Coming up with an idea for a business or creative project can feel exhilarating. Inspiration for a new idea can come from so many places and we’ve asked some great folks from the community to share their stories of how they came up with their ideas.

Nathan Jeter

For a long time, I felt something was missing in the massage industry, especially here in San Antonio. Many establishments felt uninviting, with dark, poorly maintained interiors that lacked warmth, professionalism, and any sense of luxury or pride. They fell short of providing the calm and comfort people seek in a wellness experience. Read more>>

Becca Mai

Wed 2 You, is deeply personal and born out of both professional experience and a profound shift in my life. It all began with a realization: the wedding industry is overflowing with passion and creativity, but it often lacks structure and efficiency. I saw this time and time again while working with wedding professionals. Regardless of their niche, many amazing businesses were struggling with internal systems, workflows, and disjointed communication. They were great at what they did creatively, but when it came to operations, the chaos was always just beneath the surface. Read more>>

Gloriana Briggs

I grew up a reptile enthusiast. My relationship with reptiles began as a fan of the popular YouTube channel “Snake Discovery”. I learned a lot about various species, their health and wellbeing, as well as care and husbandry. That passion grew until I was gifted my first 2 Crested Geckos for my 12th birthday. As I cared for my pets and learned more about them, I began to explore their natural environments and bioactive vivariums. What started as a hobby, has grown into to a lifestyle, and that momentum established a business. Read more>>

Roy Furchgott

I had intended to work in pet photography, having both volunteered at a shelter and trained dogs. I could speak animal pretty well. But the field was crowded. Fortunately I also enjoyed working with people (who sometimes take direction better then hyped up Jack Russell terriers). So I started to work in portraits while taking businesses courses. My business mentor advised me that the portrait photography business model I was building would attract clients looking for family and children photos — that likely meant working in the “light and airy” style that is in high demand. But I didn’t want to do copycat work, so it was back to the drawing board. Read more>>

Shelby Vance

In high school I made my first short film, “Jeffery the Goldfish.” I wrote, acted, filmed and edited it. It was selected for a film festival where I was the only high school student featured. It also led to me pursue a career in the film industry for a decade. When the pandemic came I wanted a career change, and had always wanted to write and illustrate a children’s book. I was also editing together videos of children’s books for distance learning and thought, I can make a better children’s book than a lot of these. Read more>>

Fatai Opawoye

The idea began as a personal project—I was creating fun, simple videos to teach my daughter my native language, Yoruba. She responded so well that I realized I was onto something special. I decided to create the same content in English, focusing on early learning themes like ABCs, numbers, and the five senses. Read more>>

Emily Strauss

At 16 I was an independent artist (and high schooler). I went door to door painting murals at a very young age. In college is when the industry and my online presence exploded and I couldn’t keep up with the demand. I was studying fine art so finding assistants to help me was the easy part. Managing them and the quality control as if I painted everything myself was the challenge. However over time I was forced to delegate this due to severe health issues that kept me off the field work. The entreperural side of me took over stronger than the artist side of me. The idea of mural painting was always an independent art so I thought, why not have all independent artists under one platform and have us do the selling and logistics for them. Read more>>

Rossana Fazzone

The idea for the book was born from the desire to honor my father’s migratory history and give meaning to my own journey as a migrant. Writing was my way of healing, remembering, and supporting others who have also had to start over far from home. This work arose from the desire to have a life with purpose and dedicate myself to it in this phase of my retirement after retiring as a teacher. Read more>>

Ross Friedman

The catalyst for my business came about when I was 16. I had been DJing since age 11, and I wanted to find a place to perform and go out with my friends. After some searching, I found that there were several successful brands running “teen nights” in other cities in the US, but none in the Boston area (where I lived). Determined, I set out to organize my own. After contacting nearly every nightclub and event venue in the Boston area, I was finally able to lock down a date at the legendary Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge, MA, albeit on a Monday night. Despite this, my first event was a huge success, and spawned what would become Slacker Media Group. Read more>>

