After college, aspiring writer Jason Friesen put his English degree to use in the same way as many of his peers: teaching English abroad. He found himself in Costa Rica, where he picked up Spanish and landed a job at Habitat for Humanity’s corporate office copyediting and translating. But he longed to get his hands […]

Last month, Jackie Dew was on the brink of a very special victory. “I’m sure big brands don’t focus on these types of things, but we’re about to hit 5,000 followers on Instagram,” reveals the New York-based founder of Born + Made, a women’s apparel and accessory line. (The brand is now edging closer to […]

Since she was a kid, Alison Vercruysse loved being creative, whether she was experimenting with making food in the kitchen or designing fashion on a sketchpad. “I remember when I was 15, and I was literally taking my jeans apart and sewing them into a skirt,” says Vercruysse, who grew up in Dallas, Texas. “My […]

It was Leigh George’s longtime fascination with art that transformed her into a storyteller and branding expert. After studying art history throughout high school and college, she had “exhausted my curiosity,” she says, feeling that “fine art was really removed from people’s everyday lives.” Instead of getting disheartened, she thought back to how art was […]

Gene Monterastelli hails from Casper, Wyoming, which, with its long roads, has a “really strong sense of interconnectedness throughout the whole state.” Similarly, his work over the last 20 years focuses on connecting with others, helping them move past crippling hurdles, and becoming the strongest versions of themselves personally and professionally. All of my clients […]

Though Julie Gueraseva—the founder and creative force behind the vegan lifestyle publication LAIKA—decided to go vegan about a decade ago, her adoration of animals dates back to early childhood, when she and her twin sister had an “obsession with stray cats.” “One of our favorite things was to look for stray kitties, and feed them, or […]

With the first semester of the academic year already in full swing, it’s easy for students to feel overwhelmed. Maybe their problems stem from miscommunication with teachers or peers. Or perhaps they’re interested in studying abroad, but find the application process daunting. It could even be that they want some real world experience sooner rather […]

Around the time Peter Finkel was born 42 years ago, his father Eliot started an investment firm called EF Invest. Advising people on their personal finances has been in his blood since high school, when he and some fellow students won a stock market challenge sponsored by the Los Angeles Times. “I was the only […]

“Here I am a recruiter, and I can’t even get a job at Burning Man,” laughs Jeanmarie Boben, hours before she heads to the annual desert blowout for the ninth year. “My welding skills were subpar, my plasma cutting skills were subpar. One thing after another—rejection. It was quite a table turn for me.” The […]

Though she was born, raised, and still lives in South London, Bridget Banton has always been interested in the world at large. After majoring in anthropology and African studies in college—with an emphasis on film—Banton spent 15 years in British television, working as a commissioning editor at both Channel 4 and the BBC. From documentaries […]

As a little girl living in the Roxbury section of Boston, Tatsha Robertson remembers her eyes lingering on a Boston Herald photo of a black woman and child falling off a fire escape. “It scared me to death,” says Robertson, whose family later moved to Greenville, South Carolina, “but I wanted to be a reporter because of […]

A “complete and utter failure” is how Pranav Ramanathan describes his first entrepreneurial effort. That was almost 30 years ago, when he rounded up neighborhood kids in Bangalore, India to be part of a cricket club. After collecting money to buy equipment and hire a coach, “there was sort of a mutiny, and I was […]

To some people, pursuing law after receiving an English literature degree might seem like an unusual choice. But for Zev Hardman, it was “pretty effortless—a no-brainer.” The attorney explains himself: “I’ve always been interested in words, and communication, and how two people can remember the same conversation in two different ways, if not more than […]

Working late into the night at the same nonprofit organization, Marah Lidey and Naomi Hirabayashi soon became close friends, making happy hour plans and confiding in each other about matters that others might find delicate or overly personal—from credit scores, to how to ask for a raise, to the struggle with “how to not suppress […]

Breathing life into brands is what the British firm TK is all about. To get a greater sense of how the team tackles this massive mission, we spoke with Account Director Nicole Levings, who manages TK’s office at WeWork Santa Monica. How does the TK team go about making brands stand out? TK offers traditional […]

Berlin Kelly remembers reaching her breaking point. The founder of Proud Pour was hurrying from New York to Boston with 638 oyster shells in two bags slung over her shoulders. While running down the steps in Penn Station with only minutes to catch her train, the bags ripped open and shells flew everywhere. On the […]