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.

Danza Huey

So here I am, a 30+ something playing a traditional drinking card game with friends. The game only lasted two rounds. Why? Because I realized, along with my friends, that we are young 20 somethings that just graduated from Louisiana State University anymore. Read more>>

Paloma and Seth Tillotson

Tilly Events was born from a shared passion for nature, creativity, and the desire to make life’s special moments even more exceptional. Our journey began with a simple picnic for a date night, a moment that sparked the idea of sharing the magic of a picnic with the world. Read more>>

Lucy Price

After going through my series of breakups with men who weren’t healthy for me, I understood on a deep level the toll it can take on your life and sense of self. I felt anxious all of the time. I wasn’t able to focus at work, I was constantly seeking validation from others, and I was always trying to win approval. Read more>>

Jen Lindsey & Anne Boninsegna

Owners of The Kitchen Anne and Jen worked together at the Franklin Park Conservatory, where they originally met. A Chef came to the conservatory for a 2-day, live cooking demonstration camp. People from all walks of life cooked together for 2 days while learning new techniques. Read more>>

Kenza Mouahidi

The idea came to me when having guests over for dinner who absolutely loved my food. I realized that my friends were ordering lots of take out, and didn’t know how to cook healthy, delicious meals. My mother taught me how to prepare clean meals filled with vegetables, super foods and other whole foods. We followed Hippocrate’s philosophy: “Let food be your medicine.” Read more>>

Yago Cura

For several years I ran an online literary journal, “Hinchas de Poesia”, that sold no advertisement, but managed to squeeze out 25 issues. Since we generated no revenue, and there were several editors that helped me to select entries from hundreds of entries and guide the 25-issue aesthetic, I realized that professionals will donate their time and passion to help you reach your goals if you trust them-trust in their “professional” and subjective opinion and believe in their output. Read more>>

Juliette Greindl

I launched Assaya Jewelry when I moved to Bangkok. Leaving my job in Belgium and relocating with my husband and our 3 children was a big adventure for me. After taking the time to settle in, I had the great opportunity to pause and reflect on what I truly wanted to do with this adventure. Read more>>

Melissa Guzman

Growing up Dominican plantains have been my comfort food. When I was diagnosed with an autoimmune illness, plantains were the first to go. All my cultural favorites had to go. In a short time, I lost my ability to walk and lost a sense of self and I had no plantains to get me by. Read more>>

Tamara Fisher

My name is Tamara Fisher, Certified Organizational Specialist™ and Productivity Coach. I’m a single mom of three and an Accountant by degree. My passion for analyzing and problem-solving is what I use to help busy moms MAINTAIN organization and MAXIMIZE free time. Read more>>

Christin Cerda

I’ve experienced kidney failure twice, undergoing my first kidney transplant in 2013, which lasted for seven years. When I faced kidney failure again, it was devastating. I had thought I got my second chance, and the prospect of facing it again terrified me. What if I couldn’t do it this time? Read more>>

Heather Russell

Feeling grateful for the five year break I had bought myself after a decade long career in the cellular industry, I knew it was time for my next business endeavor. I was still co-owner in a dance studio and taking on various passion projects, while my main focus was taking care of my special needs daughter and getting to know myself. Read more>>

Lindsey Gerlach

I was among one of many people who encountered a significant cross roads during the onset of Covid-19. I graduated from high school in 2020 a few credits away from an associates degree. At this point, I signed with Grand Canyon University to run on their D1 cross country and track team and to go to school for physical therapy. Read more>>

Heather Gross

That’s a great question! I am an integrative and holistic voice therapist and vocal coach. I specialize in gender affirming and trauma informed voice care. I help my clients find and love their voice, and live a more embodied and authentic life. Read more>>

Andre/Erick Fella/Hernandez

At the start of our dive into screen printing, we were originally looking to fund our bands and small creative projects. We were in college and looking for our own outlet to apply everything we learned to so we could share with others. With our past DIY experiences, we didn’t think twice about getting into printing on a serious level. We were able to figure out the basics and that’s all we needed. Read more>>

Laura Zaspel

People often ask me, “How did you ‘get into food’ when you have a Master’s degree in Environmental Policy?” The question gives rise to the answer – people are missing the connection between food and the planet which set me on my career purpose: make the connection between people, planet and food. Read more>>

