Right After Breakfast

Bianca D’Amico is the founder of Chaparral Studio, a creative and design studio where she makes all kinds of accessories and gifts. She also collaborates with her mother on landscape and garden design. Everything has a very California centric spirit, inspired by nature and LA’s culture. Chaparral Studio is very much a reflection of who Bianca is. Part of it planned, and part of it a result of her genuine self coming through in her work. Graze through her Instagram and you will find three very common themes: Nature, Feminism, and Humor. Oh, and of course her dog Joni Mitchell. From the surface these themes don't seem to have all that much in common. Mixing those together would probably make for something very outside the box. And they do. Bianca spends most of her time creating stuff that some may call odd and different. A caldron of ideas, passions, interests and imagination. But this is why she has something so special. Bianca has found a blend that doesn’t always make sense, and has turned it into child-lik

Puno is a digital entrepreneur who works with her husband Daniel. She is the founder of ILOVECREATIVES, a Craigslist for creative people. PEOPLEMAP, an Instagram marketing tool. And MADEWITHMAP, an Instagram account that celebrates people an their journeys. Puno just changed her last name to Puno. She’s now legally Puno Puno. I feel like I don’t have to say much more to explain how cool she is. It’s pretty obvious that Puno marches to the beat of her own drum, and that beat is super contagious. She was SO herself the second I met her that I couldn't help but be my honest self too. Something I’d hope I could do no matter what, but it’s a tribute to Puno’s genuine nature and expressive personality. This has helped her throughout her career and in all the different projects she has created. Her ability to make people want to connect with her, and connect with her easily, has given her creations a jolt of growth that many people struggle to find. Sometimes the difference between success and the struggle to find s

Toshi Yanagi is an in-house band member of ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live", playing guitar as well as one of the characters in the show. He also plays a monthly performance with his band Shogun Warrior at The Baked Potato in Los Angeles. There is no better place to feel Toshi's standout guitar to its fullest than at this live venue! Toshi grew up in a family of music. Something he would describe as a blessing, but also an environment of high pressure that was centered around Classical music. The problem was that Toshi never really cared for Classical music. As a young man growing up in Japan, he fell in love with rock music and moved to the U.S. to pursue that passion. He landed in San Fransisco and quickly learned the difficulties of having to deal with a language barrier. But while this was a struggle at times, the ability to be a musician was comforting for him and gave him a language that everybody could understand. Toshi used the language of his guitar, and it lead him to LA where he went to school and eventua

Lolo Santosa is the founder of Toko-Toko, an online and pop-up shop. Their shop offers  Indonesian brands that are created and based on Sustainable and Fair Trade principles.  Products range from fashion, home goods and accessories.  They currently work with artisans in Jogjakarta and Flores to create their in-house brand Martini and Milk. Lolo spoke to her father when she went back home to Indonesia. Her family is from an island called Java, and although she had been living in the US a long time she felt like she needed to go back to her roots for clarity. It was clear that the law degree Lolo had achieved in school wasn't feeding her soul. It wasn't giving her the purpose that she desperately was trying to understand. All she knew was that there were little things in her life that were calling her. The environment, sustainable fashion, and the Javanese people that she cared about so deeply. Lolo asked her father a simple question, “what does it mean for you to be a Javanese?”. He responded simply, “being a

Blythe Hill is the founder and CEO of the Dressember Foundation. Dressember is a month long challenge where you are encouraged to wear a dress or tie during the month of December in order to raise awareness and money toward the issue of sex trafficking.  Blythe did something different. She decided to wear a dress everyday during December. Something that seemed personal and innocent at first, but quickly grew into a trend that spread year by year. At first it was her friends that joined in, and then it was friends of friends. Slowly, a movement started taking off. And then Blythe decided to do something bold. She decided to tie this movement with a cause she cared about. For her it was human sex trafficking. A topic that she thought she was unqualified for as somebody working in fashion analysis. The truth is that she never really thought that she’d ever be able to help, other than some small $20 donations every month. But she did something that felt right to her and made it into something bigger than her. A m

