Ideas aren’t everything, execution matters greatly, but starting often requires an idea and so we asked folks to think back and tell us the story of how they came up with the idea for their businesses. We’ve highlighted some of our favorite stories below.

Kristopher Arguin | Executive Chef & Spearfisherman

My idea came from my life in Hawaii as a Chef and Spearfisherman. Sustainability plays a large role living there, so when I came to California I wanted to continue this. I took the Executive Chef position at Cal Poly Pomona University which gave me the opportunity to showcase what sustainability really means. In addition to food sustainability, I had the idea to use my experience as a spearfisherman to educate the importance of ocean sustainability. Read more>>

Trasina Diazmuñoz | Surreal landscape photographer & designer

I had recently moved to Washington in early 2019 to pursue a career in photography. I worked at various photography studios in the area I was in, however I quickly found out I did not like that type of lifestyle. At first it felt weird because here I was, a photographer in the pnw but I wasn’t happy.  Read more>>

Ryan Rock | Founder/CEO, Fat Boy Surf Club

Before Covid we had no thoughts of starting a business. I was living on 38th st in Manhattan Beach in 2020 when they closed all the beaches in LA unless you were doing “activities”. It seemed everyday a group of friends would come over to borrow my wetsuits and old boards to learn how to surf. Read more>>

Corey Senese | Professional Surf Instructor

I was finishing my degree with goals of becoming a personal trainer or physical therapist when I started teaching people how to surf. The idea came from witnessing an extremely poor surf lesson take place at one of my favorite beaches. I found teaching to be a very satisfying kind of work. Read more>>