issue 8 | JANUARY 2025
Linda Bi: “Third-Party Logistics Paves the Road to Global Success”
issue 7 | DECEMBER 2024
Katrina Markoff: “Sharing a Journey of Chocolate, Stillness, and Seeking”
I’ve recently launched Violet Flame Chocolate, a brand that curates rarefied ingredients, ancient elixirs, and botanicals sourced from geographically-protected regions. But it’s more than chocolate—it’s an invitation to engage with your senses to reach a profound level. The Cacao Spiritus experience is designed to awaken something deeper, something spiritual. The rarer and more precious the ingredients, the more powerful the experience may become, provided you rely on one muscle—your imagination.
In a world plagued by “popcorn brain”—a state where we’re constantly bouncing between social channels and endless streams of information—we rarely find time to pause. We’ve become addicted to distraction, unable to be still. But true power lies in stillness. It’s only when we stop running that we can ask, “What am I really meant to do here?” The answer comes not from the mind but from the body’s wisdom. When you taste something truly well-crafted, it takes your breath away; you begin to access that inner wisdom. Violet Flame is about creating those moments—moments where you remember the incredible potential you’ve always had inside.
issue 6 | NOVEMBER 2024
Alice Kim: “Global Entrepreneurship: It’s About Bootstrapping, Determination, and Staying Scrappy”
I have two beauty brands. The first, Elizabeth Mott, sells Korean cosmetics. Being Korean-American, I grew up seeing amazing Korean skincare and beauty products. I decided to reimagine them for the American consumer, starting with mascara and eye makeup. Elizabeth Mott was started in 2010 and named in honor of our first studio, on Elizabeth and Mott Streets in New York’s SoHo district.
Six years later, after my husband Vira and I moved from New York to Hawaii, where he grew up, we launched a second company, Hanalei. It is a Hawaiian skincare company that uses island-derived ingredients for efficacious skincare formulas.
issue 5 | OCTOBER 2024
Dana Donofree: “Turning a Breast Cancer Diagnosis into a Business Supporting Survivors”
I started AnaOno in my twenties, after I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I felt like I was catapulted into a world designed for a more mature woman than I was at that point in my life. I wanted to feel good, feel feminine, and feel like myself, but wearing an underwire bra was practically impossible. Plus, I did not want to adorn the lovely Jacquard-polyester material of a “grandma bra”. Finding an underwire-free bra that fit my body but didn’t cause pain or suffering or itchiness, or was made of bad materials, was, and still is, tricky. AnaOno was born out of wanting to feel good and look good. We’re celebrating ten years in business this year!
issue 4 | SEPTEMBER 2024
Diana Yousef: “Bringing Dignity, Safety, and Hope, Especially to Women”
A number of years back, I was working with NASA to consider technology options for recycling water on the space station. One option was using breathable materials to separate water from waste, which NASA could then reuse for space agriculture. When trying to get rid of wastewater, I immediately appreciated that breathable materials could simplify that by doing the equivalent of evaporating water (i.e., subtracting the water out of the waste, instead of most wastewater treatment options, which removes waste from the water) but without actually boiling off the water (which costs a lot of energy). As a low-energy option to separate molecular water from waste, it occurred to me that this solution not only could be used in space, but also held possibilities for better sanitation for places here on Earth without water treatment or reliable power.
issue 3 | AUGUST 2024
Dr. Chris Wachira: “Uncorking Secrets to Global Success”
I am Kenyan American, born and raised in Kenya, and I couldn’t find a wine that complemented the food my mother made for our Sunday dinners. I thought I’ll craft a wine for her and that’s how it started. Wachira Wines combined my fascination with the science of winemaking, because I have a science background, and not being able to find a wine that complemented Kenyan cuisine.
issue 2 | JULY 2024
Coni Lefferts: “Global growth is in the bag.”
In the small farm town in Ohio where I grew up, women were expected to become housewives or work in a service position, such as a teacher or a nurse. I saw my chance to escape from this and do my own thing when I was about twelve years old and my father was transferred to Florida. I went to college, initially to study dentistry, but then I married my college sweetheart and we ran a swimming pool company in Florida. When he died, I became an immediate entrepreneur.
issue 1 | JUNE 2024
Andrea Wagner: “Andrea takes on the world one sweater at a time.”
In the small farm town in Ohio where I grew up, women were expected to become housewives or work in a service position, such as a teacher or a nurse. I saw my chance to escape from this and do my own thing when I was about twelve years old and my father was transferred to Florida. I went to college, initially to study dentistry, but then I married my college sweetheart and we ran a swimming pool company in Florida. When he died, I became an immediate entrepreneur.
