15-year-old entrepreneur building, experimenting, and creating in New York City.
Why I moved to NYC No set plan. Just a lot of ideas.“I came to New York with no set idea in mind, but with the ambition to turn more of my ideas into something real.”
I’m Ariana, and I’m 15.
I’m originally from Minnesota but spent most of my life in Miami. I’m mainly known for my jewelry business, Belle Sol, which I started in 2024 when I was in 7th grade.
Belle Sol followed me from Florida back to Minnesota and has grown with me through different stages of my life. Right now, I’ve put it on a little break while I explore new business ideas and opportunities in NYC.
I’ve always had an entrepreneurial side, even when I was younger. I love coming up with ideas, figuring out how to make them real, and seeing where they can go.
I don’t just like coming up with ideas. I like building them. Three websites I designed and built, each one starting as a concept and ending up as something you can click through.
Belle Sol is a beach-inspired jewelry brand I founded to bring the feeling of summer and the coast into pieces you can wear anywhere. Each collection is inspired by a part of the natural world, while using recycled materials and supporting environmental causes connected to the places that inspired it.
Every collection starts with an environment: the ocean, the rainforest, the coast.
I use recycled materials wherever I can, so the pieces start out lighter on the planet.
Each collection supports a cause connected to the place it’s inspired by.
Our mission is to bring beach-inspired jewelry everywhere while giving back to the planet. Through recycled materials and collections that support environmental causes, every piece helps protect the places that inspire us.
One of my first challenges was to make $100 from scratch, so I started drawing on windows: café fronts, glass doors, and storefronts that could use some color. I created custom designs for a few local businesses and learned how to pitch an idea, work with customers, and turn something creative into something people would actually pay for.
“Turn something creative into something people would actually pay for.”
Not every business idea I’ve pursued has turned into a successful company, but that’s not really the point. The point is getting my ideas out of my head, actually trying them, failing sometimes, and learning from my mistakes so I can continue building better businesses.