A dad can’t find a bakery to make a birthday cake that can accommodate his daughter’s allergy-related needs. Two freelancers realize they need a way to organize all of their client contracts and can’t find software that adequately handles their use case. Necessity is often hailed as the mother of innovation – but not all ideas come from necessity. Unfortunately, in our experience, often media coverage of the ideas that powered amazing businesses and projects often stops at a very superficial level. The founders noticed a need and boom – idea. Often the ideation process has a much longer, more complex story and so we’ve asked some entrepreneurs and creatives we admire to go into detail about their ideation stories.

Crystal Baez

This happens to be one of my favorite topics to elaborate on. In high school and college, I developed the name “picture girl” because I always had to catch that sunset, or pose everyone to get a group shot which everyone always looked forward to see on social media. My name is Crystal Claira, given to me when the day I was born, since my mother did not know what to name me, and said everything in the room was “Crystal Clear”. When even considering starting this business, I knew that would be the name.. Read more>>

Julie Barlow

Early adulthood was a struggle for me – after a couple of toxic marriages, I entered my thirties single with two toddlers, a mountain of debt and very low self esteem. Fortunately I was blessed with amazing parents, friends and mentors to help me lift myself out of the muck I had created for myself and redesign my life. I gave my belief system an overhaul and learned to make affirmations and cultivate an abundance mindset, among other things. Read more>>

Erin Lea

In the early 2000s I was battling eczema on my hands, which I had attributed to stress. My sister gave me some handmade olive oil soaps as a gift, and as I used them, my hands began to heal. I was thrilled to finally get relief from the eczema, and I began to suspect that stress was not the cause. As an environmental scientist and avid researcher, I began poring over medical publications to learn more about the chemicals in commercial soaps that had seemingly caused my contact dermatitis. Read more>>

Alec Robertson

Strayaways found its beginning & slow materialization into the visual collective/idea it stands for now 8 years ago. I, like many of those reading this now, felt a very fierce feeling of Hiraeth in the environment in which I was growing up and navigating in. “Hiraeth” is a Welsh word that encapsulates quite a profound, deeply rooted feeling of longing to be where your spirit lives. The unexplainable push & pull to find where you might call home for the soul in this wildly complex existence. Read more>>

Lisa Emmick

I grew up in an environment where music was an every day part of life because my mother was a piano teacher and had her own studio! As a teenager, I started teaching lessons myself under her guidance while I pursued goals related to my own music education and opportunities to perform. Over the years, I developed a very large private studio, and usually had a lengthy waiting list. Read more>>

Maria Giddings

From the moment I came into this world I felt like I was on display. It was like second nature for me to be presentable from family functions to national events. Needless to say, every time I was on display I was doing right. I was in a principal office a time or two. However I had to handle every moment the best I could with Grace. As a little girl I loved to dress and pose. So when the opportunity came about for me to be a model it was only fitting for me to transition into a grown woman who can say they get paid to be a designer’s custom artwork. Read more>>

Kelli Mumphrey

The story truly begins in 2013 when I had my first baby during my Active-Duty service time in the United States Navy. Simply put, I wanted to breastfeed my baby, but I felt I did not have support, knowledge, or access to breastfeeding resources to successfully breastfeed during maternity leave or when I returned to work. During that time, mentally and physically it was all too much to wrap my brain around. I stopped trying, and focused on recovering from my caesarian, my new family, and returning to work to support the mission. Read more>>

Kaleigh Kirkpatrick

For as long as I can remember, Travel has been an integral part of my life. When my daughter was a baby, I always traveled with her, lugging her along as we followed Dad on work trips, tagged along with my Mom and Grandmother on cruises, and then started the treks to Walt Disney World and Disneyland, because what better place to take a child?! Read more>>

Skeet Watts

My love for music has always been there, so that was the initial spark, very shortly after, i fell in love with the Hustle. If you need it, i could get it. And that grew with age from a simple hustle to an actual business. Endless Summer was born as a “Management” company, because like i said, i could middle man ANY situation. I then added the merchandise, because every brand that people that i knew liked, you would see them in their clothes. Read more>>

Gil & Renèe Beavers

Plot Twist 2020 was a whirlwind, to say the least. Our plans were flipped upside down. Our lives were put on hold, our relationships were stretched beyond capacity and bent out of shape. Life as we once knew it has been canceled. What can we do to regain our spiritual and emotional health? First, we must talk, write, and read; why these three disciplines are good medicine for the mind, soul, and our bodies. We are Gil & Renée of the Rich Relationships Refuge. Gil and I (Renée) have shared 37 of our 54 years of life in a relationship with each other. In December we will celebrate 34 years of marriage. Read more>>