Travis Marziani works on one of three different businesses. A dance clothing business called BDancewear, his newest business called Performance Nut Butter, and a teacher of e-commerce(internet marketing, creating businesses, and entrepreneurship). Travis is a great example of the new age internet entrepreneur. Although he does a lot of work from his home, he still manages to found, grow, and run multiple businesses across different industries and platforms. Not to mention he is also a podcast host! Wow, suddenly I feel like I’m underachieving here. Twenty years ago Travis’ career path wouldn't have even made sense. He’s only one person, so how is he even able to run so many businesses at once? One business is hard enough to start and succeed at. Well that’s where the internet has come into play in so many peoples career lives. Travis is able to go through the steps of starting a business, and maintain that business without dedicating all of his time to it. This has made it possible to gain income from an init

Agnes Muljadi is a dancer, a social media influencer who works with different brands on their social media presence, and obsessed with having an eco-lifestyle. I interviewed Agnes in her dance studio where she regularly practices ballet. You could tell that this place was a special one for her. This was her element and her escape. After the interview I was able to watch Agnes go through a full practice, her instructor was there still giving her pointers, but mostly looking proud as she went through the routine. As I continued to watch I noticed Agnes had a focus on her face that brought me back to something we had talked about during the podcast. Agnes started ballet at a young age. It taught her tremendous dedication and focus, things that have continued to help her throughout her life. When she thinks of competition, she thinks of herself. Being a ballerina, you spend a lot of time looking at a mirror, constantly critiquing and fixing things. It’s important that we keep these things positive and healthy, bu

Grigore Madikians is the founder of a company called Gaffer & Child, which creates a line of timeless personal care products made in small batches from organic, plant-based ingredients. I met Grigore with a smile on his face. Everything about him was welcoming. The funny thing was that we didn't even meet up for our podcast interview at his space. It was much more convenient for us to meet in the middle at his brothers apartment, who was gracious enough to let us use his living room as a makeshift studio. Nevertheless, Grigore never once seemed out of his element or distracted from his excitement about having a talk with me. He loves talking about what he does. Simply put, it brings him happiness in the purest of forms. Through his company he has been able to accomplish two things. Helping people and helping the environment. Grigore wanted to make personal care products because of the importance and impact they had on his life from the time he was little. But that wasn't enough. Grigore wanted Gaffer &

Jared Mandell is the founder of a company call JB Mandell Woodworking. Creating anything out of wood that you can imagine by hand. Picking a favorite interview is an impossible task for me. But speaking with Jared was particularly special because I related to it so closely. Like Jared, I came from a family with parents who had different religious and political backgrounds. Although positives and negatives can come out of that situation, each child handles it differently. Jared ended up choosing a Christian lifestyle and was drawn to the religion because it stood for something bigger than himself, and offered him a sense of community.  As Jared’s story unfolds he talks about the process of going from a religious man to a spiritual man, while keeping community and purpose in his life. From his tiny wood shop located in his parents garage he balances a life of isolation and meaningful community. During my time with him there were countless people who would drive by and honk, wave, or shout “hi” to Jared as they

Sarah Comer is the founder of Inspire-Aspire Be The Career Change. A website that features interviews with women who are using their careers to change the world. Most people who are willing to sacrifice almost everything for their dreams have at least one defining moment where their backs are against the wall. A situation that looks bleak and hopeless. It’s in these moments that some think the end is near for the dream they've been working so hard for. But from this dirt has bloomed the most amazing stories of changing circumstance and success. Some of these stories have come from the interviews that Sarah herself has conducted. She calls it the point of resistance.  Sarah has seen her fair share of these moments as well. Not one, not two, but multiple times when the door to her vision and dream seemed to be slammed shut. But somehow there was always something that came to the rescue. This may be an episode where you question luck and serendipity, and contemplate the power of putting all your energy into your

