Jay Master
It’s been a windy road. I grew up in Boulder, Co. and when I first started college I wanted to be a stockbroker. I went down that path for a few years before I realized that wasn’t what I wanted to do. My sister and I decided to take a big step and move to Honolulu, HI to get residency and go to college. I began community college there going for my general credits to be able to transfer to the University of Hawaii. I took a digital art class and I knew immediately that was my path. From that point, I worked towards get my AA in Graphic Design and 3D. After getting my AA degree, I started working for Konami as an interface designer and a voice-over coordinator. It was a great experience working on video games that taught me a lot about production work and how teams collaborate across disciplines. Read more>>
Jessica Mims
I had an old camera sitting around my house for years and had never touched the thing. At the time I was a bartender and my bar was being bulldozed to build condos. I decided to take my camera up to the bar to capture the demolition. As it turns out, the CEO of the demolition company was there and offered to pay me for my work. Then everything just fell into place. Surprisingly smooth! I vet all of my clients before I take them on to make sure we’re a good fit and it’s worked out really well for me! I have amazing clients who I now have friendships with. I’ve photographed so many weddings only to continue photographing the same couples as their families grow. I absolutely love it! Read more>>
Patrick Dempsey
I’m 48 years old and I was born in Brownsville, Texas. Growing up in the Valley seems so much easier now that I watch my daughters grow up and see all the things in the world they have to encounter at such a young age with the internet and social media. My dad was white and my mom is Hispanic, and growing up in Brownsville you pretty much have to speak Spanish. I was lucky to grow up speaking two languages and experiencing two cultures. At the same time, there wasn’t a lot of diversity outside of that, and it wasn’t really discussed. Pre-internet, it was magazines, TV and movies that provided us a glimpse of what else was out there. Read more>>
David Menendez
Obscure Animals started in 2021 by a few friends who originally met at a local open mic night. JR Kaufman, Patrick Shea, and myself (David Menendez) had known each other for several years and each had our own musical projects going on, but drunkenly decided during a bachelor party we were attending that because we all had similar musical tastes that we should team up and start something new. Since then we’ve been writing songs and have released a few singles as well as an EP. Our debut album should be released in the next few months. Starting out during the pandemic definitely created some challenges for us getting started, but ultimately we were able to sort out most of those logistical problems. Our biggest obstacle right now is the fact that we currently do not have a drummer and it’s caused us to miss live show opportunities. Our biggest focus has just been on getting the album out and finding a drummer later. Read more>>
Drake Trotter
We were on a family vacation in August of 2017. I took my sister out for a late-night beach walk and, when I came back in, made a bad decision to dive into the 4ft pool to clean off the sand. I broke my C1, C3, C7 vertebrae and my occipital bone. We ultimately ended up in the Panama City Trauma Center. (A wonderful care team and host of nurses and doctors, BTW). I had an emergency spinal fusion; a setback with an emergency tracheotomy, and two weeks in the ICU. T wonderful pilots agreed to Angel Flight me back to Austin. When I returned home, I developed an infection in my spine and metal hardware. It required an additional surgery, and I found myself back in ICU for another two weeks. I am humbled to say that my journey resulted in hundreds of answered prayers, Godly miracles, and I am fully restored, despite all odds. Read more>>
Penelope Walston
The Fab AF pop-up market originally started as a high school project. I wanted to create something that could benefit the LGBTQIA+ community, my community, in a way that was simply more than donating to a charity. The team and I were able to formulate this plan and with the help of a lot of people, create our markets. Since then, we’ve only grown, having three incredibly successful markets. I truly just hope that what I am doing brings people joy or helps them in any way. Small businesses deserve customers, and the LGBTQIA+ community deserves representation and love. Everyone deserves a space to show off their creativity and who they truly are, which is something that the team and I truly hope we are creating. Read more>>
Benjamin Aubrey
An artist of all sorts, and I’ve always been a creative. I was originally born in Oceanside, California but I’m a military kid so I have moved around constantly since a young age. I went to high school in Jacksonville, Florida, graduated in Havelock, North Carolina and went to college in Winter Park, Florida. I can firmly say that because of that, I have been through plenty of experiences and have met people from all over. Before taking the two-day drive from North Carolina to Austin, I originally planned on moving to Miami but things just didn’t align and all of a sudden everything fell into place to come here and I’ve been loving it since I got here. Read more>>
Brock Clements
