Coming up with an idea for a business or creative project can feel exhilarating. Inspiration for a new idea can come from so many places and we’ve asked some great folks from the community to share their stories of how they came up with their ideas.

Giulia Dal Cerro

Four years ago, I moved from Florence, Italy to New York with my young family due to my husband’s job opportunity. We saw it as a wonderful chance to grow as a family, immerse ourselves in a new culture, and learn the language. At first, my focus was on settling in and helping the kids adjust to their new schools and surroundings. But over time, I began to ask myself, ‘What about me?’ Back in Italy, I worked as a pharmacist, but after moving to the U.S., my long-standing passion for home decor and interior design resurfaced and started to take hold. Read more>>

Julia Saulė Goodman

I’ve always had a passion for vintage things, especially vintage jewelry. Growing up, I was taught by my mother and grandmother to make the most out of what we had. They showed me how to give forgotten things a new life, whether it was through up-cycling, repurposing, or simply treasuring the craftsmanship of older objects. This mindset of sustainability and creativity has stayed with me, and it’s a core principle with how I live and is present in my work today. I am a collector of old precious things, especially jewelry, ever since I was a child. These little trinkets hold a lot of sentimental value to me. As I got older I got into maximalism and started to wear and layer the pieces I collected. I’d struggle with the chains getting tangled or getting everything to layer evenly. So, I got some basic tools and decided to create my first charm necklace, combining various pendants onto a single chunky chain. Read more>>

Luis Gerardo Romero

Scala started with a simple idea: why not do what we love, but together? Before Scala, the three of us—Luis Romero, Eduardo Brito, and Litzy Koga—were all working on creative projects like videos, websites, and branding, mostly helping out friends who were also business owners. We didn’t think much of it at first; we just wanted to support people we cared about. Read more>>

Kristjan Lacroix

The idea for deuXros came from a deep frustration with the lack of connection and meaning in what I wore. Fashion often felt hollow—filled with brands that didn’t represent who I was or what I stood for. I wanted something bold, authentic, and purposeful.

I discovered golf in late 2021, but it wasn’t until after my return from deployment in 2022 that it became something deeper. Golf transformed from a casual outlet into a tool for growth and resilience—a place where I could reflect, reset, and rebuild. It taught me patience, discipline, and how to stay present. But when I looked at golf fashion, I noticed a gap. Read more>>

Kelyne Noel Andrey Etu

We came up with the idea for PULSE by reflecting on our shared love for culture, music, and community, as well as our experiences hosting large events as well as smaller gatherings at home. We realized that every event we had been part of was more than just a party—it was a way to bring people together, celebrate our heritage, and create lasting relationships. Read more>>

Joann Domenech

It was during my maternity leave that I thought about creating Pure Picnics. While I was at home with my baby I knew that wanted to start a business where I can make others happy, that will make me feel like I’m doing something that truly means something to someone. I genuinely have always been driven to make others happy or be able to assist in that so I started thinking what that would look like. At the time we lived in central NJ and we were in the process of moving closer to the Jersey shore and so I thought who wouldn’t love a picnic at the beach, I know I would love it, and it clicked! I wanted to start creating picnics! Surprisingly there was nothing of this sort around the Jersey shore or at least none that I found. Read more>>

Misty Woody

Good Hair Boutique LLC is a supplier of natural hair care and protective products for ethnic hair; an incubator salon for at-home hair stylists to expand their hair braiding and wig install businesses and skills, and a learning lab for those who desire to learn how to care for ethnic hair. Good Hair Boutique is a solution to bring products and training for learning about ethnic hair in a majority white community with little access to public transportation and minimal healthy options for hair care in nearby stores. Good Hair Boutique is designed around the belief that natural hair is “good hair” and access to products, business opportunities and social networks can help hair take lives to the next level. Read more>>

Paul Frushour

I have always been fascinated with the idea of working for myself, building my dream and not busting my butt to make somebody else rich.

During COVID, I really dove into loose leaf tea, and my cabinet of whiskey, and this continued into 2021. It was in May of 2021, my son now 5 years old and my newborn daughter, almost 8 months old, that I decided it was time to put down the whiskey, the scotch and the beer. Giving up whiskey was a big life change for me. Whiskey wasn’t part of my identity, but I had built a ritual around the spirit. I needed to fill this void. Read more>>