Ciara Herring

When I first started my business, it wasn’t really a business. It was me trying to find a way to holistically heal myself from a reproductive issue that I knew I had that no doctor could give me the answer to a little bit about my background. Read more>>

Steven Sadri

We came up with the idea of Tahona Mercado during the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020. My wife and I were working at our sister restaurant in San Diego at the time and were on our fourth concept pivot to accommodate the constantly changing restrictions on dining. Read more>>

Veronica Lopez

The inspiration for School Box Miami struck during a casual conversation with my husband one day while driving. As we chatted, I recounted how some people I know offered to pay me for this service, knowing my fondness for it arising from my teaching background. Read more>>

Billl Snider

For all of my adult life I have been self employed and worked as a visual artist, doing actual artwork like painting and sculpture and working in the film and television world. Being self employed and surviving while doing these sorts of things means one must always be aware of self promotion and on keeping an eye out for where the next job might come from. Read more>>

Suzy Frigo

My foundation in animal health and behavior was intertwined with the rhythm of my daily life growing up. I was introduced to dog training by one of the best teachers I could have asked for – my mother. Her dedication to breeding and training Labrador Retrievers was not just a profession for her; it was a calling that resonated deeply within me. Read more>>

Rochel Pamphile

Well, after being an artist for many years, I never was managed, and I couldn’t afford a publicist. I knew I needed a public relations agency, but at this time, LGBTQ artists were not getting paid. I then took the initiative to make my own agency that is affordable and that will compete with the high-level PR agencies in Los Angeles and Hollywood. Read more>>

Sean Russell

I remember being a kid, melting into my chair at the theater as I met with a T-Rex in Jurassic Park. I left the theater feeling a new sense of purpose. In search of a way to become a producer, I enrolled in a Magnet Program for Media Production. For the next four years, I learned how to make graphics, produce videos, and build websites. Read more>>

Xochitl Salcido

Kids Korner Explorers was a concept that came about in 2019 when my son was a homeschooled preschooler in need of a community. Back then I had no connection to the homeschool community and any idea co-ops, nature schools, enrichment programs existed. Read more>>

Scott Vickers

Interact Screen Actors Academy. This essentially an online acting school that I’ve set up for anyone, no matter where they are in the world can get world-class screen acting training. Training is delivered by myself and other active screen actors, casting directors and film directors. Read more>>

Gabriella Schatt

I had been in multiple Facebook groups for quite a while, and I noticed myself mentioning about what I would do if I created one personally. So one day I decided to actually go for it. I made the group back in 2018 but didn’t start developing it until 2020. Read more>>

Sasha Lezhnev

My partner and I were burning out of our jobs…. So we decided to take a sabbatical and travel full-time with our young son – the idea was to cross the country for a year in an RV. And then we ended up doing a second year in Airbnb’s. We’re writing a book about that now and how to do it – Travel More, Spend Less. Read more>>

Natalie Clark

I Am S.T.R.O.N.G. stands for I Am Striving to Reach Our Next Generation. I came up with the idea when I had a vision of doing something to help make a difference I kept seeing the word strong. I want everyone to really realize how strong we really are. Read more>>

Christopher & Terrance Jackson

How did we come up with this idea? the idea came about one day my brother and i  were just having a conversation at work one night on how we could come up with something to bring extra income into our households. Read more>>

Michael and Nicole Smith

At the peak of Covid, we saw a true need for basic food items in general. Grocery stores were bare, and quite frankly a scary place for some people to visit. Everyone needs food-affordable food. Spending time at home had become mandatory which opened up the opportunity to start looking into growing some food for our family. Read more>>

Megan Jo Wilson

In 2017 I wrote my first book. I had been Coaching and studying Leadership Development professionally for about 15 years and was supporting other Coaches to build full-time businesses by teaching them the fundamentals of marketing and selling. My business was thriving like it never had before. Read more>>

Christopher Ansley

It was November 2019. I was a Project manager for a residential solar company; I had been running the entire operations side of things for about a year. This was a start-up company, and I came to the company to bring insight and improve the operations side of the business. Read more>>