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.

Jennifer Collier

When I first had the idea for my business, it was deeply influenced by my over 20 years of nursing experience, including my specialization in labor and delivery, and my two years working at an IV infusion bar. During those two years, I immersed myself in the business, learning the intricacies of the industry and understanding how to deliver high-quality wellness services. This experience, combined with my extensive nursing background, inspired me to create a service that offered a more comprehensive and tailored approach to wellness. Read more>>

Chef Bunny Young

I was an Accountant for 25 years and was actually burned out. I always had a passion for cooking, learning from my grandmothers and aunts, all authentic Creole cooks. Everyone always encouraged me to open a food business but I was comfortable in the 9-5 for the longest. I formed the idea of Crawbabies before Covid as a food truck and then of course, Covid changed everything. I considered the home delivery format after Covid and found that I could sell food from home through the services. It happened one day like an epiphany, I literally quit my job, stepped out on faith with the intention of selling catering pans on the weekend. I created a menu and began selling food on UberEats & DoorDash. I started doing pop-ups at local venues around the city, catering events and created a buzz. Read more>>

Jessica Zunic

When I have an idea in my head I usually set it up on the computer first so I can see if it’s visually appealing and then I just go for it! Read more>>

Jamie Matson

Founder and CEO, Jamie Matson, was born and raised in Arizona. After graduating from grooming school, Jamie and her husband, Bill, and her dad designed her first grooming trailer and she began Fields for Fur Mobile Grooming. After spending years in the mobile, grooming hundreds of pets and putting many miles on the grooming bus, an idea to expand one-on-one grooming without the use of cages to as many pets as possible began to grow. Jamie knew that the attention to detail and compassion she gave at each appointment was what matters the most to her clients, yet it was so hard to find. She also had a strong desire to lead a larger team and create rewarding jobs for others in the community. Read more>>

Lauren Davidson

I was 20 years old in 2019. I went to my mum and told her I wanted to write a book. A children’s book about talking pets. I wasn’t sure how to start, all I knew is that I wanted to write a book, just like my step-dad. I saw him at book events, talking to and signing books for people and I thought, I want to do that. I love children and reading is one of my favourite hobbies. I needed help to get started, that’s for sure. I have special needs and while I’m independent in many things, I need assistance to learn the process. It’s the same for every single entrepreneur on the planet. You need others with expertise to get advice or to do some things to help move you forward. Soon, my vision, Lucy and Her Talkative Pets was born. Since 2019, when my first book was published, I have written a total of six children’s stories. Read more>>

Calrie

I’d been making songs for some time before my ideas ever really materialized into something serious and tangible. I really started to forge my own creative path when I moved to Nashville at 18 for college. At the time I was equal parts hungry and frustrated, and had spent the majority of my younger years waiting for something to happen to me. When I eventually got fed up of that feeling, a decade’s worth of half-baked ideas spilled out of me all at once into my crappy USB microphone. I DIY’ed a full length album in my college dorm room when I was 20 years old and released it on my 21st birthday. That was the first time I’d ever made something I was really proud of, and I felt like I’d finally sufficiently expressed myself on some topics I’d been holding in for ages. Read more>>

Iris Hernandez

My partner John and I have renovated a few homes in our marriage, but we were always underwhelmed by the selection of cabinet hardware at big box retailers and taken aback by how much good quality hardware cost at higher end places. We realized if we ever wanted to get the hardware we wanted at a reasonable price, we would have to source it ourselves. So I started looking for suppliers and pretty quickly I realized we could not only source custom hardware solutions for ourselves, but we could offer it to others at a far better price than some of the most renown brands out there. Read more>>

Lexi Tamburrelli

When I first had the idea to launch my business, it was a culmination of years of passion, experiences, and influences that finally clicked into place. The idea wasn’t something that came out of the blue—it was more like a realization that all the things I loved and had been involved in could come together into something meaningful. The Spark of an Idea: The idea really took shape during my junior year at Arizona State University. I had always been passionate about event planning, and my love for creating memorable experiences had only grown stronger over the years. It was during one of those late-night brainstorming sessions that it hit me: I could combine my love for events with something fresh and innovative. That’s when the idea for a portable photo booth company started to take form. I envisioned it as something versatile, something that could seamlessly fit into various events while adding a layer of fun and excitement. Read more>>

