Meet the people inspiring the TOOLSY platform.

My name is Ilona Selina and I’m 26 years old. I was born in Ukraine, and grew up in Vienna, Austria. I lived and studied in London, New York and L.A. I am the Founder of Route Marketing – a boutique communications agency providing strategic marketing initiatives tailored to meet the needs and goals of female founded businesses. We specialize in Influencer and Media Relations, Social Media Management and Strategy. My experience in digital communications spans across lifestyle, beauty, and fashion sectors – both in-house and at agencies.

Dream Pops began as a plant-based ice cream bar, and evolved into a platform brand that re-imagines confectionary products. Anything that is a tired, antiquated dessert or confectionary product will be reimagined for the next generation with super foods, adaptogens and functional ingredients – always 100% plant-based. These will pertain to a modern diet and someone who really cares about wellness, but is looking for permissible indulgence.

I’ve learned that you really have to fake it til you make it in the beginning. Even if the entire process isn’t clear to you, you’ll figure so much out just by going through the motions. I also learned a lot in University and it was a really great period of time for me to mature and figure out what I wanted to do with my life, but I don’t think it’s always necessary. I’ve learned much more about what I’m doing now by actually doing it.

When we first launched, we didn’t have a brand, we didn’t have anything. We just bought the product and I started selling them locally to people I knew just to see if I could. We wanted to validate the product and concepts before we dug too deep into our brand and distribution strategy. We literally just bought the product and started selling it with no plan. I think that’s what honestly worked best for us. We just took it really in stride in the sense that we knew we were hustlers and we knew we could move them. We just started selling locally to stores without packaging. The first sale is one you’ll always remember. Our first sale, I was talking to this trainer and he just said “I’ll buy a mat for 50 bucks” so I ran back to my house to get it. That was one of the first guys I talked to and he bought it.

If you were to tell me in 3 years you’re going to have a seven figure Amazon business, have 5 or 6 employees and this going on the side I just wouldn’t believe you. I’m super grateful to be in the position I am today. Pretty much at this point I feel like Amazon is a business where you can automate it quite well because Amazon does a lot of the heavy lifting for you. My coaching business, I’m super excited about it because I know where I came from, I know there are’s other people out there who like me always wanted to start their own business and this is something that worked for me.

chargeFuze is a great avenue to get into locations, build a new concept, and to solve a problem. We’re an advertising company as well and we’re building a foothold. This is similar to what Uber has done from going to ridesharing, to self-driving tech, and they’ve just pivoted into so much development that goes just beyond the simplicity of ride sharing. I think chargeFUZE has that same potential and opportunity to develop into so much more. This is a starting point to build a network and a framework. Once you have the user base and the location, you have so much control over what you can put out in the market.

HonorSociety.org is a platform dedicated to helping students and professionals maximize their success. We connect students with opportunities to meet other people and to find prestigious positions in graduate schools and professional positions. We focus on academics, professional tools, benefits and really recognizing our members. It’s really a community of success, in many ways sharing some of the same values as Toolsy, and more geared towards academic, professional and personal success. That’s why I’m so happy and honored to be able to share our story with Toolsy.

Success is such a funny word, it’s so relative to different people. For some people it could be that job promotion, or that raise in your salary, or finally selling your business for a hundred million dollars. If you don’t have the why connected to that success, once you reach it ,you’ll be hit with a wave of pleasure and it’ll wane ,then you’ll be out searching for that next hit and rush of dopamine.

At first it was just picking up the phone and DM’ing people on Instagram. Most of our clients were from direct contact, we were cold calling every day 20 or 30 people. We started sending messages on Instagram and using BombBomb to send videos of us pitching people, seeing how we can help them, and seeing what their goals were. The retention and what you get back from people when you seriously dig into their websites and make a personalized effort is amazing.

Where would you steer someone looking to learn more about a career in real estate? Podcasts like the “BiggerPocketsPodcast” and “The Real Estate Guys” are great for learning and keeping up to date with all things real estate. The “BiggerPocketsPodcast” offers interviews with a wide variety of players in the real estate investment business which is super interesting. “The Real Estate Guys” gives a great understanding of economic events and trends in the real estate investment market. Books like Your First 365 Days in Real Estate are also great when you are starting out and wanting some direction.

