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Behind the Businesses

Meet the minds motivating Riordan’s student businesses
Riordan students have used their creativity and passion to start their own businesses.
Riordan students have used their creativity and passion to start their own businesses.
Ella Torrea ’25

With Riordan’s diverse population of students from all over the Bay Area, and the world, there are students who excel in many things: art, writing, athletics– but there are also an exceptional number of student innovators. Students who established businesses with their creativity, grit, and enthusiasm are everywhere on Riordan’s campus, such as 941 Streetwear, Avenue Car Detailing, and BC Bakes.

Establishing a business in just his sophomore year, Noel Marquez ’25 has had two years of experience in pioneering his clothing brand: 941 Streetwear. With over $5,000 worth of sales, we wanted to know the story behind his business. He thought of the idea while interning with The DJ Project and experimenting with graphic design, coming up with his most popular logos. But before printing them onto clothes, he found confidence in confiding with his friends about his business.

“Before I even made my first shirt, I asked my friends, ‘Would you guys wear this?’ Just having their support was just a really big confidence booster in my brand.”

The name and the logo for his brand took about two months to create–“I didn’t want to make anything that was overdone… for the logo, I knew I wanted to incorporate the bridge somehow, to represent the Bay Area.”

“I think San Francisco is known for its fog, so I wanted to include a cloud in there… and add my brand name, 941.”

His brand name, influenced by the first three digits of the San Francisco ZIP code, is one of the most well known of student-owned-businesses at Riordan.

“I chose a ZIP code because that’s where you live…I figured, if I relate to everyone in that way, it’ll make the name more meaningful.”

Marquez hopes to expand his business further by continuously working on new pieces. While he currently sells shirts, hoodies, and shorts, he plans to include customer-requested items: beanies and crewnecks. Be sure to keep an eye out for new drops at his website, 941streetwear.com, or his Instagram, 941.streetwear.

Next, we looked for newer businesses that were created this year. We found Myles Yan ’25 and Joshua Usi ’25’s Avenue Car Detailing. Its name is inspired by where the two founders reside: the Sunset District in San Francisco.

“We started from an idea, at the end of junior year, from our homeroom class, and we planned it over the summer, and began operation after school began,” explained Yan.

Inspired by the lack of car detailers in the area, the two set out to fulfill a position that the community wanted to see.

“We came up with the idea after doing research around our area, and found out that there were successful mobile car detailers around, however they had to closed down. Nobody was getting back into it, so we decided to give it a try…We really wanted to focus on something that someone wouldn’t have, and provide a service that is limited around here. That’s really our niche.”

Ella Torrea ’25
Joshua Usi ’25 and Myles Yan ’25 work on the rims for one of their clients.

Because of the support from their teachers, they’ve been able to prosper, specifically making waves in Palo Alto.

They travel to places around the Bay Area to provide accessibility for their customers. When asked for the specifics of what car detailing is, Yan expressed the importance and the work that goes into their craft.

“We like to think of it as restoring. We try to bring it back to its former glory– every little crevice that you can think of, we try to pay attention to it. We want a fresh car inside and out…It’s not just a car wash, it’s not just a car freshener, it’s a deep cleaning.”

They rake in around $5,000 a month, with further aspirations of working with cities and personnel vehicles. Customers can support them on Instagram, Yelp, and Google Reviews at Avenue Car Detailing.

Finally, we wanted to cover a business that utilizes creativity in a different way: baking. Seniors Breanna Wong and Channery Wong recently created their business BC Bakes, where they make and sell their baked goods.

The name, created by adding the first letter of each of their names, not only encapsulates the essence of their business, but is very easy to remember.

Breanna shared that her passion for baking stemmed from baking with her mom at an early age, “I started baking with my mom at a young age, helping when she made a treat/ dessert for family events. And I found it was something I enjoyed and kept doing.”

Taylor Tran ’25
Breanna Wong ’25 and Channery
Wong ’25 turned baking passion into a business.

Similarly, Channery also was inspired by her family. “As a child my aunt loved to bake different things and I would always help her out. It made me realize how fun it was to make delicious treats.”

Also inspired by other small businesses, especially ones at Riordan, they decided to start their own in order to gain new skills of marketing and outreach, and make money by doing what they enjoy in their free time.

And as a bonus, the two are able to spend more time together baking, “something we can do together before we go off to college.” They’ve already made many sales since they opened in August this year, and aspire to keep doing it, saying that their dream for the brand is to share what they enjoy.

There are countless, blooming businesses at Riordan, and it shows how much Crusaders can create.

 

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