One of the challenges we’ve seen to true equality of opportunity is that schools and books often can’t (or choose not) offer access to one of the most equalizing resources – first hand stories of how successful entrepreneurs made their ideas a reality. If you grew up in a family or community that had many successful entrepreneurs you may have been lucky to hear many conversations and stories about starting and executing on an idea, but there are millions of people across the country who haven’t had the same advantage and so our hope here is to create a space where those stories can be told in a more public forum for the benefit of any and every aspiring entrepreneur.

Daniel Perry

After graduating from art school, I immediately found a loft studio and an art mentor. His guidance led me to “The Well of Endless Ideas.” After dedicating myself fully to my chosen field, I learned to breathe, eat, drink, and sleep my art-filled life. Inspiration is everywhere. Also, as a curator, I choose what aspect I identify with another artist’s creation and something different from another, etc. These ideas and reflections occur in my dreams, where they congeal and eventually become a storyboard. Assignments then come to me and I use these storyboards that sometimes have been sitting for years until their time has come. I then preside over the casting of my creative team, choosing the finest in my quest for quality. Read more>>

Jacqueline Galvin

My story is more related to how I wrote my most impactful book, Grace for Grant: A Journey with an Old Soul. I have had my business since 2002 and have done freelance writing and speaking along with a full-time medical position until 2017 when I was laid off. At that point I needed a rest. My son had died from a brainstem tumor at 19 and it was time to take a step back. His last wish was to have the story written and shared with the world. During the pandemic, I gathered all the notes and Facebook posts that described his journey, and ours, The process was not simple, but cathartic and the result was a memoir that has not only helped me but others as well. The book was finished in eighty-five days; a quick turnaround in literary circles. It has won literary awards and hopefully fulfilled the wish of Grant Miller Galvin. Read more>>

KRYSTAL JUGARAP

I want to preface this by saying that I love this question because it’s one I didn’t always feel proud to articulate. The story behind EM/POWERED<i>by</i>WMN isn’t one of meticulous business planning and a grand vision from the start. Instead, it’s a story of natural progression, learning by doing, harnessing a million ideas, and allowing intuition and joy to lead the way. The lack of systems and strategies at the start of our story for a while led me to feel a bit of imposter syndrome-thinking who am I to position myself as a leader for other women in business when my own business wasn’t one built from traditional start-up norms and was still in its early stages where I’m still figuring things out for myself? However, I’ve come to love and share our story proudly because it’s real. I know our evolution isn’t the only one that grew from humble beginnings and thoughts of “We’ll see where the wind takes me.” Read more>>

Yingxiao Ouyang

I normally start from understanding the business goal, which is crucial to define success metrics. Then I go through research, design, iteration and handoff process. Customer pain points, customer journey, and core features are what I focus on when bringing an idea to execution. For example, when I design the wearable camera for the diabetics, I conducted user research to identify user pain points. Three customer journeys were introduced to indicate where the user flow breaks. Through discussion, I discovered that it can take a year for the newly diagnosed diabetics to form a new eating habit. Then I started brainstorming solutions and evaluate them by feasibility, desirability and scaleability. These steps help me discover a more valuable and meaningful design direction when I bring ideas to execution. The final concept won the 2024 NY Product Design Gold Award. Read more>>

Rafi Soghmonian

see when you have idea you have to bring to reality and from there you will start the plan to make the reality to have it in hand . 1. Gathering Inspiration and Concept Development 2. Initial Planning and Sketching 3. Materials and Finishes Selection and ets . Going from idea to execution can feel like orchestrating a symphony, where each part plays a role in creating a harmonious whole. Read more>>

Trinity Jackson

The idea came into place as an undergraduate at the University of Illinois at Chicago. I graduated in 2021 with my Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communication. As a member of the Omicron Beta Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., a few tasks that I had involved making flyers for our social and civic events. I then landed a job at the University of Chicago as a Communications and Events Specialist, and would manage social media content and event promotion. This would encourage me to learn more about Canva and Adobe creative tools. Read more>>