Welding wasn’t always something I knew I’d want to do. I was fresh out of high school and extremely unsure about what was next for me. Starting my welding business was a very winding road, but I’m glad it’s where I ended up. I signed up for welding classes at ACC just to see if I would like it. Being handy and crafty is something that always came naturally to me, so it just made sense. I graduated with my structural certificate, and that was great and all, but I was still unsure if welding was the right path. That’s when I decided to pursue a graphic design education at Texas State. As it turns out, college is expensive, and all I really wanted to do was create things that were beautiful and permanent, so I dropped out and headed back home. Read more>>
Iris Rylander
I started creating in my childhood and never stopped. I graduated from Texas State University with a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts, with an emphasis in Education. During my seven-year teaching career, I had multiple side jobs working under other creatives in Austin. It wasn’t until the start of the pandemic when I lost my side job that I was kind of forced to contemplate what I wanted for myself. In July, I moved into a studio space at Contracommon, a non-profit arts organization based just outside of Austin, TX. I believe that decision has been a pivotal moment for me and my practice. Having a dedicated space and being part of a collective of artists has allowed me to grow exponentially. I’ve reconnected with long-dormant parts of myself that are fascinated with nature. Read more>>
Ron & Megan Watkins
With almost 40 years of combined experience in the coffee industry between Megan and I, we decided to take everything we have learned and build our little espresso truck. Right before Covid, we bought an empty box van and spent a little over a year building it from the wheels up. We made the trek with our truck from the Pacific North West all the way down to Kyle, Texas to be closer to family and enjoy the warmer weather (perfect food truck weather)! Building an espresso truck with no prior knowledge in construction wasn’t an easy task. But we feel like almost anything is possible if you watch enough YouTube. It seemed like it was taking forever to get it finished. There were a couple of times we wanted to call it quits, but we are so glad we stuck through it! After we finished the build, we weren’t sure how the county inspection was going to go. We must have read over the requirements and regulations a million times, and it all paid off. We passed inspection on the first go. Read more>>
Anne Archambeault
I was born in South Africa and moved to the United States when I was 11 years old. This was a big transition for our family. Since I was little, I had a passion for helping people. After graduating from Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX, I became an elementary education teacher. For the next couple of years, I taught elementary school. I took a break from full-time teaching after having my three beautiful children. I spent years raising them, volunteering in the community and subbing in the local schools. I moved to Seattle for four years and opened up a boutique where I hosted jewelry-making parties, parent night outs, ladies nights, girl/boy scout events, etc… Once I got back to TX, I picked up subbing, waiting for the opportunity to move back to Austin! That dream came true in 2016 where we moved to Dripping Springs. I fell in love with the area and the incredible community. I got a job teaching again. Read more>>
Madeline Kennedy Lozano and Dawn Rodriguez
We met in 2016 through another local nonprofit Dawn founded, Dance Another World. I had just moved to Dawn’s hometown of Austin months before and met one of her close friends at a hoop dance meet-up; she connected Dawn and I, and I became an afterschool dance teacher with the Dance Another World English immersion program. From there, our friendship began! We share a deep love of nature, the ocean and community. Though having a background in journalism, hospitality, and operations management, education and development of sustainable practices has been a unifying thread of Madeline’s professional career. Dawn explains her passion for the ocean as being an obligation to our shared earth. As we connected more over time, the idea for Into the Sea blossomed. Read more>>
Alex Camet
Well, this business started as a college program I was in when I was in college, but when I graduated, I really wanted to start my own business in the audio and video production, then out of the blue my friend Dante offered me a couple of gigs here and there doing camera work cause he was too busy to do it, after that we met up and told him about the idea of having a production company he liked the idea and accepted the challenge since 2019 we have been in the hustle trying to make the company grow more and more. Well, I don’t think in any business there has been a smooth road Haha I can really say that in the begging, it was more about the experience and the type of equipment you had. Since I was fresh graduated from college nobody really wanted to hire you and off course, pay you enough for your work, so we really had to connect and work almost for free to get our name out there and get more clients, pretty much we had to talk to everyone, friends, family, the dog you name it, haha to make sure they knew what our business was. Read more>>
Bruno Didier
