From Sugar Flowers to a Global Creative Business (Full Transcript)

[00:00:03] Speaker 1: Being a solopreneur in 2026 is fun. Modern technology has allowed us to manage, connect, create.

[00:00:09] Speaker 2: A lot of people thought that I was crazy when I decided to leave my life behind as an attorney to start this company.

[00:00:14] Speaker 3: The moment is now. Consumers are looking for authentic brands of culture and story.

[00:00:19] Speaker 4: I started Rooted Living out of my college dorm room and we are paving the way for a plastic free food future.

[00:00:26] Speaker 5: English is not my first language, but through the tools that I create and the classes that I teach, I'm able to connect with people all over the world. What makes my journey unique is that I don't just design ideas, but I manufacture and develop new products.

[00:00:48] Speaker 6: Hello. Hi.

[00:00:50] Speaker 5: Nice meeting you. I'm Angela. Hi Angela.

[00:00:53] Speaker 7: Nice to meet you too Angela.

[00:00:55] Speaker 5: My mission is to help other women around the world and I want people to see me as an inspiration. Everything that I do, I do it with intention. Decorating my house or folding my clothes or just working in my studio. I always want to give my best, you know, like do it the right way. It doesn't matter if it brings me something in exchange and I think that that is the core of my personality. You know when you do something and you do it from your heart and you don't expect anything? I think so that that's when the human gives their best.

[00:01:50] Speaker 1: I'm an artist. I'm a designer. I'm an artist.

[00:02:02] Speaker 5: During my whole career, I made many cases for free, but I was not after money. I was after something else. Doing the stuff that fills my heart and I think that that transmits to people. I think that that's what has kept me growing and alive in my business. I grew up in Venezuela in a beautiful city called Merida. We didn't have electricity. Not having things that were already like easy for me to access, it taught me that I had to like create my own things. My goal when I came to the United States was to have a better life. I already had my first daughter, so I was ready, you know, to come buy a house, learn English, work hard. So when I first came to the United States, I didn't know what I was going to do. I didn't know what I was going to do. So when I first came to the United States, I didn't know what I was going to do. So when I first came to the United States, I didn't know what I was going to do. I got a job in a restaurant, and I remember the kitchens like yelling at me because I didn't know anything. I wanted to offer my daughter something better. So I remember going to the mall, and I remember sitting, you know. I remember sitting on the mall, on a table, and, you know, praying, God, I mean, help me because this is not the life that I want. I think that I, you know, I can do better. I'm never going to forget that moment because life can change so much. One day I was at the gym, and I saw Ryan. I had met him already, like briefly. When I saw him in the gym, I was like, wow, this must be a sign.

[00:04:20] Speaker 8: I look over to the left, and she was sitting down on one of the benches, and she waved to me.

[00:04:25] Speaker 5: I was like, hi, and he came right away.

[00:04:29] Speaker 8: Started talking to her, and it was a little difficult at first because she didn't really speak English too well at that time.

[00:04:39] Speaker 5: He gave me his number, and the first time that we speak, I tell him I didn't know very much, you know, like a good English, and I tell him, oh, have a good life.

[00:04:53] Speaker 8: I was like, oh, have a nice life. That's not good words there. Then a week later, I got another call from her, and she asked me if I could come over to her house to help her with her homework. So I was like, yes.

[00:05:08] Speaker 5: Being with Ryan changed my life. One day, I see this cake decorating class, and I'm like, hey, maybe I can do this. When I was growing up, I had an aunt that had a cake decorating store in Venezuela, and I remember going to the store and eating the little royal icing flowers. Those were my favorite. So I was like, OK, I'm going to make sugar flowers, and I fell in love. That was my calling. I started my business in 2012, and at that time, I was just making cakes, you know, baking and decorating the cakes. In that time, Instagram came along, and I was like, well, maybe I'm going to join Instagram. And Instagram, everything happens so organic. I started getting all these followers, and they are like, can you teach me? Can you teach me? How do you make them? And I was like, what? People are interested in me teaching? That's crazy, because it was never on my mind. I just wanted to do something that I enjoy and do it perfect, perfect. That opened a huge door, because people from all around the world connected with me right away. I did my first online class, and I was like, I'm going to be happy if I sell to people five classes. That day, I sold 72 classes. It was amazing. I love having my own business, because I can create. Now, my business is about tools, but they are not just any tools.

[00:07:21] Speaker 7: Her business immediately stood out to me. She is reaching bakers around the world with her products and tools and tips and education.

[00:07:34] Speaker 5: What makes my business special is that I'm a baker myself. I'm not just a company selling tools. I'm thinking as a baker and seeing all the needs and the things that I would love to have, and I'm translating that into my tools. So I'm here in the living room, and my daughter tells me, like, hey, mom, there's this Zoom competition. You should, you know, you should enter.

[00:08:13] Speaker 6: I was doing research for grants, and I was like, oh, my God, like, this is far-fetched. But then I started reading everything and actually reading the questionnaire. I'm like, she really fits this very, like, organically.

[00:08:24] Speaker 5: She starts explaining to me, and I'm like, Amy, no, I'm not going to win that. I mean, I never win anything.

[00:08:31] Speaker 7: What we want to do today is to let you know that you have been selected to be in the top 50 of the solopreneurs. Thank you. Yes, and in addition, Angela, you are in the top five.

[00:08:49] Speaker 9: Really? Really. You are winning $30,000 to help accelerate your business.

[00:08:57] Speaker 5: Thank you. Thank you so much, because I've worked so much. You know, like, this is a dream come true, and I'm very thankful, and I can't believe that I won.

[00:09:10] Speaker 6: I knew she was going to get it, even when we were figuring it out. I knew it. She was like, no, I'm not. No, I'm not.

[00:09:17] Speaker 10: What drew us to Angela was that she was the epitome of the American dream, and the fact that she demonstrated grit and tenacity and persistence to learn a skill, and then ultimately turn that skill into something that is uniquely her, and build a business on it.

[00:09:42] Speaker 5: Every day, Zoom allows me to connect with my designers. One of them is in Russia, the other one is in Switzerland, and the other one is from Turkey. I printed the new rolling pins. They are like a part of my family. I love them. I feel they give everything to my business, and I'm forever, you know, like, grateful. At the beginning, everything started like a hobby. But right now, it's like, okay, this is a business. I feel like an empowered woman. It's beautiful to do something that you love, but also have what everyone wants, to support my family, to plan for a better future.

[00:10:35] Speaker 2: You know, I want other people to succeed.

[00:10:38] Speaker 5: If I could, they could too. You know, like, follow your heart. Grow their own business, like Sol Premier. I want them to have hope and find, you know, through art and creativity and technology, I want other women to feel inspired that they can also triumph in life. I was able to build something from nothing, from absolutely nothing. I think that that's what everyone that comes to this country wishes for. That's the American dream.