Our city is home to so many incredible businesses and so we asked the founders how they came up with the ideas for their businesses and have shared their responses below.

Markerius “MJ” Jackson | Entrepreneur & Creative Director

To put it very lightly it took a lot of trial and error. I came up with the brand in 2016, but didn’t really have one specific route for it to go to until 2017. Before Threaded World was born all I had under my belt was some light writing creds on other platforms, very some small start up experience, and I had a crazy love for sneakers . At the time I was in college, and I got to the part where I was tired of partying all the time, classes weren’t as bad, and I needed something to put my free time into that could actually take me somewhere. Half of the time I was stressed out from every angle, and couldn’t come up with one specific route to take as an actual business. I’ve had all types of inspirations for this brand and I plan to pay homage to every single one of them. From starting off as a small magazine to expanding into clothing it’s a very versatile street brand that’s going to push across a lot of different lanes. Read more>>

Miranda Ye | E-commerce Business Owner & Student

A few months after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, I had gotten used to online shopping to avoid any unnecessary contact with others at malls or retail stores. I found myself constantly returning to online retailers that were known fast fashion sites, due to my appeal towards their never-ending supply of “trendy” clothing and extremely cheap prices. I knew that fast fashion had its drawbacks, but I had never fully grasped the nature of them until I stumbled upon several articles and posts spreading awareness on the harmful environmental, social, and economic impacts of fast fashion. Seeing these initial posts piqued my interest on the topic, and I was curious to learn more. Fast fashion refers to inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to latest trends. In addition to other damaging factors, fast fashion contributes to carbon emissions and greenhouse gases, exploits the labor of garment workers in sweatshops, and leads to extreme amounts of textile waste. Read more>>

Sandy Iro | Personal Trainer

I’ve always been an athlete at heart and enjoyed the realm of fitness since I was young. It was back in 2018, I was still at my corporate job at the time and I had a co-worker approach me about holding her accountable so that she can lose weight. She had noticed that after work I would change into my workout clothes and utilized the outdoor space as my gym. This action is what encouraged her to want to join me. After several months of intense training, and holding her accountable, it was then I realized my calling. Through her fitness journey, she was pushed physically, emotionally and spiritually to charge through any workout I dished out. As we were in the midst of a difficult session, she found herself wanting to give up, wanting to stop, wanting to quit. However, I did not want her to allow that for herself – not this time as she has quit on herself before in the past. At the end, it was my words of encouragement and her willingness to push past her comfort zone that allowed her to complete our session. Read more>>

Ryn Scull | Baker & Social Worker

I was on the hunt for joy in my daily life. I was working in a social work setting and feeling pretty burned out from the profession and knew I needed to step away for a while. My friends always complimented my baking when I’d bring desserts to get togethers so I thought I’d try my hand at selling my baked goods online. Hand pies were first on the list as they are fun to make and are super nostalgic. I started my business at the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement and wanted to officially kick off my business venture with a fundraiser to raise money for Austin Justice Coalition & as a way to show my community where I stand. Read more>>

Jessica Maxwell | Money Management Coach

Organizing, money management and helping people. All of my favorite things, in one business idea. I majored in finance in college, but ended up in corporate finance world for years. I love it, but my true passion lies in the personal finance world. Not so much investing or day trading, but helping people manage their money – in real life I offer my clients a friendly, non-judgmental approach to figuring out how to manage their money. So many people find money intimidating and go with the old tactic of ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ This is something I can truly help people with. Making the scary world of income and expenses make more sense. Getting a solid handle on one’s money, can open them up to a truly stress free life. This is my whole business approach. Take inventory of what you have, work on developing some good money habits and establish some attainable goals for the future. Read more>>

Bri Taylor | Baker

As a baker I believe that all treats are created equal, but bundt cakes & brownies are a step above the rest. So when I started my baking business I wanted to think of ways to make my business outshine the rest. I thought to myself “what treats could I create in a fun and exciting way?” Then while shopping one day, I noticed that Oreo cookies were bring made into all different types of dessert and just like that, I had my light bulb moment in the middle of aisle 9. “I love brownies. I am almost certain that everyone loves brownies, but do brownies always have to be… brown? Why can’t we enjoy the texture of brownies in multiple flavors?” This is when I decided to focus my business mainly on bundt cakes & brownies. My bundt cakes are the classics and my brownies are the remix. I still make plenty of other treats by request, but I enjoy baking bundts & brownies the most. I’ve recently became a vendor for the MLK Food Park and will be there every weekend in April, so please stop by and grab some treats! I also accept order via Text 214-856-0107 or on IG: @_BrisBakes. Read more>>

Tamara Bond | Author, Professional Mentor & Speaker

I started my business based upon my own experience and my passion for serving others. Working in corporate America helped to identify where I needed to be of service. There are things we are not taught in school. As I was making my way through college, studying accounting and business management, while I was learning the mechanics, no one ever taught me or talked to me about the human dynamics of working in corporate America. As a result of that, I was able to do my job, however, I struggled with building a progressive career. I learned lots of lessons along the way, but I always felt like I was two steps behind. The strategic behaviors required to move to the next level were foreign to me. I thought that as long as I did my job and did it well – I’d be rewarded with acknowledgement and promotion. Not so. I believe that if I had a mentor who was genuinely interested in helping me to develop, coupled with some professional development courses, the trajectory of my career would have progressed upward rather than flatlining. Read more>>