Many books on startups and business talk about how there are right and wrong reasons for starting a business. So, we asked a handful of successful founders about their reasons and the thought-process behind starting their business.

Dayme Walther | Interior Designer

Well, it’s something that has just sort of evolved. About 10 years ago, my husband and I flipped our first house and then it just kind of took off from there. I helped friends with their nurseries as they all had babies and then that led to living rooms and then entire homes. I grew up watching my grandmother sew everything from drapes to bedding to the clothes I wore. My dad is very handy and was always renovating some part of our home. As a child, I guess I was somewhat spoiled to think that if I could dream it up, someone could make it happen. Read more>>

Beth Keeton | Founder & CEO of Elephant House PR

I worked in advertising and marketing agencies for ten years before going in-house with a non-profit and each of those experiences taught me a lot about the pace at which I enjoy working, which companies I naturally gravitated toward, and how I wanted to show up as a leader. I’ve always enjoyed the more fast-paced, multi-faceted work environment that agencies offer, but I felt most personally connected to my work when I was working for one company in-house. Read more>>

Caroline Turnipseed | Founder of CWT Consulting Group

For ten years, I had led marketing teams in house at a variety of sized companies- Lilly Pulitzer, Victoria’s Secret and Julia Berolzheimer’s Gal Meets Glam. From these experiences, I quickly learned I thrived in environments that allow ideas to quickly get approved/tested and didn’t involve a lot of red tape and days full of unproductive meetings. Read more>>

Candra & Rachel | Boudoir Photographers

Rachel: This was not going to be as hard because I already have a few businesses. I knew the work that it took to make it happen and the sacrifices. You lose sleep and you spend a lot of time getting things together and making things work. Read more>>

Kierah Harris | Wife, Mother, and Cake Decorator

My thought process behind starting my business was my kids. The 9-5 that I previously worked resulted in me missing several of my sons “firsts”. After having my daughter, I couldn’t stomach missing any of hers. Making cakes was a way for me to do something I love, and still make a bit of money. Read more>>

Daniel Lessin | Board Game Designer and Author

The initial plan behind Black Labrador Creations was actually to LLC-ize my own bookstore. A science fiction/fantasy/gaming bookstore to delight the denizens of Northfield, Minnesota as a way to give back to the community after the top notch education I was provided at Carleton College in Modern European (1453 to present (at the time)) history. It was a great deal of fun, as I got to meet all sorts of wonderful people from exciting backgrounds very different from my suburban New Jersey origin, Read more>>

Candice Moten | Licensed MT & Instructor

At the time I stepped out on faith to embark on this journey I had been terminated from two jobs within a 3 month span. In that moment I’d decided I wasn’t going to let another place of employment decide to let me go with no heads up. No plan on how I should move forward. In my previous jobs I’d worked as a manager and the worker. I’d made up my mind that I handled being in authoritative positions more than the latter. As I was pursuing an associates degree for general studies thinking to go on for Business Administration. Massage therapy fell in my path. Read more>>

Keith Cedotal | Chef owenr

Well, it all started when I got furloughed – during the end of 2020. I thought, “Now is the time to start my own business.” Unfortunately, a lot of pastry chefs started their own bakeries, too. That was a good thing, because Dallas needed more local chef-owned businesses, but I knew I needed a unique concept. So, I took a step back and took some time. I probably took a little too much time, especially for my husband’s liking, but I wanted to get it right. Read more>>

Terrence Creech | Co-Owner & Artist Manager

The thought process behind starting my business was a collaborative effort with one of my best friends to create a business that incorporates levels of service with the ability to produce media content as the foundation of the business. In doing so this has expanded our BaldwinCreech Company parent brand into other areas that include The Creech Group, which manages the artist/singer song writer, TMarsh, The brands two key foundational pieces are being of service and creation, they work hand-in-hand. Read more>>

Tasha Rivers | Owner & Creator Rivers’ Rustic Designs

It was always my hope to one day open a store, but honestly, thought it was more of my retirement plan vs now. At the time of starting Rivers’ Rustic Designs, I was in Leadership at a busy Pediatric Hospital in Plano and then a Leader for Nurses across the country for Pharmaceuticals. The long hours, commute & travel was really taking away from the focus of our family. I had dabbled in Vintage Market Days and local vendor fairs with quite a bit of success, and it was actually my husband Randy who asked me why not go for this now? Read more>>

Katelynn Chambers | Owner of Doodle Bugs

I was inspired by Shark Tank. Why not start a business, regardless of my age? I loved going to the Farmer’s Market with my parents and baking with my mom – so I decided to combine the two. Unfortunately, there were already too many bakers at the market, so I had to pivot. That’s when I came up with premade cooking and baking mixes. I pitched the idea to my parents and they were supportive, but told me how much work it was going to be. Read more>>

Mariana Grahl | Singer

El Chanclazo was born in 2019 when Pepe Valdez and I were invited for a residency at Revelers Hall in Dallas. After we met, we discovered that, although we are from different countries (Pepe is Peruvian, I’m Mexican) our musical traditions worked around beautiful compositions, groups of friends, spirituous beverages, food, and a genuine love for each one’s own music, and culture. Bringing the best of each one’s background, we started working on developing a repertoire that is varied and significant to each one and comprised of music that we love and care for. Read more>>

Christian Ojo | Makeup Artist and CEO of Cojo Cosmetics

When you start school as a child, the adults around you start asking questions like “What do you want to do when you get older ”? I would reply I’m going to be a doctor when I grow up.I stuck with the answer all the way until my freshmen year of college. When I started classes, I quickly discovered that a career path in the health field was NOT for me. I realized that the only reason I wanted to be a doctor was because it sounded good, but it wasn’t something I wanted to dedicate the rest of my life to. Read more>>

Krystal & DJ | Vending Operators

It all started when I found out I was pregnant with DJ. I was tasked with not just creating life but giving him the best of me. After little support from his father I had to create a way to teach him financial literally while producing a steady income outside of the two jobs I work to make ends meet. So I invested my time in vending because the over head cost was low and it wasn’t something I had to show up to everyday but could still produce lucrative income. Read more>>

Pavel Overtchouk | MD & AI engineer

I am a physician specializing in interventional cardiology. Along with a few colleagues we observed that some patients have complications during heart surgeries. One complication is most dreaded: stroke. Stroke causes paralysis, dementia and increases the risk of dying in the days after the surgical procedure. Predicting which patients are going to have a stroke has been considered as impossible due to a complex entanglement of various factors. Read more>>

Gregory Mohr | Franchise Consultant

While getting my masters degree in business I read Robert Kiyosaki’s book “Rich Dad/Poor Dad”. I knew then that there was something better than the corporate world for me. I liked my job but did not like being tied down in an office for 10 hours a day. I knew I did not have the next best greatest idea for a business. I had worked for a master franchisor for Taco Bell in the past and liked how the franchise system worked. Read more>>