In our experience, most folks, including ourselves don’t have enough of an understanding of risk and the role it plays in our lives and careers and so we have made a concerted effort as a team to have conversations about risk with our interviewees. We’ve shared some highlights below.

Katy Merlet | Yoga Teacher & Owner

Taking risks has played a major part in both of our lives. At age 24 Katy left a promising career to travel to Australia with $1000 to her name. She lived there for the next seven years. Meanwhile Paul was working as a Foreign Exchange broker in London, a very stressful occupation. Luckily he had the foresight to invest in personal pensions investing in riskier but potentially more rewarding funds. In 2013 Paul left a very lucrative career to train to be a yoga teacher in Los Angeles where he first met Katy. Katy had left her job in Australia to pursue the same dream. After training Paul went back to the UK and Katy to Australia, by chance, eighteen months later they met again at a mutual friends studio in Massachusetts. Read more>>

Sandra Aderibigbe | Creative Director & Founder

I’ve learned to view risk as the only way to grow. If what I am doing does not have some aspect of risk in it, I probably need to dig a little deeper and get a little more creative. Throughout my life and career taking risk has become more second nature to me after seeing the impact it had on my business and brands I have worked with. I have taken many risk that did not go as planned, however every single time the lesson learned elevated me to the next level. Read more>>

Lindsay Gary | Professor-Scholar, Multidisciplinary Artivist & Social Entrepreneur

Many of us are hindered in life because of fear. Society tells us who it thinks we should be, what we should do, and how we should be in this world. And because of this, being yourself, and stepping into and walking in your purpose are the risks we often fear the most. They are also the most important risks to take because we are all here to serve a purpose. By not walking in purpose, we are not only stifling our own brilliance, but we are potentially stopping the way in which that brilliance will positively impact our families, communities, and ultimately our world. By taking the risk to walk in my multi-passionate purpose and live my life limitlessly, I’ve manifested the life, businesses, art, and scholarship that I once dreamed about. This is not only fulfilling for me, but the projects I’ve created have given so much more to my community, and inspired others to do the same. Read more>>

Ebele Iloanya | Creative Director

For every entrepreneur, Risk Taking is a big part of what we do, because the market trends change so quickly and are controlled by various factor. As the owner of MODChic, taking risks are inevitable from choosing the right location down, buying the right inventory, budget, to choosing the right personnel all have a certain level of risk involved. I like to say I take calculated risks, I try to know all the facts before a take a decision but sometimes I take a leap of faith. In my personal life I am total risk Averse. Read more>>

Elizabeth Fertitta | Owner

Honestly, the idea of what could happen if you don’t take a risk has played a larger role in our careers than anything else. My mother opened the doors to Longoria Collection in 1993 and it was only natural that the store be dedicated to all things design. My grandmother was an interior designer who had a store of her own and, from a young age, she nurtured my mother’s creativity, something my mom has done for me over the years as well. The women in my family have always chased their dreams, approaching risks as exciting opportunities, which is why the launch of our latest collection was the result of a classic “light bulb” moment. We were lounging on the beach enjoying a glass of wine and my mom casually mentioned that she wished she had started her own linen line 25 years ago. I realized that I didn’t want to have that same thought in 25 years and we made the decision to throw caution to the wind and launch LOOK Lifestyle then and there! Read more>>

Mohammad Altawaha | Owner & Founder

In this business, you have to be open to taking risks. I just prefer to think of them as “opportunities” instead of risks. It sounds less scary that way. Honestly, my entire adult life (since I came to the United States from Jordan), has revolved around risk taking. Coming here and knowing very few people, deciding to stop my graduate studies to pursue my dream of owning my own business, all of it. My father is a business owner and a risk taker, so I guess you could say it’s in the DNA! Read more>>

Jenny Wilde | Photographic Mixed Media Artist & Designer

Risk taking, for me, is an essential part of the creative process. Every blank canvas offers a chance to succeed or fail. By pushing beyond the known limits of materials, technique, skills, an artist is always taking a leap of faith to try to create something they have never made before, not knowing the result. The artistic personality is therefore drawn to taking risks in ways others are not. We know that without risks, there is no progress. Without taking that leap, you cannot soar. Having known the rewards that can come from the leap, I define myself at least in part by my willingness to take risks in all aspects of my life. This leads me to trust my instincts, say yes to opportunities that feel right even if they seem crazy, and to blow up the known path every now and then just to see what lies beyond. Read more>>

Amit Mehta | Entrepreneur

Risk and reward are directly proportional. Higher the risks, higher the chances of rewards. From childhood, i took risks with the intention to prove to myself no one else. For example, I jumped from 6 ft wall to see I can survive, i was never good at soccer so challenged myself to learn it and become the best. My best learning over the years has been, when you are young, wild and crazy you should take highest amount of risks as you are only concerned with yourself BUT when you get older the risk taking relatively decreases as you have to worry about others as well not just yourself. like wife, kids etc. Read more>>

Brandon Bonine | Owner

As with anything, every single choice you make has a risk. One of my first businesses I started failed. I opened a motorcycle shop at the young age of 18. The economy took a plunge and so did I. I knew that if I started another business the risk would be the same. But, on the other hand, I also knew that I had learned, grown and that failure drove my motivation like no other at the time. Read more>>

Hillary & Ford Waters | Creative Director, Technical Director & Co-Founders

We live by the motto “Without great risk there is no great reward.” That doesn’t mean we don’t feel fearful at times or question our abilities or the decisions we are making. Some of what we have done has definitely felt like gambling at times. It just means that we keep going anyway. There have been some really, really hard times but so far, it has had way more benefits than not. Read more>>