Orange County’s Hidden Gems

Dr. Sean Kelishadi

I am a board-certified plastic surgeon and the President of SSK Plastic Surgery. I have always been interested in science and medicine, and I pursued my passion by completing my undergraduate degree in biology and chemistry at Vanderbilt University and later received my medical degree from the University of Tennessee – Memphis College. Read more>>

Chad Willardson

I started my career at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in Southern California when I was 24 years old. I learned the ins and outs of the wealth management industry while building my business from scratch. Over time, I grew my client base from zero to many and managed approximately $330 million of investments for my clients. However, I decided to start all over when I left the corporate world in 2011 to become an entrepreneur. As the founder and president of Pacific Capital, a fiduciary wealth management family office, my mission is to serve First Generation Entrepreneurs – wealth creators and entrepreneurs with at least $10 million to invest. Currently, this is our focus. Our clients are not only based in California but also spread across the country. We serve 40% of our clients in California and 60% outside of it. Our goal is to help clients enjoy life by removing their stress about money. We strive to increase their financial and lifestyle freedom, reduce their taxes, and give them more time to enjoy the things they love. Ultimately, our focus is on clients’ mindsets and psychographics rather than their geographic location. Read more>>

Michelle Caracoza

In 2018, I decided to take a lash certificate course to start doing eyelash extensions on the side for extra income. While working full-time in the Corporate America world in project management. What started as a side hobby quickly became a passion of mine. I was taking lash clients after work in my small apartment next to my bed inside my bedroom. Taking clients on my days off from my 9-5 during the weekends, it was my little escape and was able to make extra income this way. I knew eventually I wanted to open my own studio to offer my services and for this, I needed to get licensed. In 2019, COVID happened, and I took a break which was divine timing since I was going through many personal issues and mental health was a big one. During this time of going through mental health, lashing was still my escape and managed to do lashes with my family and close friends from my new apartment kitchen and couch. I was dedicated to making my dream happen no matter what. Towards the end of 2019, I was offered a partnership with one of my clients then, to open a studio together. I was excited, this was my very own little studio ever 400 sqft studio. We managed to renovate the whole thing and sign the lease. Read more>>

Tee Wynn

I am the face behind Serendripity Studios, a Permanent Makeup and Tattoo Studio. This journey began in 2018 when I took my very first Microblade and Lip Blush PMU Training. During the time I was still in college pursuing my BA in Psychology, but also needed a creative side hustle. To be frank, college was a difficult time for me, juggling a job and school. It may have to do with the fact that it was not my dream to begin with -I was living my parent’s dream. Read more>>

Sugam Sharma

Clearbooks CPA was born as a way to mitigate stress for me and my loved ones. My career started in private wealth management at Goldman Sachs. I helped the rich create legal tax shelters and implement tax strategies to mitigate liabilities and defer payments. Thru my interactions, I quickly learned that the sharpest sword is always the ethical one. Read more>>

Patricia Escobar

I wish I can say I started baking when I was five years old and/or watched my mom or grandma bake in the kitchen. But that’s not the case. I entered the baking scene when I graduated high school. My first bake was a banana bread. We had overripened bananas, and I remember watching something on TV and someone mentioning the darker the bananas, the tastier the banana bread. I was on a bit of hiatus with my social life, trying to figure out who I was as a person leaving my teenage years, so I became a homebody. I had all this time in my hands, and I thought, why not try my hands in baking? In my unbiased opinion, that banana bread was pretty amazing. It was soft and moist. And throughout the years, I’ve continued to perfect it with a secret ingredient: Vanilla Pudding. But I digress. After that first baking experience, it opened a new world for me. I’m a dessert person, and being able to create something so scrumptious and sweet was pretty incredible. Finding new recipes and being able to share it with people who enjoy eating them as much as I enjoyed making them helped my journey to start my small baking business. Read more>>

Cooper Andrews

I’m a co-owner of Z41 Film Lab. I started shooting celluloid film in 2018 and immediately fell in love with it – and then quickly realized how expensive this new hobby was going to be. This didn’t deter me from shooting film but instead made me look towards creative ways to still afford it and give myself peace of mind. I moved to college in 2019 and saved up enough money to buy myself some cheap chemicals and darkroom chemical bottles and started developing my own film out of my dorm bathroom to save money on developing costs. I would scan my film on this document scanner I got from my parents that could scan film and then I’d touch it up in Lightroom – which was crazy. I spent hours on hours on hours scanning and editing my photos to get good color renditions, which still didn’t even look very good.