Tatiana Bezer

I have experienced the benefits of using Mala beads in my yoga practice to a very deep level and I wanted to help other people discover this simple, beautiful tool that has been used by yogis for thousands of years. Mala Beads add a tactile dimension to the practice of chanting and voicing mantras. They can be used strategically in combination with crystals to attract certain energies into our lives, open portals, create layers of protection, and address specific areas in our body. Read more>>

Kayla Hoey

Two weeks into the COVID shutdown, I was laid off from my corporate events job working with lifestyle and beauty clients – essentially my dream job. I was so disappointed, and so bored. I had only started a year ago and all of the career aspirations and dreams I had started to map out were now seemingly impossible. It wasn’t even worth looking for another corporate events job because all events had been halted, cancelled, paused, or turned virtual, and that just wasn’t (and isn’t) my jive. Read more>>

Dupreea Williams

Naturally Dupreea Unboxed – Well Naturally Dupreea simply came from me being my authentic self. I have a friend that help entrepreneurs discover how they can truly express or showcase the vision behind their brand. I told her what my vision was for Naturally Dupreea, Which was me not being one thing or placing myself in a box. I also expressed how I am a serial entrepreneur and i wear many hats. I didn’t want to feel trapped or known for one specific thing other than holistic wellness and entrepreneurship. Read more>>

Tatenda Muchiriri

Two years ago, at the beginning of the pandemic, I was part of the Moonshot EdVentures fellowship. Where I was piloting and working to open a micro-school in Aurora, Denver. My two years working to open the school helped me gain invaluable experience. First, I witnessed the limited impact brick-and-mortar educational settings offer, especially given that the beneficiaries are frequently only within a school’s ten-mile radius. Read more>>

Caron Dessoye

As with most folks who have made major life decisions lately, it connects to Covid. My husband and I moved to Denton, TX in 2017 from Pennsylvania to pursue my MFA in Metalsmithing and Jewelry at the University of North Texas. At the time of my last semester, 2020, I had planned to return to Pennsylvania for a job working with my old professor. Due to Covid, the position was eliminated. I took the next year, like most, trying to figure out what to do next. Read more>>

Akai Jackson

My business comes from a special place. A place of unconditional love, support, and a woman’s quest to make her grandson’s life the best she could. I was raised by my grandmother and when I was young she said a few words to me one day, that laid the groundwork and foundation for not just my business but my life. Her words to me when I was five years old were, “Akai if you aren’t making other people feel better about themselves you wasting time here on planet earth. Read more>>

David Lewis

It all started with a dream, working on small hand carved pieces in my basement. My initial inspiration came from finding a large scrap piece of copper in the road, which lead into going to my local home improvement store buying copper pipe to make a ring. I was able to experiment with varieties of shapes and sizes of copper to see different visions come to life. It was shortly after this inexperienced period of finding my style that I moved states and discovered one of biggest biker jewelry companies in America while walking through the mall. Read more>>

Jessie Garcia

I knew I wanted to be a director ever since I was a kid, and I say director very loosely. I was into more than watching movies, I was also interested in the process of how they were made. My dad would explain to me how the behind the scenes process worked and it was always interesting hearing these stories. This feeling of wanting to be a filmmaker stayed with me going into my teenage years. My parents gave me this picture camera that had a 15 sec recording feature. I went crazy with it. I made movies with my friends every day and I even learned video editing at a young age. Read more>>

Lenworth Johnson

ideas. So here is the deal, when I am tasked with an idea for a shoot my brain goes into overdrive firing on all cylinder which then creates a fusion of different things. 1. How do I light it 2. What’s the end goal for the project 3. Who is the Audience
4. Who should be on my team Once all those things are figured out then I am in my 876 Mode which is time to create and execute for success. Read more>>

Kristina London

Amplify Her Voice started when I was in college in 2019 and I was working my first few jobs in the music industry. I immediately took notice of the gender disparity. – whether it was the lack of women in the room or the very few women booked in the venues I worked at, it became clear that it was a pretty intense issue. I started looking into this more and discovered the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative – an initiative that studies inclusion in entertainment and advocates for equality for disenfranchised and marginalized groups. Read more>>

Briana Weatherspoon

The Eventgers came to be as a random download from Spirit/The Universe and it is one of the best ones I have had to date. I had already been in the Events industry for about 7 years and was a contractor working under my old DBA ‘Busy B! Events & Special Occasions’ in Los Angeles, CA. I knew I wanted to build a solid standing and name in the industry so I was focused on getting as much hands-on experience as I could, working with different Event Planners/Producers/Departments to not only keep fine-tuning my skills but get a sense for the different kinds of events (and there are MANY) being done and which ones were ‘me.’ Read more>>

Kelly Jensen

While my business, Rollick, used to be a traditional online boutique, I recently transitioned to offering casual, affordable capsule collections for the busy millennial mom. During the pandemic, our clothing needs drastically changed. Many of us went from being in an office five days a week and going out often, to spending all our time in our homes or in very small groups. During this time I also became a first-time mom, Read more>>

