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.

TOMMY BROWN

I came up with the idea in 1986 while serving in the United States Marine Corps. At the time, I was attending night school, studying for my Associate Degree of Applied Science in Business Administration at Arizona Western College in Yuma, Arizona. Many of my fellow students complained about the lack of assistance from their high school academic counselors to prepare them for college. The primary topics of discussion were how to obtain scholarships and financial assistance. Read more>>

London King

I always say The Fabulous Factory didn’t start as a business plan, it started as a feeling. Ever since I was a little girl in St. Louis, I’ve been the one planning the parties, decorating the space, and making sure everyone was having a good time. I loved seeing people light up when they walked into a room I had styled. Even back then, I knew I wasn’t just hosting an event, I was creating an experience. Read more>>

Meredith Campbell

I launched my own online wellness and fitness business in late 2024, building on years of experience both online and in-person within the health and wellness industry. I created my brand to fully own my vision and share workouts in a way that is authentic, motivating, and reflective of my personal style. Read more>>

Teresa Sabatine

Love, Lizzy wasn’t a sudden idea. It was something that grew in me over years, shaped by moments I didn’t even realize were connected at the time.

It started with my mom, Elizabeth, Lizzy. Growing up, our house always had an extra chair at the dinner table, friends staying when they needed somewhere safe, my girlfriends coming over just to talk to her and get her advice. She was a therapist and and advocate who believed in the liberation of women, and at her funeral, hundreds of people lined up to share how she’d changed their lives. For me, she was this steady force who was always there when I needed her most. Read more>>

Chris Bellanger

I didn’t grow up with a safety net. Poverty, instability, and survival mode were my reality. But even then, I saw something powerful—people with incredible potential they didn’t believe they could reach.
In 2020, after George Floyd’s death, the Twin Cities were broken. The air was thick with smoke, glass crunched underfoot, and grief hung over our streets. Businesses were gone, communities divided, and hope was fading. Read more>>

Jennifer Forman

Experimentation in a garage was the beginning of it all. My husband Nate started with kombucha, infusions, bitters, tinctures and then eventually whiskey. Being artists we love to create and experiment and also share those creations with others. After a lot of practice and research we finally decided to go for it and share our spirits with everyone. It was a long road to where we are today. We established in 2019, found an old firehouse in Seguin, TX and began our plans. It took several years through covid to renovate the building and develop the property. But finally in the summer of 2022 we began production and then a year later opened our cocktail bar to the public. Today we have 6 spirits in the bottle and distribute 5 of them through out Texas. Read more>>

Paul Bankowski

The inspiration for FLATROPE came from a deeply personal experience with a dear friend and fitness client, Trina. She was gearing up for a significant competition, a test of strength and endurance that included a challenging station requiring athletes to perform 75 reps with a standard weighted jump rope. Standard ropes are a solid 1-1/2″ thick rope weighing 5 lbs. It was a crucial part of her training regimen. Read more>>

Samantha Deleary”

The idea didn’t arrive like a business plan. It came like a lifeline.

Right as the pandemic was exploding and the fear of my “normal” life screeched to a halt, I moved back to my hometown to help care for my grandparents. I was burnt out, disoriented, and struggling with ADHD, disordered eating, and the kind of survival-mode fog that slowly detaches you from your body and sense of self. I had also just ended a six-year relationship and crashed headfirst into a hard reckoning: I wasn’t the good guy in the story I thought I was. That realization cracked my spirit open and forced me to ask who I really was, and who I wanted to become. Read more>>

Rachel Cumberland

Before starting Rachel Kendall Events, I worked as I Senior Publicist at a boutique music/film PR firm. We would work on, and attend, multiple festivals and I absolutely loved being on-site working the festivals. Fast forward a few years later, I was now in Maryland working remotely for the same company and planning my own wedding. My now husband and I knew right away that we’d get married at my parents house on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and we dove into private residence wedding planning, turning a house into a venue. I absolutely loved it. I looked at the wedding planning as more of an event than a wedding. I was never the girl who dreamed about getting married and was more dreaming about owning my own company. Read More>>

Isabel

My name is Isabel Reina-Oransky and I am an entrepreneur and founder of Adri Chocolates.

