As it does for many entrepreneurs, Hannah’s story started at a point in her life in which she wasn’t sure where to turn next. She had just finished her contract to teach English in China, and didn’t know what came next – until she decided that she wanted to start a business. Inspired by the canvas shoes worn by Chinese workers, she decided to bring this style to Western markets and started a company called BANGS. Her company sells canvas shoes with creative designs meant to “support people in their adventures”.

In a TEDxTalk, Hannah Davis spoke about the mission and purpose of the company. She founded the company on the mission of “help”. The company name was inspired by the character for “help” in Mandarin, which reveals the overall mission – which is to help entrepreneurs. As Hannah explained it, her entrepreneurial journey to create shoes to fuel adventure actually helps people overcome financial dependence on third parties through their contribution of 20% of their proceeds to helping entrepreneurs start businesses around the world.

This company is an amazing example of starting a company with a mission to serve rather than a desire to make profits. Her company is growing exponentially – the company was recently put on Nordstrom.com! We need more companies with this commendable mission to continue helping make the world a better place through unique value propositions.

Cassandra Thurswell is one of the few who started with nothing but a dream, a few dollars and some determination and was able to turn it into a successful business. After working in many different fields including waitressing, retainer assembly, and managing a cupcake shop, she ended up in a jewelry store where she learned the value of taking ownership of her job and putting her all into it. After making improvements that helped grow the business she was working for, she caught the entrepreneur bug and decided to pursue starting her own company. As she explains, she had no plan going into this business, but received the support she needed from her husband and launched into the adventure of starting something new. She financed her venture with some money she had saved, a maxed out credit card, and some frugal living.

She decided that she wanted to start a business that she would find value in herself, and went in the direction of beauty and haircare. She started on her living room floor, hand making knotted hair ties, eventually getting orders big enough that her husband needed to quit his job to help her. That has turned into a trendy beuaty business carrying hair care products, skin care tools, and hair accessories, and has collabed with big names like elf, Disney, Harry Potter, and Hello Kitty. Her heatless curling set even went viral on TikTok!

However, this wasn’t her only business venture, just the first one that succeeded. As she said in an interview, this was her 8th business. She is a testament to the beauty of not giving up! In the same interview, when asked what her best piece of advice would be for people starting a business, she said that it was important to be 100% sure of your “why” and be sure that it is strong enough to sustain you through the highs and lows of your venture. As she said, make sure your actions align with your “why”. For example, if you want to be extremely wealthy or have a huge house, but entrepreneurship might not be the best way to get there! She said, “Your ‘why’ should be strong enough to be willing to live with very little for a period of time in service of your dream. I never felt like a victim to the struggles and menial tasks when starting Kitsch, I saw it as an investment in my future and made a game out of it”. This is one of the best pieces of advice I have heard from successful entrepreneurs – it’s not for everyone and for every goal! Cassandra Thurswell’s story shows how valuable determination, confidence, a strong “why”, and support are in starting a successful business!

See her interview here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/viviannunez/2019/10/30/for-cassandra-thurswell-starting-kitsch-came-down-to-trusting-her-intuition/ and her store here: https://www.mykitsch.com/

When I think of an ideal business partner, my sibling is not the first person I would think of. This was not true, however, for Emily and Mark Stallings, a brother and sister from Brooklyn who started the designer phone case brand Casely in 2017 when Mark realized there was a hole in the very saturated niche market of tech accessories. When he realized the opportunity, he recruited his sister Emily, who designed cases and the website. The business started as a subscription service, in which the company sent 2 cases per month with the goal of allowing people to match their phone case with their outfit. This has since shifted to be focused on one-time purchases of the company’s many designs on phone cases, AirPods cases, and power pods. They collab with many organizations, including the Van Gogh museum and Crayola, in which they create unique cases that showcase artwork related to the organizations.

