Through July 4, The Post, in conjunction with Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream, is featuring US citizens explaining what the American dream means to them in 2026. One of them is Alixandra Kriegsman, an entrepreneur, marketing consultant and author based in Brooklyn.

When I first graduated, I was in the marketing department [at a big publishing company] and I was super unfulfilled. I actually heard a potential vendor come and pitch my boss and was really inspired by her. She was one of the few women in business that really got my gears going and kind of piqued my interest. I LinkedIn messaged her, and I was like, “Ehatever company you’re working for, I wanna learn from you. Are there any positions open?”

I was hired within two weeks. I started there as a salesperson, and that’s where I met my business partner Alana.

Alana and I are similar in that we both have entrepreneur parents … And she and I were also obsessed with independent designers. We would run into each other at different indie boutiques in Williamsburg and always talk about what new brands or vendors we had found at the Williamsburg Flea market …

We decided to create a newsletter that spotlighted these cool emerging brands that we were kind of organically falling in love with. Then we created a very simple e-commerce site so that anyone inspired by the newsletter and the content in the newsletter could easily go shop these brands …  that’s how it all started. It was a side hustle.

I’m definitely living the American dream … because I’m a creative person and I’ve built a career off being creative … I have stuck with who I am and my path and forged a career that is in alignment with who I feel I’ve always been. 

That’s what the American dream is all about. That’s what the opportunity is. It’s the ability to, despite whatever circumstance you come from or whatever challenges you’re facing, to live a life of resilience and build a life that feels true to you, that you are excited to wake up to every day. 

The American Dream Video Project showcases real stories that illuminate pathways to opportunity. Featured at the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream (MCAAD), this series is part of the Center’s celebration of America’s 250th anniversary. MCAAD is Washington, DC’s newest cultural institution, offering interactive exhibits and stories about achieving the American Dream. For more information, visit mcaad.org.