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.

Joanna Suazo

Quite honestly, the idea for my mobile bartending business came to me after I became a mom. Having my son changed everything for me- not just my priorities, but how I looked at life and what I wanted for our future. Read More>>

Kayla Lassetter

When people ask how I started, I always say that it wasn’t glamorous, but it was intentional. In fact, I’m a first-gen entrepreneur! I didn’t have everything figured out, but I had this unshakable gut feeling that I could make it work. It all started with a TikTok, believe it or not. Read More>>

Christine Hubbard

I never set out to start a nonprofit—I just wanted to help a few cats in my neighborhood who had no one else looking out for them. What began as one act of compassion quickly became a calling. I started trapping, getting them fixed, and returning them to their colonies. Read More>>

Damien Davis

When God gave me the vision for God Light for the World Ministry, I didn’t have much more than faith and a desire to help others who were lost, broken, and searching for purpose like I once was. The idea came during one of the darkest seasons of my life—when I was rebuilding myself after jail and learning to trust God’s process. Read More>>

Dr. Melanie Sholtis

I transitioned to private practice having worked in inpatient clinical settings that were more crisis-centered in my early career and worked in a group practice. It had always been a goal to eventually shift from contracting in a group practice to owning my practice and having full control over the entire process of treatment. Read More>>

Teresa Marks

I started the journey of wanting to write a book back in 2017. Two people who I went to school with wrote a book, and that encouraged me. I was home one day and it just hit me like a light bulb (I have a story to tell so I need to write about it. It really was a battle between me, myself, and I. Read More>>

Chanse Davis

I know in terms of cliche I can say that I always felt that I was meant for more. But in terms of specifics, I didn’t want to be in the position I was in for the rest of my life. I used to work at a grocery store, formerly known as Vons, as a produce clerk. Read More>>

Paul & Jenelle Lasko

I (Jenelle) and my son, have spent a lot of time in Louisiana over the years. It is one of my favorite food destinations so I take trips to New Orleans and Lafayette as often as possible. One sunny day in Colorado, my son asked me if we could go get a Snoball after school. Read More>>

Elizabeth Gomez

My name us Elizabeth Gomez, and I’m the heart behind Beanwood. My journey into this world started with a simple idea shared between -my business partner and me: I wanted to launch something special, Not just any business but something we truly loved. we wanted to build a business that came from the heart. Read More>>

Pedro Rueda

Ever since I was a kid I have always wanted to be a photographer. When I started high school, I got into this photography class and that is where I officially fell in love with it. I had a period of my life where the passion for photography started to fade. However, with my photography class, I had that spark come back. Read More>>

Gabrielle Kilgore

The process to execute an idea is soooo hectic. I go from being inspired by what I see, friends stories, or photographers work to piles of scraps on the floor! To start Fondé (Fond), I fell in love with storytelling and how discarded materials could share a story others would resonate with. Read More>>

Tiffani Bray

It all started with a passion a love for capturing moments, emotions, and the beauty in everyday life with my kids. Our son’s senior portraits really set the tone. Read More>>

Joe StucKEY

How I Started HisHeartLove Honestly, HisHeartLove started long before I realized it was a brand it began as a feeling, a message that God placed on my heart. Read More>>

Ashley Loveless Cunningham

How I Actually Started Wealth Building Academy — From Idea to Execution Let me keep it real — Wealth Building Academy didn’t start with a fancy plan or investors. It started with a notebook, a vision, and a deep frustration with seeing people stuck in the same financial cycle. Read More>>

Latoya Arnold

Writing was always a natural thing to do for me and then a spark of hope entered into me through words spoken in 2005. I was up watching a show and in that moment the life of writing a book inspired my heart. From a journal to the computer, I began to move forward with a draft. Read More>>

E. Mackey

In addition to founding Blvck Spades, I also run Dope Heart Media, which handles photography, graphic design, social media strategy, and web development. Back in late 2018, I had a moment of realization: I needed a business that could create residual income. Read More>>

Jamari Boozer

My process of going from idea to execution was realizing that my passion for designing clothes was deeper than just creating; it’s a gift. Having the ability to make different types of garments, while making them affordable, has always been my goal since the beginning. Read More>>

Zollyann Howell

Honestly, starting my business during the pandemic was all about courage and faith. Everything around me felt uncertain but I knew I didn’t want to wait for “perfect timing”. I wanted to create something meaningful right then. I started ZAM Learning Academy while I was out of work on maternity leave with my youngest daughter in the beginning of the pandemic. Read More>>

Dr. Jessie & Omar Ferreira

ASQ was born from a single question that kept echoing through both our personal and professional lives: “Who am I?” At first, it wasn’t a business idea; it was a quest. Omar and I were both navigating seasons of transition and disconnection, feeling the tension between who we were expected to be and who we were becoming. That question — Who am I? Read More>>

Maliha Khan

Most businesses don’t fail because they lack ideas — they fail in the space between the idea and the execution. I see it all the time: teams either get stuck in strategic paralysis (endless planning, no movement) or trapped in tactical chaos (doing everything, measuring nothing). Read More>>

joshua Arzabala

From Shelter to CEO: How I Turned a Worn-Out Lawn Mower Into Multiple Thriving Companies My story didn’t begin with investors, business plans, or a team of advisors. It began at one of the darkest times in my life. Working a 9-to-5 wasn’t cutting it, and bills kept stacking higher than my paycheck. I needed to do something, and fast. Read More>>

Deundra Jones

I came up with the idea of having a natural growth oil when I had my daughter in 2020. I really didn’t know what products would be safe for her hair. So I started researching different natural herbs and oils that would help her hair grow and not be too strong. Read More>>

Allison Harpole-Coley

After owning and operating my marketing business for nearly a decade, I decided three years ago to niche down exclusively into digital advertising. My fascination with ads started years earlier when I joined a mastermind that introduced me to the world of paid marketing. Read More>>

Felia Georges

It all began with a dream — a vision of transforming a forgotten property into something truly magical. My husband, Rob, and I have always been drawn to spaces with history, and when we found the land that would become Chandelier Oaks, Read More>>

Deniz Benba

Before moving to the U.S. this summer, I spent the past twelve years living in Tokyo. In Japan, I pursued my creative life as an artist. I wrote short sketches and performed at small bars where the international community gathered for open mic nights. After hopping from one open mic to another, I eventually needed a break — a quiet space for myself. Read More>>