Crystal Potter

My husband, Von, and I never planned on starting a winery. I’m talking zero intention! We were wine-making home hobbyists – just in it for the fun and satisfaction of learning a new skill. Back in 2007, we started making white and red wines in carboys using grapes from Von’s backyard and from anyone else who had a surplus of grapes they didn’t want. I call Von my mad scientist – he’s always got a new idea or vision and loves figuring out how to do it his own way. Read more>>

Luanne Strom

I have been in the emergency veterinary profession for the last 15yrs as both a certified technician and now as an emergency veterinarian. In that time, it has become abundantly clear that our profession, here in Colorado specifically, is missing something. That something is a transportation service to help clients who are unable to get their animal to the veterinarian for various reasons. Imagine an elderly woman calls overnight because her cat is having difficulty breathing but she is unable to drive in the dark and has no means to bring the animal in. Read more>>

Crystal Jordan

I was inspired to start my business by my son, who was diagnosed with autism. He became the inspiration for my brand and writing children’s books. My hope is to make a positive impact on others and embrace Autism. Read more>>

Brice (Dupah) Pickens

I knew there was a market for quality beard care. When I started on my journey of growing my beard, I had plenty of obstacles. During my journey, I would use my wife’s shampoo and conditioner. Some worked great but it still wasn’t right. And as I started to meet other gentleman with beards, it would irritate me to see the lack of time and effort put into the care of their beards. So then I started to research and buy other beard products which turned out to be really expensive. I would always get compliments on the grooming of my beard, the texture and the fullness. And that gave me the idea to come up with my own products. Read more>>

Keith Burkard

I’ve been good friends and collaborators with Chef Todd English for several years now. In 2021, we decided to found The English Hospitality Group together, bringing together Todd’s culinary expertise with my business-oriented vision to life. We have quickly become a leading operator, owner and developer of restaurants, hotels, and nightlife venues all around the world. We are reimagining the traditional hospitality model to create unmatched guest experiences that feature impeccable service, extraordinary cuisine and unique, elevated atmospheres encompassing art thematics and outside the box ideas. Read more>>

Dorian Canty

After many years of working in the cooking industry, learning the trade, and with the sudden death of his step father, Dorian decided to finally make the leap to start his own business. It has not been an easy journey and he has learned so much along the way. Having a restaurant and owning a food truck is something that Dorian has always dreamed of doing. And although the pandemic prosed many new adverse and difficult situations for most, it proved to be the perfect time to start an in-home hibachi business. Read more>>

Angelia Han

The idea of Not Yo Mama’s Cupcakes was conceived way before it officially became a business. Over ten years ago, baking was a hobby of mine. From cream puffs to cheesecakes to making birthday cakes, I took in baking as a hobby and a creative outlet. I started making cupcakes to sell at fundraisers at church and dance events where many people responded well to it. At one particular dance event, people were blurting out all kinds of names to catch the attention of the crowd. Read more>>

Samantha + Madeline Davidoff

that dream come to life when we launched C.B. Dough in early 2020. We started brainstorming ideas back in 2019 to come up with some sort of business venture that we could get into together. After both working for companies with ideals we didn’t agree with, we had a goal of going out on our own and creating something unique while building a positive and uplifting work environment. With Maddy’s experience as a chef, she was ready and able to create any food product we thought of. Read more>>

Dan C Bearded

As I grew my beard out I became very interested in the research side of things. I wanted to find the best products with the best ingredients for my beard. I wanted the healthiest grooming practices and tools. I started by being very active with online beard forums and then watching YouTube videos. One day at our kitchen table I was watching a video on beard products. My beautiful wife Sam said “you should try making your own videos, I think you would be good at it!” Read more>>

Jalen Thompson

I was lost after graduating college. I felt any occupation I could obtain with my degree wouldn’t bring me fulfillment, so I started working on myself. I began reading more books, watching podcast, and anything else I could do to improve myself. I was working at southwest and we had a lot of down time between flights. One day I was on break and had the realization I was only educating myself. I wasn’t taking enough action. Read more>>

R. Tony Smith

Denver’s Cupid got started because Trump was elected President in 2016! I was inspired to run for Denver City Council in the spirit of reconnecting people to government, as I felt that election’s outcome because people not only lost touch with government but also their own neighbors. An essential part of my City Council campaign platform was to build stronger neighborhoods by connecting people to each other. Read more>>

Josh Odom

The idea for Chakra Challenge came to me while I was meditating. After serving in Iraq for a few years and getting injured, I was forced to seek the path of healing. I thought this healing would only be about my physical injuries; little did I know those issues were just the beginning. I soon realized that I had spiritual, mental and emotional healing to do as well. I sought out many different healing arts, techniques and teachers. Read more>>