I’ve been an entrepreneur ever since I was young. I’ve always wanted to improve things, solve problems, and make decisions. I also love to listen to and learn from people, and I’m good with tech. So in 2013, after three full years in the USA, I left a good position in SF (at a nationwide catering company that deals with delivery issues every day). I left my life as well (visa, apartment, friends, habits, etc.) to go back to France to start working on Trackin. It is food delivery software that allows anybody to start an efficient delivery business within a day, without knowledge, and anywhere in the world. After three months, we had a prototype, and I traveled around to meet with potential customers to see if we were onto something. We participated in a nationwide French startup challenge and ended up winning. This netted us 25k and allowed me to hire my first employee and two interns. Read more>>
Katie Robertson
In December of 2019, I opened my business to help those struggling with stress, anxiety, adhd and overall nervous system regulation through a technical form of sound therapy. I was in an office condo with four rooms and although I needed to rent them, I also had a vision of other holistic practitioners so the atmosphere was cohesive to a healing space. Luckily I had been a client of Dusti Hope, LMT for a few years and she just happened to need a space at the time! We were even able to host a couple of meditation classes with Donna Stina before closing in March 2020 (who as of August is with us full-time!) After being closed for a few months, the office has many shifts and changes all leading to Round Rock Holistic Health Center. So what began as just myself starting a business developed into a community, not just for clients but for practitioners as well seeking a similar space of looking at the body, mind and soul as influencing overall well-being. Read more>>
Itzel Rincon
I was born in Mexico City but raised in Texas; my Mexican culture and traditions have always been in my heart. I have been a pet lover my whole life. I originally planned to go to vet school after receiving my Animal Science bachelor’s degree from Angel State University, but life had different plans for me. I worked at a pet boarding facility for almost four years. I loved working with pets. But now, being a full-time mother, I wanted to continue working with pets but from home. After traveling to Mexico several times, I was amazed with the beautiful artwork the artisans created, especially with the artwork they made for pets. I decided to present these original products made in Mexico to all pet lovers by founding Azteca Pet. Read more>>
Daniel Hernandez
DBB Powersports started in 2020, however, my journey with motorcycles began over ten years ago. Both of my parents rode motorcycles since 1980, so I got into bikes from them and began riding in our backyard at 12 years old. I really gained deeper knowledge on motorcycles when I had to fix my first motorcycle (multiple times since it was an 80s model). From there the next big jump into my motorcycle career happened in college. At this time, I started to buy and sell bikes on the side, as well as helping others buy their first bikes and even taught them to ride. I realized I had a good eye for bike deals and was learning more about selling, which led me towards the realization that a good business could come from this “hobby”. Read more>>
Brandon Holley
Real estate has always been a passion of mine. I worked as a field engineer in the oil industry for 5 years and found out I was unfulfilled. So I started searching for my next chapter and realized I enjoyed spending time with people and working for myself. So I started my real estate classes and got my license. Like many others, I struggled for a few years until I found my groove with a strong brokerage and mentor. So in 2021, I decided to venture out on my own and create Holley Homes Realty, where I could help educate clients and new agents to help everyone succeed in real estate. It has not been a smooth road. When people hear about real estate, they believe everyone buys homes, which must be simple. I have had plenty of people leisurely discuss getting their license because it’s easy… If that is the case, I would love the road map. I spun my tires the first year and only sold 2 homes and 13 leases. Read more>>
Ana Ortiz
I am a fire, water and mold specialist, Realtor and I manage my children’s businesses. How it all started, at the age of 14yrs old I became pregnant with my oldest son/now business partner, shortly after that, I moved out of my mom’s house and into an apartment with my children’s dad and that is when it all started. I continued to go to school and worked full time, all while attending to my baby, and this is where I met the most amazing women that helped me get through high school. Right after high school but now with two kids, I went straight into college and studied social work. I’ve always had a passion for helping others some of my biggest cheerleaders helped me though high school and I knew I at least wanted to do a small impact in other people’s lives. Read more>>
Kevin Dawson
