In our view, far too many ideas die at the imagination stage. It’s not because people are lazy, we think the primary reason is because many people don’t know where or how to start. So, we connected with some sharp and generous entrepreneurs who’ve agreed to share their stories of how they went from idea to execution.

Jiaci Yan

If you’re asking me how I went about launching my video production business, here’s how the story goes: As a videographer with several years of experience, I was always passionate about what I did. I would pour my time and energy into every project, big or small, taking direction, following instructions, and making sure my part was done well. I was just a cog in the machine, a small part of something much bigger. However, as I took on more projects, I began to notice that my voice started to carry weight. People began to change their plans based on my ideas, and that’s when I realized I had outgrown the role of a videographer. I was evolving into a creative leader, an opinion leader, and the team began to look to me to take on more responsibility and to lead them in executing projects. Read more>>

Angel De Paz

In 2023, I was involved with a group called Lead for America that taught me how to navigate through my city and find activities it lacked. The city was in dire need to family friend activities they could attend on weekends that was fun for all ages. Within the community engagement activities I became apart of, I noticed it would be a perfect place to bring in traditional masked wrestlers to put on live shows for families. In acquiring sponsorships and teaming up with local businesses, we were able to make our first show happen in December of 2023. Read more>>

Joe Pelati

We took a trip to Kentucky and toured a number of distilleries, just for fun and not expecting to start our own whiskey production. Viewing the process as a life-long research chemist, the fermentation and distillation processes were now high tech, but the aging process seemed archaic and wasteful. It became a curiosity that drove me to start experimenting with old barrel staves and flaming. Next, I looked into extraction and aging of the flamed wood using a simulated “moonshine”. I experimented for a full year and was nearly ready to give up, but a couple of major breakthroughs were timely. Soon after, we made a large test batch and gave it to friends to verify the success. All the feedback was positive so we made the decision to form our company, Dynabarr LLC, and began the lengthy and expensive permitting and licensing procedures. After two years since starting to do some experiments, we formed our company and started making our smooth, flavorful whiskey. My 36 years in petrochemical research produced many patents and new implemented technology; those lessons in experimentation and development of technology were key to unlocking the secrets of wood and whiskey aging. Read more>>

Miracle Gray

How Miracle Skin came to be was in fact a Miracle. Skincare was always an option for me growing up because I always managed clear skin all of my teenage years. I would vividly remember my mother getting facials my and she would treat me when she could. Fast forward to my late 20’s , I had begun to break out badly. I would pick my breakouts and developed dark spots on my skin from old acne. It was hard to be confident in my natural beauty because of my blemishes. I started browsing YouTube & social media trying to seek help for my skin. Nothing seemed to be working. I started getting facials again but my skin problems remained. I felt defeated because I had no more options. That’s when I knew that I had to learn about skin of color. Read more>>

Karen Ohlgisser CEO Neshi Designs Corp

When I started Neshi Designs, the idea came from a deep passion for jewelry and the desire to create something unique that could bring joy and a sense of specialness to others. My family has been in the jewelry business for as long as I can remember, so I’ve always been surrounded by beautiful pieces and the stories behind them. But Neshi was different—it was a reflection of my personal vision and creativity. The idea first struck me when I was working with my parents in their wholesale business in downtown Los Angeles. I noticed a gap in the market for jewelry that felt both luxurious and personal. I wanted to create pieces that could be worn every day but still make the wearer feel extraordinary. That’s when the concept of Neshi Designs, with its focus on fine, delicate jewelry, really began to take shape. Read more>>

Branton Urbieta

It began with the idea of selling my art. I couldnt jump directly into selling $1,000.00 paintings. I needed some recognition and I needed to create value. I took this process step by step, I started submitting works into juried exhibitions and they were accepted and began to sell. being accepted to the exhibitions encouraged me to enter a juried competition- Sobo Art Gallerie’s Top Choice Awards. One of the most competitive competitions in Central Florida. I won Top Choice, i’ve never submitted to the competition prior to winning so this was unheard of. That next year, I became a judge for the competition. The recognition I received for my skills opened opportunities for me and created value in my work. This was the first step to executing my idea Read more>>

