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. 

Spencer Chaisanguanthum

Throughout middle and high school, I have been fortunate to be involved in academic debate—as the co-captain of my school’s team and through a multi-year position on the Student Leadership Council of the National Speech & Debate Association. Debate has taught me innumerable skills: the ability to articulate a perspective with clarity and confidence, the research skills to construct a cogent argument through evidence, Read More>>

Matteo Zacchino

Based on everything I know about you—your upbringing between Italy and Germany, growing up in your grandparents’ and parents’ restaurants, your commitment to preserving Italian culinary heritage, your experience rebuilding your life after divorce, and your philosophy that hospitality is an act of love rather than simply commerce—this is the answer I think genuinely reflects your story. Read More>>

Haley Emerson

Ever since I first started designing, I knew my ultimate goal was to one day launch my own fashion brand. I have always had a distinct, color-first design aesthetic that I felt was missing from the market. Growing up with parents who were entrepreneurs, the business mindset, resilience, and discipline required to start a business were modeled for me from an early age. Read More>>

Heidi Swan

Funny enough starting my own business wasn’t actually a plan I had at all. Except when COVID happened and my line of work was shut down I had to find a way to support myself. So I bought a reformer, got rid of my living room furniture so I’d have room. and started letting clients come to my house so I could keep teaching. Read More>>

Aisha White

I had dreamed of starting a business my whole life. I desperately wanted to take the leap and trust in myself as a young adult. But I feared that once it became my main source of income, my passion and happiness for it would be crushed. So it remained just a side hustle. Then I was laid off from my “safe” job. Read More>>

Allan Buenaventura

The main reason I started Valley Care Clinic was to give our community access to high-quality healthcare that is truly affordable—without ever cutting corners on care or time spent with patients.Throughout my career working in Internal Medicine, Urgent Care, and retail health clinics, I saw the same problem everywhere: providers were under constant pressure to see patients as quickly as possible. Read More>>

Brook Choulet, M.D.

The thought process behind starting my own business came from a pattern I observed repeatedly throughout my training and early career. I grew up in a family of psychiatrists and saw firsthand how transformative mental health care can be.  Read More>>

Jordan Fernandez

What was your thought process behind starting your own business? I started Fire Fuel SEO because I was tired of watching business owners get burned. Read More>>