Sarah Thomas, Stacey Franklin
I started working in real estate back in 2000. I originally started as an agent in my hometown of Santa Clarita for Realty Executives, and I had a really good experience while working with them. However, Stacey and I had been friends for about 10 years, and we decided we wanted to become partners. Read more>>
Don Duncan, Shaun Duncan
We started in the RV storage business in Simi Valley where we by built a 12-acre storage facility from the ground up in 2010 (All Valley’s RV Storage). We recognized the opportunity to rent RV’s and in 2011 we started renting RV’s from our lot in Simi Valley. Read more>>
Mark Curran
While early on the company did both military and commercial work the business model has migrated to private and commercial aviation programs. Every time there has been a major down turn in the economy, we’ve felt the pain. Read more>>
Delores Burgess
From three years old (as far back as I can remember) I loved to dance, sing, and act. I was always beckoned to show off my impeccable toddler dance skills at the family parties, I sung my first solo at 5 years old playing Kumbaya on the big white piano at my nursery school graduation, and I performed my first Oscar winning role at 10 years old when I suddenly pretended to drop dead in front of my two younger brothers. Read more>>
Dan Hill, Kody Frederick
Dan and Kody’s works crossed paths when were tasked to clear out a warehouse full of movie memorabilia. We were instant friends and would always play off of each other and come of with insane conversations. We come from very different backgrounds. Read more>>
Jon Bastian
The elevator pitch version is that it all started when I almost died in the summer of 2016, which is a great way to get motivated. I had suddenly ballooned up to 277 lbs. in the course of a few months because my heart failed, and I landed in the hospital. Read more>>
Jacob Minter
My name is Jacob Minter. Born in Simi Valley, my family moved t0 Palmdale when I was 3, and it was here, like the majority of Tone in Georgia, that I grew up. In many ways, this was an attempt to escape the excesses my Father had experienced as a working musician in LA since the early 1960s. Read more>>
Stacy Gunderson
My husband and I took over an already established 501c3 Nonprofit that took in exotic animals that needed a home for a variety of reasons. These are exotic animals, not dogs and cats, or domestics. We needed all kinds of qualifications to do so, and met the requirements. Read more>>
Annabeth & Connor
Connor: Several years ago, I was teaching kids creative writing, while Annabeth was working in TV. Then we got an email from a nine-year-old that totally changed our lives. Annabeth: My cousin, Harrison, emailed us saying there weren’t enough funny books for kids his age. Read more>>
Craig Holliman
I grew up in a home with 3 brothers and one sister, my father was the District Attorney for the city we lived in and we were all taught that the world is full of good and bad people. Due to my father’s career and high conviction rate, we often received hate mail and death threats from criminals. Read more>>
Maria Felipe
Before she was an author and a minister, Maria Felipe was an actress, a model, and a TV host with a fabulous French boyfriend. She appeared in national commercials, was the first ever Latina boxing announcer, and interviewed World Wrestling Federation competitors in front of audiences of twenty thousand people. Read more>>
Sandra Cano
As a young immigrant after completing my high school years a college education was simply out of the question. I needed to start looking for other ways to help my family and earn a living for myself. I was lucky enough to have an opportunity to work a seasonal part-time job at the Hollywood Bowl, where I quickly moved up to be a concession stand manager. Read more>>
Jonathan Rau, Ryan MacKenzie
Jonathan and Ryan met through mutual friends in 2011 and immediately formed a bond. They were great compliments of each other’s personalities and creative views. They quickly started working together with companies like The Council on Aging of Southern California creating promotional material for their various programs that assist the elderly, as well as commercials for companies like Purina Dog Chow filmed on location in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Read more>>
Paul Emerson
Growing up in northern Ohio and watching mass quantities of TV and movies, I made the assumption that everything must be filmed in Cleveland. It was the biggest city I knew, so it makes sense I guess. Cut to 30 some-odd years later and I’ve been in the film/commercial industry in Los Angeles for 20 of those years, producing content through my production company, Good Ride Machine, since 2011. Read more>>
Ashley Largey
I started beauty school in the winter of 2004, in the winter of 2005 i was diagnosed with an inoperable form of brain cancer and i was forced to take a break from doing hair in order to heal. Once I finished Treatment and regained my strength, I was Able to resume the career that I love. Read more>>
