Tempe 03.15.2018

Matiana Mitchell

My entrepreneur journey began many moons ago. From a young age I always found myself spotting and developing opportunities to make money. I started by doing yard work for neighbors while in elementary school. By 13 that evolved into baking cakes for birthdays and parties. Read more>>

Makenna Willhite

It all started in August of 2017 when my mom came to visit. I had always thought about starting a fashion blog, but I was a little nervous and didn’t know where to start. When she was in town she told me to just go for it and so I did. We went around Tempe and took photos in different outfits I styled. Read more>>

Diann Peart

In a graduate seminar at Arizona State University, the professor stated that the average homeowner applies chemicals at 5 times the rate of the agribusiness industry. I was already alarmed about the types of chemicals being used in agriculture so that statement really disturbed me. Read more>>

Douglas Jackson

Project C.U.R.E. began in my mom and dad’s garage at their home in Evergreen, Colorado. My father had made a small fortune developing real estate in the Colorado mountains in the early days of the ski industry. My parents discovered a truth of life: that one can be rich and not necessarily happy. Read more>>

Hendra Muksyarif

Before I started Pokedon, i was in the fresh seafood – restaurant industry for 11 years. I came up with Pokedon since I always have a vision of a neighborhood place that serves fresh poke concept and also cooked food since not everyone likes raw seafood. So everybody will have something to eat together. Read more>>

Kelly Clough

I had health problems and wanted answers. I didn’t get answers from my conventional doctors, and this launched me on a journey of healing and growth. I realized that health and wellness were my passion and it became my life’s purpose to spread it to as many people as I could. Read more>>

Kelly Watson

I began my career as a journalist at a small daily newspaper in East Texas. During that time, I saw the best and worst of people, and got a first-hand view of the many inequities in society. I began volunteering for various community programs, which led me to rethink my career decision. Read more>>

Julia Murphy, Kathryn Brantley

Kathryn: I am Academy Manager for Childsplay Theatre Company. We offer many great theatre programs but almost all train actors exclusively. The Conservatory program at Childsplay Theatre Academy trains young actors, especially those interested in pursuing a career in the performing arts. Read more>>

Tianwei Jing

I came to United States as an immigrant 35 years ago, went to graduate school in Princeton, New Jersey and got my PhD in Physics. Soon after, I came to Arizona, and worked at Arizona State University as a research staff, where I cofound a nanotechnology company called Molecular Imaging with professor Lindsay. Read more>>

David Lopez

I guess my story starts in the Bay Area where I rescued my first pit bull, Mack. He was on the E-List for “aggression” and I instantly knew he was the guy for me. I had been dog training for a few years at this point and knew that Mack was lacking the proper amount of exercise and mental “work”, which was causing his bad behavior due to anxiety and an overabundance of energy. Read more>>

Vi TranLe

It started out as a joke; I had nothing better to do during a marching band rehearsal weekend without my instrument available, and my instructor had just gotten engaged. Someone in my section joked that I should just start planning the wedding. Read more>>

Nick Coons

In 1997 while in high school, I started a computer repair services company. In 2002, I merged with another company and up through 2007 we had 5 retail stores around the Phoenix area. In 2010, I sold my ownership in that company and started Hyperion Works to focus on more B2B services. Read more>>

Weijia Gao

We are the first Private-room Karaoke in Arizona since 2011. I was a MBA student when I started the company. We just been through a complete renovation in 2017. It was very hard since we have never started a business before, and we don’t know anything about karaoke and sound system. Read more>>

Kitty Victorian

I have always been involved in theater and performing, but it wasn’t until I was introduced to burlesque in 2002 while visiting Chicago that I found my spark. In that show, I had the opportunity to witness Dirty Martini perform in all her voluptuousness owning her sexuality and sensuality. Read more>>