Renée Fox
I could draw as a child, but my painting education began in the traditional way- as a paid apprentice to a highly skilled artist/ muralist in Washington DC. I worked as an artist on her jobs for over 10 years and when I moved to Los Angeles, I began my own decorative painting business. Read more>>
James Nicholas Kinney
James Nicholas Kinney is a former Wall Street sales executive and law firm business developer. Kinney generated millions of dollars in sales for his company and law firm before going out on his own in 2010. Kinney and his team help start ups and Fortune 500’s create powerful sales professionals through performance psychology, emotional intelligence and powerful yet simple sales systems. Read more>>
Nikki Bridges
I’ve studied all different Spiritual Practices and Modalities for most of my life, but until 8 years ago, I just thought they were for my own healing, and therapy. It was at that point, through meeting with a Reiki Master, that I realized this was something I was meant to do for others as well. Read more>>
Rafael Romis
Weberous was born out of a SEO company. I started by marketing websites through a very formulaic approach and selling ads on them, until that formula changed, and the websites had to be better. That is when I hired my first designer, and then with the help of my brother Mario, Weberous came to be. Read more>>
Hedda and Cedric Leonardi
Hedda: I came to Los Angeles 17 years ago and worked for many years creating international PR campaigns for everyone from Nelson Mandela and Tina Turner to Pamela Anderson and Christina Aguilera. I like to say I have lived many lifetimes in this life – as a special projects consultant to Nat Geo. Read more>>
Raimondo Boggia
I started the first Obica Mozzarella Bar Pizza e Cucina in September 2010 and now we have 5 locations open in the US, of which 3 are in Los Angeles and 2 in Manhattan, NY. The second location in Los Angeles was the one in Santa Monica, on Broadway and 6th street. The third opened a year ago on Sunset Plaza, and it has a dramatic view of Los Angeles in the back balcony and a great Patio on the strip of Sunset. Read more>>
Jared Stanfield
I was born in South Carolina and moved to New York when I was 17. I lived there for almost 16 years before I decided to move LA. During that time, I worked in numerous restaurants and bars. Everything from fine dining to dive bars. I really began appreciating what the hospitality industry meant to me and that was being able to give people joy and truly memorable experiences by creating an atmosphere for them. Read more>>
Julie Wright and Heather Turgeon
We’re both psychotherapists and we’d each been helping families with sleep issues for years but didn’t really know each other. The very first time we sat down for coffee and started to talk, we laughed at how on the same page we were and how we could have talked all day. Read more>>
Dani Miles
My career began at Convergent Wealth Advisors, when it was one of the largest independent investment firms in the country. I was rapidly promoted through a series of sales and marketing positions, and ultimately reported directly to the president. Read more>>
Marc Pollock
In the late 70’s and early 80’s, I was working my way through college for an employer that was an active commercial real estate investor, took an interest in me, and believed I had the drive and initiative to succeed as a commercial real estate broker. Read more>>
Jelena Arkula
Bookkeeping and accounting somehow always made sense to me. Prior to going into the accounting, I was a banker and was quite good, but that career was never something I saw myself long term. Although for the longest time I was very afraid to venture on my own, that decision was made for me back in 2008 when I lost my job as a production accountant in the entertainment industry and was forced to start on my own. Read more>>
Dan Ilves
While in college I became involved with a few folks starting a student travel agency on campus, and we eventually launched the USC Student Travel Center in the ’70’s, chartering aircraft to the East Coast and Europe, and mostly servicing students heading to Europe with backpacks, or to Hawaii and Mexico. Read more>>
Davina Potratz
I was born and raised in Germany and attended the International School in Hamburg, which was English speaking. I travelled a lot with my parents growing up, mostly throughout Europe, North and South America. My mother is half Native American so we frequently visited family in the US. Read more>>
Dave Labowitz
My childhood was rough and unpleasant but I excelled in school and athletics until I was about 13 when my parents finally divorced. That was the age at which I learned to rebel, and the moment I figured that out things went sideways pretty quickly. I dropped out of high school after attending about half a year, quit sports, dabbled in drugs, and was thrown out of the house at 14. Read more>>
Gary Clarke
I started GotChaDigi – a Digital Boutique on a full-time basis in 2014 after a long career as an IT executive, architect & engineer. I have always wanted to be a full-time entrepreneur and in at that period was being forced to go down that part due to economic downturn after being laid off and not being able to find any executive management jobs in IT for a few years of trying. Read more>>
Dr. Jonathan Frank
