This Startup Is Making Stylish Earthquake Survival Kits A film director and a stylist are bringing pampering to preparedness.

Entrepreneurs: Ryan Kuhlman, a film director, and Lauren Tafuri, a stylist and costume designer, founded Preppi, which makes stylish emergency survival kits packed with high-end items. They run the startup out of their downtown Los Angeles loft.

"Aha" moment: After experiencing a small earthquake in 2014, the couple realized they should have a kit of supplies at home for emergencies. "We started asking friends what they had in their earthquake kits and were quickly surprised how few of our friends had anything prepared at all. Of 10 friends, maybe one had an earthquake kit," Kuhlman says.

Pre-packed kits sold at military surplus and sporting goods stores were pricey and didn't have exactly what they needed, so they decided to make their own, packed with necessities recommended by the Red Cross and other organizations. They chose a stylish but utilitarian mason's tool bag and loaded it up. It struck them that others might want to purchase such a product.