My sister and mother of two, Adriana, passed away in 2021. Prior to her passing, Adriana and her husband Michael started a family chocolate business to support the cacao farmers in Jamaica and provide food security to those in need in our native country of Venezuela.

In 2022, and onwards, I decided to continue her vision and create a legacy for her two children and our family. Read More>>

Camille Hall

When I tell the story of Unshackle AI, it doesn’t begin with an outsider’s perspective of abuse—it begins with personal crisis. I lived through something I wouldn’t wish on anyone. It wasn’t just one act of harm; it was a pattern that invaded every part of my life. My experience was a systematic campaign of control that included stalking, digital harassment, financial abuse, psychological warfare and the gut-wrenching realization that an abuser can exploit and weaponize the legal and civil systems against you. These kinds of invasive acts were not random, they were methodical, escalating calculations designed to strip away my power, autonomy and everything I had known piece by piece. Read more>>

Dr. Yolanda Carter

The inspiration behind ASL with Dr. Carter and Jax is deeply personal.
It’s rooted in a 20-year friendship that changed my life.

My best friend is Deaf. And over the years, I’ve watched him navigate a world that wasn’t always built to include him—with strength, grace, and a kind of quiet brilliance that’s stuck with me. What continues to amaze me is that he’s never treated his deafness as a limitation. Instead, he’s embraced it as a superpower—something that sets him apart in the most extraordinary way. Read more>>

K. Short

Moving to Tucson in 2018 felt like starting over. After a painful split with my co-founder in Phoenix over creative differences about our multimedia platform Peddlr, I found myself alone in a new city, questioning everything. But that solitude became a gift—for the first time, I could truly listen to my inner voice without external noise. Read more>>

Thomas Fitzpatrick

The idea for Cura Smiles began in 2003, when I volunteered at a rural dental clinic in Nicaragua. While treating patients in remote communities, I witnessed firsthand the pain, isolation, and health complications caused by lack of access to dental care. Year after year, I returned to serve and eventually helped establish a permanent clinic for local coffee-farming families. But even as that effort grew, I realized the same urgent need existed back home in San Diego, especially among underserved communities facing barriers to care. Read more>>

Nat Harrington

Initially, Nat’s Nuts was a joke made with a college suitemate. I mentioned that no one sold cinnamon roasted almonds at a local market, and he said, “well, you’ve got the perfect name to make them and sell them… Nat’s Nuts.” A year later, I was fundraising for a missions trip to Guatemala, and thought it would be fun to make and sell nuts for the fundraiser. I bought a handheld roaster, experimented with a few recipes, and from the college dorm kitchen, Nat’s Nuts was officially born. Read more>>

Lillian | Sarah Garlick | Kowallik

The idea for Before Dawn Supply Co was born on a sailboat in Southeast Asia where my co-founder Sarah and I first met. Sarah is a notorious over-packer and I brought very minimal clothes for the month-long trip yet neither of us had exactly what we needed. We wanted one thing we could wear surfing, hiking, sailing, to a yoga class, or in town – something that was quick dry, breathable, and comfortable. When we couldn’t find anything in the market, we decided to make it ourselves. Read more>>

Michelle Westfall

One of my dreams as a child was to create a talk show. I used to set up my parents’ camcorder, hit play, and make my sister or my friends sit next to me as a co-host. I was always part of the morning announcements in elementary school and middle school, and in high school, I joined TV productions. When I went off to college, I majored in Broadcast Journalism with a minor in Film. My dream was to work on a studio show in the morning. Ironically, once I graduated, I did end up working in news, but it was an overnight role in the middle of the night from 2 am to 8 am. Not the best shift in the world. I then got a role as a producer for a news station where I interned and was working a better shift from 4 am – 1 pm. Read more>>

Shawnie Grant

I came up with the idea to start a fashion business while I was studying at university and working as a tutor mentor to high school students from the inner city of Houston. I noticed that some of the less fortunate female students didn’t perform well academically because they were teased by their peers for not having the latest fashion. As a result, these girls didn’t apply themselves in class—afraid to draw attention to themselves and risk being bullied. Read more>>

