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.

Isabella & Michelle Doherty

We saw a similar concept about two to three years ago and always wanted to try it. Initially, we considered a different business that required a brick-and-mortar space. However, we realized it wasn’t the right time for commercial real estate and decided to pivot. We started by buying a horse trailer on Facebook Marketplace that was originally built as a coffee and concession stand. We had plans to make improvements but soon realized it wasn’t quite right for our vision. The person we consulted actually bought the old trailer from us and helped us find a new one, which he customized from scratch to match our exact needs. That’s how Nips & Sips came to life, with a new trailer that perfectly fit our vision! Read more>>

Britney Newman

I have always been passionate about fashion design, which led me to utilize my military education benefits to earn a bachelor’s degree in the field. After successfully achieving my goals within the industry, I decided to channel my creativity into the arts. Read more>>

Ethan De Aguiar

I started my professional career in the wedding industry working for a local company. After about 2 years I just found myself not enjoying it anymore, mostly due to not being able to fully express myself creatively. It started to feel very formulaic and repetitive. I decided to pursue my passion and go all in on myself, so in January of 2020 I quit the wedding industry and started my independent journey. It was not easy at first, especially since March of 2020 everything went into lockdown because of Covid. Although it was a slow grind to start out, I started to make connections and a name for myself relatively quickly. I was very lucky to work with so many local organizations like New Bedford Creative, Explore New Bedford and DATMA, along with many other local businesses. Read more>>

Keonna Shauntae

Back in 2010, I never imagined that doing nails would turn into a business. I was simply a client, fascinated by the artistry of my nail tech—a talented African American woman whose work was unlike anything I had ever seen before. For a year and a half, I sat in her chair, mesmerized by her creativity and attention to detail. Read more>>

Shana Jenkins

As “they” say, great things take time. I learned the long and hard way that the ‘time’ is actually God’s. I started my interior design business, A Stiletto Décor, LLC in 2017, but due to life being life, raising kids, and having to prioritize in some places and sacrificing in others, I wasn’t able to fully launch into entrepreneurship until October 2024. Read more>>

Ray Roske

My buddy and I (co-founder Steve Johnson) have a secret motorcycler club that does good in the world. Back in 2019 just before COVID, I was in Chicago for business. I was using my phone to order a Lyft. I saw a young kid on the street trying to get a meal. I could not stop thinking about it. A friend of mine is an elementary school teacher. She described the ‘walk of shame’ where her kids had to go through the cafeteria at the end of the day and pick up their blue backpack which contained their school-provided snacks for the weekend. Once COVID spread and the world shut down, they could sometimes get a drive-thru backpack, IF they had a car. Most did not. Read more>>

Rebecca Deans

Once the idea for SHIFT into Organized clicked, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I remember sitting at my kitchen table, notebook open, trying to map out what this business could actually look like. It felt exciting but also a little overwhelming — I had no formal business background, just a passion for organizing and a gut feeling that this could work. Read more>>

SOPHIA CARR

Every and anything amazing begins with just a small thought or idea. From my Blog (SoPhareelWithGod) to my Custom T-Shirt Business (Glam’D Luxe Kustoms), they both began as a thought of “what if I start this?” When I thought of both ideas, a small part of me did not believe that either of these would work. Doubt mumbled many negative thoughts, causing me to often question if I could accomplish either. But one day, I mustered up enough faith to allow courage to overthrow every silent whisper that doubt tried to overcome. So, I simply..started. I purchased the materials for my T-Shirt Business, and I signed up for the website for my blog. After, purchasing materials, platforms, etc, I started blogging often and I started making t-shirts. Prior to the t-shirts, I did have to properly prepare. Read more>>

Ryan Plaza

You can say it all started in 2020 with an idea of owning a coffee farm! This idea came from many long hours of conversation with my grandfather over cups of coffee. When he passed away a few years ago the idea came top of mind. Without tons of money to go out and buy a farm I had to think of where to start! Boom, lets start with bags of coffee. However it couldn’t be any coffee, my grandfather and I drank Puerto Rican coffee. So in august of 2024 when my fiancé and I went on vacation to Puerto Rico, I knew this was the time to go find the perfect bean. After making a list of ten farms in Puerto Rico we arrived at the perfect bean. Read more>>

Ovsanna Mkrtumyan

Zatik Naturals started as a simple idea—one rooted in a passion for health, nature, and the belief that personal care products should be as pure as the food we eat. My husband, Garik, had spent years working in the pharmaceutical industry, and during that time, he became deeply aware of how synthetic ingredients could have both powerful and harmful effects. We often talked about how there had to be a better way—a way to create effective products using the incredible power of plants without the unnecessary chemicals. Read more>>