Jenny Hernstad is the founder of LA SmashCakes. Which is an awesome alternative to an ordinary birthday cake. They are a chocolate dome filled with mixed gummies, then decorated with chocolates and candy. Jenny has been a chocoholic all her life, so it just made sense to start creating exciting and fun chocolate SmashCakes. Jenny creates any SmashCake from soda bottles, donuts, cupcakes to themed birthday SmashCakes. Each SmashCake is unique and hand made, allowing her to be incredibly creative and specific with the design    I’m so pleased that I was able to talk to Jenny, not only about how passionate she is about her SmashCakes, but also about growing up in South Africa and coming to the United States. Jenny was raised in South Africa and her father had a textile business there. But becoming an entrepreneur and creating new work that makes you happy is very difficult. Jenny found that her best chance at happiness was to move to the U.S. and try to create a life and a business that gave her fulfillment. It

Shawna Dawson Beer is the founder of Angeleno Inc. Underneath that she operates Sauce LA which is a boutique marketing, PR, and social media agency that deals with mainly hospitality brands but also a handful of lifestyle and beauty brands. On top of that she's created her own  brands, which include the LA Food Fest, Artisanal LA, and most recently the Clean Food Fest.     This was one of those interviews where I immediately felt like there needed to be a part 2. Shawna has so much to share and just explaining her career path could have been its own episode! Shawna is a go-getter, and someone who clearly needs to be constantly swimming in order to survive. It’s obvious by how many companies and events she has created. From the outside it would seem like nobody could ever keep up with all that she's doing and accomplishing. And at the very least would be mentally drained and crippled by it. But this is where Shawna thrives and needs to be in order to live the life that makes her happy. The uniqueness of each i

Dr. Neal Malik has his own podcast called Optimal Health Daily, or OHD for short. It’s a daily podcast on Monday-Friday that talks about all things related to health, fitness, nutrition, stress management, and behavior change. He reads health blogs and gives commentary in regards to his personal experiences and what the research says on that topic. When not doing the podcast he’s also the department chair of nutrition and basic sciences at Bastyr University California in San Diego, as well as adjunct faculty at two other colleges. I was so excited to have Neal come on the show for two reasons. He’s the first podcast host I’ve interviewed and it was fun to be able to talk to somebody who knows what it is like to be in my position. But he also brought something else to the show that nobody has before. An ability to look at the balance between health and career through the eyes of a Doctor and a college professor.  Neal uses his personal experiences to share with us the importance of health in trying to find wha

Olivia Lin is the founder of a paper goods company called Atiliay. She specializes in hand lettered paper goods and greeting cards. Each card gives back to a non-profit that she’s partnered with. Olivia is a lover of people and a lover of dogs. There is purpose to her work that goes beyond just giving to multiple non-profits. She really does care about where the money goes to and what her cards are used for. But whether it’s money going to a starving child or a card sent to a friend having a bad day, everyone is benefiting. Olivia's goal has always been to make a difference. In a small loft in her home she sits down and goes to work on helping others. This is something sustainable for her because it comes from the heart and gives meaning to her work. It’s more than just making cards. For Olivia it never really mattered how big Atiliay got or where it went, because it was getting accomplished either way.   Find Olivia Online: Website - http://www.atiliay.com/ Facebook - @atiliay Instagram - @atiliay Twitter - 

Brad Holdgrafer is the founder, along with his wife Jenna, of a small home goods store in downtown Los Angeles called Formerly Yes. They sell well designed and functional goods for your home and office from around the world. Their products range from different designers, different time periods, and different materials. All under the mantra to buy less but better. Walking into Formerly Yes is quite the experience. It is immediately apparent what Brad and Jenna are trying to accomplish with functionality and design. Everything in their store is simple and useful. The reasoning behind it all was partially sparked by an experience of living on a small boat, where functionality was more of an absolute necessity. But Brad also comes from a design background, and as I started talking to him it was clear that he loves sketching out new ideas in his head. I quickly realized that Formerly Yes was just one of those ideas. Him and Jenna were approaching it like an experiment. And as quickly as it became what it is today,

