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.

Samantha Kozuch

The idea of creating the Maniscripting Journal into a physical product came to me around the summer of 2020. I was an online business coach helping entrepreneurs start and grow their online businesses and around this time was when the whole world was locked down. I had first started really sharing my morning routine and scripting practice of Maniscripting at the end of 2019 and I started talking about it more on social media during Covid as there is Read more>>

Samantha Buschman

I came up with the idea of rating cheese curds on YouTube during Covid. I was bored, unemployed, and wanted to continue to support local. I posted five videos before sharing it with friends and family. The YouTube channel was doing OK, but someone suggested I create an Instagram. I moved over to that platform instead and the traction was much better. Read more>>

Clifton Stafford

The process of going from idea to execution required a great degree of sacrifice and preparation. In reality, my wife (Shanequa) and I were traveling on vacation when the idea of establishing a transportation company was originated. It was birthed as we were discussing the desire to create jobs for persons that feel ostracized, inadequate as well as transitioning back into society from the jail system. Read more>>

Won You

I remember watching a talk from Google Ventures about design sprints almost 10 years ago. The process had elements of Lean Startup and Design Thinking and really changed my perspective on how to launch product ideas. I was working as a design director at the time for Discovery Communications, within their innovation team. Read more>>

Suzette Burton

The journey of launching my business, Concrete Dreams Productions, and bringing the documentary “Tribal Strands” to life has been filled with excitement, challenges, and continuous learning. It all began in 2018 when I approached a celebrity hairstylist with the idea of creating a feature documentary about her remarkable life story. Read more>>

Hannah Soule Powderly

During the pandemic, a lot of artists I knew-including myself-had shows cancelled and finding work was tough. I decided to seek out an empty storefront, rent it and produce a 3 day pop-up art show showcasing my photography and 12 other artists’ paintings. It was a hit which then led to more pop-ups and eventually curating for a local Brooklyn gallery. The art I was working with every day was so inspirational. Read more>>

Christie Fleming

I had been a practicing occupational therapist for years and after having my second daughter I decided that really wanted to pursue a true passion of mine as a career, that being interior design. To be honest, I was scared. I didn’t know if anyone would hire me, how I would get clients, all of the unknowns start running through your head, but I sat down with myself and said, this is what I want to do. I am running full speed into this and I am going to give it my heart and soul to make it a reality. Read more>>

Alexandra Schloesser and Monika Gietl

It was spring 2022. Alex and Monika were with Alex and in the process of throwing together the first portfolio elements for their brand “Air Lovers”, which Alex had designed at the beginning of 2020. Almost overnight, Monika came up with the idea of the mental flight trainings and she created a first prototype that same night. Alex and Monika were on fire right away. On this day in spring 2022, pilot interviews, pilot stories and a regular online pilots meetup should now be added. Read more>>

Michole McBroom

I came up with an idea to start a hat brand because I love wearing hats and my head is too big for many hats on the market. I was tired of being disappointed every time I tried on a stylish hat, so Lidstick Diaries was created out of my own needs. Read more>>

Lauren Fractor

I started my Facebook community social group, Ladies of Los Angeles, in May of 2018. The idea was simple and small; make new friends in LA. It was an easy concept and I never thought in a million years that it would grow from 1 member (me) to over 23,000 members in 5 years. Over the course of 4 years, I had a feeling I could go beyond an online social group and try to branch out by using this as a way to take my passion for creating community and hosting event to a new level. Read more>>

Shaucuana Knight

Funny thing, Baking always was just a hobby. Growing up my mother would call me little Betty Crocker. But something shifted during COVID in August of 2020 I decided to act on this hobby and make it a full time thing. Once I made the decision to actually start a business I wanted to do something that honored my grandmother Cora Stewart. Read more>>

Adam and Vanessa Friedman

I went to school for industrial design and upon graduating, I worked in advertising and then gravitated towards furniture and design showrooms. At the time , it didn’t feel like I was on a direct path to what I wanted to be doing (furniture design) but looking back, these roles couldn’t have been more perfect. Through these roles, I learned how to run a business and was able to learn from some of the very best in both business and the design world. Read more>>

Leonray King

My name is Leonray King, and I am just starting to make music on a professional level. My start was learning that I desired to allow my friends and family to hear the melodies hidden away on hundreds of voice memos and note pages. I always excelled at playing different instruments like the euphonium and the trombone. Read more>>

DyShala Johnson

Growing up i wanted to be a nurse or doctor. As i navigated through my high school and college years i still tried to find a passion in the health care field but i wasn’t fulfilled. In my mid 20s I began to watch Instagram, Facebook and YouTube influencers do makeup. I began practicing on myself which looking back was horrible lol. As time went by of course i got better. I began practicing on my friends and family. Read more>>

Bridget Francis

I came up with the idea of building a company that focuses on getting down to the basics. Since the pandemic forever changed our world and shifted our perception of being “healthy”, what are some essentials that we should not live without? Read more>>