Leticia Francis

I had just finished homeschooling my daughters, clocked out of a job that drained me, and cried in the bathroom between Zoom calls like it was part of my daily schedule. I was exhausted. Numb. But still performing. Still achieving. Still showing up with a smile because that’s what strong women do, right? Read more>>

Pravith & Sai Munipalle & Ganesh

Pravith’s commitment to addressing pharmaceutical injustice comes from a deeply personal experience. As a child, he spent his summers at his grandfather’s rural clinic in South India, where he witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of healthcare scarcity. One moment, in particular, stands out in his memory. A mother arrived with her feverish son, desperately needing an antibiotic. His grandfather, despite his best efforts, had to tell her that she didn’t have enough to afford the medicine. His grandfather had no choice but to turn her away. Read more>>

Luna Sadiah

I quickly realized that psychological warfare in modern culture is one of the most insidious forms of suppression—especially for creatives. Artists, with their vast inner worlds, often find themselves confined to shallow aesthetics, reduced to templates, and stripped of agency by metrics that suggest their value only exists when validated by external approval. Read more>>

Ebony Brown

The idea for Melanin Magic Dolls was born out of a mix of frustration, passion, and a deep desire to change the narrative. As a mother, educator, and advocate for representation, I was constantly reminded of how limited the options were for dolls that truly reflected the beauty and diversity of Black and Brown children. Shopping for dolls often felt like a discouraging hunt—either the dolls that looked like us were hidden on the back shelves, or they were generic, lacking any real personality or cultural depth. Read more>>

Jake Wright

The beginning of the idea for my business started in 2008 when I was 20 years old working on a small homestead farm in northern Germany. I was learning German and eager to learn as many new skills as I could. The sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle on the farm was exciting and new to me. I soaked in as much as I could. On the farm I learned to bake rye sourdough bread in an old brick oven in a bake house that was over 120 years old. I also learned to make flammkuchen, an Alsatian food similar to pizza. I was immediately fascinated with baking in a brick oven. When I left the farm I had the dream of someday building a wood-fired oven. I didn’t yet have the idea for the mobile, wood-fired pizza business, though. Read more>>

Augusta Williams

Well, in 2013 I began a 15 year prison sentence for robbery, which is served 8 years for. I’ve always been a compassionate person. When my mom succumbed to breast cancer in 2001, I spiraled. While serving time, I wanted to revert back to my foundation and do right by myself and others. Helping people is a passion for me so I sought information and examples on how to give back and make an impact. When I was released in 2021, some childhood friends of mine and I put on a back to school event in our neighborhood. It was a huge success and I founded The Dub Way Foundation several months later. As of today, we have been going strong in the community going on 5 years. Read more>>

Melisha Boyd

I came up with the idea based upon my love for children and seeing them succeed MENTALLY, emotionally and physically. The name was birthed due to wanting to leave a legacy for my grandson. He’s named after his father and grandfather so my daughter and a few others call him “3”. I decided to name my business 3hree Mental Health and Enrichment. Read more>>

Earl Morgan

You must give credit to my sister, Consie for giving me the idea to start Asinto Photography LLC. I was recovering from a stroke in November 2021. When I returned to work three months later, things felt different. It was like the organization moved on and I wasn’t needed. I confided with my sister on my frustration with the job. I’ve already retired from the Air Force, and I’ve worked the civilian sector for 14 years. With the side effects of the stoke, do I really want to start over again? Who would want to hire me with my health issues? My sister said, “Why won’t you be a photographer? You take great photos!” I’ve never thought of having a career in photography. I’ve been taking photos since my brother gave me a Nikon in 1986. Read more>>

Bethany Garrison

When Good Enough was born, I had been roasting coffee for awhile and giving it away to friends and family when my husband asked what it would look like if we pursued it as a side business. I hadn’t even considered it as more than a hobby but allowed myself to dream about what a business in coffee would look like. As a stay at home mom to two small children, I had very little time to devote to creativity, let alone to a business. But at my husband’s prodding, we began to shape the dream into something tangible. One day we were on a drive to our local state park for a hike, and we began to toss names around. As a joke, my husband suggested “Good Enough,” since most of the coffee companies we knew of were quite serious about what made theirs the “perfect” cup of coffee. What if we eliminated the idea of perfection, instead making something that was good. Read more>>