Kristen Pumphrey is the founder and creative director at P.F. Candle Co. All of their candles are made using domestically grown soy wax, cotton core wicks, fine fragrance oils, and apothecary inspired packaging. Jars are finished off with a simple label and brass lid. Each candle is hand poured, packaged, and shipped in their Los Angeles studio. When I first arrived at a large industrial looking building to interview Kristen I was immediately greeted with a smile and an offer to tour the “candle factory”. It was a thing of beauty, and had me thinking back to some brewery tours I had been on in the past. I instantly understood the vision that Kristen had for her candles, her employees, and the happy customers she was creating. It was obvious how proud Kristen was to show off the fruits of her labor. A long journey that had brought her to a place that even she was probably surprised at. Her office was attached to the warehouse and we set up the microphones and started talking. With her co-owner and husband Tom

Andrew Tyree is the founder of Coast to Costa. A travel company that organizes personalized, guided tours of Mexico, Spain and Cuba. Each trip delivers unique, highly localized travel experiences with an emphasis on the food, wine, and culture of the region. Andrew is a guy that’s always looking for adventure. He found his passion through travel. And like many discover, he loved other countries and cultures. But how can you possibly make a career out of something like that? Sometimes you have to think a little outside of the box with the things you love. Andrew also loved sharing new places and cultures with others. Helping and setting them up with places he knew about was a passion that was possibly even deeper than exploring them himself. It turned out he was pretty good at this, and that he could make it a career. Isn't it funny that when we think about how we can help others it often gives us the answer!   Find Andrew Online: Website - http://www.coasttocosta.com/ Facebook - @coasttocosta Instagram - @coa

Kellie Cockrell cofounded a dance and activewear brand called katieandkellie with her twin sister. Currently she also works at General Assembly as the LA marketing producer, and also has free lance clients for social media and digital marketing. Kellie and her twin sister Katie have been an unbreakable duo. Both moved out to LA to pursue acting and eventually started started a business together. But now Kellie finds herself creating her own career path and discovering what that means for her future happiness and success.   Find Kellie Online: Website - http://katieandkellie.com/ Instagram - @katieandkellie or @kelliecockrell   Some Questions I Ask: How do you go and sell something for the first time with no experience? (7:28) What’s it like to be founding a company and have a full time job? (9:53) How important is it to surround yourself with people who can inspire you? (13:55) If you could start a company again how would you go about doing it differently? (16:44) How important is it to make an Instagram pre

Sica Schmitz is the founder of Bead & Reel, a one-stop shop for activist fashion. It is based on the belief that fashion and ethics aren't mutually exclusive, focusing on eco-friendly, cruelty-free, sweatshop-free styles. Everything they sell meets the criteria of being thoughtful to animals, people, and the world through their carefully curated selection of hand-picked designers and products. I love talking with people who’s passion is about helping others and the world around them. To be honest, it’s most people. When we think about what really makes us passionate and happy, most of the time it has something to do with impacting others positively in a big or small way. Sica is someone who’s passion is very directly related to this. She felt as though she had to do something to try and put an end to the way we manufacture, sell, and use clothing or other things related to fashion. So she just did it.     Find Sica Online: Website - https://www.beadandreel.com/ Facebook - @beadandreel Instagram - @beadand

Lauri Kranz is the founder of Edible Gardens LA. A company that builds, plants, and sustains vegetable gardens or edible landscapes. They help museums, restaurants, chefs, and anybody else who wants to grow their own food. This episode was actually recorded in one of Lauri’s many gardens that she has made over the years. Talking with her in this environment was really special because | could immediately tell she was in her environment. Lauri has always had two big passions though, the other being music. We talked about how to balance two passions, and what that means as your life progresses. To feel the confidence in Lauri’s voice that she has finally found a balance for her passions was reassuring. Many times it seems like certain things need to be left behind in life, even if they are part of what makes you happy. But she presents solutions that seem simple and fulfilling.     Find Lauri Online: Website - http://ediblegardensla.com/ Facebook - @ediblegardenslosangeles Instagram - @ediblegardensla   Some Qu