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If starting your own business sounds like a massive challenge, imagine launching one with your life partner, sibling, or best friend. These entrepreneur pairs, whose products have been handpicked as some of Oprah’s Favorite Things, have found a way to sidestep common pitfalls such as communication breakdowns or power struggles, and instead have thrived as a team. The secrets to their success differ as much as their brands, styles, and backgrounds, but there is one thing these 11 pairs have in common: They all were willing to take a massive leap of faith to start their businesses.
Oh, and another thing these 11 business-owner pairs have in common? It was easy for Oprah to bet on them—along with the rest of the awesome businesses featured on her 2022 Favorite Things list. When you check out the fabulous products they’ve created and read their inspiring stories below, you’ll understand why.
Ashley Ruprecht and Jeffery Schad of Laurel & Ash Farm
Limited-Edition Maple Syrup Gift Box
Limited-Edition Maple Syrup Gift Box
When Ashley Ruprecht and Jeffrey Schad bought their 50-acre farm in New York State’s Hudson Valley in 2015, the couple were instantly smitten with the sugar maple trees that surrounded their property. Soon, making maple syrup became a winter tradition, and when Schad was laid off from his corporate job in 2017, the couple found the motivation to level up their syrup-making from a hobby to commercial production. “We both wanted to connect to the land, spend more time together, and participate in a regional food system,” says Ruprecht, who owned a millinery business and was doing freelance marketing at the time. The husband-and-wife team wasn’t afraid to roll up their sleeves. Over the next couple of years, they ran thousands of feet of tubing through sugarbush in frigid temperatures, built a sugarhouse and pump house, and started selling their sublime syrup, which has notes of blueberry and mountain laurel, at local farmers’ markets and online. Today at Laurel & Ash Farm, Ruprecht and Schad still tap, wood-fire, bottle, and package their 100 percent pure Grade-A maple syrup on their family farm using sustainable practices. They produce only a limited amount each year and sell it in an elegant bottle designed by Ruprecht.
Melis and Melda Sirvanchi of House No. 23
Alaia Sherpa Throw
Alaia Sherpa Throw
Inspired by their grandfather, who owned a successful wholesale towel company in Turkey, twins Melis and Melda Sirvanchi teamed up to build a company producing 100 percent organic, breathable, hand-woven textiles. As with any other sibling pair, each one has her unique traits and personality; Melis gets the most excited about new ideas, while Melda prefers taking the time to think things through before jumping in. And that just may be their superpower: “Having two different approaches in business make us complete,” says Melis, who initially started House No. 23 on her own in 2012 after a trip to Turkey to see relatives. “I wanted to create the same kind of sustainable, natural, and versatile products for everyday use here that I saw being used there.” She started with—what else—a Turkish towel. With Melda’s help, the brand expanded to include bedding, robes, and throws, including the luxurious one chosen by Oprah as one of this year’s Favorite Things. The sister act is excited to see its company continue to grow. “We’re sisters, neighbors, partners, and best friends,” Melis says. And they have been since the very beginning—a date they recall several times a day, every day. “Our birthday is April 23rd,” Melis explains. “That’s where the 23 in our company comes from.”
Tim and Su-Mari Hill of iLola
Tea Disc Essentials Set
Tea Disc Essentials Set
Now 20% Off
Soon after Tim and Su-Mari Hill opened a tea shop in British Columbia, customers began to tell them that they wanted to switch to loose-leaf tea at home to avoid the nanoplastics and bleach that many tea bags are made with, but convenience kept them hooked on the latter. Su-Mari started thinking, What if I could design some sort of binding to hold just the right amount of tea without the use of a bag? With research and perseverance, she and Tim developed the probiotic, clear cellulose binding they now use to handcraft their iLola tea discs. When the pandemic hit several years later and the Hills were forced to close their brick-and-mortar shop, they decided to take a risk and try to make their invention a thriving reality. “We had to sell our property to fund it, but both of us knew we would regret it if we didn’t try,” Tim says. Today, their balance of responsibilities means Su-Mari oversees production and product development, while Tim handles sales, branding, and marketing. Their five children, ages 6 to 11, pitch in, too, by naming collections or painting the warehouse where the discs are made. Says Tim, “It’s been a rollercoaster for the past nine years, but we happily ride it hand in hand.”
Karen and Martin Cooper of The Punctilious Mr. P’s Place Card Co.