Elena Shamanova Ducoin

The idea for my product was born thanks to my daughter. When she was just 2 years old, she made the bold decision that she was fully potty trained—yes, I was that lucky mom! She refused to wear diapers or pull-ups even at night and insisted on wearing only underwear. And honestly, we discovered later that she made the right choice. Indeed, within a few weeks, she was completely out of diapers—day and night—with barely any accidents since she was 2.5. (Just to compare, she’s 4 now, and many of her school friends are still in nighttime diapers!) Read more>>

Kristin Burlingame

We hit the ground 🔥RUNNING🔥 in October 2024, and it has been the wildest and most rewarding adventure!
From working with our local NBTX small businesses, blessing charities that are close to my heart, building our booth in Fredericksburg, traveling to out of state events, making countless friends along the way and even hiring our first employee! Wild Rivers has come further than I ever thought possible in such a short amount of time! Read more>>

Baron Stewart

Why I’m Writing This Book and providing service to speak to groups and organizations

Before I ever thought about writing a book, leading a seminar, or standing in a boardroom, I sang.

As a child in Jamaica, I was known for my voice. At Calabar Elementary School, I was the best singer—the voice of the Christmas carols. Later, I became the only boy in a girls’ choir that performed at Kingston’s Ward Theater. Singing wasn’t just something I did—it was who I was. My earliest sense of self-worth came from that voice. Read more>>

Natasha Mathias

We Stand Together, Inc. (WST) was born out of love, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to hope. Established in 2016, the organization was inspired by our late founder, my twin sister, Natalie Marc Surpris, who was diagnosed at just 38 years old with stage 4 colon cancer.

Our journey of advocacy began even before Natalie’s diagnosis. In 2012, we launched the Forever Pink Soirée, a breast cancer awareness gala dedicated to honoring survivors and spreading education about early detection. We never imagined that just a few years later, cancer would strike so close to home. When Natalie received her diagnosis in March 2015, the stories of courage we had heard at the Soirée became our source of strength, preparing us—at least in some way—for the difficult road ahead. Read more>>

Sabino Joseph Mendez

Martial arts has been something that has been with me since childhood. From watching Bruce Lee/ Jackie Chan films, The Karate Kid movie, street fighter/mortal kombat video games, to watching professional wrestling and to being active in the art itself as a child. I did not really start to see the connection deeply until 2019. It is when I really started the self discovery journey. It led me to a Taekwondo school that was literally 5 mins from my house at that time. I walked in the school and chatted with the owner and we set up my first session. From there it all began to click, and make sense. My instructor saw the light in me that I did not see in myself at the time. She threw me into leadership roles, leading and assisting classes, and working with the students. It re sparked something in my soul again. Read more>>

Adam Crane

Since I was young, I have always been interested in cars. As a teenager I would visit the Ferrari and BMW dealerships to look at the new models in the showroom, sit inside, look at the design and functionality, hold the steering wheel, and just enjoy the whole experience. Now looking back at it, my curiosity definitely overruled any intimidation a teenager would feel walking into a luxury dealership. This passion for cars grew and evolved into what is now known as TruCrane Motorsports, that also includes our own product line-TCM. Read more>>

Ariel Harrell

In 2020, I was solo traveling around Europe when I stopped in Amsterdam! One morning, the smell of warm pancakes stopped me in my tracks. I followed it to a small stand where a sweet local woman was making mini pancakes, flipping them fresh right in front of everyone. I watched people gather around, laughing and chatting, while she poured batter onto the griddle in neat little circles and topped them with powdered sugar, chocolate, and fresh strawberries. It felt like such a simple joy, but it brought people together. Read more>>

