mechanical background as a firefighter, I was specifically drawn to the production aspect of winemaking and all that is involved in producing a bottle of wine from vine to bottle. Read more>>
Nikkeya Espy
As a child, I always had an interest in art and drawing, often times reading books to look at the illustration details. All through elementary and middle school I had teachers and mentors always introducing me to new techniques and ideas. Read more>>
Georgina Jane Smith
In 2016, I needed a change and decided to take a risk and quit my job in commercial real estate. I moved home to Yorba Linda, CA to regroup and ended up taking the summer to focus on my health and my family. Read more>>
Angela Cortright
I started my career in high technology – first working for IBM in Los Angeles, then for personal computer maker AST Research in Orange County. It was a rocket ship to the moon – we worked our butts off but made history while we were at it (this was early on in the personal computer industry). Read more>>
Matthew Larriva
In 2009, I graduated from The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania. I have a degree in Business Economics with a concentration in Real Estate. Unfortunately, when I graduated, the Real Estate space was completely in the dumps and no one was hiring. Read more>>
Vinay Narang
The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is the entrance exam for MBA programs. I first took the GMAT about 25 years ago, scoring in the 99th percentile (top 1% of GMAT takers), as I prepared to apply to business schools. Read more>>
Rosamaria Galindo
My clients are always surprised when I answer their question, “how long have you been doing taxes?” with, “I have been doing taxes since I was twelve years old.” You see, this is a family business since the beginning, and my father always had me in the office working for the things I wanted (iPod, guitar, etc.) which resulted in me getting to know the industry very, very well. Read more>>
Dr. Michelle Gottlieb
I was always the one that everyone told their troubles to. I was a natural for being a psychotherapist. I was most intrigued to work with people who had suffered severe trauma. However, I always struggled that I could never do more than just help people cope with their wounds, not actually heal them. Read more>>
Shawn Fitzpatrick
My parents open the business in 1970 with all $600 in their savings. The business was started in the back of a barbershop with about 200 square feet. When long hair became popular the barber closed and we took over the whole 900 square feet. Read more>>
Miguel Barillas and Rachel Unnever
Working in advertising for over 16 years provided me the knowledge that I needed to get out and do what I love on my own time. I consider myself a creator with expectations to produce excellence for every client, but most importantly, I love to help people so I founded Full Riot Productions with the vision of helping others in mind. Read more>>
Dr. Foojan Zeine
I was born in Iran and came to the US at age 12 on my own. Went to Arizona State University at age 15 and have raised myself in the US. As an immigrant who was alone, I had to learn so much on my own. I wished by age 30 to have my own business, be married and have my own home. Read more>>
Marlee and Megan Malone-Franklin
Marlee: I’ve always gravitated towards anything related to pregnancy, birth, and family dynamics. Growing up, I loved when an expecting mom would let me feel her baby kick inside her belly, or when a parent let me help them with their toddler. Read more>>
