Leah Koch founded the romance bookstore The Ripped Bodice with her sister Bea Koch - they now have two locations, consult to major movie and TV studios, and have been rightfully called "the cool whisperers of romance." In this episode, I talk to Leah about how she made her wild idea of being the first romance-only bookstore in North America happen, despite the many skeptics who told her it couldn't be done. https://www.therippedbodice.com/Leah's museum rec: https://www.dackelmuseum.de/

Have you ever looked at a business and thought, "Wow, I cannot believe that is a thing!"

With the right alchemy of skill, passion, and a healthy dose of good timing and luck even the wildest dream can become a successful business.

In a world where we're inundated with stories of huge tech businesses and mainstreet store fronts, I want to tell you the stories of all those other businesses, the businesses that fly under the radar. The cool, unique, unusual, the amazing.

I'll talk to an entrepreneur who started an inflatable water park. Another who guides photographers on journeys to take pictures of elusive cats, a professional magician, a toy maker, and so many more.

I want to know how they came up with their wild idea and why they decided to turn it into a business. We’ll dive into what success means to them and what makes them love their jobs.

My name is Dana Mauriello and I’m an entrepreneur – I spent most of my career building software for small business owners to help them get started and grow. For five years at Etsy, I built tools for artisans that made bracelets out of old records, started goat farms to make handmade soap, personalized cutting boards. It was so inspiring to be around entrepreneurs who were following their dreams in all of the many unique directions that took them.

I'm also an adjunct professor at NYU Stern, teaching students how to generate new business ideas and decide which to pursue. I often hear when talking to aspiring entrepreneurs that they're searching for that one great idea - the idea that will help them raise funding and earn tons of money.

I believe that there are no good or bad ideas. There's only the right idea for us. I wanted to start this podcast to explore the incredibly wide range of entrepreneurship.The vastly different goals that we all have, the different ways that we define success, and the unbelievably unique paths we pursue.

Oh and a warning – I am *super* excited about these entrepreneurs and their business and I’m not going to try and play it cool and hide it. You can expect a fair amount of gushing, fan-girling, and general hysteria. Talking to these is folks is my dream and I’m stoked that I can make it a reality.

So, it's going to be a wild ride. I'm just so happy you're here.

Robert Cirjak is the co-founder of Wibit Sports, the world leader in floating waterparks. Robert started his career as a professional soccer player and now is the CEO of a waterpark company... the two dream jobs of every kid. His company inspires so much passion and excitement that he has fans with Wibit tatoos and he's even gone to a wedding of two people who met on a Wibit. Wibit: https://www.wibitsports.com/Robert's Wibit Bucket List Recommendations: https://landofnatura.com/https://www.zlatniratbol.com/enhttps://www.visitdubai.com/en/places-to-visit/aquafun-the-beach-waterparkCrystal Lagoons: https://www.crystal-lagoons.com/