Lisa Cisneros

Dominic’s is a family-owned business. Born in Sicily, our matriarch Angelina purchased a small pizzeria in 1991 from a close friend, Dominic. With little more than a passion for food and a desire to create a legacy for her young family, Angelina risked her life’s savings for a chance at the American Dream. With a focus on customer service, quality food, and fair prices, Dominic’s has proudly been woven into the fabric of Cypress. Angelina’s children Lisa, Gina, Francesca, and Michael are grateful to carry on their Italian tradition of hard work and dedication. The family is proud to continue the legacy for decades to come. Read more>>

Chris Steblay

Today I am the Executive Producer and Creative Director of Uncle Toad’s Media Group, an award-winning production company focused on live broadcast and TV programming. We specialize in action sports and entertainment and help brands like Red Bull, Vans, Volcom, Natural Selection Tour and more reach both niche and mainstream audiences around the globe. Read more>>

Greg Eckel

Dr. Greg Eckel’s journey into Naturopathic and Chinese Medicine began in the mid-90s when he noticed the overmedication of children while teaching preschool. In 2001, he co-founded Nature Cures Clinic in Portland, Oregon, and later founded bVital, a wellness and recharging center in Park City, Utah. His unique combination of Naturopathic and Chinese Medicine provides an array of tools to treat acute and chronic illness, emphasizing prevention and wellness principles. Read more>>

Mason Leaver

My film-making journey starts in my junior year of high school. At that point, I knew I wanted to do something creative, but I wasn’t sure exactly what. I thought the film might be worth trying, so I tried to sign up for my school’s videography course. Unfortunately, I was the only one to sign up, and when I asked my principle if I could still take the class, she said they couldn’t offer it. Read more>>

Paru Gambhir

I graduated as an IT engineer, started working in the industry just to realize a year later I don’t want to spend half of my life in office cubicle. Art was something that made my day shine and didn’t want to restrict myself to one kind. So I post-graduated in acting, acted in short films, few features, and plays till I wanted to explore more art forms. Started teaching myself painting human faces because that was most intriguing and inspiring to me but the painter in me wanted to extend that to makeup. So I learnt makeup & hairstyling in Pasadena, CA and was blessed to work in LAFW and NYFW. Soon after I started my own Mobile Bridal Makeup & Hair studio i.e. Paru Art Studio. Read more>>

Zhaochen Wu

Hi! My name is Zhaochen Vincent Wu, and I am an associate concept artist at Blizzard Entertainment. I grew up in Beijing in a family that loved and appreciated art, so I was exposed to it from a very young age. I can remember reading vivid illustrated books by Jimmy Liao, Hergé, and Christian Jolibois, which had a profound impact on me. I could spend hours lost in these captivating stories, and eventually, I started creating my own. My mother recognized my desire to create and gifted me my first pack of crayons. I started drawing on anything I could find, from napkins to notebooks and even the walls. Later, I discovered my love for building with Legos, making my own Bionicle characters, and developing complex stories for them, filled with twists and turns to keep things interesting. Read more>>

Yuwei (Rita) Li

Hi! I’m Yuwei (Rita) Li, currently a concept artist working at Obsidian Entertainment.I have always enjoyed creating fantastical worlds and bringing my imagination to life on paper. As a child, I was heavily influenced by manga, video games, and movies like Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter series. I loved sketching little fantasy manga in my sketchbooks and sharing them with friends. I also enjoyed creating maps of fictional worlds and embarking on imaginary journeys with friends. These activities provided an escape from the demands of school and were some of the happiest moments of my childhood. Read more>>