Sandra Shaw

The idea for S.A.D.I.E.’S CRAFT began with my passion for creativity and my concern about waste in the community. I noticed how many materials, fabrics, wood, and everyday items were being discarded even though they had the potential to be transformed into something beautiful and useful. It was then, my partner Alvin Augustus Elliston, saw the creativity in me and joined with me as a partner in the business. I began upcycling with fabric, crochet thread, old jars, wood, and other discarded materials. In my community, I saw women, youth, and unemployed adults longing for opportunity but lacking resources. One day it clicked‐what if I could give both a second chance? That moment grew into S.A.D.I.E.’S CRAFT a place where sustainability meets creativity, and where people gain skills, confidence, and income while helping the planet. I’m still needing resources to continue my journey. Read more>>

Laura Adams

The idea behind Kindly Woven grew out of both frustration and possibility. I’d been working in textiles for years and saw firsthand how difficult it had become for small designers and independent creatives to break into the interiors and home markets. The industry had always been somewhat shrouded in mystery, but in the last decade or so, it felt more like a closed (and bolted) door. High minimums, the industry’s lack of interest in working with small businesses, and the lack of guidance kept many away from an market that was once highly creative, and in my opinion needed to be disrupted. At the same time, I knew that there was a growing hunger on both sides (creatives and buyers), and truly felt that I was in the perfect position to make that match. Read more>>

Joel Sugarman

For most of my adult life, I have been passionate about protecting the environment. After working in an unrelated field for 40 years, it felt like the time was right to start a company that was dedicated to changing the materials and improving the sustainability of the products we use in our daily lives. Initially, I became interested in selling hemp plastic as a more sustainable alternative to 100% petroleum derived plastics. This material, being not yet ready for prime time, led us to look at other alternative and more sustainable bio polymers to sell as petroleum plastic alternatives. PHA, poly hydroxy alkanoates looked like the best alternative. Read more>>

Haley Emerson

My luxury fashion brand was born from a moment of clarity. I had been working for fashion houses in London and New York. While I learned a ton and I am so grateful for those experiences, I couldn’t ignore the fact that I was building someone else’s legacy with my own creative energy. That was the ‘aha!’ moment that pushed me to finally launch my own luxury fashion brand. Read more>>

Carla Williams

The View From Here Wellness Collective was born out of a lifetime of witnessing and experiencing the quiet exhaustion that so many Black women carry, the kind that doesn’t always have a name but lives in our bodies, our hearts, and our daily lives. For years, I was that woman. The one who was “strong” for everyone else. The one who showed up, excelled, and supported, while quietly running on fumes. I thought that was just life. I thought that was what was expected of me. Read more>>

Melissa Diedricks

Cup n’ Spoon really started with me just being a mom, looking for a place where I could take my kids and we’d all enjoy it. I’ve always been passionate about creating treats and experiences that bring people together. But the necessity came when I looked around my community and realized something was missing. There wasn’t a place where the whole family could truly enjoy themselves. I found myself bouncing between coffee shops that felt too grown-up for kids, and frozen yogurt spots that were fun for them but left me wishing I had a good latte in hand. I kept thinking, “Why isn’t there a place where both can happen together?” Read more>>

Matteo Valente

On Oct. 4, 2021, I woke up early to complete some internship work that I decided to put off getting to sleep early the night prior. As I sat at my ex-boyfriends kitchen table completing said work, my phone started to go off. I look over to see it was my mom, Pauline Valente, calling me. I thought that it was odd seeing how it was 5 a.m. and she was usually still asleep at that time. My first thought went to my cat, Aly, who was sick during that period of time. I thought she had passed, but I was wrong. I answered the phone to my mom who could barely get the words out. It was something that I was not expecting, she had told me my cousin, Tyler D. Joyce, has supposedly passed away. My heart dropped from hearing this, but also in disbelief as I didn’t want to think this to be true. Read more>>

Lydia Underwood

I remember the first time I heard the term “fair-trade.” I was in college studying to become an Interior Designer, and a mentor offered me some Fairtrade chocolate. When I asked her what that meant, she said that it had not been made with child labor. I had never thought about who made the things I consumed, and I felt a mixture of shock, shame, and skepticism about what she shared. I promptly decided to…. dismiss it altogether and not learn any more about it because I was a poor college student who deserved to eat cheap chocolate guilt-free sometimes, you know!? Read more>>

Leslie Hacker

The idea for Hacker Communications didn’t come from a business plan. It came from a breaking point.

