Honey West, Jeff Binninger
About 15 years ago, Jeff Binninger and I noticed that there was a large number of women celebrating, “Girls Night Out” and “Bachelorette Parties”in the Lake View/Boystown area. We decided to create a show, catering to those women who were looking for a place to gather. Read more>>
Nina Andorf
I have always wanted more. I always had a plan. When that plan didn’t work out, I had a plan B. Sometimes a plan C and D. I carefully mapped out my schooling and how I was going to get from one destination to the next all while working several jobs to make ends meet. Read more>>
David Shelist
We started as kids clothing store in 1996. After having our daughter, Madison, my wife and I were having a hard time finding cute, fashionable clothes for kids in Chicago. Our kids store, Madison and Friends was opened 6 months later. We operated that business for 18 years and added men’s and women’s premium denim in 2006. Read more>>
Nnamdi Ngwe
3Peat is an Improv Comedy/Sketch/Stand Up group that started back in 2011 when a group of African American performers that had excelled in the industry noticed that they where always being pitted against each other since there where not many roles available to them in comparison to their white counterparts. Read more>>
Vahé Mekhitarian
I was born and raised in Chicago. At the early age of four, I accompanied my European born grandfather to the old Randolph Street market where I soaked up the ritual of old world style food shopping. There, I found beauty and wonder in this simple experience selecting fresh, top quality food and ingredients (fruits and vegetables from the local sellers, bread from a baker, meat from a butcher, and fish and shellfish from a fishmonger) to bring home to the table. Read more>>
David Bostik
My journey began on March 18, 2003 when I weighed in at a whopping 346 pounds and decided once and for all it was time to take control of my life. I made the first step by joining a local gym. After wandering around the gym aimlessly, unsure of what to do for the first three months, I hired a personal trainer. Read more>>
Matt Halack
We started Grateful Bites catering in 2012! After two years we purchased a mobile wood burning oven and hit the road. We started out at local farmers markets and catering family reunions, weddings and block parties. We were fortunate to gather a following and decided to open a brick and mortar Shoppe in June of 2017! Read more>>
David Bradburn
In 2011, I had finished My Brother’s Other Mother, a documentary about my younger brother’s search for his birthmother in the Dominican Republic. We had shot this film in 2005. Before I sent it to festivals I wanted to form an LLC to form a layer between myself and the property. Read more>>
Sonat Birnecker Hart
The idea for KOVAL took root after Robert and I had saved enough money for a down payment on a home. We realized that if we were to purchase a home we would, quite literally, be settling down, and we were not sure we wanted to do that where we were, despite our established careers. Read more>>
Jesse W. Johnson
Originally from Springfield, IL, Jesse W. Johnson grew up listening to his parents cassette tapes of Genesis and Don Henley while dancing around the dining room table in his underwear. After falling in love with the idea of songwriting through the Beatles, Jesse decided to pick up a guitar after seeing a CSNY concert in 2001. Read more>>
Jason Noel
Well it started with my up bringing of an Italian mother and grandmother, moved foward with cooking at age 15 starting as a prep cook in an Italian kitchen. Went to CHIC culinary school and worked at House of Blues Chicago and New Orleans. Soon after I did an internship in Brazil for 90 days and ended up staying 2 years. There I cooked in different regions of South America. Read more>>
Megan Gasper
In 2004, when I was pregnant with my first child, my husband got sick. For almost a year he would suffer from flu-like symptoms that would begin with a stuffy or runny nose, watery eyes, a cough followed by difficulty breathing, sleepless nights, joint pain, and exhaustion. Read more>>
Canine Perspective
I grew up with dogs and have always been loved them. Between working and going to school in my early twenties I didn’t have the time to commit to caring for one. So I walked dogs occasionally, and treated them as if they were my own, during my college days at Harold Washington College. Read more>>
Oleksandra Stelmah
I came to Newborn Photography unexpectedly. I was always in search for something that I am really passionate about and something that will motivate me to be better and always strive to grow, something that will give me a fulfilling feeling and a flexible schedule. Read more>>
Robert Lentell
I started out renting a pedicab in Denver. I then went on to work for the manufacture. I stayed in Denver till the 2008 DNC. Afterward, I thought it was time to move back to Chicago and see how business would go. I started renting from a local company, but i felt it was time to own my own. Read more>>
Theresa L. Panzica LLC
