Many books on startups and business talk about how there are right and wrong reasons for starting a business. So, we asked a handful of successful founders about their reasons and the thought-process behind starting their business.

Rachel Walsh, DVM | Veterinarian and CEO of Replenish Dog Water Supplement

I first constructed the idea of Replenish water supplement one hot Houston day when I was at the dog park with my dog, Sammy, and he became overheated and dehydrated. It was at that moment I realized there needed to be a safe and effective method to rehydrate dogs to prevent them from having a heat stroke and having to go to the vet. That experience inspired me to research what nutrients have been proven to effectively help canine athletes recover faster after activity and to enhance their performance. With my background in Biochemistry and veterinary medicine and my experience as an All-American track athlete, I developed the ideal formula to rehydrate, re-energize, prevent injury, and improve your dog’s performance which I named Replenish. Read more>>

Xanthia Gordon | Founder & Owner of Reflect Love, LLC

Starting my own business put me in the mindset of getting to choose my story from now on. God has blown a fresh wind into the staleness of my life and revive my spirit and allowed me to birth, Reflect Love, LLC. This is more than my business, this is the fulfillment of me walking in my purpose and having the ability to understand the love of and from God as it is essential to know how to love myself and then share the love with others. I believe love is the primary tool God uses to change us all and love is the foundation of my business. Before starting I felt like my scars and wounds will be a sign of hope for others to not give up and not let one bad moment define the rest of their life. Read more>>

Billy D Nelson | CEO & Senior Technician for Dell Inc.

My thought process behind starting my own business is always wanting to create a product that wouldn’t just benefit myself, but benefit other individuals who also have the same goal as me. That goal is having and maintaining healthy hair. What really shocks me to this day is that I would have never thought I would start a business, but it was all in God’s timing. Read more>>

Charles Alloway | Creator and Host of “The Mind of Little Rage” Podcast

I had always had a deep love and respect for the power of music. Even though Hard Rock and Heavy Metal are my genres of choice, all genres of music are equally important. I spent the better part of 20 years behind a drum kit. I have been in several bands that basically went nowhere. It was not because our music was subpar, we didn’t know how to market ourselves. Since I have not been able to be behind a drum kit for 7 years now, I wanted to do what I could to help the Independent and Underground bands gain as much traction and exposure as possible. With that, The Mind of Little Rage podcast was born. I have gained the understanding that all bands, no matter how big or small, start off as an Independent/Underground band. Read more>>

Zain Awais | Artist and Content Producer

Originally, from Pakistan, I immigrated to the U.S with my parents and siblings for a chance at pursuing a career in storytelling in the form of Film and Animation. For me, creating story driven content is a powerful asset, a way to engage with communities, educate and spread knowledge and ideas. My background is in Fine Art and Content Production and I have been freelancing for the last decade. This has allowed me the opportunity to collaborate with others working in various fields; from Journalists to other Creatives and Performers. My desire as an artist is to create work that is positive, educational and provides me the opportunity to collaborate with others to serve various communities. Read more>>

Tina Rix | Licensed Psychotherapist, Film Director, and Recording Artist, CEO of Thought Positive Media and Better Path Family Counseling and Consulting, PLLC

I am a licensed psychotherapist and multi-city group mental health practice owner. I am also a singer/songwriter who found too many years of neglecting my creative and musically inclined side was not healthy. It was the end of 2019 when I decided to focus on feeling alive and happy again. I realized that there was no reason I could not merge the 2 worlds that I operate in and love together. It was then that Music and Mental Health was birthed. I decided to not focus on myself for this project. The community needed to help me with this one. I wanted to tell the story of the importance of owning your story and stomping out the stigma that surrounds mental health through the lives of artists and musicians in the very creatively free city of Austin, TX, where I have resided full time for the past 3+ years. Read  more>>

Ka Ambrose | Fine Art Documentary Wedding & Portrait Photographer

There’s this quote that goes something like ” If you love what you do you will never have to work a day in your life.” and so I started my business because I truly love what I do. Yes the runnings of a business is work but when I have a camera in h and I really feel in my element and enjoy creating images and documenting moments. I want people to have beautiful images of moments in their life that they keep as heirlooms and pass down through the generations. Creating images pushes my mind and forces me to problem solve so when I deliver a final product to a client its very rewarding especially knowing how much hard work went behind an image and how that hard work paid off. Read more>>

A Auset Rohn | Photographer & Creative Artist

I’m a creative who likes to think outside the box much of the time so trying to fit into a box of 9-5 is a tough one for me. I think I could do it for a short time, but I really need time to network and create art, even if it’s senior portraits or branding images. There’s a freedom in having your own schedule and workload that is really important to me in many ways. Read more>>

kimberly Barajas | Owner/ Creator

I wanted to create more natural products for women of color, beauty products often contain more toxic ingredients than products marketed to white women. I also wanted to create items that resonates with my Mexican culture for example right now I have a cuernito pan dulce and Milagros heart bath bomb. Read more>>

Brianna Jackson | Independent Travel Agent & Consultant

I have been traveling for as far back as I can remember. Once I began international travel, I knew that world travel would become something I enjoy. I’ve traveled and lived around the world all while planning trips for myself, my friends, and my family. It was actually when I, likely by accident, learned how much my travel agent earned from booking my destination wedding guests. When I saw the amount it made me kick myself in the butt and ask myself, “Why aren’t YOU working AND earning to make memories for others?!” I had considered it in the past, but it was that specific situation that put me in drive and the rest was history. Here I am with World Class Travel by Brianna and I couldn’t be more happy with my decision. Read more>>

Samantha Gieseke | Owner | Wedding Planning

I had been in the hospitality industry for most of my career, and had begun working at a local wedding venue part time shortly after leaving college. I was able to meet and work with so many wonderful vendors and experience the flow of hundreds of weddings. With the ability to collaborate with another local business, I started my own Planning company in 2014 and immediately started working with couples who desired some organization and assistance with planning and logistics. My passion has become helping couples work through the planning process with ease, focusing on their priorities, wants and must haves and navigating tricky situations with tact. Read more>>

Rebecca Greene Udden | Founding Artistic Director, Main Street Theater

I loved working in theater, and I wanted to provide work for other theater artists here in Houston. I wanted to create a professional theater in Houston because I wanted to STAY in Houston – because I love Houston! I do want to say it’s not really “my” business – we are a non-profit professional theater. We began as a collective of artists and I have stayed on these 45 years as Artistic Director. But everything we do is very much a collaborative effort. Read more>>

Viet Tran | VIETWICH – Founder and Owner

It started 10 years ago from originally starting a Youtube show call Tran Can Cook teaching people how to cook Vietnamese food. The success from that show brought other opportunities such as a local cooking show on Houston SGN network and on a 2010 NBC contest show called America’s Next Great Restaurant with the likes of Bobby Flay, Steve Ells (Chipotle owner) , and Curtis Stone. The prize was 3 restaurant locations of your concept in New York, L.A. and Mall of America. Although I didn’t place in the show, I knew that my life’s purpose was to create my own restaurant concept. In 2015, VIETWICH was conceived in a small gas station in Sugarland only open on Fridays and Saturday for a few hours to bring my concept to life. Over the course of 4 years, customers raved about my banh mi and eventually it was financially feasible to get my first brick and mortar location in 2019. Read more>>