In 2015, both of my parents were diagnosed with cancer. I was 25 years old. That same year, my dad passed away. I had been working in PR and marketing for about five years. I had already held roles with major hospitality, food, and lifestyle brands, led campaigns that drove real business results, and interned at top-tier companies. But despite my experience, I kept getting offered more internships instead of real opportunities to grow. I felt stuck and underestimated in an industry where I knew I had so much more to offer. Read more>>

Élena Jouhari

I feel like She-Zen Studio has always existed in my inner world — a sacred space just for me where I could be myself, practice my rituals, burn incense, enjoy my teas, my books, my candles. I often invited my friends to join me and we shared a deep connection that made our mundane lives feel just a little more magical. Read more>>

Kyle McMillan

A pastor friend of mine reached out to me in 2021 during the pandemic, seeking creative solutions for an unused rooms on his church property. I proposed the idea of setting up a small barbershop with four chairs. That conversation led him to establish a business co-op for aspiring entrepreneurs, providing them with the space and support they needed to develop their ventures. I became a member of the co-op and began my journey in creating Forte Barbershop. While I’ve faced challenges along the way, I’m thankful and excited to witness the growth of this blessing from God, as it helps other barbers and business owners succeed. Read more>>

Vincent Keele

Art has always been in my life from a young age. Besides the pure love of Art and it feeling like a part of my soul. Over the years I’ve watched things and people wash away and one of my paintings I created many years ago was sitting on the wall just as beautiful as the day I created it and it dawned on me. There was my chance to leave my mark. The sheer idea of being an artist is a challenge in itself. There’s so much you need to know and learn, you wear a lot of hats. Because there’s so many things to do, self management becomes a crucial skill. I have taken it upon myself as a personal challenge to be a great artist. Not only to improve my skills as an artist but also embrace the business of art and the mentorship of others that are lacking in the confidence, skills or will to keep going. Being an artist is the greatest thing I’ve ever could have embraced. I am art and art is me. Read more>>

Rochelle Robinson

The idea for Chamomile & Lace came from a mix of passion, curiosity, and a need I saw in my own life. I’ve always loved beautiful, well-made things, and I’ve always been drawn to the ritual of self-care. But when I looked for products that were both luxurious and gentle — something that felt special but was also safe and nourishing for the skin — I kept coming up short. Read more>>

Celine Niebiossa

Hood Fiancé didn’t start as a business idea. It started as a feeling. I was born and raised in Germany, but I grew up in a household that was full of sound, soul, and culture. My dad played Hip-Hop, my mom played soul and R&B — Lauryn Hill, the Fugees, D’Angelo. That balance between raw and soft energy shaped everything I do. When I was around 11, my uncle gave us our first big computer and loaded it with music. I spent hours digging through those Hip-Hop folders: Nate Dogg, Ice Cube, Snoop, 2Pac, Eazy-E. None of it was on YouTube back then – I had the gold archive on that computer, and it played non-stop. That’s where my love for West Coast culture began. Read more>>

Edwawrd Palacio

 

It starts with my Dad, He’s a Water Color painter and when I was young He would always take photos of places or things that we would like to paint later. I got very curious about the camera and I offered my help to my Dad. He taught me just the very basic stuff to snap a shot and, boom, I got hooked.

I continued using the camera on and off as I was growing up as a teenager but I finally got more serious about it when I entered college. I took some Photography classes but soon I realized I needed more advanced/Specialized knowledge if i wanted to become a professional one. Also, Photoshop became the hottest new thing and knowing that I had to learn Photoshop to become a photographer (early 2000) I lost interest and drop Photography for many years. I still did very low quantity of work but I would never presented myself as a Professional Photographer. Read more>>

Firas Abdelahad

Owning my own engineering firm wasn’t a spontaneous decision—it was a long-term goal that took years of deliberate experience-building to achieve.