Raised in a real estate law office, Theresa L. Panzica’s real estate experience spans over four decades. From early beginnings at the family law office answering phones to her teen years transitioning to a summer employee, she excelled in every position while maintaining two other jobs. Read more>>
Aditi Carnahan
After spending 37 years in California, I retired in 2008 from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and my husband and I returned to Illinois where we were both born to be close to my (now 95-year- old) mother. We have a spiritual background, having been students of the Indian spiritual master Sri Chinmoy since 1973, so my husband and I quickly connected with the local Sri Chinmoy Meditation Centre in Chicago. Read more>>
Melissa Young, Rob Smith
We went to college together in Pittsburgh PA and moved to Chicago separately after graduation in the late 90s. Once we got together as a couple, one holiday season we did not have a lot of money for gifts or cards, but we did have a video camera. Read more>>
Angee Lennard
Spudnik Press Cooperative began shortly after I graduated from SAIC. At that time, the city lacked an approachable, community-focused printmaking studio that was within the reach of young artists with limited income and little art world experience. Read more>>
Jasmine Baynes
It started 10 years ago at the age of 17 when I had my son, I was so determined to achieve greatness. I can remember being pregnant with my son and strangers would tell me how I ruined my life and would be nothing because of my son. Read more>>
Eric Wehling
I began my career as a field inspector with a real estate company where I performed quality control inspections, home inspections and quotes/bids. Due to my determination and drive I quickly transitioned into the field manager role. Under this role I handled approximately 500 properties in inventory and saw the opportunity to create my own company. Read more>>
Nico Fernandez
I moved to Chicago in the summer of 2016 after graduating from Northern Illinois University with my BFA in Acting. I took a couple of photography classes in High School, but really started to get serious about it during my sophomore year of college. My fellow acting classmates needed some new headshots and I offered to take them. Read more>>
Caitlin Ruby Miller
I established Ruby Images as a vessel for my creativity. The images I create are always intended to show a uniqueness and beauty to each subject. I have so thoroughly enjoyed the truly diverse set of clients I have photographed. Read more>>
Moriah Turner
My grandmother was a seamstress from Chicago, and though I never really knew her I hear stories of how wonderful a designer and seamstress she was. Growing up I was always interested in creating unique and beautiful things and that blossomed into a career in design and alterations. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago in 2014 with a BFA in Costume Design, Read more>>
Gail Mancuso
Unlike many artists, my creative background stems not so much from a typical art background, but more from growing up in a large family of entrepreneurs and inventive personalities. My early interest in photography evolved from my career as a model, where I worked on the other side of the camera. Read more>>
Alexa Heinrich
Shortly after I graduated from Columbia College in 2013, my cousin got engaged and asked me to create her wedding invitations. All through art school, I had a deep appreciation for fine paper and typography, so I was excited to design wedding stationery because it involved both. Read more>>
Stephanie Shalit
I’ve been a Private Yoga teacher and trainer for more then 15 years , more recently CrossFit. My husband is an Actor/Director/Producer but also an avid athlete and a CrossFit coach. When my husband and I moved to Chicago we decided we wanted to open something that combined our shared passion for CrossFit and Yoga. Read more>>
Borislav Petrov
I start working as a limo driver back in 2012 and quickly realized that this is the right job for me. I enjoyed providing professional service and getting positive feedback from the customers but working for someone else was pushing me back so in 2013 I decided to take the things in my hands and opened my own business. This is how SUV Chicago Limo was born. Read more>>
Greg Werstler
CSz Chicago has been producing ComedySportz in Chicago for 30 years. We’ve performed all over the north side of the city, but for the last 10 years, we’ve been performing in the CSz Theater Chicago in the Lakeview neighborhood. We built this space especially for our show, so it’s a great place to see ComedySportz. Read more>>
Aaron Steingold
I have been in a part of the restaurant industry for 27 years, since the age of 15. I began as a dishwasher and have worked nearly every position possible, from cook to executive chef, to sommelier, to beverage director, to GM. I moved to Chicago in 2007 with the intention of gaining enough experience operating other people’s restaurants to feel comfortable enough to open my own. Read more>>
