Elizabeth Dornian, @estheticsby_eliz, Vidal Sassoon Academy, Santa Monica, Cali.

As a child, Elizabeth would brainstorm salon concepts with her dad – including a salon based in a daycare. During her high school years, Elizabeth worked in a nail salon where she saw how the salon provided a “safe space” for clients to relate to beauty professionals. “I knew my business would have to include the human connection beauty offers,” said Elizabeth in her salon video. After imagining a training program to help beauty professionals relate to clients and communicate with clients, Elizabeth entered pitch contests to fund her concept. “I’ve found that my purpose in beauty is to enrich lives – the lives of guests in the salon and those behind the chair,” said Elizabeth in her application video.