Zoë Tanner

Like a lot of people, I got a camera for Christmas when I was 18 (2020). I knew for awhile that photography was the form of Art/Creative work that I wanted to spend my time around. I was 18 and freshly introduced to my first piece of high tech equipment with zero idea on how to run a business. I had just graduated from high school after the pandemic. Read more>>

Myesha Beamon

GetWaisted Waistbeads is derived from a young lady just making Waistbeads for herself for body positivity and also to track weight loss. One day a couple of friends asked me to make them a few Waistbeads and I soon realized how popular they were. I’ve always had a love for beading, I used to make beaded jewelry when I was in middle school so I’ve always been a hustler. Read more>>

Seraphim Benjamin

As any starving artist would when you start, you start from the bottom with putting your music together but for me, I had my own home studio. With trial and error, you don’t always start off making great music but you practice and continue to put material together. Eventually you create something you really enjoy but now, what do you do? Read more>>

Adam Houck

Once we had the idea to establish a brick & mortar wrestling school, we first had to find a building that would have high enough ceilings to allow us to do everything we needed. That alone was about a year long process of checking out spaces, weighing pros to cons, before we could finally find the place that fit our needs. Read more>>

Cortland Jones

To explain how I transitioned from the idea of my business to the execution of launching it begins with explaining how I wrote and published my first book Out of the Darkness: A Journey into the Marvelous Light released in February 2014. Read more>>

Joshua Roper

Starting my business was not an easy start. After graduating college as an athlete, I started dealing with muscle soreness, achy joints, and more. The pain was affecting my day, causing stress throughout the day. I did not want to fall into the trap of always taking pills & wanted to find another alternative. After discovering CBD, I quickly researched to learn more about it. Everything I found was astounding & I was eager to try it. I googled the nearest CBD dispensary by myself & went for a visit. Read more>>

Adam Goldstein

The genesis of Sway dates back to my time in graduate school, where I often found myself working on projects at local coffee shops. These spaces left much to be desired in terms of focus and productivity. Despite the pleasant hum of people chatting, ordering coffee, and engaging in lively exchanges, the environment wasn’t conducive to a proper workday. This realization sparked the idea for a coffee shop-type workspace that could offer a more productive setting. Read more>>

Maelle Fonteneau

I led the “People” function (human resources and talent) at a national education nonprofit for many years. It was after I had hired my own coach that I decided to pursue a career in coaching. Leading a “People” function was a lonely role especially when having to navigate complex, confidential issues around compliance, terminations and reductions in force. Read more>>

Alyssa Dotson

I have been a licensed cosmetologist since 2013. I felt like cosmetology school did not teach as much as was needed to feel fully confident taking any client, so I set out on a mission to learn as much as I could, training under top stylists, online with cutting systems such as Paul Mitchell and vidal sassoon as well as countless hands on classes, advanced academies and shows! I was always the type to go all in with anything I was called to! Read more>>

Eleana Estrada

My business idea started after a visit to the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois, in the Fall of 2018. There was an indigenous exhibition that I was impressed by, and upon returning home, I started to look into my own indigenous roots in Mexico. I did a lot of research before starting to create products in late 2019 and I truly immersive myself into creating my jewelry during the covid 19 pandemic in 2020. Read more>>

Nikki Serenity

I wanted to be a model since before high school but I never really imagined getting to where I am today. I used to go clothes shopping and pose in the mirror and I would feel my self esteem skyrocket. I had a friend who was a model and she told me to make a Model Mayhem account which is how I found my first few photographers. Then I made a modeling Facebook account, networked like crazy, and it all just kept getting better from there. Read more>>

Heath Norton

In 2021 we had the idea to move away from the Franchise we had been apart of for almost 10 years and go independent. There were many steps we had to take to navigate this successfully. From managing legal issues, to rebranding, to operation changes. Lastly we had to find a way to finance it all. Before we could do any of this we took time to envision what our own brand would look like. Read more>>

Jessica Laughlin

My brand was born during the pandemic. There was so much grief in the world – anger, sadness, loneliness – everyone was experiencing a traumatic event together, and it made my heart hurt. I had to do something about it – I wanted to reach others and help them – so I created xoLaughlinCo. I had to look into a lot of research because I never thought I’d be the type to own my own business. I spent about 2 months building xo and getting it ready to launch online. Read more>>

Rachelle Meyer

Jordan is a 4th generation dairy farmer. He grew up on a dairy farm and never left. Farming was in his blood and heart. We met in high school, got married right away, and had 6 kids(soon to be 7 any day now). Farming grew on me from the start and I absolutely loved all that came along with farm life. In 2015 Jordan and I had an opportunity to start renting a farm of our own. We took a leap of faith and dove into Organic row crops and started down our soil health journey. Read more>>

Quashanda Washington

I started from just being positive, just from using my creative side, I have always wanted to play a key role in the making of good entertainment, such as music, comedy, movies, etc . I have always wanted to create a happy side of life , that can bring awareness as well , turning people pain into laughter , and joy. Read more>>