John Newton

I started writing in high school. I loved science fiction, mystery, fantasy, history, and biographies, but something was missing. While I enjoyed them, I eventually realized that none of those books had the world I was searching for. So, I started writing my own stories to fill that niche and quickly discovered I had a challenging journey ahead. After college, I pursued other careers and kept fiction writing as an occasional hobby. Even if I could make a living wage writing, I didn’t have the skill. That changed when I joined Tor Publishing’s Online Writing Workshop—no longer owned by Tor, but still active. Authors critiqued each other’s works, a chapter or short story at a time. Read more>>

Jennifer Redden

My path to success has always been non-linear, and until recently, I realized the breadcrumbs have always been there, leading me to this moment. So, while I have been in business for five years this year, sharing my story with you is a full-circle moment for me Because I can see the markings on the map of a once uncharted journey, and it all seems so clear. How I ended up here from an idea of a better way, to living it.  You see, I always wanted to have my own business, even as a little girl, it was something I talked about. I was always contemplating different ideas for businesses I could own. Read more>>

Anne Breedlove

First, I took the trips and shared the journey via emails. Many readers suggested I write a book about our experiences. I let the idea marinate for 3 years. Then I attended some short, focused writing classes in San Francisco. During the eighth class I had an “ah-ha” moment and knew what my first book would be about and how I would shape it. The first four chapters flew off my fingers. Took a year to write the next twenty. Two more years to get the book published. Read more>>

Andres Cabrera-garcia

The journey from an idea to its execution is a meticulous process where the initial stages often take more time than the final act of creation. Around 70% of the final result comes from preliminary work—sketching, taking photos, making drawings, and studying how other artists have approached similar themes. This stage involves deep research and reflection, ensuring that every element is thoughtfully considered. Read more>>

Joel Daley

After coming up with the idea for a consulting company, it was time to take action. The journey wasn’t easy. First, I had to establish my business as a legal entity. Then, I made a list of friends who I believed would make great partners. With my experience as a director, I understood the importance of having a solid team. Without them, scaling the business would have been nearly impossible. Read more>>

Bryan Hopkins

If you’re going to start your own business then first you have to be fed up with whatever your current situation is. You need big reasons to change that compell you to move forward. That’s how I got started. I always wanted to be a business owner but hadnt had enough reason to spawn a viable idea. Dissatisfaction and pressure tend to generate performance and change for me even if I have to cultivate dissatisfaction with my current situation in an effort to stay hungry and keep moving forward. Read more>>

Markayla Lindsay

From a young age, the idea of entrepreneurship had always captivated me. Growing up, I was inspired by watching my father successfully run his own business, sparking an innate drive within me to one day forge my own path. While I didn’t know exactly what that would entail, I knew the thrill of being my own boss and building something from the ground up was a calling I couldn’t ignore. Interestingly, it was my lifelong love of beauty that ultimately led me to my entrepreneurial endeavor. Read more>>

Reid Ryan

I spent the first 15 years of my career working in territory management and training roles for large professional/retail brands. Through these roles, I had a unique opportunity get a look at the way so many of these businesses managed their operations. I saw which models were successful, which had high employee retention, customer satisfaction and buy in, and conversely, which models were failing. I saw that the ones that placed their value in their people had long standing employees who were happy to be there, and because their people were happy and focused on their jobs, their customers were happy. The experience was a positive one. Read more>>

Caitlyn Mentzel/Makenzie Diffley

Makenzie and Caitlyn started their friendship in a Dick’s Sporting Goods isle about a year prior to launching their podcast. From a simple “hello, do you run?” to the podcast idea coming to fruition in a Home Goods isle, shopping is not a shortage with these two. Essentially they both lead intentional, purposeful lives and wanted to show that adult friendships do not have to be as hard as we make them. By sharing a variety of topics from their lives that relate to so many individuals they wanted to share that by being more intentional we can all start to live more fulfilled lives! From there they have launched the podcast and are going on year three of producing. Read more>>