We pivoted to hoodies, which are the perfect e-commerce product. We built a super lean team, even today it’s just myself and Parker. We use all contractors and 1099’s. We used to have 20 employees in-house. Now we have no one in-house and no office, which enables us to live the lifestyle we want to live. We can go anywhere we want to do anything.

The fitness industry is booming and people are taking their health more seriously, which is awesome. KANGABOOTS are something that are different and unique, and I’m just grateful that so many people have been receptive to them. It’s awesome that I’ve been able to bottle my approach as a fitness trainer into this product and brand, which can be spread a little bit more widely.

What advice do you have for those that may want to pursue a career in real estate investing? I would recommend that anyone looking to get into real estate start by targeting one geographic area rather than being all over the place. Learn every street, every corner, and every property owner in one area. Find your niche and work it. Eventually, you’ll find out what that neighborhood needs, what it has too much of, what the traffic counts are and more. Get to know the movers and shakers, the Chamber of Commerce, and the neighborhood council.

We raised privately about $80 million, publicly about $200 million, and we sold it to Johnson and Johnson for $1.4 billion. From start to finish was about 8 years. I can write a book on that experience. In short, at the beginning when you work on these medical startups nobody wants to invest in you. They throw you out. All the best venture capitalists are rude to you, and you somehow cobble together some money. You get a few people to believe in it, and you make progress. Then, all of a sudden, everybody’s interested in it and everybody’s throwing money at you.

Any advice for those wanting to learn about getting into real estate? First, I’d start with Am I Being Too Subtle by Sam Zell. The second thing I’d say is to get an internship. Be it with a commercial real estate brokerage or with a commercial real estate investor, you have to understand what it is that you’re getting into before you just jump in and say, “This is for me. This is what I’m going to dedicate my life to.” I’m a strong believer in dipping your feet in the mix.

Build your identity as a photographer before anything else. Get your content together, build your website, set up your Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and FaceBook, and put your resume together. Then apply to apps like GPS Radar and send out emails to people you’re interested in. If you’re in fashion photography, go to fashion capitals and do some street photography. Learn how to just snap photos really fast.

It started off slow. It was kind of just a side business for us that we never knew would turn into this huge business. We were just two motivated guys that wanted a business to generate a couple extra bucks on the side. We wanted it to be something we were also passionate about. We made our way into one city at a time starting with Beverly Hills, and branching out into other parts of LA, and now the entire nation.

I was at Harvard from 2015 to 2018. I started at the Kennedy School, then HBS and then my third year I did electives across both schools. Both programs were fantastic and doing them in an integrated fashion was really valuable. The Kennedy School allowed me to go deeper on the public policy issues I find interesting. I got to hear from world leaders all the time. Leaders from abroad, U.S. senators, heads of state, ambassadors, diplomats, and nonprofit leaders across a wide array of topics.

I threw in the towel with everything else. I quit all of my jobs. I had about $500 in savings and I had no idea how I was going to do it. I just needed to pause for a second. I noticed how young girls perceived themselves. I saw that there weren’t a lot of girls eating. I saw that there’s a lot of comparison, insecurity and hurt. I had felt all of those things myself. I wanted to do something about it.

Any advice for those considering a career in architecture? For architecture, I’d say visit SCI-Arc during thesis reviews and see what they’re doing there. I think it’s in September. It’s bloody incredible! I’ve been going to the Venice Biennale. Every year it rotates between art of architecture. It’s like going to a convention of architecture or art and you just walk the pavilions. It’s an incredible experience for your eye and your brain. I’ve been doing it for the last 4 years and I love it.

I am mercilessly honest. I don’t sugar coat things even if it’s to my own detriment. You could argue that I’d probably have 50% more business if I would water it down, put my arm around people and say, “Hey, we’ll gettem’ next time.” What makes me different is the confrontation. If you fail because you did not do what was necessary I am not going to allow you to leave the studio without forcing you to look at yourself in the mirror (metaphorically). Aside from the highest level of fitness, I’d say my biggest differentiator is that I’m going to tell you what you need to hear instead of what you want to hear.

