Connect Who or what is your inspiration in business?

Daymond John is an inspiration to me because he started from scratch in the same industry I am in (apparel). He is also gives back to his community and helps young entrepreneurs reach their goals. I also respect Elon Musk for his guts in putting it all on the line for something he believes in. He has single-handedly disrupted several aging industries and have forced them to change to keep up. That to me is inspiring.

How do you stay motivated?

I have two young children that I want to raise to be independent and successful entrepreneurs themselves. When I left my 20+ year corporate job, I remember a conversation I had with my oldest who said with tears in her eyes, "Daddy, are we going to be homeless now?" That lit a fire within me that I will never get complacent and always do my best so that she never has to have that feeling in her ever again!

What would you do with the $25,000?

One of our biggest challenges is keeping up with inventory. Some of the money will go to help us with that, but we are also known in our community for our giving component. Through our apparel sales, we have raised monies for the Maui Wildfire victims ($70K), Loves Bakery employees ($55K), and more. We are currently raising funds for the victims of the California Wildfires. I'd really like it if we could somehow utilize a portion of the $25K as a give back component. Mahalo for the opportunity!