Category archives: My First Moves

The co-founders traveled the globe and even worked out of a grandmother’s garage to bring their fair-trade operation to life.

Naomi Kelman is the CEO of Willow, a sleek breast pump that launched earlier this year. To get it just right, she and her team surveyed moms across the country.

Alexa Buckley and Sarah Pierson had a plan in place — it just didn’t involve launching a startup. Here’s how they found the guts to follow their passion and launch custom-fit shoe company Margaux.

Lauren Kleban’s fitness classes are beloved by Hollywood tastemakers, but she found a larger audience by filming and streaming her content.

Dana Pollack knew her macarons were different from others on the market. She just had to make sure her potential customers knew what set them apart.

Karen John’s startup, Heartwork, creates sleek, functional office furniture. But before she launched, she had to focus her idea, support its development and ignore her family’s advice.

After an entrepreneurial failure, Miko Branch launched a new business out of necessity — and identified a lucrative, underserved market in the haircare industry.

Co-founder Rosie O’Neill looks back on the early days of building the brand with her now-fiancé: “All of the stories of how we found this concept are wound up in our love story.”

Lara Mead, co-founder of athleisure brand Varley, quit her job and sold her house — and it paid off.

At 18, Amanda Zuckerman co-founded dorm décor brand Dormify with her mom. Now, she’s a 25-year-old creative director for the fast-growing brand she build from the ground up.