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.

Christy Kioko

Growing up in Seattle, I always wanted to be a part of a community that loves to create and support one another–whether that’s through music, art, creative visions, events, etc. I started networking around the city when I moved out of my parent’s house in 2021 and realized there was a beautiful community of creatives, yet we were all so scattered. Read more>>

Eliza Hucks

The first step was to convince my older sister, Nancy, that popcorn was a good investment/ idea! One phone call later and she was hooked! We started looking into the idea and after looking at a few popcorn places in the area we landed on Tastebuds Popcorn! We met the owners, Jenn and Jay, and instantly felt at ease with them and we absolutely loved the Popcorn!!! Read more>>

Stefano Pellegrini

My most creative pictures are usually born before being on location. An example is my Moonlanding project. I had the idea of recreate the Moon landing, for this reason I handmade an astronaut suit, and I planned the shooting thinking about a location near me that could fake the moon surface. For this reason I went on Dolomites, where the bare rocky landscape, could close the deal. once there i scouted for the perfect spot that could work in terms of framing, and was positioned in the right way under the milkyway. Read more>>

SkitzoMichigan

Before completing my autobiography “Water from cactus” I did not feel like I have completed enough in my life. But I couldn’t see the forest for the trees. Mike Sheppard who is a good friend of mine and an established author felt I was ready. He pushed me to get this done mad it was the push I needed Read more>>

Spencer Nugent

I’m not the most organized person, and so my journey from corporate America to being independent right before the pandemic in 2019 as a creative I was one that was more emotional than logistical. Even then, I did make some deliverance decisions to create space for myself to breathe and foster my creative, thinking and creative process. Read more>>

Jon Skubis

There are so many people who think that they have a great idea and if only they would have acted on it, they would have been successful. In some cases, that might be correct. One thing more people need to realize is that ideas are like mental flatulence, they come and go, and most of them aren’t anything special. In business it’s the execution of the idea that really matters. Read more>>

Andrew Lloyd Preston

The story behind the mission for Gold Piece Films comes from a personal place of deep appreciation for the art and science of film and what it has done for me. During the pandemic I found that the only way to get to the place in my life where I, as an artist, was to focus on fully creating the art that I’ve always wanted to. In order to do that I have to control my art. Read more>>

Lily Kunning

Haven Herbs and Lily Kunning, Community Herbalist were born from the ashes of Boline Apothecary, a brick-and-mortar herb shop in Columbus, Ohio (that closed November 2017). I was the sole proprietor of the shop, and if you don’t know- running a small independent shop is HARD. Hug an entrepreneur today, because they surely need it. Read more>>

Frisky Hug

It all started with the idea that I wanted to get paid to attend festivals…. for just being myself. What a concept am I right? Get paid to just be yourself? My friends thought that this idea was one of my craziest ones yet and thought I was just talking out of my ass. I would constantly ask myself, “is there any way that I can be paid to go music festivals or at least attend music festivals for free by just providing my presence? Read more>>

Annmarie Andaluz

PHreshBox was an idea that happened around 3 am in my sleep. I remember getting up and decided to try and wash off the restlessness. Next thing you know, “ahha, that’s it!” I thought. That thought was then followed buy a fiery emotion within my spirit. “I am going to make an extraordinary intimate hygiene cleanser” Read more>>

Jose Rodriguez

The first thing I did was started researching, as I needed to gather as much information as possible to start developing what my establishment would look like. I really enjoy the process of building something from scratch, giving it little details that make it unique, that make it one of a kind. I researched all the arcade bars across the country that I could find and I read about their history. Read more>>