Erin Nenow

It has been my experience so far in life that you can spend time making plans, stressing about the details or the timeline, and white knuckle life all you want. No one is stopping you. But how often does our mental preparation or anxiety actually prepare you for what life will throw at you? I love the saying “bloom where you are planted” because my experience has shown me that sometimes we have to simply focus on making the most of the situations in front of us while we wait. Read more>>

Melissa Boleslawski

The development of this business came from my personal experience as a 2x business owner and Entrepreneur of 11 years. For almost a decade I served in the Wellness Industry as a Certified Personal Trainer and Nutritionist. My first business was a privately owned Fitness Studio in the heart of downtown West Chester, PA. I specialized in Weight Loss for Women as well as teaching women how to properly and confidently lift weights. The business then evolved into business number 2; a fully operable online business which focused on serving women in Overcoming their Emotional Eating Behaviors. Read more>>

Cristie Besu

• The story behind your mission At Eat Me Guilt Free, our core belief is that freedom should not have limitations so in 2021, we launched our “Free Delicious” campaign. The main message of the “Free Delicious” campaign is that eating better-for-you foods that taste good is a choice consumers should make for themselves. For decades, food companies marketed foods with addictive ingredients and misleading messaging. With our “Free Delicious” campaign, we are redefining delicious and making products with better nutrition fact ratios, less sugar, no preservatives and no GMOs. Eating better-for-you foods that taste delicious is the freedom our society deserves. Read more>>

Morgan Kelley

After functioning in the event space for about three years as an event stylist/coordinator. I launched the Scarlett Collection, “Your Pinterest perfect party, delivered to your doorstep, with the click of a button.” The moment the idea popped into my head I was having a conversation with a friend regarding the already existing event business and it was kind of like “HEY!! What if I could streamline this?? What if I could give people a complete party in an instant?” And that is when the long journey into the world of products began. Read more>>

Brittany Lopez

I came up with the idea of creating a learning center for children with disabilities due to the fact that I could not find a suitable educational environment for my own son, who was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at 2 1/2 years old. We had tried various educational settings, and although some were good, there were always drawbacks; sometimes it was distance, sometimes cost, other times they didn’t have the support they said they did for my son. After this last failure and him essentially being dismissed from a school mid-year, Read more>>

Kemisha Levy

The idea came about what Kybos Baby Clothing Store three years ago when I got pregnant with my son I was having the hardest time finding unique items for my little boy and that’s when that bright light came to me that I can build a store and let that store grow with him. Having that store would eliminate all the stress for new moms or for moms in general because everything that they need would be at their fingertip Read more>>

Rex/Gene Nockengust/Allen

We had been living in New York City and had traveled the world as professional actor/singers and decided to move to Hawaii. Our meditation space has always been the beach where we often picked up sea glass. In the back of our minds we wondered if we can make jewelry out of these pieces. We trained ourselves and over the years built a business selling our handmade pieces from sea glass, silver and other beach finds. Read more>>

Melissa Michaels

This idea has been fermenting for years. While in an acting class at the Beverly Hills Playhouse, a classmate mentioned that there’s an energy about me that was very mother earth grounding and healing. That resonated with me. Experiences began to reinforce those words. It became louder and so loud that I could no longer ignore it. I intended to create what I believe WE need to be better humans. As a result, I gave birth to Inpeloto. Read more>>

Elizabeth Eiss

Thank you, I’m so glad to join you!  So in a nutshell, we’re talent matchmakers. My company, ResultsResourcing, is THE freelance job platform that comes with YOUR own recruiter. The inspiration was my own need to hire quality freelance talent. In essence, I was my own first client. I was hiring superb freelancers for my consulting projects and my clients kept asking me to find them similar freelancers, as they were rarely successful hiring contractor on a DIY basis themselves. I did this for them and realized along the way, this was an important service that would help businesses grow and scale using flexible talent. This was in 2015-2017, so long before Covid and remote work. Read more>>

Colette Martin

The story behind the name of my business is different. I was getting introduced to so many women who were business owners. I was truly taken back by their journey because no two were alike and I could relate to all. I have always been a leader and a listener. In being an extrovert, I love talking to people and wanting to hear more about their journey and how it may impact someone else. In 2019, I had a vision that I was called to be a connector of women. Read more>>

Siri Heard

Ri’s Lip Collection started as a vision back in 2017. It took a few years but in 2020, I was able to put all of my focus into my business. Starting a business take a lot of time, consistency and dedication. There is so much to learn and it’s been plenty of time I want to give up and quit but my family wouldn’t allow it. You are faced with many challenges and my biggest one was balanced with everyday life. So, when God presented the opportunity again, everything fell in place and took off because I was determined to produce a product for those who suffer from sensitive skin. Now here we are, five years later a successful online lip line company. Read more>>