The heart of our mission is to find the amazing souls that breathe life into our communities. In the recent weeks, we’ve had the privilege to connect with some incredible artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and rabble rousers and we can’t begin to express how impressed we are with the incredible group below. Check out our favorite stories from across the Voyage family.
Fabiola Tsobgny
My journey has been shaped by resilience, curiosity, and a strong desire to build meaningful solutions that can genuinely improve people’s lives. I started my career in quality assurance and regulatory compliance, working across industries including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, food, and consumer products. Through those experiences, I developed a deep understanding of operations, problem-solving, risk management, and how systems can either empower or limit people. Read more>>
Melissa Ainslie
I started out as a young girl growing up in Catholic school in Ohio, not understanding why I was always so overly sensitive to people, emotions, and energy around me. At a young age, I experienced a major loss when an old boyfriend passed away during my senior year of high school. That experience shaped my understanding of grief very early on. Read more>>
Punphika Galindo
Growing up in northeastern Thailand and spending more than 20 years in Bangkok, I was honestly just an office girl who loved eating more than cooking. Cooking was never something I imagined turning into a career. But everything started to change after I met my husband. Read more>>
Rony Colindres
I came to this country at a young age originally from Honduras, looking for the American dream. With no knowledge about what I was getting myself into and not knowing the language. I worked for 12 years at a muffler shop, learned as much as I could, and waited for the right opportunity to open up my own business. Read more>>
Brittany Boehr
I’ve always loved being active. I’m also an optimist with a strong bent toward encouragement by default. Funny enough, I never thought to pursue a career in fitness coaching until I felt led to leave my desk job, take a year to rest and reset after a season of burnout, and allow myself to dream into new possibilities. Read more>>
Christina Woodruff Booth
I have a common maybe not so common story. I didn’t have a very stable upbringing as my dad, which I didn’t know till later in life, was bipolar and schizophrenic so my life could be very unstable, scary and abusive. Don’t get me wrong, I had a lot of great memories but I also have some that are not so great. Read more>>
Steven Singleton
Since I was a kid, I’ve always loved fashion not just the clothes themselves, but the entire process of getting dressed, shopping, and putting outfits together. Read more>>
Dustie Shelton
Sometimes the best things start with a push from someone who believes in you. At age 48, our founder Allan Cole was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s disease. A few years later, his daughter Meredith, who sings and plays piano, encouraged him to go after something he’d always wanted to do but never had: learn to play an instrument. He picked up the bass guitar. Read more>>
Sister Palm
I first became acquainted with face reading while I was in art school, and I immediately fell down the rabbit hole. I had discovered this huge body of fascinating material on traditional oriental face reading and became convinced of it’s validity. That naturally led me to wonder: if the face can be read, can the hands be read too? Read more>>
Zacharij Martin-Ned
Starting from a middle-class household, I have always been a creative. From the things I drew, music I listened to, to the way my mind worked – I knew I had a more fluid approach to how the world was, & understand how it worked. Read more>>
Michelle & Alexandra Stewart Carbonell
Coming from a family of artists and educators, we have studied a variety of educational philosophies over the years and have worked around the world doing so- including Thailand, Spain, China, India, and Vietnam- but found our true calling when we started working as Preschool teachers in a school that followed the Reggio Emilia approach in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2016. Read more>>
Madison Berry
While I was in college, my beloved great-grandfather moved into a skilled nursing facility for long-term care. This experience introduced me to the world of geriatrics, inspiring me to focus my studies on older adults and healthcare. Read more>>
Denise & William Southerly
My husband retired from the Army and we moved here from Germany in 2022. I am a midwife and have been riding horses for over 35 years When we bought our ranch in Kempner Texas I started getting horses out of less than optimal situations and started rehabbing and training them. Read more>>
Olga Reut
I am originally from Belarus and have been in the beauty industry since 2011. I started with permanent makeup and eyelash extensions, which remain my core specialties to this day. In 2014, I moved to Austin, Texas without speaking English. It was a challenging time, as I had to adapt to a new country while rebuilding my career and client base from scratch. Read more>>
