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.

Abbie Rhodes

My journey to bookstore ownership really started when I rediscovered my love for reading in my early thirties. From there, my dreams of owning a bookstore started growing. I toyed with the idea of opening a store front for a few months and decided it was now or never. I took a girls trip to Waco where we visited Fabled of course. Read more >>>

Anna & Pankaj Chaudhary

We had a child March 12, 2020 and our lives changed forever. From both working in an office, myself at the university and my husband in the Robotics industry, we found ourselves working from home for the first time every day. We started to imagine what it would be like to spend more time with our daughter. What alternatives were there to day care? Read more >>>

Shantay

In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, I found myself reflecting deeply on the emotional and professional challenges many people were silently facing. In the mix of still continuing my day job and wanted to start a hobby just as a lot people were doing. Read more >>>

Elena Jochum

I don’t think I truly came up with the idea of live painting—art has always been with us. It predates written language and is deeply rooted in human nature. For me, creating art feels like tapping into something ancestral and timeless, like channeling a pure, primal energy through pigments and marks. Read more >>>

Ashton Portmann

The Vital Choice Project (TVCP) was founded by Garrett Pagel and myself in October 2024. Both of us have battled chronic illnesses and have seen firsthand how the pharmaceutical industry often prioritizes prescribing drugs and vaccines over exploring holistic ways to heal the body. Garrett, who now serves as the president of TVCP, experienced this firsthand. Read more >>>

Deborah Bonsu

So, the funny thing is that I originally didn’t plan on having a business. It wasn’t something I saw myself doing because I didn’t think I would be cut out for it. It was an idea that came from seeing visible lack of support and recognition towards black and minority-owned businesses on social media. Read more >>>

Aprel Hudson

Two years ago, I was an over-the-road driver for UPS. Day and night, I was hauling freight, moving packages, living life on the Highways. And while the paycheck was steady, my soul was tired. I missed my children. I missed being present in their lives. And more than anything, I knew deep down that God had called me to something greater. Read more >>>

kimberly duffy

I was going through a divorce and after many years together we had amassed many things form our travels around the world. I decided to rent a space in an existing shop to help sell off some of these items. This was 2002. Read more >>>

Amy Dixon

Helping people and pets in need has always been my passion, but for a very long time I viewed them as mutually exclusive endeavors. Read more >>>

Latrese Jefferson

Devyne Business, LLC was birth out of the need for a second income without giving away my time from home. I was a single mother of 1 with a 2 year old and a limited income. I couldn’t afford to take on a second job, my time with my daughter was far more important than another limited source of income. Read more >>>

Erika Pike

I started my dog and horse cookie business for the simplest reason, a local long-standing dog cookie company was closing, which would create a gap in the market. When I started, I thought I was just starting a small side business that would allow me to pet dogs in my free time. Read more >>>

Laura Chodola

My journey into the wellness beverage world began long before Elec’trik Kids. In 2005, my husband and I founded tealish.com, a tea company rooted in our love for creating tea blends that inspire wellness and connection. One of my greatest joys as an entrepreneur has been crafting drinks that are not only healthy and nourishing but also genuinely delicious. Read more >>>

Mariko Kashiwamata

The idea for my creative services comes directly from my work as a TV news producer in Washington, D.C. Every day, I’m responsible for capturing the important stories happening in the U.S. and delivering them clearly to a Japanese audience. Read more >>>

Robert Walko

Green Ferret Golf was founded because I was looking for way to reinvent myself after a very negative business venture. With a background in finance and marketing/sales, I found myself sitting on my couch wondering what a early 40’s guy could accomplish still. Read more >>>

Brian Hong

Back in 2000, the internet was just beginning, and I saw a huge change coming. Advertising back then relied on the Yellow Pages, print media, TV, radio, and billboards. Each had big limitations. The Yellow Pages needed people to flip through a book. TV and radio reached broad audiences but often missed the right people. Print media worked locally but couldn’t adapt quickly. Read more >>>

Rhea Khan

How did you get the idea for AAIZAA? The idea for AAIZAA by Rhea Khan was never drafted in a boardroom or came from a single “lightbulb moment.” It was something deep-rooted — stitched into my childhood, carried through my family stories, awakened during travels, and finally forged into something I couldn’t ignore. Read more >>>

Katie Carpenter

I’m a big-believer that everyone deserves a functional and beautiful space. Hiring an Interior Designer has often been an unachievable goal for anyone but the 1%: those who are extremely wealthy. When I began this business, I worked with lots of friends and family members who wanted to improve their spaces but had some financial limitations preventing them from going fully custom. Read more >>>

Nourished Life Foods

Nourished Life Foods was founded by two Latina women, Natalia and Veronica. They shared a passion for optimal nutrition and fitness and joined forces to bring about the organic healthy food company they had always dreamed of. They draw from their multicultural backgrounds Brazilian, Colombian, and American to create products that are not only macro-perfect and vegan but also delicious and versatile. Read more >>>

Melissa Conley

My healing journey led me to crystals, which proved invaluable in navigating challenging times during a period of intense shadow work and inner child exploration. Initially, I purchased crystal bracelets from local shops. However, one day at work, while admiring the array of bracelets on my wrist, the idea struck me to create customized bracelets featuring combined crystals. Read more >>>

Kristian Franklin

Well, I didn’t set out to start a business. I set out to heal. After years of feeling like my hair was working against me, I realized it wasn’t my hair that was the problem, it was the toxic messaging and ingredients we were taught to accept. Read more >>>

Wanda Bogacka Plucinski

How I Turned My Creative Passion into a Full-Time Photography Business I never went to school for photography. I didn’t have a career path that naturally pointed me in this direction. But creativity — in all its forms — has always been part of me. Read more >>>

Laura Verónica Hermosillo Balderrama

The idea came to life during one of the most difficult times in my life. I arrived in Santa Fe with my childrens and almost no belongings. The only thing I had was my hands and my knowledge of sewing. Read more >>>

Fernando Macias

The story of Señor Pancho Mexican Cuisine & Cantina is really a story of family, hard work, and resilience. I first arrived in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2006 and worked alongside my uncle and now business partner, Salvador Atilano. Read more >>>

Darlene Lopez

I started my career in music working in tech – I was first an intern at Apple Music and grew to lead Latin Music Business Partnerships. Read more >>>

Jen Kanzenbach

I honestly didn’t plan to do what I’m currently doing, but the universe had its own ideas in mind! I’ve always loved dogs! I decided to go back to school to get a business degree in hopes of one day owning & operating a 24/7 dog daycare. Read more >>>

Rusty Tucker

I’ve always loved to cook. I grew up learning to bake biscuits with my grandfather Jerome, make cakes and pies with my Grandma Hazel, and cooking Bar-B-Q in the backyard with my dad, Jerry. Read more >>>

Kaitlyn Foster

The idea for Queen City Doulas came from a combination of my professional life and my personal journey into motherhood. As a pediatric nurse practitioner and seasoned NICU nurse, I had witnessed firsthand the immense need for support for new families. Read more >>>

Kacy Ives

It all started at my own wedding in 2019, Santa Barbara CA. The sun was golden, the breeze was soft, and everything was picture perfect – except for one very enthusiastic cavalier king charles spaniel named Copper. Read more >>>

Keisha Anderson

Pretty&Ghetto was born out of healing from a personal loss. In that season, I slowed down and looked inward—and I realized I was capable of far more than what I’d been taught to expect. Read more >>>

Ryan Leckey

Coming up with my 360 Marketing Agency/Production company, “Ryan Leckey Media,” was two decades in the making. Read more >>>