My journey began while I was still in graduate school. I took a position with a small consulting firm in Florida, eager to immerse myself in hands-on engineering. Early on, I worked on high-stakes structural repairs, like designing the replacement and temporary shoring of severely corroded reinforced concrete columns in a large building. I even contributed to the temporary shoring plan for a nuclear power plant undergoing a massive generator replacement—an experience that taught me the gravity of precision and accountability. Read more>>

Delis Gonzalez

I’ve always been enchanted by flowers—their names, their intricacies, and the way each bloom reflects nature’s perfection. That deep admiration sparked a personal journey. It began with a few potted plants and quickly grew into an obsession with cultivation. I dove into gardening books, studied growing methods, and learned to start from seed. Every season, I expanded my knowledge and my garden. Eventually, I began dreaming of a life rooted in florals: a cottage, a garden, connection and purpose. The vision felt far away. No land, no funding, no time. But step by step, I pushed forward. Once I had access to a small piece of land, I dedicated every free moment to learning the craft of floral cultivation. Read more>>

Erin Herman

For two decades, I had the privilege of working with Fortune 500 executive teams and global institutions like St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, ALSAC and UNICEF UNSA. I led initiatives that spanned continents—launching award-winning platforms like the Learning Passport in partnership with Microsoft and Cambridge University, and helping secure a $300 million philanthropic commitment, one of the largest ever made to a children’s hospital. Read more>>

Cassandra Macias

I created this space for children and families like myself. I remember being back in my undergraduate years longing to have someone truly help me navigate the complexities of being a first generation college student. I had resources on my campus, but it just didn’t feel like they truly felt me and could help me. They could support, influence and encourage me, but now I know I could only really help myself. During this time there was a disconnect. However, I pushed on, I would study hours on hours at one my favorite places, a coffee shop called Medici in Austin, Texas. This coffee shop was right next to my campus, the University of Texas at Austin and the perfect spot for me to have a slight change in scenery, but was close enough to campus where I wouldn’t waste time going to and from. Read more>>

Cedric Croslin

This idea of streaming started one day in a PlayStation party as the conversation surrounded streamers and their skill for gaming. At that time, I said to my friends, I think I can be a streamer, I have the skill for video games, and it would be a great experience. For example, streamers such as NickMercs, TimTheTattMan, and Ninja were some people that I’ve watched in my early days on twitch. I thought to myself, I have so much great things in store for my community once I can get to a comfortable spot with streaming, we will have community day, giveaways, & much more. Read more>>

Katy Annulli

The idea for KMA Organizing came from a very personal place. For as long as I can remember, decluttering, organizing, and moving objects in my space has been a tool to cope when life feels overwhelming. When the world outside—or inside—feels chaotic, I turn to decluttering and creating order as a way to calm my mind. It’s not just about tidying up; it’s about regaining a sense of control, clarity, and peace. Read more>>

Aleta Heard

I was sitting on my couch, pregnant with my first child, trying to schedule all of my prenatal appointments and I was overwhelmed. Despite living in a world full of technological advancements, I realized how fragmented and frustrating maternal care still was. Appointments were scattered, communication felt disconnected, and navigating it all while expecting a baby felt unnecessarily hard. Read more>>

Simone Roy

Through my own experiences with operating a business and doing my own marketing, I discovered that traditional marketing approaches were completely disconnected from how women actually work and live, and had this deep feeling that there had to be a better way. So after freelancing as a graphic designer and learning my local market for a few years, I decided to open my doors as Brass and Honey, a holistic marketing and branding agency in 2021. Read more>>

Tammy Copenhaver

The idea for 406 Digital Imaging Services LLC began to form in 2019 as my husband and I looked toward retirement, just a couple of years out. After over three decades in the private and non-profit sectors, I knew I wanted something that would keep my mind active, involved with technology, and allow me to provide a meaningful service. I wanted to feel I still had a place to contribute and make a difference. Read more>>