Debora Herszberg
I grew up in France eating great food and amazing crepes every Sunday. My husband and I have been catering for the past 7 years about 5 years ago we were looking to do something in the summer, so we thought CREPES so we aproched park district and they loved the idea, 5 years later we love what we do!we have the pleasure to be apart of so many children childhood and watching family grow and evolve. Read more>>
Kathy Ryan
My husband Bob and I did not consider ourselves swimmers growing up. We both grew up swimming in lakes, but never learned the four proper strokes. I know them now, but it was a lot of work to learn actual form as an adult. What I ultimately believe led us down the path of opening a swim school in Chicago were a few sleepless nights in 2009 anticipating a family trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina. Read more>>
Jeremy Cahnmann
10 years ago there were only a handful of trivia nights in the city of Chicago and one of them was at Joe’s on Weed Street. The guy who was hosting was getting married and needed to step down. The woman in charge of finding a replacement didn’t know where to look as there weren’t nearly as many trivia companies in 2008 as there is today. Read more>>
Bernice Teplitsky
When I was little, I always wanted to help people. Either being a teacher or a doctor were my first choices. And since I was about 9, health and nutrition were always very interesting to me. When I was 16 and wanted to get a “real” job (other than babysitting), my mom suggested I go work for a doctor if I still wanted to be a doctor. Read more>>
Daniela Cavallero
Years ago I had a dream of starting an Italian Language School and Cultural Center in Chicago — un salotto italiano — a place that would link the people of Chicago with Italy. I nurtured my dream and in 1997, I established Sentieri Italiani, which literally means “Italian paths.” A name that speaks to the converging paths of language and culture, and all that Italy has to offer. Read more>>
Kathleen Katsikeas
The practice of yoga has been a challenging and transformative practice. I started yoga about 10 years ago, at a low point in my life when I was struggling with depression, anxiety, and trauma. Ironically, I wanted to practice yoga because I thought my body was the problem: I thought if I felt strong and fit, I could do anything. Read more>>
Catalina Ruiz
I grew up in a family of 12 siblings, where my both parents were involved in the medical profession. I decided to become a Nurse Practitioner but always knew I wanted to find a way to go into business for myself and help people at the same time. Read more>>
Adam Mizner
When I was younger I was really interested in becoming a performing musician. My dad often played around Rockford IL as a part of numerous local cover bands. This was my first influence to pursue learning the drums. Read more>>
Mark Finley
I began my career in 1986 as an independent photographer which quickly evolved to launching my first full time business known as Video Works: Video Production Co. which I produced videos for the top of Chicago’s Talents- Including the Vanessa Davis Band, Tankson’s Martial Arts, The Chicago City Ballet, Mary Wong Comedy Team, and The Reggae Music Awards (on location in Miami Fl.). Read more>>
Howard Davis
Bar Roma opened in December of 2016. We were inspired by The Meatball Shoppe in NYC so we wanted to do different kinds of meatballs with authentic Roman Italian food. We all love Italy and the food and we felt Roman food should be our focus because Bar Roma is located in a neighborhood of Chicago, a large urban city like Rome. Read more>>
Ted Glasnow
After graduating from college, I was invited to join an Olympic development decathlon team in Santa Barbara, CA. While training and studying for the LSAT, I started managing the sales/marketing functions for a few wineries in the Central Coast region. I also helped out with the Kickstarter campaign for The Morph Foam Roller (which just got more funding on Shark Tank!). Read more>>
Lindsay Gopin
As a mother of 3 young children, one of my biggest struggles was the need to be 3 places at once. I wanted a variety of high quality classes for all my kids, in one parent friendly environment. I also wanted a space for people in the community to network together while providing jobs and opportunities for other professionals. Read more>>
Jim Ongena
I started my real estate career on the construction side of the business. After 5-yrs of construction management I transition into sales/marketing. After a short-lived extent, 3-yrs selling with developers, I discovered selling from a dogmatic point of view didn’t fit my personality. Read more>>
Jordan Johnson
RipplePop was founded by Michael and Jordan. We have been best friends our whole lives. Both of us ended up becoming web developers and after working at both large agencies and small studios, together we decided it was time to do better things. We saw a huge opportunity in providing the best monthly support plan for WordPress and RipplePop was born. Read more>>
