Flowers For Dreams
As a teenager, Steven wanted to work for the FBI or CIA and graduated college with a degree in political science and Middle East studies which, he jokes, was a perfect segue into flowers. While still in college, Steven made friends whose parents owned a wholesale florist. Over the summers, they would bundle up the flowers that didn’t sell and take them to nearby graduation ceremonies to make some extra money. Steven was quickly inspired by this concept and along with cofounder Joseph Dickstein, rounded up a few friends back home to see what kind of profit they could make at graduations around Chicago. Early on, he learned that including an aspect of giving back - whether it was donating a portion of the profits to a school organization, or backpacks and supplies to lower income students - seemed to motivate buyers. Once Steven made this connection, he began to see how others could really benefit through his work. This is what inspired Steven to develop Flowers for Dreams into what it has become. Today, Flowers for Dreams donates 25% of all profits to various local charities and continues to maintain the highest of ethical standards as a certified B corp.