The Hudson Valley Jam Trio Gift Set
The Hudson Valley Jam Trio Gift Set
For Martin and Karen Cooper—fashion design veterans, both—creating a seat at the (well-appointed) table for anyone to sit is their passion. During a dinner party one night in their beautifully renovated, 200-year-old farmhouse in Old Chatham, New York, Martin looked at the blank-backed name cards they had set out and thought, Why shouldn’t these have beautifully curated images on them? He pitched the idea to Karen that night, who met him with a resounding, “Let’s do it!” And with that, the illustrated place card, and the couple’s business, The Punctilious Mr. P.’s Place Card Company, was born. Since then, they’ve applied the same innovative ethos—and used the same inspiration, get-togethers at their home in the Hudson Valley—to branch out to menu cards, note cards, a line of scented candles, teas, and now, their trio of hand-crafted preserves that includes a hot pepper jelly, lemon curd, and a strawberry jam. What makes it all work is that their partnership “comes from a mutual sense of trust and respect for each other’s talents and visions,” says Karen. Plus, she adds, they share a common goal: “to continue the goodness of gathering.”
Randall and Lisa Pawlik of VoChill
Stemless Wine Chiller
Stemless Wine Chiller
While sitting at an outdoor bar in her hometown of Austin, Lisa Pawlik noticed that her white wine was speedily warming in the heat—and her enjoyment of it fading just as quickly. “She turned to me and said, ‘I wish there was something I could rest my glass in to keep my wine chilled,’” says Randall, her husband and co-innovator. “We started brainstorming that night, trying to figure out what the perfect solution would be.” Working out of their tiny garage, they began developing the prototype that would eventually become VoChill, a glass holder-cum-cooler that keeps wine from warming up in the glass as you savor it. “It allows you to enjoy your wine as it was meant to be—perfectly chilled through the last sip,” says Lisa. As luck would have it, a corporate layoff motivated them to get the company off the ground. “Lisa losing her job was the best thing that happened to us,” says Randall. “I was self-employed at the time, so when she could go all-in with me on this, it was just the catalyst we needed. Turns out she’s a born entrepreneur! Only together could we make this happen.” Today, VoChill offers both stemless cradles, like the one we’re featuring here, and stemmed glass options. And they even come in multiple color palettes, so you can find one to match any home decor.
Mickey and Vicky Popat of PlantOGrams
Frantoio Olive Tree
Frantoio Olive Tree
Now 20% Off
Mickey and Vicky Popat launched their online plant store in 2007 after realizing that what they enjoyed most was spending weekends scouring nurseries looking for fruit trees to plant on their property. “Our hobby turned into a passion when family and friends tried our fruits and wanted them for their yards, too,” he says. So the pair decided to take a huge leap together: “We quit our jobs, sold our cars, and used our savings to buy an old cargo van, shovels, straw hats, and a handful of fruit trees,” Mickey says. Door-to-door sales led to happy clients, and word of mouth spread. Eventually, they expanded into exotic varieties, and their fan base grew. And all along, their partnership has grounded them through learning curves and successes. “We founded PlantOGram jointly, and we continue to make nearly all of our decisions jointly as a team,” says Mickey. Today, they sell over 200 types of fruit trees on their website, one of which is the Frantoio Olive Tree featured on Oprah’s Favorite Things this year. They discovered this plant during their travels through Italy, where the couple saw it everywhere from vineyards to cityscapes. “We thought owning one would be like having a piece of Tuscany without leaving home,” says Mickey. For every plant purchased from PlantOGram, another one is planted through its partnership with the nonprofit Trees for the Future.
Nick Ajluni and Nick Guillen of Truff
Starter Pack
Starter Pack
Nick Ajluni and his best friend and business partner, Nick Guillen have been coming up with business ventures since they met in college. After launching the social handle @sauce, which showcased delicious food in elaborate settings, they quickly built a cult following—and soon entrepreneurial light bulbs were going off in their heads. “We had built this large audience and realized we should use this opportunity to expand the brand into a buzzworthy product,” says Ajluni. “We knew we wanted to create an upscale sauce, and that led us to black truffles. We quickly recognized it was the perfect ingredient that would elevate the category as a whole.” After two-plus years of recipe testing in Ajluni’s parents’ kitchen, they finally settled on the perfect mix for their launch in 2017. Within their first year of sales, Truff was featured on Oprah’s Favorite Things in 2018, which earned the duo spots on national morning shows, turning the brand into Amazon’s number one bestselling hot sauce. “We still wake up every morning trying to figure out what’s next for the business,” says Ajluni. “We are so grateful for our team and to be on this exciting journey.”