I was working for a global consulting firm at the time and started to realize while working with my clients that the issues they were facing there wasn’t much being done to focus on the root cause of their employee turnover issues. So I began to look at the culture of the organizations and leadership structures and found that most organizations were not focusing on developing leaders, teams or their culture. So I began to speak on these topics and working with my clients on addressing these issues. We found that by developing their individual managers to be better leaders improved the team dynamics and the organizational culture. Which then reduced turnover. This led to being asked to speak at conferences around the country on these topics. Though at the organization I was working at had a Senior VP come to me and tell me I wasn’t qualified or credentialed to be an expert on these topics. That really frustrated me, so I began looking for an exit strategy. Read more>>
Scott Bauer
I have always been intrigued by aquatic life in both the ocean as well as our local springs here in Texas. What I enjoy most is sharing photos of all of the crystal clear natural springs that exist in the Texas Hill Country. A lot of these places are on private property and most people don’t know they exist. Another lesser-known feature in Texas that I enjoy sharing with people are photos of the flower gardens of banks national marine sanctuary. This is a beautiful and pristine coral reef 110 miles off of the coast of Galveston, TX. Most people that aren’t into diving don’t know that there are coral reefs in Texas, especially ones that are this healthy. I always find it satisfying to share how lucky we are to have this beautiful ecosystem that you would usually travel a great distance to see, right here in our own backyard. Read more>>
Evan Lopez
Well… It all started with my upraising. I was homeschooled as a kid which actually translates into.. I was a feral child who spent most of his days in the backyard, running around chasing pigeons and playing with dirt clods. You may be wondering… What does this have to do with video production? Well from a young age I was forced to be creative and tell stories just to entertain myself which has translated into always looking at video production as an outlet to tell a story in a unique way. I have always been a storyteller and have enjoyed making music, doing comedy & creating short films. How I started my production company was I was flying my drone around a pool my buddy was swimming in and someone stopped me and asked me if I did it professionally. Read more>>
Dave Love
Hill Country Wine Tours was founded on the principal of providing an all-inclusive, elevated door-to-door experience in the Texas Hill Country around the amazing Texas Wines and Whiskey locations that are a big part of tourism in Central Texas. Founded by music entrepreneur Dave Love, founder of Heads Up International Ltd. a Seattle then Cleveland-based international recording company who released many albums by the likes of Esperanza Spalding, Take 6, Fourplay, Spyro Gyra, Yellowjackets, Philip Bailey, Incognito, Taj Mahal, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Hugh Masekela and over 300 albums many that were Grammy-nominated or Winning albums in a variety of categories. After Heads Up merged with Telarc International Corporation the entities sold to to Norman Lear and Hal Gaba’s Village Roadshow Pictures in 2008, Love went on to manage a slough of Grammy Award-winning international artists such as Esperanza Spalding, Buena Vista Social Club, Omara Portuondo, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Liebman, Fatoumata Diawara, Roberto Fonseca and others. Read more>>
Sara Balkanli Watkins
I grew up in Houston, the only daughter of a Turkish immigrant & an American mother. Houston is such a diverse city, and my love for people’s stories started there. I grew up with kids from so many different backgrounds & circumstances, each with their own story to share. I loved meeting new people & learning more about their lives and stories. I knew I wanted to incorporate my love for people into a career where I could help others. I graduated high school & moved to San Marcos where I attended Texas State University (Eat Em Up, Cats!). I bounced around between a few different majors, but I finally settled on Communication Studies. I was fascinated by how we use communication to develop & build relationships with others. Read more>>
Jade Phillips
Practice, passion, and consistency. Creating is not something that comes naturally to me. Luckily, the art classes I took in high school were almost as robust as the artistic education I received in college. This allowed me to understand the principles of art and design at a very young age. At 18, with around four years of practicing drawing /painting, I went on to receive my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (2016) and my Master of Arts degree (2018).Over time, I studied the various ways in which we visually perceive the human experience. I dove deep into the world of fine arts and have relished there ever since. When it comes to maintaining a creative practice… I wish a smooth road existed! There are always struggles if you are serious about pursuing your passion. I’ve had clients that have asked me to stop working on a project in the middle of its creation. I’ve been rejected for many exhibition opportunities. I’ve had technical difficulties with the business/website side of being a working artist. I’ve gone in and out of cycles of being idle in my studio practice. Read more>>
Susan Anderson
