Lilly Benitez
Lilly, Director of Education and Founder committed her time and dedication to creating Blade Craft Barber Academy for 3 years. Creating a schedule that appeased to her full-time position as a barber at The Gents Place in Frisco and capable to maintain a busy schedule of tailored shave events which provided her the financials to create Blade Craft. Loyal family, clients, and friends filled these shave events with small to large donations from purchasing exceptional straight razor shaves and Blade Craft swagg, apparel. Read More>>
Wade Griffith
I grew up drawing and painting so I knew that I always wanted to be involved in the arts. I attended the Art Institute of Dallas and received a degree in Visual Communications. After college, I landed a job as a graphic designer at Interstate Batteries, where I worked for two years. For the next 8 years I’d work as an Art Director for a small ad firm in Dallas called Holt Design. Read More>>
Morgan Fenton
The women in my family have always been very interested in fashion and keeping up with the latest brands and current trends. We have always talked about opening a boutique and running it together some day. I decided to get my Merchandising degree from the University of North Texas, as their Merchandising program is one of the best in the nation. Last year I completed an internship at The Gypsy Wagon (on Henderson) in Dallas. Read More>>
Josh Pather
I was born and raised in Durban, South Africa. My family immigrated to the U.S. in 2001 in search of safety and opportunity. For as long as I can remember, I have always been a hustler. I remember selling things so I could buy what I wanted even at 10 years old. Read More>>
Janice Carter
I’ve always been a visionary with a passion for creating, decorating and designing; however, I wasn’t able to utilize those skills as an upper level management official with the federal government sector. After retiring, I enrolled in QC Wedding and Event School and received certification as an International Wedding and Event Planner; thus, birthing Kouture Expressions Unlimited (KEU) in 2012. Since the inception of KEU, I have strived to create indelible memories for a lifetime for my clients by telling their story through décor, pictures, textures and colors. Every event is a production designed specifically for the client. Read More>>
Pamela Painter
I have always loved Fitness. Ever since I was a little girl, my mother worried that I spent too much time running around the perimeter of our back yard. I just wanted to see how many times I could circle it and if I could increase the time it took me. Read More>>
Mary and Pat Sculley
Pat and I decided to leave our global corporate jobs and purchase a business we could operate together. We took some time to identify a business that would fit our interests, experiences, and expertise. After almost a year of searching, we engaged a business broker who worked with us to find a franchise that met our separate “profiles”. Read More>>
Michelle Ibañez
At age 41 by then I had raised three sons, finished a BA in Arts on Psychology and working for corporate world. The 9 to 5 and just living life according to my work schedule had brought me to reach a point to where I was suffering from depression and anxiety. At that point, I have had enough and got the treatment I needed, started practicing meditation at the Kadampa Meditation Center now in Dallas and decided to follow my dream of becoming my own boss. Read More>>
Manuel Gonzales
When I moved to Dallas, I knew no one and running up and down the Katy Trail at 6pm in the afternoon was not only hot, but getting quite boring. I started thinking to myself, what if I started something similar to the fitness group I was a part of in Boston. Would this work in Dallas? How would it do it? Wait, I have no money… So, then started a movement in Dallas and WERUNBIGD was born. Read More>>
Josh Hall
I spent my first 16 years living in Saudi Arabia where my father worked for Aramco. We lived on a mostly American, company owned compound. It was a fantastic place to grow up and afforded us the ability to see the world. As a kid, I was exposed to cultures and art from all over. Read More>>
John Ley
So the story begins during Christmas of 2008. John’s brother, Bob sent everyone in the family wine that HE MADE! John said, “You made this?”. Bob responded, “Yah! Cool, huh?” It was actually pretty good. Well, in April of 2009, John was up in Michigan and Bob said he was going to make another batch and asked if he wanted to tag along. Read More>>
Brian Rutledge
My journey began back in 2003 when my uncle asked me to help him build an internet company called Beauty & Hair (Wigs.com/Extensions.com/Hairpieces.com). I spent 12 years helping build the largest Ecommerce company in our industry. From there, I wanted to learn the manufacturer and salon side of the industry. My next venture as the Director of US Operations for Europe’s #1 wig brand Ellen Wille, had me traveling and distributing their products across the US, Canada, and Mexico, while traveling back and forth to Frankfurt, Germany! Read More>>
Claudia Carballal
I like to know what makes people happy, what makes them tick, what are their passions, their greatest fears, what keeps them up at night, what five words describe them. It’s how I connect with people. It comes from my analytical mind and natural inclination to make meaningful relationships. But not everyone wants to share answers to deep questions, so sometimes I just settle for small talk. Read More>>