Tiger Borgia
Yes, of course! Hi! I’m Tiger, I’m 26 years old, and I’m a full-time gaming content creator based in Austin, Texas. I create cozy videos primarily focused on Animal Crossing. I actually originally started making videos when I was just in elementary school. Read more>>
james haddox
Danielle and I both came from small business backgrounds before getting into real estate, so we’ve always had a mindset centered around relationships, communication, and taking care of people. We’ve lived in the Austin area for more than 30 years, so we’ve watched the area grow and change from a much smaller community into what it is today. Read more>>
Georgia Nixon
I started Effortless Beauty Clinic because I wanted to create the kind of skincare experience I felt was missing for women like me — women balancing careers, motherhood, stress, hormones, aging, and the constant pressure to “look fine” while carrying a lot internally. Read more>>
Lisa Hadi
I started food blogging/vlogging back in high school about five years ago, consistently uploading videos and pictures to Instagram every single day since. I initially launched the account simply because I love food; I wanted a personal log of where I’d been and hoped to share great local spots with others. Read more>>
Shanaz Ikonne
My journey into mental health and entrepreneurship has been deeply personal, purpose-driven, and shaped by both professional and lived experiences. I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), National Certified Counselor (NCC), and Registered Play Therapist (RPT) based in the Austin area. Read more>>
Julia Serbina
My journey as a UGC creator and artist started from a genuine love for storytelling, aesthetics, and creating meaningful content. I’ve always been drawn to photography, visual creativity, and building cozy, emotional experiences through content. What began as a creative outlet slowly turned into a passion for helping brands connect with their audiences in an authentic way. Read more>>
José Ignacio Mateis Balza
My name is José Ignacio Mateis. I am a musician, DJ, and videographer who has traveled the world in search of my place. I have lived in Venezuela, Spain, Colombia, Bolivia, and I am now based in Austin, where I feel the adventure is just beginning. In my pursuit of images, knowledge, and sharing music, I have visited 96 cities around the world. Read more>>
Sahiba Bassi
My story has a lot of moves, a few pivots, and a whole lot of “never say never” moments. I grew up in India in a military family, so moving was a regular part of life. Every two years, we packed up our home, moved to a new city, unpacked, adjusted, and started again. Read more>>
Sherry Hamilton
Women of Unity was birthed from both personal life experiences and a deep desire to see women truly supported, encouraged, and empowered. Long before it became an official nonprofit organization, it started in 2008 simply as a heart to serve people through prayer, encouragement, and community outreach. Read more>>
Aaron Ross
Where to begin. I was born and raised in Corpus Christi Texas. When I graduated high school I spent the first year traveling back back-and-forth from Corpus to Austin Texas while traveling the world riding BMX. On my 20th birthday. (Aug 2, 2006) I officially moved Austin and moved in with my friends. I’ve been in Austin ever since. Read more>>
Lado Dogale
I started SURVOLER with a vision to bring a more modern, fashion-forward approach to men’s formalwear in Austin. Before launching the business, I spent several years working in retail space, dedicating myself to learning the craft, understanding customer service, styling, fit, and the overall the business . Read more>>
austin alegria
I am a San Antonio based designer co made with my partner Christopher Colins. We are the founders and creative directors of ALEGRIA, a queer designer brand established in 2020. What started as a personal creative outlet quickly evolved into a brand focused on identity, self expression, and storytelling through fashion. Read more>>
anh bao
My family and I moved to America from Vietnam in 2005. I was 11 which is such a fortunate age to be exposed to the culture shock I experienced when I first moved here. I was fully immersed in a whole new world while hanging tight to my Vietnamese roots. I’ve been in the service industry pretty much all my life. Read more>>
Edwin Travis
I had decided to get out of the US Air Force as a Captain and was thinking about what to do next. I’d been to Doctors of Chiropractic most of my life and was interested in helping people in natural ways. Therefore, I decided to use my GI Bill benefits for tuition at Texas Chiropractic College. Read more>>
Tara Bonner
This is the summary from my website: Through recent life turns, I find myself here with you in this supportive space of Heart Seed Healing. I was fortunate enough, several years back, to receive a message from my grandmother and a friend at an event with world renowned psychic medium, John Edward. This was a huge turning point in itself. Read more>>
Avion Moore