Czarina Alberto

It has always been my dream to take my yoga teaching from teaching classes to teaching students to become yoga teachers. For me to able to achieve that, it needed to take for me to create my school, put a manual together and submit all requirements needed to Yoga Alliance to be a Registered Yoga School. Easier dreamt than done, that’s for sure. One day, after class, one of my students came up to me and asked me what it would take for me to teach them and have them certified to be yoga instructors. My first reaction was, I cried. Well… I always cry, but this time I cried because I was humbled and grateful and felt proud of them all at the same time. I was proud that they responded to the calling in their hearts to deepen their practice and share their gifts with the world. Read more>>

Haley Reynolds

Going from idea to execution took much convincing by my friends and family. I started making natural skincare for sensitive skin solely for them. I was trying to help ease their eczema prone skin. After we all saw how much their new waterless, nontoxic, body care was working, my friends and family wanted more. I knew how much they struggled to find a skincare product for eczema that actually worked at hydrating their dry, sensitive, skin. After a few years of creating and selling the products on the side like this, I finally gained the confidence to make prettypeoplepop into a full time business. November of 2023 was our official launch! Since then, I have added more skincare products for sensitive skin into our natural line! Now, I have an oil facial cleanser, our original nontoxic body care products, and soon our natural clarifying and hydrating face mask will make its way to our business. Read more>>

Tanner Johnson

Growing up as the second oldest of nine kids with a mother who was a entrepreneur and business owner, teamwork and adaptability were ingrained in me early on. One of the biggest advantages of coming from a large family is the ability to build a strong, motivated team, and when it came time to start our hemp business in Virginia, my younger brother Jake was a pivotal piece. Jake’s extensive experience in both indoor and outdoor cultivation from his time growing for medical and recreational brands in Oregon became the spark we needed to dive into the world of hemp when the laws opened up in 2018/2019. We now have 6 siblings in the business full time each focusing on a different part of the supply chain. Read more>>

Joshua Holi

I first told my life story as an assignment in my Speech Communication class in community college. The story moved many students and my professor encouraged me to continue to share that story with the world. Over the next few years I began learning to present, started speaking at other events and then began creating content online to share my experiences. I needed to understand how to deliver messages to people in a way that makes sense to them and not just me. I also needed to let go of what people thought about me for pursuing this. Read more>>

Kristen Ehringer

Our farm started as a backyard cut flower business in an urban city. My husband Michael and I had bought our first home; a tiny house that had a postage stamp lot. At the time I was working as a freelance gardener, so it was a place we could grow our own garden. I built a garden that I could cut flowers from, and eventually the idea of starting a flower farm business formed along with it in 2019. We started doing wedding floristry, and selling flowers at the farmer’s market in mason jar bouquets — before the pandemic required us to pivot the very next season. We began selling direct-to-consumer with contactless porch deliveries, and our business grew as a way to give people hope and beauty during an otherwise dark and lonely time. People sent bouquets to friends on their birthdays, or bought for themselves for some joy. All the while, our cut flower garden expanded in our limited space to meet demands. We wanted to offer unique varieties that other flower farmers weren’t offering, and to an earth-friendly and sustainable standard. We did not spray pesticides on our plants to promote flowers that were healthy for pollinators and humans, and our flowers were arranged in compostable packaging. We quickly outgrew our little house and garden, and began looking for land. Read more>>

Hanson Yan

The idea of creating a platform where everyone could share their stories was first discussed in 2022, when my co-founder Eric and I met through family connections during a trip. I had a deep desire to address the mental health challenges I faced during quarantine, while Eric, with nearly 15 years of experience running a national nonprofit, also recognized the growing need for an inclusive space where youth could empower each other. We instantly connected and decided to bring our shared vision to life—starting with cam-recorded interviews. We rented out a small, blocked-off space in a San Diego office complex and filmed our first-ever interview with Lisa, an actress featured in several Apple TV+ shows. Read more>>

