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.

Faith Cullison

So, I had this idea — this romanticized vision of becoming a ‘Solo Aesthetician.’ I didn’t have a business plan or all the answers, just a strong feeling that this was what I was meant to do. The day I got my license in the mail after passing my state exams, everything started to feel real. But instead of feeling ready, I felt curious — curious about all that I didn’t know yet. That curiosity became the fuel for everything that came next. Read more>>

Thom Kerr

For me, it wasn’t a business plan on paper — it was a creative calling. I started out as a child performer growing up in Australia, obsessed with fantasy, storytelling, and bold visual aesthetics. At university the turning point came when I realized I could merge those passions into image-making — creating visual worlds that weren’t just beautiful, but cinematic and narrative-driven. Photography became my portal. Read more>>

Reise Pomroy

Just like in many cases—when a door closes, it opens another one with opportunity. That was exactly what happened with my business. A week before I turned 30, right in the middle of 2020, with a daughter on the way, I was laid off from my job in the oil and gas industry. It could’ve felt like a dead end—but instead, I took it as the start of something new. Read more>>

Victoria Beers

My name is Victoria, owner of Tootsy’s Footsies, Custom Fitted Toe Rings and Permanent Jewelry.
Starting the business was a bumpy process and, also an exhilarating one, to think I was actually doing it. Obviously the first step was coming up with a product, the ultimate quest for any entrepreneur. After a horrible night at my job as a server, I sat outside by the dumpster crying, thinking, “What am I going to do to get out of this?” My dad told me the way to freedom and success is to start your own business and that is what I was going to do! I knew what my product was that very night, Custom Fitted Toe Rings! I knew it would be a success and that was the path I needed to take. Read more>>

Marvin “DJ MARV GO HARD” Ekpenyong

Well the start of my actual business came about when me and a long time friend decided to come together and create an idea for a company that would help artists, models, dancers and other creatives sharpen their talents as a team. We got a job at McDonald’s together and would talk about what we wanted to do while we were there working. So the first thing we decided to do was save up and start going half on DJ equipment and photography equipment. At the time, I was the DJ and he was the videographer/photographer. Read more>>

Kristin Adkins

After 7.5 years at a job where I wore just about every hat imaginable—marketing, event planning, membership, design—you name it, I was burned out. I worked for a national organization that taught college students sales and marketing skills through conferences and competitions. It was work I cared about, but I knew deep down I wanted to build something of my own. Read more>>

Katrina Kelley

Cigar Bella started with a single, bold idea: to create luxury **cigar rolling experiences** that felt intentional, elegant, and truly unforgettable—especially coming from a woman in a traditionally male-dominated space.

It all began after I attended a high-end event where a cigar roller was present, but the experience felt disconnected—almost like an afterthought. That moment sparked something in me. I remember going home, grabbing a notebook, and sketching out a vision: a brand that would bring artistry, interaction, and elegance to **live cigar rolling** in a way people hadn’t seen before. Read more>>

Christie Colvin

Before I started my photography business, I did years and years of self taught training, conventions and workshops, and hiring of a master photographer to help me learn my lighting system in my space and how to execute different lighting techniques and find my style. After that I began photographing family and friends, and then initiating model calls to get more practice with people I didn’t already know and work with a range of children personalities and behaviors. Read more>>

Christine Ross

We actually started with the Champions baseball team — just a local league for kids with disabilities to have their moment on the field. That first game was emotional. Seeing the kids light up, the families feel seen — it hit me that this needed to be more than just one season. That was the moment the idea for Aid Another really came to life. Read more>>

Taylor Shiff

She came to me first as a whisper—my daughter. A quiet, sacred knowing that life was about to change in the most extraordinary way.

