It’s wild out there and the struggle is real. Entrepreneurship is no joke, everyday is a new challenge, a new up, a new down, it never stops. The action, the drama, the energy is addictive and it’s why so many never want to retire from entrepreneurship. We’ve asked some very talented entrepreneurs to share some of those crazy stories with us.

Minkyung Kim

I decided to open my own martial arts school to fulfill my father’s lifelong wish—and my own long-held dream. The journey to get there was far from easy. I faced many challenges, and at one point, I was almost scammed. But through all the ups and downs, I finally opened my dojang. Read more>>

Seth Jubb

After living in NYC for 10+ years, I thought I’d seen and experienced it all. It turns out that part of the magic of living in the greatest city in the world is its ability to constantly surprise and delight you! When I woke up to a text message from an unknown number inviting me to speak on a massively successful podcast, featuring a comedian that I’d seen live many times in my early college years (yes, we also have photos together from that time!), I felt like I was on an episode of Punk’d. I responded asking for details and found out that a close friend of mine, who I’ve given chart readings to for years, had a producer friend on this show and had passed on the good word about me and my business offerings. Read more>>

Barbara Kris

One of the craziest, most pivotal moments in my business came when I was burned by someone I trusted; a friend and partner I’d worked closely with. We had projects together, shared commitments, invested time, energy, even money — and then, like it was “nothing important”, it all fell apart. Read more>>

Eric Zimmerman

For anyone who has ever started a business, they know the difficulties in simply getting a business up and running, not to mention the continued efforts in maintaining that momentum once things do start moving…and sometimes moving very quickly, although not always in the right direction. My business partner and I started Phoenix Freerunning back in 2013, a way for both children and adults to learn parkour and freerunning safely and efficiently. We started by teaching classes at local parks in Livonia, followed by renting space at a gymnastics gym to continue our program, until finally in 2015, we opened the doors to our first individual gym space called Phoenix Freerunning Academy. Read more>>

Fatima Alikhan

“One of the wildest parts of our business? The requests. When you’re in the world of luxury private aviation, especially with celebrity and high-profile clients, you learn quickly that no ask is off-limits.” Read more>>

Pattie Breen

I’ve sold my Booty Shawls® to women of all shapes, sizes and ages. They use them, as you’d expect, for layering over leggings and yoga pants for workouts. But I love hearing about the creative ways they are put to use also. One woman is an alpaca farmer and uses our Audrey Hipburn style to hold her sheering clippers in the generous pocket. Another woman rides a motorcycle in a group that does charity rides for veterans and also loves Audrey’s pocket for hands-free riding. Another woman is a photo journalist at the White House who also uses the kangaroo pocket for holding camera lenses. Read more>>

Aline Andrade

One of the craziest things about making a movie is how you often don’t know how the movie will get started and finished. This is my Cannes story and how the feature Unexpected Treasures was one of the most “unexpected” productions I got involved with: There is a bar in Cannes, France, where the cool people know to end up after the cocktail parties wind down. I’ll tell you where so you can go check it out when you make it there: it’s an unassuming bar behind the Mondrian Hotel. That’s where I met JP Ungaretti in 2023. A Brazilian/American VFX editor with a boyish smile, I immediately felt like I knew him, or that he was a distant cousin. We had coffee not far from there the next day and talked about our mutual Brazilian background and life in the entertainment industry in LA. JP said he wanted to make a movie with his partner Christina Heller and shoot in their beloved desert town- Pioneertown, CA. A fun alien adventure, he said. Read more>>