Gary Wall

I grew up on my parents’ dairy farm in Wisconsin, surrounded by farming from a young age. Dairy farming focused on milk production, but as I got older, my brothers and I wanted to branch out into raising beef cattle and pigs. We had extra space on the farm, and with my dad’s approval, we started raising livestock. Initially, we used the meat for our family, but as neighbors and friends began asking for it, we started selling to them as well. When I later moved to Minnesota, friends in the city began asking me for farm-fresh meat. However, there were challenges. They didn’t have the freezer space to store the larger quantities we were selling, and I didn’t have an easy way to get it to them. Around the same time, COVID hit, and supermarket shortages created an even greater demand for farm-fresh meat. Read more>>

Patrick Luo

While attending a free healthcare entrepreneur seminar, I realized starting a business was simpler and easier than expected. I knew how to help people reverse their Type 2 Diabetes and Prediabetes from my education, clinical practice, and personal experience. The only thing that was holding me back from launching it was making this about the clients instead of assuming I knew what they needed help with. The first step was to do market research. This involved joining multiple Diabetes Support groups to see what people were struggling with. The next step was making social media content on how I would coach a client to address the problem with a way for people to get in touch with me. his would be done through YouTube posts, Instagram/Facebook Reels, TikTok videos, and blog posts. When people started reaching out to me through emails or private messaging, we would do a discovery call with them to see if we were a good fit for each other. Read more>>

Tracy Tang

I started my small business around the ending of 2021. This was when the world was still in the midst of Covid and everyone wanted to be outside doing something. I bought picnic tables for my own personal use because I thought it was a fun way to eat outdoors while hanging out with family and friends at the same time. I always had fun decorating my picnic tables for events. It’s like a cool arts and crafts project for me which was one of my all time favorite things to do when I was a kid. One day I decided to turn my decorating hobby into a business. You know the saying, it’s not a job if you love what you do. Read more>>

Bee Alvarado

When I first had the idea to open a nature-based childcare center, it felt like a distant dream. I’d always been passionate about working with children, and my experiences, both personal and professional, had shown me how essential it is for kids to feel nurtured and connected to nature. But turning that passion into something tangible took time and patience. The very first step was realizing that the traditional childcare system wasn’t aligned with my vision. I saw a need—San Diego had a real gap when it came to accessible, high-quality childcare, especially with a focus on sustainability. I knew I could help fill that gap, but I needed a plan. I spent hours sketching out ideas for a curriculum rooted in nature, sustainability, and hands-on experiences. I wanted kids to get their hands back in the dirt, to learn through play with natural materials, and to grow a deep love for the earth. Read more>>

Denia Campbell

When I first started D.Monets Organics, it wasn’t a perfectly mapped-out plan; it was more of a jump-in-and-go approach. The idea sparked when I realized there was a need for natural, effective hair care products that were organic & didnt obtain harsh chemicals. I decided to begin with flaxseed gel because of its benefits for hair. After doing some quick research, I was eager to try making it myself. Without overthinking or worrying about branding, I grabbed some jars from Dollar Tree and my mother helped by making simple labels at her job. I put the product together in a really DIY fashion and decided to offer it on social media. At that point, I didn’t have a concrete plan, logo, or a big vision for the brand. It was all about getting the product out there and seeing what people thought. That first step taught me a lot about the power of just starting, even if everything isn’t perfect. Over time, I realized I needed to refine the process, build a real brand, and think about where I wanted D.Monets Organics to go, but jumping in with that initial batch of flaxseed gel was the catalyst. Read more>>