My career has had a long winding path but in many ways, it is coming full circle. I started out with a “passion for fashion”. So a barely 18 years old from Wyoming set out for the big city lights of Los Angels to seek my fame and fortune. Yes, I was a bit of a cliché. While in fashion design school and working in the industry, I started making purses out of fabric scraps donated to the school. I wanted to start my own fashion line, “Revolutionary Rags: Clothing with a Conscience”. But I was not a good fit for L.A. I went to business school as far away as possible while still getting in state tuition to Humboldt State University in Arcata, CA. There I worked as a sewing machine operator for a little company that manufactures kayaking gear and started another little business with a friend and fellow business student making greeting cards out of handmade paper using the paper shred from the admissions office. Read more>>
Brittney Rodriguez
After successfully establishing, growing and making impactful contributions community-wide through the formation of my own Public Relations firm, Grit + Pearl Public Relations, I felt a strong calling to share the highs and lows of my own entrepreneurial journey with those just beginning to dream of becoming business owners, themselves. I have always been fortunate to lean upon my own network of close family and friends in professional aspirations, but also recognize not everyone enjoys the benefit of the same support systems. My belief in the immeasurably valuable work of the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to advance and advocate on behalf of Austin’s fast-growing and impactful Latino community very much informed my interest in pursuing the opportunity to share my experiences and lessons learned with other promising business owners. The road to success looks different for everyone, but together, we’re an unstoppable force! Read more>>
Devin Chronis
I’ve always known I wanted to get into clothing but never had the means or any idea of how to do it. Fresh out of high school, I realized I didn’t want to just sit around doing nothing with my time, so I decided to get started. I started going to the thrift store with the little money I had and slowly growing my inventory for Space Dolphin. I started listing on eBay and Depop and made my own Instagram account for my little business. Slowly but surely, my business is starting to grow into what I want it to become. When I first started listing items, the traction they were getting started out really slow and I had a lot of discouraging thoughts. With the confusing algorithms of Depop and eBay, a lot of my stuff wasn’t getting any attention whatsoever. I started to doubt myself and the potential of my business. I had invested a lot of time and money into this, and I didn’t have the luxury of failing and pretending like I never even tried to do this. Read more>>
J.I. Mardones
I am J.I. Mardones, Chilean/Texan filmmaker born in Austin TX, in 1987. In 1992 me and my family moved to Santiago de Chile, where I grew up. At nine years old, Star Wars became my most favorite saga and because of this saga I discovered my passion for filmmaking and storytelling. At 14, I began to listen rock and heavy metal music and then I began to figure out how much I love music. Between 2008 and 2015 I studied the Film&TV career at University of Chile. Parallel to college, I also developed my passion for music, I took guitar lessons and learned to create songs in a self-taught way as an additional feature to my film career. When I graduated from college, my first job was video editor. I worked on a lot of short video contents: BTL, internal marketing, sports, fashion, events, etc.. In 2018, I started my second job as videographer/editor in an engineering company called Procesos Ambientales. In 2022, after 30 years living in Santiago de Chile, I decided to make a change in my life and I returned to Austin, my hometown, to find new opportunities as filmmaker. Read more>>
Elaine Khodzhayan
Food was an important part of my life ever since I was young. I grew up in the restaurant business, and I learned early on all that it takes to open and sustain a restaurant – I learned from the best: my dad. From sitting into his meetings with sales reps to hearing him talk about his ideas for menu items and everything in between. My dad gave me the operational understanding that you just don’t learn in a classroom, and this has made me extra passionate about the restaurant industry. My mom played another important role – she made me understand how special food can be in connecting people. Her cooking throughout my life connected me to my Armenian culture and made me have an unending love for the traditions and history that accompanied our meals. Read more>>
Nadiya Zhurba
Teaching kids was always my passion. I’ve been teaching in Ukraine and when I moved to Austin, TX, the first thing I started doing here was volunteering at my kids’ school and then working as a substitute teacher in Austin ISD. Also, I am a mom of three kids and I do everything possible for them not to forget their native Ukrainian language and their Ukrainian origin living far from Ukraine. When COVID started, I was laid off from my position as a substitute teacher and my kids didn’t have the opportunity to communicate with their Ukrainian-speaking friends. So I decided to combine my two passions: teaching and parenting. In October 2020, I founded Bright Kids Ukrainian Online School where Ukrainian kids living in the USA and other countries can study the Ukrainian language online with teachers living in Ukraine. Read more>>
