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.

Ashley Hernandez | Multimedia Artist & Stop Motion Artist

It was something I always wanted to do. It started off with me doing small drawing portraits, band flyers and graphic design. Since I’ve been in school its really evolved into something more. As a senior in my final semester, my business has expanded to photography, painting, video and stop motion/claymation. Read more>>

Ashlie Simon | Family, Newborn and Motherhood Photographer

In 2016 I was a high school Fine Art Photography teacher expecting my first baby. I enjoyed photographing families in my free time and was craving more flexibility in work and life. I decided to leave the classroom to pursue motherhood and my own art full time and haven’t looked back! Specializing in family, newborn and motherhood imagery evolved naturally once I had kids of my own. Personal experience as a parent really fueled my desire to capture these sacred, everyday moments for others – especially moms. (It may sound cliche, but babies truly don’t keep!). Read more>>

Marcelo Granillo | GQ Radio

The radio industry is changing with technology as well as how we listen to our favorite music. So when we started GQ Radio we noticed that the Hispanic community was very limited to either the large radio stations or very little stations, but none where transitioning to online transmission… there is where GQ Radio was born. I wanted to be small but ahead of the times, which we are as of 2021. Read more>>

Jennifer Lopez-Fuller | Social Media Influencer & Small Business Supporter

In the early days of the group, restaurant owners would ask me to let group members know to show they’re members to receive a complimentary appetizer of dessert. I would do this, yet hardly anyone would ask for this. Turned out, members didn’t want to fumble with their phones and if they did, the servers had no clue what they were talking about. A restaurant owner said I should create a card for members – and that’s what I did! I immediately had close to 40 restaurants eager to participate and group members excited about the community rewards card. Read more>>

Zyler Nolan | Business Owner & Influencer

I’ve always thought about designing eyelashes that would fit my style. I use to “stack” my lashes, which is where you combine two different lash styles and wear them as one. I could never find a lash that had everything I wanted, it was either you get natural, wispies, or volume. I wanted to have the perfect lash without the bulkiness /heaviness of the multiple lash bands. One day, I researched how to start a lash business and I immediately knew it was what I wanted to do. I thought about the many other people who could want an all in one lash just like I did and wanted to be able to provide that perfect lash for others. Read more>>

Susan Chadwick | President and Executive Director, Save Buffalo Bayou

I had just moved back to my native Houston from France and a group of friends who were also environmentalists asked me to help publicize opposition to a project that would have stripped and bulldozed one of the last remaining forested and publicly-accessible stretches of Buffalo Bayou flowing past our great Memorial Park in Houston. So we started Save Buffalo Bayou and set up a website and Facebook page. Read more>>