Additionally, Casely places a lot of emphasis on their mission to give back, especially through their initiative called “#EveryCaseCounts”, in which they donate money from their profits to support a variety of charities, along with giving an extra $1 to a Charity-of-the-Month for every tagged Instagram post featuring the hashtag #EveryCaseCounts – through this campaign, they have donated over $1 million in their lifetime. They also give artists the chance to feature their artworks on a case and get paid for it, allowing up-and-coming artists to get their art out and make a profit from it. These initiatives make Casely stand out as an organization who values impact rather than profits. This approach shows the redemptive mindsets of the owners, and is a great example of using creativity to find a niche market, and use that advantage to help others!

The journey starts in a grocery store – specifically the produce aisle, and more specifically, in front of the brocolli. Colby Bauer, a twenty-something surfer, was tired of trying to carry around all of his stuff, from his keys to his cards and cash. There was no good, minimalistic way. Until he saw the brocolli, wrapped in the answer to all of his problems: a rubber band. At that moment, he had it figured out. It helped him to be more mindful about the stuff he carried around every day and free up the time and space filled by managing all of his things. However, brocolli rubber bands are not made to last, and before long, he needed something else. So, with some hot glue, scissors, and elastic, he put together a prototype of what would eventually be called “ThreadWallets” – a minimalistic and durable elastic wallet meant to help carry his stuff around. Then he met someone with a sewing machine – McKenzie – and together they made wild, passionate wallets. They sold them at farmers markets and other sales, and they sold like crazy. People were in love with how simple they were. McKenzie and Colby ended up getting married, had a family, and turned ThreadWallets into a company with the mission of helping people get their stuff together and Carry On. Since then, they have upgraded their brand to carry elastic wallets, bifold wallets, crossbody bags, lip balm holders, tote bags, lanyards, and AirPods cases.

As a customer of ThreadWallets myself, it is obvious that this company has had an impact on all who purchase from them. Their stylish but minimalistic wallets encourage a mindset of simplicity, not requiring users to carry around everything – only the essentials. The company may not seem to be the most significant, but they are making a huge statement and helping people living simply and Carry On. As their website boldly states,”Thread established its brand mission, Carry On, as a call to any and all that values personal progress and self-expression. With this slogan we are driven to be the go-to all things carry brand.” It would have been easy for Colby and McKenzie to see their product as something that wouldn’t be adopted by many based on its simplicity. However, they believed in their ability to solve a problem that many didn’t know they had, helping people live better along the way. This is an inspiring story of someone seeing a problem and finding a way to solve it, perfecting it along the way!

Visit their website: https://www.threadwallets.com/

Many people recognize Millie Bobby Brown’s name from her numerous iconic TV/movie roles, including Eleven in Stranger Things and Enola Holmes in the Enola Holmes franchise. On top of these and other award-winning performances, she runs a business called “florence by mills”. This company is a beauty company focused on selling makeup products. What makes her stand out from other beauty companies is her approach to beauty from a Gen-Z standpoint. Additionally, she creates beauty products “founded on the belief that true beauty comes from loving and embracing yourself.” As she explains, she sat in hundreds of makeup chairs throughout her career, allowing her to experiment with what worked for her skin. As a result, she has found what she loves for her skin – and her mission is to help her generation find that as well.

All of this was inspired by the namesake of her company – her grandmother, Florence. Millie describes Florence as someone who embraced her individuality and wasn’t afraid to express herself, and that’s what Millie hopes to empower those who buy her makeup to do as well. And in addition to her commendable mission of revolutionizing beauty for GenZ, she has attached other amazing missions to her company. Firstly, florence by mills supports the Olivia Hope foundation, a not-for-profit with the mission to end childhood cancer that was founded in memory of Millie’s childhood friend Olivia Hope LoRusso, who passed away from a battle with leukemia. Additionally, florence’s products are vegan and cruelty-free, adding ethically-sourced materials to her list of mission-focused initiatives.

And she did all of this while she was 15 and working as an actress. If her world-changing company didn’t convince you of her amazing entrepreneurial abilities, the mere fact of her age reminds anyone thinking about starting an ethical, impactful business is completely possible. I am inspired by Millie Bobby Brown’s purpose in mission in florence by mills and believe that she has the power to change the way GenZ approaches beauty altogether.