Adnan Siddique

I started my video consulting firm ‘Cheap Films’ in the summer of 2020. For me, the business began fairly organically. It started when my partner and I started making short films in college. We’d never thought it’d amount to anything until we released our first short publicly in 2019. We did the festival run- shook hands, showed the film, and made a name for ourselves (at least locally in Columbus). And that was supposed to be it. I was scheduled to move onto postgrad and my partner had a job lined up elsewhere. It was only when the pandemic hit that we realized that there was some potential there. Because of the pandemic, a lot of small businesses were doing a ‘digital pivot.’ They had to transition from in-person foot traffic to becoming fully online entities. Read more>>

Hannah Helsel + Jordan Brisson

We had started an event rental company 1.5 years before launching WAYV. We built custom walls and tables for parties, rented them out, and saved up every dollar that we made. We knew that the event rental space wasn’t our end-game, so we made the decision to pivot and made it happen. We sat down, talked through our common passions, and made a decision to start a clothing business that was centered around health and wellness. Our biggest motivator in starting was that exercise had changed both of our lives from the time we were little, to playing sports in high school and college, but most importantly when we stepped into the real world. We wanted to be the brand that would encourage people to ‘find their Wayv’ in whatever season of life that they were in. We have shifted our vision a little bit since launch and are geared a bit more towards high-intensity athletes who have found a higher purpose in pushing themselves past their limits. Read more>>

Felipe Torres Urso

When talking about the Coconut Grove Film Festival, which I launched alongside Xavier Manrique, the journey from idea to execution was an exhilarating and challenging one. Xavier and I had been working in the film industry for years, both as filmmakers, and one day, we started talking about the incredible potential of creating something in our hometown of Coconut Grove, Miami—a place known for its charm, elegance, and rapidly growing cultural scene. It felt like the perfect place for a film festival that celebrated diverse voices, particularly Latin American and Floridian filmmakers, and one that could also stand out as a glamorous, world-class event. Read more>>

Rory Anderson

It all started back in high school in Australia. I’d always been captivated by the world of storytelling, and that really set me on my path. I remember working on a short film for a local competition, pouring every ounce of my time and creativity into it, and then we won. That moment was huge. It was the first real feeling I had that maybe this was something I could do long-term. After that, I decided to go to film school, where I really got my hands on more advanced equipment, learned techniques, and began building out my portfolio. I started working for a cable/TV network, which was a fantastic way to understand how things run on the business side and gave me a steady flow of projects that taught me about efficiency and handling larger teams. Read more>>

Amber Jordan

I still remember the day Sisters Walking in Purpose was just an idea. It was born out of a personal desire to create a space where women could come together, heal, grow, and feel empowered to live out their purpose. At that time, I was already passionate about helping women succeed, but I wanted to do something bigger—something that could reach women all over the world, not just in my immediate circle. The very next day, I knew I had to start taking action, even though I didn’t have all the answers. I started by jotting down my vision for the community. What did I want it to look like? Who was it for? What kind of value did I want to provide? These questions helped me clarify my mission: to create a space where women could feel supported in both their personal and professional growth. Read more>>

Fjolla Beka

I started working at just 18 in a local beauty studio, where I quickly became known for my exceptional brow work. I formed strong relationships with the clients because of my natural talent and dedication, and they always returned specifically for me. Seeing how much demand there was for expert brow services, I recognized a gap in the market that there were no Brow Only studios, and decided to take the leap. That’s how I opened the city’s first brow-only studio, a bold move that really paid off! Read more>>

De’Andra Colbert

Starting Your Kreative Junkie, LLC was an exciting journey that unfolded over time. It all began with a spark of inspiration—a realization that I could combine my passion for creativity with a desire to help others express themselves. One evening, while brainstorming ways to channel my creative energy, I envisioned a platform where people could explore various forms of artistic expression, from crafting to Tshirt design. The idea was to only focus on doing T-shirts. The next day, I prayed and I dove into research. I explored existing businesses in the creative space, identifying gaps I could fill. I talked to potential customers to understand their needs and interests, refining my concept based on their feedback. Read more>>