We love grabbing drinks with our entrepreneur friends because they always have the craziest stories. Sometimes it’s a big, unexpected win. Other times it’s a problem that came out of nowhere and couldn’t possibly have been foreseen. There is so much to learn from these stories and so we asked some of the brightest entrepreneurs and creatives in the community to share some of those stories below.

Raquel Rich

I wasn’t planning on self-publishing. I wanted a traditional publishing contract. But after 100 rejections (yes, 100), I stupidly ignored a bunch of red flags and signed a contract with a vanity publisher. For those who don’t know, a vanity publisher is just a nice way of saying “scammer”. Read more>>

Taffany Hyatt

My love for gardening is what literally grew my consultation business. Wanting to help others cultivate their own green spaces fills me with joy. Be it a church, community garden, school outdoor classroom, back yard, balcony, etc. Read more>>

Cory Popp

My first brush with death while filming came in October 2019 on a hillside overlooking the Syrian town of Tall Tamr. We had been sitting a ways off from the frontlines most of the morning, gunfire and explosions ringing out somewhere off in the distance. Read more>>

Princess Bossman

So about my music career I sometimes get feedback from people that rap doesn’t suit females because of that they don’t really enjoy my song Some even advice me to stop rap and try singing. Read more>>

Amy Shamblen

The reach of my work in the most unexpected of places—still baffles me to delight. Most recently, I was taking a cab home after seeing a Broadway show. On a whim, my friend was scrolling through the device that was available for customers to play games on. Read more>>

Leslie Chernila

I don’t think the birth of my business is exactly “crazy” but it is pretty cool. While living in Central Mexico in 2017, my kids and i discovered a Chimichurri sauce served with pizza and it was addictive. Read more>>

Michael Masurkevitch

In the profession of acting, no two days are alike – but I’ve had some days unlike any other. In film, we use audio and visual tricks and cues to craft a new reality of a story for people to watch – and in low budget independant film, we do this by any means neccessary, usually weird practical solutions because “fixing it in post” is actually more expensive. Read more>>