When I learned I was pregnant, I felt a deep stirring in my soul. Not just the joy of motherhood, but a call to become more. To be more. I wanted my daughter to grow up knowing that her mother was brave—that I dared to follow my heart, no matter how uncertain the path. Read more>>

David Lieder

The path from idea to execution for Lieder’s began with a dream. I’d always imagined opening a Shabbat takeout restaurant—a place where people could get traditional foods without the weekly cooking burden. Growing up in a family with 14 children plus my parents, I cherished helping my mother prepare our Shabbat meals, especially making the chicken dishes. That connection to Shabbat food preparation planted the seed for what would later become my business. Read more>>

Brittney Holmes

Photography has been a driving force in my life, shaping both my personal passions and professional pursuits from an early age. During my undergraduate years, I explored event photography—capturing live performances and conducting artist interviews for two publications between 2009 and 2012. Following this period, I committed myself fully to the study and practice of architecture. Read more>>

James Finney

It was my senior year in college, and I needed to do a final project to complete my degree in Studio Production Digital Film-Making. I was thinking of doing a documentary on leadership, with a focus on the similarities and differences between two profound leaders: Martin Luther King Jr. and Hitler. I know, the controversy, right? At the time, my future wife, Keziah Davis, who is now Keziah Finney, thought it best for me to do a math-related video instead. Seeing as how math class was always an archenemy of mine, I had no immediate desire to partake in a production of this magnitude. However, against my better judgment, I said to her, “If I am going to do a math video, it has to be funny.” So that is what we did.  Read more>>

Samitheus Savinon

I started SevenEightSet LLC as an online resume. I designed it as a blog by a girl from New York City. My dream was to use it as an outlet of expression for my inner child who dreamed of making the world feel felt and found through content. As a young girl, I imagined creating humorous commercials and pitching product ideas to major corporations. My original vision board was a poster board taped to a wall next to my childhood bedroom window. I would write down big and small ideas using different colored Crayola markers and circling them with clouds, representing the various industries the ideas would help. Read more>>

Melodie Truchi

I grew up as a competitive dancer, and one thing I noticed early on was how limited the options were for continuing dance after high school — especially if you didn’t want to drive all the way to LA. That gap stuck with me. Then, during COVID while I was in college, a studio in Westlake built an outdoor dance floor, and I started renting space from them. Read more>>

Damaris Ryland

The idea for IGS.WEAR wasn’t something I rushed into—it was a vision that developed over three years. For a long time, I felt this urge to create something that reflected confidence, sensuality, and authenticity—something deeper than just clothing. IGS.WEAR, my luxury underwear brand, was born out of countless late nights spent thinking, praying, and writing in journals. I would jot down names, sketch designs, brainstorm taglines, and dream about how I wanted people to feel wearing my products. Read more>>

Camille Tai

As a creative, I’ve always enjoyed writing poetry and short stories— that was my escape from stress. It was in April of 2024 that I first had the idea of creating a platform for others like myself. As one of the editors-in-chief of my school’s yearbook and a former staffer for the literary magazine, I had an idea of how to carry out such a project. The first part was establishing a presence on social media, particularly on Instagram, which to this day is still our main platform for announcements and communication. Having used Canva before, it was easy to design a post to launch the establishment of the magazine. Read more>>

Claudia M.

The period from when the idea was conceived to when it was executed has been one of the most exciting and challenging times of my life. The first step was to secure the funds to implement the business plan. Once the funds were available, the next step was to shop around for the food trailer and all the equipment and utensils needed to operate the kitchen. Once these multiple purchases were made and received, looking for a place to rent and establishing the trailer´s fixed location followed. Parallel to this, the creation of the menu was paramount and very enjoyable as it was during this period that all of the passion for cooking and making use of generational family recipes came to a long awaited fruition. Read more>>

Amy Chieng-Moy

When I began planning my wedding in 2024, finding the right photographer and videographer was one of my top priorities. Photos have always held deep meaning for me and I wanted someone who could capture every emotion and moment with authenticity and care. As I started researching vendors, I was surprised by how expensive the services were (rightfully so, given the skill and effort involved). Half-jokingly, I said to myself, “Maybe I should just become a wedding photographer.” Read more>>

