Inspiring Stories from North West Dallas

Parris and Lindsey

We are Parris and Lindsey of the Zen Trap Podcast. Two friends since college from the best HBCU and college there is North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University. We both majored in Engineering, which is how we initially met over 10 years ago. We started our podcast in 2021 after surviving the emotional effects of the global pandemic and falling into a habitual lull of corporate America. Read More>>

Dannyelle Mendoza

I started my dessert business about 3 years ago when covid hit. I was doing t-shirts and custom items, but everyone started doing that, so I needed something different. I never thought about baking before then. I picked up my mixer and haven’t put it down! I started out with no-bake cheesecake jars. I had 5 flavors, and now I am over 40, and I have grown tremendously. I have grown my business into so much more. I do dipped treats and cakes. I also have dipped into the party business. Read More>>

Seyi Salaam

I started my real estate journey in 2018, wholesaling houses for about 1-2 years, then later transitioned into the development side of the business. Started rehabbing a few houses to raise capital and buy land. Fast forward to 2024, we’re primarily more focused on new construction projects. I’ve always had a huge interest in architecture and designs within the real estate space. Read More>>

Kristen Elaine Whalen

A major struggle for me is not getting distracted by the ideas and opinions of others unless it feels like a truly wonderful idea. As a reformed people pleaser, I’ve had to learn to politely decline many offers to work on things that I know will drain my energy, time, and money. Obstacles and bumps in the road have taught me to stick to my gut. When I stay focused on my own ideas and passions, things tend to work well! Surprise, surprise! Read More>>

Sonya Reddy

As a child, growing up in a family of physicians and surgeons, I was fascinated by the selfless care doctors provided to their community. I knew from a young age that I wanted to follow in their footsteps and provide value and care to my community. My passion lies in ensuring that every person has a chance to reach their full potential l, and I am actively involved in Give back a smile program. I help battered women and children restore their confidence through their smile. Read More>>

Angelina Acosta-Oropeza

My love of body piercing started at a very young age, my father was a piercer, and I was always enthralled with the idea of adorning the body with beautiful art and jewels. I started my journey in the body piercing industry in 2018 by attending a Fakir Mussafar intensive in San Francisco, California. Read More>>

Luba Abdrazakova

Greetings everyone! My name is Luba (it means “Love,” I had to say it, lol), and I am so excited to share my story with you. We moved to Dallas from Toronto, Canada, with my husband and our 2 young kids in April 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic (due to my husband’s job).  Read More>>

Alastair Bell

Irish Black Butter is steeped in provenance. At its core is the EU PGI Status Armagh Bramley Apple. This is grown only in the Archdiocese of Armagh. Of course, Armagh is widely known as the ‘orchard county of Ireland.’ It is an area with hundreds, if not thousands of years of apple-growing heritage. To infuse Irish Black Butter with that provenance and heritage, it has been pivotal to use only the locally grown Armagh Bramley. It is making great use of what we have where we are at and valuing our heritage. Read More>>

Ramon Odunsi

Throughout my years in college and after I graduated from UNT, I was always in the mix and in the middle of everything. After a while, I got tired of it, so I decided that instead of being in the mix, I want to start capturing the moments. Get a different perspective of what I was use to. Once I made that decision, I turned to God and asked him to just order my steps. Read More>>

Sky & Connor

We come from two very different backgrounds: Sky has a background in costume creation, creative design, and social media, while Connor has a background in photography, business management, and economics. However, we both combined our skill sets and our love of fantasy, Renaissance Festivals, and in-person markets to create Enchanted Moth Hollow!  Read More>>

Amberly Winningham and Ashley Hildebrandt

Ruff & Rags all began with two sisters absolutely obsessed with their dogs. Amberly is mom to Jaeger and Meister, two German Shepherd pups that always keep her on her toes! Ashley is mom to RJ, a sassy and spoiled Goldendoodle! Read More>>

Whitney Warren

I’m a self-taught artist from the small yet growing town of Marshall, Texas. Growing up, I was surrounded by strong, creative, and influential woman. Both of my grandmothers and mother were skillful seamstresses. My grandmothers took pride in working for Levi for several years. Read More>>

Kimberlin McKenna

A major plot twist occurred when my health took a serious hit, leading to an unexpected series of 10+ surgeries, including shaving my hair and brain surgery in 2019. Undeterred, I refused to let illness hinder my creativity, working both in the hospital and immediately upon release. Read More>>

Porsha Elliott

I started in the tax business hired by Liberty Tax as a tax preparer. Through my first season with Liberty Tax so much was going on in the business that I immediately became an Office Manager within a month into the business. I found myself running the office alone by the end of tax season. I went from having a set schedule to working open to close 8 am-10 pm, even on weekends I would bring my two daughters to work. I found myself working so much for the tax company even on the off-season. Read More>>

Andra Cornea

Long story short, I am a former tennis player and a health & wellness advocate. My journey began in 2011 when I received a full tennis scholarship at a D1 school in TN. I am originally from Romania, but I consider America my second home. My passion to help others started at an early age when I found myself not getting the help I needed for my injuries.  Read More>>

Jason Rutel

My professional journey has been a tapestry of diverse experiences, each contributing uniquely to my skillset. Early in my career, I found myself at a small TV station in Cedar Hill, Texas, where I honed my skills in media and broadcasting.  Read More>>

Trenton Kelly

Argyle Cryo really started kind of as a joke. Myself along with my parents Alisah and Kenny Kelly, started doing cryo for our own recovery as well as my ever-growing sports injuries. eventually, we kinda started jokingly bringing it up as a business opportunity and then for about two years we sat on it, I was still in Highschool at the time, so nothing really was possible for me. Read More>>

Jake and Skip Ray

We are a family-owned and operated business. Consisting of Skip (owner), Jake (head coach), and Marshall (coach). Skip is a former Division 1 baseball athlete and has over 30 years of sports coaching, personal training, and strength/conditioning under his belt. And is a Power Athlete Block One Coach. Jake is a former Division 1 rugby player and has his bachelor’s in Exercise Science. Read More>>

Ippi Roy

I moved to Texas in 2018 to pursue my second bachelor’s in jazz studies. I grew up in New Delhi, India, and spent 30 years of my life there I completed a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Sociology, but I soon left academia and career prospects to become a full-time musician. I built a well-established career as jazz singer, performer, educator in India before relocating.  Read More>>

Sanjana Kavula

My journey began with a startling statistic that placed Dallas at the forefront of mental health crises. Compelled to address this issue, I co-founded Project Pink, a mission-driven organization dedicated to destigmatizing and improving access to mental healthcare for women.  Read More>>

Kj Finesse

I wrote my first song when I was 7 out of anger. I used it as a form of therapy at first; when I was upset with home life or school situations, I just wrote. I continued rapping into high school with my homeboys and got into freestyling. I had a small buzz going for myself, but I was shy, so I couldn’t really do what I wanted with rap at the time.  Read More>>