For two years, I had been praying and asking God what I was supposed to do next. It felt silent for so long, and then one day in June 2025, I heard the Lord clearly say, “Start making puddings.” Honestly, I thought it sounded crazy at first! But I decided to be obedient and take the first step. Read more>>
Melody Wallace
I started with a passion for helping people and a strong drive to create opportunities for myself and my family. Over time, that passion grew into real estate, where I found a way to guide people through one of the biggest decisions of their lives — buying, selling, or investing in a home. Read more>>
Jacelyn Howard
My name is Jacelyn Howard. I am 15 years old and currently a freshman in high school. My story is about how I started modeling and chasing my dream of becoming a runway model. Ever since I was younger, I dreamed about modeling and walking on runways. Read more>>
Celine Crestin
My story with photography really does start at the beginning — there’s a photo of me as a little girl with a pink film camera practically glued to my hand. I think I was just wired to notice things, to want to hold onto moments before they slipped away. Read more>>
Stephanie Friedman
It all started back in High School when I took my first photography class. Getting to be creative and connect with people in front of my camera was just fun. And I continued pursuing photography with a Photojournalism degree at the University of Texas. I like the storytelling that comes along with photographs – what can one single moment tell us. Read more>>
Megan Malouf
Hi! 👋 My name is Megan, and I am a permanent makeup artist and a brow specialist. I have loved all things beauty since I was very young, often times getting into my mom’s makeup. Before deciding on becoming a permanent makeup artist, I went to college and received my business degree not knowing I would have my own business a few years later. Read more>>
Patrick Slevin
I grew up playing drums and percussion and spent a lot of time in band rooms, orchestras, and youth programs. I actually went to a high school that didn’t have an especially strong music program, so a big part of my musical education happened outside of school. Read more>>
Lindsey Smith
Art played a huge role in my childhood. It was fun, challenging, and therapeutic. It was my own language when I didn’t have the words to express my thoughts and feelings. It brought me so much joy. When I was in elementary school, an artist visited our school and held a free drawing class for us. Read more>>
Barbara Cooney
So So Spiffy began with a simple belief: beautiful, thoughtfully designed spaces can transform the way people experience a home. What started as a passion for interiors and creating meaningful spaces evolved into a full-service staging and design company built around helping homes feel elevated, inviting, and intentional. Over time, we recognized an opportunity to do more than traditional staging. Read more>>
Rebecca Robertson
I started with Lake Travis Zipline Adventures in 2015 as both a tour guide and customer service representative. From the very beginning, I fell in love with the company and the environment we created for guests. Read more>>
Michael Kane
I’ve been a tabletop RPG gamer and Dungeon Master for over 20 years, and Geek Tank Games really started from wanting better tools for my own table. Like a lot of DMs, I loved immersive encounters and visual gameplay, but traditional miniatures always came with tradeoffs (e.g. Read more>>
Mel Bee
I’ve always been a “dog person” and have loved animals my entire life. Over the years, I became increasingly aware of the animal welfare challenges in San Antonio — abandoned dogs, roaming dogs, neglected dogs, and the overall lack of resources and support in many situations. My friend Syndi, who is now also a Co-Director of C.A.R.E. Read more>>
O’lu Odunaiya
I’ve never really lived a “straight line” kind of life. My story has been more about reinvention, vision, and learning how to move between completely different worlds while still staying true to who I am at the core. Read more>>
Michelle Clayton
Wag Trendz® started with a shared frustration. My business partner, Sarah, and I both love dogs, and we were both tired of the same thing: a pet gear market flooded with overly cutesy, mediocre products that weren’t actually doing right by dogs or their owners. Read more>>
Jill Patton
Growing up in punk and hardcore scenes, I had always been appreciative of a DIY approach to business. In this spirit, I ran a candle company in Austin for over a decade. If you’ve lived in Austin for a while, it’s possible you purchased or were gifted a Luna Tigre candle. Then, in the summer of 2023, I discovered nail polish. Read more>>
Benjamin Rizk
Hello! My name is Benjamin Rizk and I am the owner of CCD Security Consulting. I grew up in a small town in Central Texas where i spent most of my early years serving at church and the local community, helping shape a lifelong passion for loving and serving people. Read more>>
Rebecca Franchione
The road to my TV show ‘The Mother Flip’ on A&E and designing/flipping houses started during Covid when I went to my hometown of Fort Smith, AR to remodel my Dad’s home that I grew up in. Read more>>
Pingback: Homepage