Lillian Starr
A couple years ago, I was on the road with my fiance’ and we noticed that What Katie Did was hiring for Los Angeles. I was already very familiar with the company as I owned a few items and I modeled their lingerie for an art event a few years back. I sent in my information and had an interview with Katie. Read more>>
Dan Arriola
I was born in Boyle Heights and lived there with so many relatives nearby until my parents moved out to Whittier when I was the age of 10. In 1972 I was 18 years old (still living at my parents home) and was enjoying my summer, working part time nights at the produce market in downtown LA and going to the beach monday through friday and playing in baseball leagues on weekends. Read more>>
Jonathan Baharvar
My father was in the computer business. His business shifted as years went by – retail to wholesale to distribution. At one point, he was the largest computer distributor. My father started teaching me DOS commands when I was 10 years old. By age 15, I was repairing computers. Read more>>
Chad Atkins
For over 10 years I had a successful dog boarding and walking service that I began while living in San Francisco. I had a love for animals my entire life and graduating college with a business degree I saw an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. Read more>>
Megha Sarpal
When I was 5 years old I use to watch Bollywood movies on TV and go crazy about the fashion and the colors they use wear. I would always think that one day I would design my own colorful clothes and wear them to see how I look. So while I was growing up I made this as a hobby and passion to design my own clothes. Read more>>
Coline Creuzot
My name is Coline Creuzot, I am a singer/songwriter from Houston, TX. Music is my passion, my therapy and my first love. Although I was singing, writing and dancing at an early age. I came on the scene upon graduating from Hampton University and moving back to Houston. Read more>>
Ben Bird Person
I was born in Portsmouth, Virginia and, since my dad served as an electrician in the United States navy, we moved around a bit including Italy and England. Eventually, we moved to Bombay Beach, California where I spent most of my childhood. Read more>>
Kim Sill
In 2015 I made a film called Saved In America, it told the story of my journey through the shocking world of animal rescue. Years ago, I began to question why millions of animals were being euthanized in animal shelters across America. Read more>>
Octavia Lindlahr
The idea of Outside the Box (OTB) started in my living room with 11 moms. I was recently separated from my husband and needed a way to make more money. People always want to hear a touchy-feely, inspirational story about how OTB was born, but in reality, it was merely a means to earn an additional $200 a week now that I was on my own. Read more>>
Navid Ezra
Raised in Calabasas, Dr. Navid Ezra is the Founder and Director of the California Dermatology Institute, dedicated to comprehensive, state-of-the-art medical, surgical and cosmetic dermatology. Dr. Ezra is a diplomate of the American Board of Dermatology, Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology, American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, American Society of Mohs Surgery, American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, Skin Cancer Foundation, and Clinical Faculty of Dermatology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Read more>>
Jamie Grieb-Spragg
The pursuit of finding the safest, most natural, yet EFFECTIVE skin care and cosmetics products became my obsession long before I decided to turn my passion into a career by becoming an Esthetician. I have a yearning to help educate others to become more informed consumers. Read more>>
Rubina John
Since the day I remembered myself I was deeply in love with art like drawing, designing and in meantime I loved baking, so all my dolly play stories end up in designing, making dresses, arranging fashion shows and making different stuff with play dough for my dollies, but the best part was celebrating their parties so I could bake little cakes and decorate them with my mother. Read more>>
Nick Petronzio
I am a second generation sculptor, creative director and sculpture fabrication specialist that began my career in fine art at the age of twelve working under the tutelage of my father Robert Petronzio acclaimed sculptor, founder and director of the Institute des Beaux Arts in Montreal, Canada. Read more>>
Lucas Crowley
Tierra del Sol Foundation has been providing support services for adults with developmental disabilities for nearly 50 years. The main campus, which sits on 7.5 beautiful wooded acres in the Sunland-Tujunga neighborhood of L.A., has been considered the perfect location for a farmers market for years. Read more>>
