After college, we both got "real" jobs. Corporate NYC. Salary paychecks, benefits, the whole thing. Rachel was traveling back and forth from PGH to NYC every month for work and was ready to make a home in PGH.
So she quit and started this whole thing.
2013
About six months later, Rachel called Hannah: "I think you should quit your job and join me!"
I mean, when your sister asks you to jump into entrepreneurship together, you don't really say no. Plus, I was getting pretty tired of corporate life too.
2017
Our parents owned a small business, and from the time we were seven, we were part of it. Picture two kids on stools, barely tall enough to see customers but somehow already knowing how to work the register.
That's our childhood, watching our parents hustle, build relationships, and figure it out as they went. Small business isn't just what we do now, it's what raised us.
1990's
Yeah, we get asked about the name a lot. It's actually the street our high school was on back home. Nothing fancy, just where we spent way too many afternoons in yearbook club, arguing about fonts and whether that photo should be two inches or three inches wide.
2009
How it all began...
We've worked with hundreds of clients since then, but it always comes back to the same thing: small businesses deserve websites that work as hard as they do. We know what it's like to bet everything on your vision because we watched our parents do it, and because we're doing it ourselves.
Present
Hey, babes! I'm "Han" to my friends & fam and "Aunt Haha" to my stinkin' adorable nieces and nephews. I'm a typography nerd, digital marketer turned website designer, and lifelong learner. When I'm not working (which is rare because I'm a Capricorn), you can find me checking out the newest IPA release at a local brewery, binge-watching Gilmore Girls with my cats (Dunks & Bash), hanging out at the dog park with my pup, Rooney, or dragging my friends to try a new restaurant with me so I can post about it on my foodie Instagram. If you want someone to help you read your star chart (☼ Capricorn ☾ Gemini ↑ Gemini, here), give you a pep talk, or try a new workout program, I'm your girl. I love truffle fries, a Sweet Cream Vanilla Cold Brew from Starbucks, and live music in any form.
Hannah Samlall
Hi friends! I'm Rachel the ideas gal at Waterloo Street (and the older sister). I'm married to my college sweetheart, Zack, and we have three amazing boys. I started Waterloo Street after spending 2 years working a corporate NYC job and realizing that work wasn't filling my cup. I decided it was time to start building the life I really wanted. Fast forward 4 years- I'm working with incredible women building I drink iced coffee when it's snowing, I'm known for starting DIY projects but not finishing them and I only drink beer if it's a hazy IPA.
Rachel Whitfield