Holly Haeseler
Hanuman and I had recently moved our family to San Diego from New York after falling in love with this city on a prior visit. The move meant that Hanuman went from working with the largest publicly-traded hedge fund in the world to working at a social media start-up in the time before Facebook and Twitter even existed – almost hard to imagine now. Read more>>
Kathy David
I have always been an entrepreneur at heart, and it was just a matter of time that I would start my own company. I started in banking and worked for a fortune 500 financial institution for nine years. During the last year of my career as a banker, I knew I had to leave. I was waiting for the right moment to do it, and one day, I just did it. At that time, I didn’t know what kind of business I would start, but it didn’t matter. I decided I would just figure it out later. Read more>>
Curt Cuscino
For over 17 years, I’ve managed teams to build companies that are fundable and produce ROI by implementing disciplined capital deployment and strategic, well-tuned, future-forward marketing practices. I’ve helped everything from B2C startups at the beginning stages to large B2B companies — often serving as a right-hand man, team manager and Project Manager to Startup Founders, CEOs, and VPs of Marketing. Read more>>
Audra René
I have loved styling hair since I can remember, and some of my earliest memories include my first wedding hairstyle, prom and homecoming formal styles, while I was still in high school. Fun fact- as a teen I said I wanted to be a hairstylist or a lawyer. Read more>>
Emily Miller
Performing Arts Workshop (PAW) started behind the Self-Realization Fellowship in Encinitas on 2nd street 21 years ago under the direction of Leslie Craig-Foxworth. PAW has always been a safe, inclusive, and healthy environment for everyone, from the dance appreciator to the professional, to learn the art of dance. Read more>>
Rick Muir
I only had a couple of hours to spare before I had a flight to catch one summer evening back in 2003. One of my good friends had a daughter who was getting married that night, so I thought I’d stop by the reception early to offer my congratulations. I was, fortunately looking back, way to early! Read more>>
Grant Tondro
My business partners and I started our company back in 2005, if you can believe it. We had a business plan and a dream. We weren’t able to open up our first spot until 2007 but it’s been a heck of a roller-coaster ever since! The first restaurant, The Barrel Room, is a wine bar and bistro. Read more>>
Derek Marsh
I am the owner/photographer at Derek Chad Photography. I got my start, like many others, when my kids were born. My husband and I have identical twin boys that just turned 6 years old. I wanted to document their lives in a creative way and I had always had an interest in photography. Read more>>
Diane Mandle
In 1981, I moved to Amherst, MA from Paris, France with my year-old son where I got onto welfare and was able to get a rent subsidy allowing me to finish my education. After working for four years as the Chamber of Commerce director I was recruited to be a regional director for the American Cancer Society in Massachusetts. Read more>>
Alicia Phoenix
In 2010, I was working as the Assistant Pastry Chef at Four Seasons Aviara in Carlsbad and doing custom cakes on the side for fun. When the hotel changed ownership in late 2010, I decided to venture into my own cake business – The Crimson Cake. Read more>>
Deb Kelly
In 2012, I started working for a local gift shop as a part-time clerk. I found that I derived immense enjoyment from helping customers find exactly the gift they were looking for. I made it my goal that I would someday have my own shop. In 2014 my goal became a reality. Read more>>
Michael Armstrong
Oceanside Adventist Elementary began more than twenty years ago with a vision to provide quality, Christian education to families in the local community. Using the small-school model that is common to Adventist schools around the world, this one-room school has grown to include nine classrooms, kindergarten through 8th grade. Read more>>
Angela Amoroso, Drew Skinner and Miah Nwosu
Amoroso came to San Diego in 1987 after performing and teaching in New York for almost a decade. She founded Scripps Performing Arts in Scripps Ranch and expanded to Carmel Valley to be closer to Del Mar where she lives with her husband Drew Skinner in 2007. Read more>>
Luciana Rubertoni
I started my career in Brazil in 1996 when gyms were really blowing up for the first time, so I grew up in a very exciting time in Brazil’s largest city Sao Paulo. Then after settling down in San Diego in 2008, I started working as a group fitness instructor here while working at local massage therapy and chiropractor offices. Read more>>
Craig Lozzi
I began practicing in the early 70’s, first as a personal interest. I continued to study several modalities and working on family and friends. I found it fulfilling to help others and discovered I had a natural “feel” for it. After receiving some powerful regular sessions over the course of a few years, my body therapist suggested I undergo more formal training. Read more>>
Dr. Maryam Hekmat
Dr. Hekmat, Founder and Medical Director of the VIP MedSpa Clinic has been practicing physician in the field of Internal Medicine and Cosmetic Dermatology in Rancho Bernardo, California since 2002. She has completed her internship and residency training at Cleveland Clinic Health System, Cleveland Ohio in 2002 and then she moved to San Diego to join Scripps Clinic Medical Group. Read more>>
Mike Garcia
I started working in the hospitality industry over 20 years and fell in love with it then. I bartended all over San Diego including Moondoggies in La Jolla and Pacific Beach, Side Bar in downtown and Sandbar in Mission Beach, just to name a few. Read more>>
Louie Ortiz