Avery Chang

The idea for FirstGen Mentors came to me during late nights at my kitchen table, feeling completely overwhelmed by college applications and pressure to choose a career path at 15 years old. As a second-generation immigrant student, my parents struggled to guide me through all the confusing steps. I felt alone and afraid of falling behind. When I started opening up to my friends, I realized so many of them felt the same way. We were all ambitious and hardworking, but we felt like outsiders in a system where other students seemed to know secrets we didn’t. I knew this was a problem that needed solving. There were mentorship programs out there, but very few specifically focused on the unique cultural and practical challenges that first- and second-generation immigrants face. Read more>>

John DeTraglia

We found that Stride felt all-encompassing of what we were trying to build. Having found a new fight within running, and coffee being a constant chase of excellence, it felt very fitting to our mission. Read more>>

Keeley Burgert

I came up with the idea for Revive & Revitalize while I was working as a bedside nurse. I was pregnant with my first child and was feeling burnt out from working 12 hour shifts at the hospital. I remembered several years earlier getting sick with food poisoning and not being able to keep water down. My doctor recommended going to the hospital to receive an IV due to my symptoms. Being a nurse at that time I thought there must be a better way to achieve what I needed without having to wait for hours in the ER and billing a large amount of money through my insurance. That’s when I came up with the idea to offer concierge IV hydration services to clients who maybe were in a pinch and required some sort of IV hydration, whether that be for migraine relief, to help with a hangover, or someone simply just seeking assistance with IV hydration. Read more>>

Reynna Romo

Desert Rey’s Apothecary was born from a beeswax candle project I shared on social media. I included facts about most candles being made with toxic ingredients and people wanted more of what I started. An other part of Desert Rey’s is providing herbal remedies, mostly from plants harvested on hikes or from small gardens. I started leaning in to this way of living when I was experiencing homelessness and substance use disorder on the southern coast of California in 2017. Living outside is full time work and getting to know plants that were around for physical and spiritual ailments became something I was drawn to. Read more>>

Lakya Garrison

For me, style wasn’t just about clothing—it was about clarity. I began my journey in the retail fashion world, working with brands like Casual Corner and August Max Woman. I quickly saw how what we wear speaks volumes about who we are and how we show up. Helping women select outfits that aligned with their personal and professional power became more than a job—it was ministry before I had language for it. Read more>>

Shavonna Simmons

I’ve wanted to start a haircare line since college, but for a long time, fear held me back. The idea stayed tucked away—until 2020, when everything changed. After having my son during the pandemic, something shifted in me. I felt a new kind of courage and clarity, and that’s when Classic Coils was born. Read more>>

Mary Danessa

I came up with the idea of being a content creator because of the pandemic. I was an essential worker and just decided to put myself out there. Read more>>

Justin Kim
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I started photography for a reason that’s common to almost every dad: after my son was born. Before that, I didn’t even own a camera, and I had never taken a photo before. Back in 1998, when smartphones and digital cameras weren’t as common as they are now, I hesitated to spend a lot of money on a camera. But, since it was my first child, I really wanted to capture those moments. So, I bought a camera to take pictures of my son, and I also used it occasionally when we traveled. As I took more photos, I found photography to be really enjoyable, and it became my hobby. Read more>>

Tina & Ruths

Our story begins a decade ago when Ruth and I met during yoga teacher training. We formed an immediate connection that evolved into a deep friendship based on our shared passion for yoga and its transformative power.
For me, yoga has been a cornerstone in my life since 1998 when I first discovered it in Western Canada. As I relocated to the US, I explored various yoga disciplines, each deepening my practice and understanding. For Ruth, yoga provided essential balance as she navigated life as a busy mother. We both had strong yoga practices and teachings, and we were drawn by how they had changed our own lives. Read more>>

Michael Bermudez

We have had a very successful Carry Out Restaurant that has been in the family for over 43 years strong! Instead of opening another restaurant, we decided to open a food truck! That way we can come closer to those who love our food already and get the word out even more. Read more>>