Our city is home to so many incredible businesses and so we asked the founders how they came up with the ideas for their businesses and have shared their responses below.

Juerie & Paul Masters | Wine Merchants

I think our business found us. Between us, Juerie and I have been in the wine business for over 30 years. Going into business for ourselves was always going to happen in one way or another and the more we talked about it, the clearer it became that we would really love to run a store that sold the kind of wines that we like to drink and engaged customers in an experiential kind of way – we could never be a store where the owners or staff just sat at the counter waiting for customers to come up to them – we wanted to engage with people and help foster a love for wine. So, in thinking that, the idea for our business just kind of formed its own shape naturally. We talked a lot about things we didn’t like in wine shops and discussed how we would change those things and what we would do differently. In looking at what we didn’t like we found what we should do. Read more>>

Jordanna & Michel Kasander | Keto Store Owners and Keto Eaters With a Passion To Ring This WOE To Everyone!

When we started the Keto WOE (way of eating) we very quickly saw that many of the Keto products on the market were only available online and with that, most times you had to buy 3 or 6 of something and then pay quite a bit in shipping costs as well! Also, some grocery stores were starting to have a small Keto section, however, we found that almost all of the products in that section were not actually Keto! We had been talking about starting our own business for a few years, but knew this was the right idea! Up until now, no one had created an all clean-Keto store where you know everything is sugar free, low carb and gluten free. Where everything fits into the Keto WOE! San Diego was the perfect first location. we wanted to create a store where we wanted to shop! Where we could get all of the amazing products and foods we were looking for under one roof. Read more>>

Amelie Ferris | Facilitator

I remember this so clearly. I was walking around the kitchen and this idea (out of nowhere, but not really) came into my head “host retreats for pregnant women.” When the download came I froze and felt a full body chill and mentally said “ok” A few days before that I enrolled into a year long mastermind knowing that I wanted to offer something to the world but didn’t know what that was quite yet. I knew that if I was to birth something I would want a lot of support because at that time our second born was only a couple of months old. When I would share my birth story with friends and family, I would always get feedback that when they had kids they’d want me to be a part of it. That thought always intimidated me because I wasn’t a doula, or midwife, or certified in anything. But I realized that didn’t matter to them at all, it was the experience and the transformation I went through that was so healing. So that’s why I believe it’s so important to create a space where women of all experiences can be held during this time in their lives. Read more>>

Molly and Brian Hodo | Owners of Merdo Acres Wood Design Studio

It started as a simple plan with two last names coming together to form a business name for their acreage in the Cuyamaca Woods (The San Diego Mountains) of Julian in 2015. The couple wanted to live more simply and be creative in what they love to do which is create functional art handmade by both of them. Molly Hodo is a graphic designer, artist and marketing professional who recently worked a commercial aerospace manufacturing business as a sales and marketing professional, but wanted to step out of the big corporate world and enjoy being an artist again. Brian Hodo spent a lot of his years wood working just for a hobby and enjoying hours in the wood shop making gifts for family members. He worked for over 14 years in the fire service profession and retired from CalFire as a Fire Captain in San Diego County a few years ago. They created a small business, Merdo Acres Wood Design Studio. Read more>>

Jeanne Reilly | Mom, Registered Dietitian, Co-Founder I Am Nurtured

My Co-Founder and I are Registered Dietitians who became parents and quickly realized how underserved new mothers are when it comes to getting the high quality nutrition they need to support postpartum recovery, breastfeeding and overall health. In fact the whole process of becoming parents – from pre-pregnancy planning to fertility support, through pregnancy and the postpartum period – is full of uncertainty, misinformation and confusion for so many. If we were struggling to find the best solutions, even with our professional experience in nutrition, what must the average parents be going through as they tried to navigate the realm of nutrition and supplements to support the health of their family? We decided we could use our knowledge and real-life parenting experience to make things a whole lot easier on moms & dads. Read more>>