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.

Donald Catchings

In my family, beloved foods are hidden in the back of refrigerators and guarded from hungry eyes. From Papa’s barbecue sauce to Granny’s banana pudding, we take our cherished foods seriously. For Thanksgiving 2023, I prepared a rack of beef ribs with an original seasoning blend that I have used for years on my own food. I hoped my family would enjoy them and, as we do, offer critique. If not, more ribs for me. What I did not expect was the resulting wide-eyed bites of delight and numerous requests for these ribs to be made again for Christmas dinner. Though I was unsatisfied that I was left little in the way of leftovers, I was happy about the thought that I must have something special hidden in my original rub. Read more>>

Laura Willcox

I actually started my business on my 30th birthday, my husband and I had gone on vacation and I decided that I was done working for somebody else and I wanted to really challenge myself and build a business and a brand of my own. There was a lot that I was going to have to do in order to execute really bringing a business together, including trying to balance my full-time job. I never took any kind of business classes in school and I felt like I couldn’t just walk into owning a business blind. I found an online entrepreneurial course and I took that over the course of three weeks and it taught me a lot of the basics about opening a business; the things that I would have to do in order to keep it compliant, how to estimate my costs and profits, and more. Read more>>

Ashleigh Williams

For me, the journey to podcasting or really, wanting to have a talk show, has been in the works since 2016. I’ve always felt like I had a message to share, but honestly, fear held me back. I’d come up with ideas for a podcast or a show, get excited, and then stop. This cycle repeated itself for years. Eventually, I just stopped thinking about it altogether. Read more>>

Angela Hudson

I love everything about wine from the way it looks, smells and taste. But as much as I love wine I love the social aspect of enjoying a great glass of wine with friends just as much.
So in 2017 I decided to open up a Wine tasting bar. I just wanted a small space with a boutique feel to taste wine and sell retail bottles of only Michigan made wine. I wanted people to be able to buy Michigan Made Wine from all over the state just in one location. Read more>>

Mahwash Bhimjee

When I first had the idea for Meadow, I knew there was a real need for soft, comfortable bras designed for women going through changed in their body after surgery and treatment. But having the idea was just the beginning—the real challenge was figuring out how to turn it into a reality.

The first major hurdle was manufacturing. I needed to find a factory that could produce high-quality intimates, but launching during COVID made that even harder. Many manufacturers turned me down because my order quantities were too small. I kept reaching out until finally, a factory I had worked with in the past agreed to take a chance on me. From there, I worked with a technical designer to create prototypes and sent samples to survivors for feedback. Read more>>

Chris Wysong

The idea for Bucket of Bread started as a spark—one of those moments where I thought, this could really be something. But turning an idea into a real, functioning business? That was an entirely different challenge.

From the beginning, I knew I wanted to do it right. I wasn’t going to mix and sell out of my home kitchen—I needed a licensed, commercial space. So, I secured a location, put in the work to renovate it, and made sure it met all the necessary food safety regulations. That meant navigating licensing, inspections, insurance, and everything else that comes with running a legitimate food business. It was a big upfront commitment, but I knew that laying the right foundation was key to long-term success. Read more>>

Maria Segerholm

I’ve loved music and singing for as long as I can remember, and I started writing songs at an early age. I grew up in a small church where I had the opportunity to hone my gifts. I sang a lot in church, in school and other venues. When I was a teenager, I started longing for using my musical gifts to spread the joy, hope and love found in God, to others. I was dreaming about pursuing music professionally, and I felt God spoke to me about a music ministry calling. It’s been a bumpy road though, and it didn’t look anything like I thought it would. Not many doors opened. Sometimes I got my hopes up, just to see them crushed. I wondered what God’s plan for my music was, and for many years my dream felt as far away as ever. Read more>>

Quince Dais

It all started when one day I was in my college dorm and I wanted to find a way that I could express myself and show my mindset without saying words because I am naturally quiet and I don’t really speak.. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I wanted to have a clothing brand. It was just a thought at first then once I finally mentioned my idea and got a lot of positive feedback I knew it was what I had to do. I named it Moneyrush because in this day in life nothing is cheap! My goal is just to push everybody to get where they want to be and are comfortable with themselves. After a couple of designs I did, I finally found the one that I enjoyed the most. One of the shirts I designed gained a lot of attention at my school and everyone started asking me for it. Read more>>