My name is Matthew Khorsandi and I’m the co-founder and CEO of Toolsy. I’m 27 years old and I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Both of my parents are Jewish immigrants and established doctors originally from Iran. I have one sister, Melody, who is a corporate attorney and also one of my best friends. I was raised by a very loving and supportive family. From education to extracurriculars and athletics, my parents always wanted to provide me with the best. As I grew up there were always these two constants in my life – piano and soccer. They are still a huge part of what brings me joy today. For a guy whose brain always seems to wander, those activities have always given me the gift of being truly present.

Josh Zad, opened his first Alfred Coffee location in 2013 with its trademarked “But First, Coffee.” catchphrase on tree-lined Melrose Place. With his knack for eye-catching design and innate understanding of customer wants, Zad has developed Alfred into the standard bearer on how to successfully marry a brick and mortar offering with an enduring, memorable digital presence. After successfully growing to 16 locations now across the U.S. and Japan, Josh has more recently shifted gears and launched his newest concept – Calidad Beer.

What is your best advice for a young person wanting to learn more about business and interior design? I’d start by reading magazines. I would get a subscription to Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, and Domino. AD Pro gives you all of the Architectural Digest issues from the moment they started until now. It’s like a newsletter and has updates on everything design.

I gave myself a 5 year challenge. I told myself I would devote 5 years to this path before deciding to part ways with it. With it would come whatever challenges, but I would persevere for at least 5 years. No one was getting in my way. If you tried to step in, I wouldn’t want you in my life anymore. Photography was my priority. I’d sit at coffee shops and one could say I shadily eavesdropped on conversations. I’d tap a shoulder or two and just kindly introduce myself. I’d be honest and just say, “Hey, my name is Cibelle. I’m just getting into photography and I overheard that you’re… blah, blah, blah.” and that was it. Some people would give me a go and I would do pro bono work, gig after gig after gig.

I wanted to create a canned matcha product, but I felt like there was no awareness around it. There was no community around the product and there was a stigma around tea vs. coffee. Somehow coffee had become this cool trendy thing, but just tea wasn’t. We wanted to change that stigma by building a fun community around a product that promotes mindfulness, mental clarity, focus and wellness.

I genuinely want to be a source of inspiration for people, the way bloggers I follow are for me. So though my passion is ultimately what drives me the most, my second passion which is helping people contributes to my drive as well. My love for fashion and my love of people fuels my constant hustle. I started my blog on a platform called Blogspot which I don’t even think is available anymore today.

I always loved taking photos and videos of my food and seeing what people thought of what I was eating. At first, I wasn’t even doing that on Instagram. I would just put them on my Snap story from time to time. It didn’t really occur to me that I could make an actual business out of it. It was just for fun.

Where would you steer someone looking to learn more about business and real estate? First, I’d say find a mentor that you look up to. Then I’d say start reading real estate about real estate. You can use the MLS, The Real Deal, Curbed, Mansion Global, and Variety Dirt. The single most beneficial course that I’ve taken was a public speaking course. I took one freshman year of college and it was hands down the best course I’ve ever taken. I would suggest a public speaking course to anyone and everyone. It helps you relate points, read a crowd, deliver a message and project to a group. It’s all about how you formulate thoughts and hand them over to others.

Me llamo Mariano González, tengo 27 años y nací en Buenos Aires, Argentina. Me mudé a Los Ángeles junto a mi familia cuando tenía 12 años y viví allí prácticamente toda mi adolescencia hasta irme a la facultad. El colegio secundario lo hice en Beverly Hills High School y después para la universidad me mudé a Filadelfia. Fui a la Universidad de Pennsylvania donde jugué en el equipo de fútbol mientras estudiaba Ciencias Políticas y Cine. Estando en la universidad, empecé a pensar más y más en mi interés y pasión por el cine. Fue ahí donde empezaron las clases de actuación.