Aaron and Julie Larson Menitoff of Boarderie
Arte Cheese & Charcuterie Board
Arte Cheese & Charcuterie Board
When the pandemic shutdown caused their busy catering business to collapse overnight, Boarderie cofounders Aaron Menitoff and his wife, Julie, realized they had to do some quick thinking if they wanted to generate income and avoid laying off their staff. Examining possible ways to pivot to e-commerce, they wondered if they may have a winner with their cheese and charcuterie board, which had always been their most popular menu item. “That was our aha moment, when we realized we could create and ship out completely prearranged boards nationwide,” Menitoff says. Today, the Palm Beach-based company hand-selects cheeses, meats, dried fruits, and more from artisan producers, arranges them beautifully on acacia wood boards, and delivers them to customers who simply have to unwrap and enjoy. “This has allowed us to build a customer base much farther than our trucks can drive,” Menitoff says. In just two years, the business has grown so much, they’ve brought in two additional business partners, Rachel Solomon and Angel Jerez, at left with the Menitoffs in the photo above. And as for the pair? “I can count the days we’ve spent apart on one hand, and I couldn’t imagine it any other way,” says Menitoff. “We’re going to get through the most challenging times together as well as celebrate the wins.”
Bryan Edwards and Phil Riportella of Snif
Old Saint Wick Candles
Old Saint Wick Candles
Now 20% Off
Best friends since childhood, Bryan Edwards and Phil Riportella bonded over many things through the years, including how hard it was to find candle fragrances they loved without standing inside a store and sniffing them firsthand. Though each were working full-time jobs—Edwards in management consulting and Riportella in investor relations—the two came up with the idea for Snif, a try-before-you-commit-to-buy fragrance and candle company during a conversation at a dinner party in 2018. Their innovative concept: Send two-ounce or two-milliliter samples of the candles or scents along with the regular-sized version of the product. The purchaser gets seven days to try the samples; if they end up not liking the smell, they can return the unused product at no charge. If they fall in love with it, then they’ll be charged in full. “Our jobs fit the definition of ‘stable career path,’ but we got so excited and passionate about the idea of shaking up the fragrance world that quitting our jobs and making the jump to creating Snif was a no-brainer,” says Edwards. “Both of us took a leap of faith, and ever since, it’s allowed us to be creative, have fun, and make products we’re extremely proud of.” The candle scent featured here on Oprah’s Favorite Things, Old Saint Wick, has “notes of Siberian pine to lean into the feeling like you’re on a beautiful winter evening walk,” says Edwards. “It was only available in limited release last year, but because it received so much love from our community—and from Oprah—we’re bringing it back full-force this year.”
Ashley and Brittany Silfies of Pink Picasso
Pink Picasso Kids’ Paint-by-Number Kits
Pink Picasso Kids’ Paint-by-Number Kits
When these best friends decided to leave their husbands and marry each other, they were happy but penniless. Ashley, who had a background in photography, came up with an idea to turn photos into paint-by-numbers kits. In 2018, she took the kits to a wholesale market, and almost immediately, they sold out. “I called Brittany after totaling orders on a bar napkin and said, ‘We have a business!’” says Ashley. A year later, Oprah chose the kits to add to her 2019 list of Favorite Things. “I cried when a national morning show featured our product, because we took huge risks and it worked.” As if that weren’t enough, the duo landed a spot on Shark Tank and secured funding from two investors, skyrocketing sales even further. The moms of three, with another on the way, are exact opposites—while Ashley was the artistic inspiration, Brittany was a biologist and gymnastics coach, but now runs operations. In this case, not only do opposites attract, but they also make great business partners. “I’m still in awe of how perfectly matched we are to work our halves of the business,” says Ashley.
Andrew and Anna Hellman of One Part Co.
1pt Cocktail Infusion Master Kit
1pt Cocktail Infusion Master Kit
You can thank the holiday season for this duo’s innovative addition to the cocktail world. “It actually came about a bit by accident,” says Andrew. When the husband-and-wife team wanted to throw a traditional Christmas holiday smorgasbord party to share Anna’s Swedish heritage with friends, they had trouble finding good aquavit, the flavored vodka Swedes drink at the holidays (and year round). They decided to infuse their own using a decorative flask of vodka and orange rind, cinnamon, cloves, all-spice, and star anise. Their guests loved it so much that it became a yearly tradition—until the Hellmans realized they could turn their skill into a business helping other people make drinks that taste as great as those made by a trained bartender. In 2017, they launched One Part Co., putting together infusion packets of dried herbs and spices that will take your gin, tequila, whiskey, rum, wine, or vodka to the next level with a simple shake or stir. “Any new venture is always a bit scary at the beginning,” says Andrew. “Which is why having a partner there to give comfort or a swift kick in the backside is irreplaceable.” The way Anna sees it: “Working together for us is like a team sport—you know your teammate is right there with you without even looking.”
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