Matthew Prater

When I was in high school, my junior year, I found a “healthy cheesecake” recipe in a magazine. I took the base of that recipe and created my own recipe for a cheesecake. Once I had it down, as cheesecakes can be a little tricky, I decided to make a little extra money, I would bake cheesecakes for people for the Holidays. The response was wonderful. Looking back, I remember being a little stressed with an overwhelming amount of cheesecake orders! But in reality, it was likely maybe 10 orders for cheesecake. Although it would take 10 years later for the bakery to begin, this was the groundwork, a little cheesecake recipe. Read more>>

BROOKE BALLARD

Janey Bee Jems stems from a pipe dream of a younger me with a desire and aching need to work in the fashion industry; it has taken a lot of long nights to get to where I am. My story is long, as most are, so l’II keep it short. In May 2015, I decided to trash the idea that the only viable path of life for me was the medical field and, in turn, it was like I opened Pandora’s box! Janey Bee Jems started as a tassel necklace in my parents kitchen, and now I’ve worked with over 60 retailers nationwide. My most recent collaboration was with Anthropologie. I designed and wholesaled a collection with them, and it sold out very quickly! Read more>>

Liz Menches

Well, I had always wanted to work for myself. As my partner at the time told me “You have too strong a character to keep working for someone else. Why don’t you start your own company?” I replied that I couldn’t possibly do that – lack of security etc. Read more>>

Misty Kerrigan

From Mental Health to Meaningful Business: The Unexpected Spark That Launched My Company. After spending 15 years in the children’s mental health industry, I had built a reputation for designing programs that delivered high engagement and meaningful outcomes. My passion had always been helping people change their lives—but over time, I began to wonder how I could bring that same level of transformation into the business world. I didn’t have a clear roadmap, just a curiosity about what could happen if I combined psychology, behavior change, and entrepreneurship. Read more>>

Peter Davies

My partner Aaron Ellis and I didn’t plan on starting a business. We planned on just…surviving Baltimore.

We both grew up hustling in the west side low rises – legally, mostly – juggling side gigs and dodging dead-end jobs. One night, while screen-printing custom tees in Aaron’s Marcy Projects garage for a cousin’s birthday, I slapped a design on the table: a cartoon of a man in a trench coat with the words “You Come at the King…” beneath it. Aaron grinned. “That’s hard,” I clearly remember him saying. We printed five more and sold them out in two hours. Read more>> 

Erica Bravo

From a young age, I knew I wanted two things: to be my own boss and to help people feel beautiful. I never imagined that journey would lead me to not just one, but two creative and deeply rewarding businesses—photography and permanent makeup. Read more>>

Raymond Hooker

Honestly, it all started with a sense of lack of fulfillment. We had built a successful landscaping and pest control business from the ground up, but after 14 years of grinding, we realized we weren’t fulfilled. We were tired—physically and mentally—and needed a change that aligned more with our passions and creativity. That’s when the idea of starting a distillery took root from a hobby. Read more>>

Sebastian Rojas

Since I was a child, I always knew I wanted to study art. I was that kid in class who was always drawing, constantly creating. So when the time came, I followed my passion and chose to pursue a career in the arts—something that isn’t always seen as a secure path, especially by traditional standards or by parents who might prefer more “stable” careers. But for me, what truly matters is believing in yourself and loving what you do. Read more>>

JaNyah Meadows

I’ve been doing makeup since I could remember, my mom would buy me little makeup kits from cvs or rite aide and I’d just sit in front of my computer and record myself doing my makeup for hours. Eventually at age 10 my mom would let audition for barbizon, a modeling, acting and beauty agency that taught us young girls how to walk in heels, do our makeup but just enough to enhance our beauty not all that crazy stuff, and pin up our hair. I enjoyed my time there but I knew it wasn’t completely for me, I wanted to go big or go home. I started doing sfx and editorial makeup at home using tissue, glue, fake blood from the dollar store and drug store makeup. Read more>>

PatZi Gil
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I am a reader. That’s a good thing since my job is to review books. Over a decade ago I created and became the host of a syndicated radio program to promote authors. I’m also a screenwriter, columnist, editor, and writing coach all rolled into one. The written word is my joy, which I used to define my program. The idea came like a flash. Read more>>