Louie is a Serial Entrepreneur, Nationally Featured TV and Media Personality, Public Speaker, Mentor and Philanthropist. Louie grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico then moved to Anchorage Alaska and studied marketing at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Louie then moved to San Diego after college. Read more>>
Perrin Weston
In a nutshell, Carlsbad Art Farm’s mission is to inspire and encourage a deep connection to animals and the natural world through traditional studio art education. It is an outgrowth of my roots growing up on a farm in northern California at a time when children had more freedom to explore open spaces and observe the natural world unhurried. Read more>>
Oscar and Dawn Andalon and Chris Ingstad
We opened in 2016, inside of a gym, in a small 180 square foot office in Carlsbad, CA and we are one of the fastest growing clinics that specializes in helping people to KEEP active AND maintain mobility and independence. Dr. Oscar Andalon and Dr. Chris Ingstad, Co-Founders, were on a mission to change the way healthcare is done, by getting back to the roots when given the opportunity to serve others. Read more>>
Hais Lindeman
I grew up in San Diego attending elementary school through college, so after graduating from UCSD in 2004, I decided to change the scenery and moved to Florida. There, I got my first full-time professional job at a substance treatment program without any previous experience. Read more>>
Cory Reeder
Three years ago, I was living in Burbank, working in television. My girlfriend, a professor at Palomar College, and I were dating long-distance and always looking for new things to do during our weekends together. One of the things we got hooked on was going to escape rooms, which weren’t very well known at the time, then discussing what we liked and what we would change if we had designed them. Read more>>
Aaron Zar
My professional career started in San Francisco as a wine broker selling high end wine to clients all over the country. It was a riot of a job and shaped my demeanor towards sales and marketing moving forward. After a successful 5-year stint selling the lifestyle of wine, I co-founded a brand called silent pocket with my father. Read more>>
Dr. Diana Hoppe
I am a board-certified Ob-Gyn practicing in North County San Diego. From 1998-2011, I led a thriving practice known as Pacific Coast Women’s Health. In 2011, I decided to go out on my own – the insurance companies were wreaking havoc with reimbursements – they were only paying a % of the actual cost to run a business and I had begun to dislike my job. Read more>>
Michele Cook
Michelle is the owner of Salon LG. She is a hair extension specialist and hair stylist in San Diego. Shelly has over 20 years experience in the hair and cosmetology industry. Shelly specializes in hair color, haircuts and HAIR EXTENSIONS! Shelly was the hair and makeup artist for both the San Diego Charger Girls and the San Diego Riptide Cheerleaders for several years. Read more>>
Lynn Waldman
The Collaborative Family Law Group of San Diego came together about 15 years ago; we are a work group of Family Law Attorneys, Certified Divorce Financial Analysts, Divorce Coaches and Child Specialists. Our different professions allowed us to have unique insight into how difficult divorce is for families, legally, financially and emotionally; the fallout lasting often for years. Read more>>
Elvis and Staci Martin
On June 6th of this year, we were just leaving the gym when Elvis received a text message asking if he was interested in buying a shop or if he knew anyone who was interested. I looked at my husband and said, “why don’t we buy it?” He asked me if I was serious and I told him I was. Read more>>
Dara Green
I came out to California as a nanny in 1998 from NY. I worked hard at obtaining my BA to include my Early Childhood Education units so that I could teach and nanny at the same time, while finishing my education. Within the span of 6 years of arriving to San Diego, I had a few unique opportunities to work for some of San Diego’s most influential families while working at two different preschools. Read more>>
Andrew Yaros
This company was founded on the certainty that toilet paper doesn’t get you clean enough. After all, when we want to clean anything else, we wash it with something wet too, right? I went through most of my life like everyone else in America; using dry squares of toilet tissue as the single go-to for all bathroom trips. Read more>>
Barbara Jarnes
Thirty-two years ago, my husband and I set out to establish a small business that would provide a valuable service to residents in and around Fallbrook. Initially, we focused on services that Seniors could use to help them stay in their own homes as long as possible. Read more>>
Kathryn Holt
In 1998, Kathryn had a vision of a safe and supportive place that would help loving families in need of daytime care for their aging loved ones. The journey she set upon was prompted by her much-loved, maternal grandmother, Faye Needham. Faye spent her sunset years in the Holt family home when she needed nursing care. Read more>>
Heather Moe
Heather and Dan opened Design Moe in Escondido in 2009. Having built a family home in the nearby agricultural town of Fallbrook, they discovered that the area was full of parks, hiking trails, and interesting people. But it was lacking in upscale design services: most architectural studios and product showrooms were located at least 30 miles to the south, closer to San Diego’s city center. Read more>>
Joanne Coval
When our family first moved to North San Diego in 2004, we immediately fell in love with the community, the people and so many of the wonderful pastimes the area afforded us. At some point, we started looking for indoor places where our children could expend their energies in a healthy and engaging environment. Read more>>