I grew up in West LA to a mixed culture family – my mother an Iranian immigrant who fled her country as result of the revolution and my father a third-generation US citizen. I went on to attend UCLA for college, earning dual degrees in History and Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, as well as minoring in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures. Read more>>
Valerie Mehlman
I was born and raised in the West Los Angeles/Beverly Hills area. Growing up in the Mecca of Plastic Surgery, it has always intrigued me. In 2011, I took a job at a plastic surgeon’s office to learn as much as I could about the industry. I found that patients had so many needs and questions (practical and emotional) in order to prepare them before, during and after surgery. Read more>>
Michelle Farrell
I’m originally from Liverpool, England and now I’m a Brit living in LA. I came to the US in the late 80’s after bumming around Europe for a few years, USA was the next stop on my trip around the world. I stayed in a hostel in Florida and met a Dutch girl who said, “Why don’t you try Santa Monica, there are tons of British people there, it will be like home from home.” So after 3 days on a Greyhound bus with my sister and I ended up in Santa Monica. Read more>>
Kimberly Kovacs
The company was started in 1925 by William Glen Edwards, my great-grandfather. It started out as a party equipment rental business (tables and chairs) and somehow, he added in wheelchairs to start the medical side of the business. Read more>>
Scott Silverman
I was lucky to begin my marketing life as an advertising copywriter in 1994, back in Detroit, at a creative boutique called Bruce & Chato, Inc. There, I learned a ton from the owners, including fundamental “retail” truths, such as how smart humor cannot only drive near-term sales but can also help build a brand people love. Read more>>
Katelin Wallace Journigan
I have been a full-time wedding photographer for the last 8 years, but as a creative mind with an artistic eye, I have always been looking for new opportunities to venture out and grow my business. In 2015, I had been photographing my silver lab, Captain, for a couple months when suddenly people began asking me if I’d be willing to photograph their family pets. Read more>>
Shannon O’Dowd
I’ve been a commercial spokesperson for major companies over the last 15 years (OfficeMax, Sunsweet Raisins, Keurig, Cable One, etc.) as well as an international infomercial host and QVC presenter. After making a career in front of the camera, my mentor/teacher asked me to begin teaching for her. Read more>>
Gino Sesto
In 2009 DASH TWO was started by Gino Sesto in Culver City as a media buying agency primarily working for Music Business clients. Our initial clientele was Record Labels, Artists, and Record Distributors. The business has grown to 20 employees. With offices in Culver City and Nashville, DASH TWO still works a lot with the Music Industry, but has grown beyond that. Read more>>
Terrie Huberman, Spiritual Intuitive
I come from a family of psychics on my mother’s side, and it’s been innate in me since I was a child. I was always the weird, sensitive, talkative kid, who wanted to make sure everyone was well taken care of, happy, and entertained. Growing up I didn’t understand how or why I’d be able to feel what other people were feeling- their emotions or even physical discomfort. Read more>>
Atta Tarki
I was born in Iran and grew up in the country side of Sweden. My family took a sabbatical and came to LA for a year when I was 16. Initially, it was a big shock coming from a town of 25,000 people to a place like LA; however, it didn’t take long before I fell in love with LA and decided that I wanted to come back one day. Read more>>
Joseph Enayati
As a 5th-generation physician, I have always been interested in the distinction between “sick care” and “health care.” My practice philosophy is based upon staying at the forefront of regenerative medicine. Harnessing the body’s own ability to heal itself is incredibly exciting, and we are in an era when medicine is just beginning to realize the full potential of treatments like Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP), Amniotic Fluid Allograft, and bone marrow-derived Stem Cells. Read more>>
Lisa Tahir
I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in both California and Louisiana. I practice as an Intuitive Psychotherapist employing various healing modalities including Reiki, EMDR, and tuning into my client’s energy that I conceptualize as being “their music under their words.” Everyone has their unique Life Story from which they have created by default. Read more>>
Sheila Morovati
When I was very young, I visited Mexico for the first time in my life. I recall going for a walk into the town and having dinner at a restaurant that was quite family friendly. During the meal, the hostess gifted me little trinkets to play with and to keep. These were nothing more than little paper made baskets and colorful chewing gum. Read more>>
Aaron Ross
In 1999, I got into Stanford Business School, but dropped it to found an internet company (LeaseExchange.com). Company went bankrupt in 2001 (we’d raised $5m total). One reason: I as CEO didn’t know professional sales and how to build a sales team. Read more>>
Dr. Kenneth Wright
As a pediatric eye surgeon, I have devoted my career to the welfare of children. I have experience as a small business owner and international experience lecturing and performing surgery worldwide. Now I am running for US Congress District 33 because frankly we need a change from career politicians. Read more>>