Frank Robertson

The foundation of H.I.M Studios was not laid in a traditional design school or a corporate fashion house. Instead, it emerged from the industrial world of shipfitting/welding, built on the principles of durability, function, and necessity. My journey into fashion began not as a designer but as a manufacturer for a small accessories brand called QUEORK. I worked there until it’s unfortunate closing in late 2021 due to the COVID-19 epidemic. Without a formal fashion degree, my approach has always been unconventional, guided by the principles of applied engineering rather than conventional design techniques. However, my unique background allowed me to see fashion through a different lens—not just as an artistic expression but as a structural and functional necessity. Read more>>

Lillian “grace” Gattis

The idea for my business started after an internship I did for audio engineering. I was one of four women in the entire studio and they didn’t teach me much due to the fact that I was a woman. From that moment on, I wanted to create a media company centered around female creatives. A couple years after that, I moved to Nashville. My new friends here encouraged me to start my business, despite not having a degree. So I took my 2 to 3 years of experience in con creation to the next level. I made a deal with my first client that if they bought my camera, I would give them six months of free social media work and they agreed from that moment on I was taking pictures for artist, shooting content for their upcoming singles, taking family photography as well as creative. Women who create media was born. Read more>>

Kate Finio

Our business was born in the spring of 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when going out into the world, even to the grocery store, was scary. We live in a small, tight knit rural community nestled in the hills between Santa Fe and Albuquerque where the closest full service grocery store is a 30 minute drive away. Limited access to groceries, especially fresh produce, has been a challenge in this area far before 2020, but it was highlighted even more at that time. As a response to this, we organized a weekly pop-up farm stand to connect local farmers and producers with our community. Read more>>

Audrey Keim

I’ve always had a passion for good books. As a former high school English teacher, I’ve seen firsthand the transformative power of literature!
4th and Court Bookshop & Makerspace began as a weekend pop-up of book & vendor sales, with the proceeds donated to charity. In August of 2023, a local entrepreneur and friend of mine had the idea to invite local small business owners who do not have their own store fronts to set up “booths” and sell their products in conjunction with a charity book sale. Read more>>

Sara Jean Potts

We came up with the idea to start Guide & Anchor while I was working as the Director of Motion Design/Animation at The Onion in Chicago and my partner/husband, Joey Potts, was working as a Creative Director at a brewery. We were both working really long hours and giving a lot of energy and creativity to our employers and we thought, if we’re going to work this hard – shouldn’t it be for ourselves? Read more>>

Jess Brickner

Owning a business has been a dream of mine since I was young—I just never knew exactly how I’d get there. But one thing was always clear: I had a passion for crafting, upcycling, thrifting, and turning “one man’s trash” into a true treasure. I loved the thrill of the hunt—finding unique pieces to refresh sustainably or décor to bring new life to my home. Read more>>

Karen Loza

I’ve been a photographer since I was 19 years old. When I got married and moved to a different city, I thought it would be easy to continue doing normal business as a portrait photographer, but it was hard, even though I wasn’t that far from my original city. For a couple of years, I realized that I was not going to be a photographer full-time, and ill just keep doing it for my mental health. I opened a jewelry boutique and I would just stick with it for a couple of years. Read more>>

Chris Reale

The process of going from idea to execution can be a long road. For me, it started when I was a kid. I always had aspirations to be a chef, so, inevitably, as soon as I was old enough to start working, I went straight into the kitchen. As my passion for the business began developing, I started absorbing as much information as possible—not just about positions within the kitchen but about the entire restaurant. I feel like the first step in this process is gaining experience. Ideas are a dime a dozen; it takes knowledge of your targeted demographic and experience within the entire business to confidently enter this field with hopes of success. Read more>>

Ami Jalloh

I always dreamed of being my own boss, but didn’t expect to make it happen while working in public health. The turning point came in 2019 when I went viral sharing travel content and realized I could turn my passion into a business. I initially pursued travel content creation and even launched a travel concierge service, but during the pandemic, I pivoted to social media management as businesses increasingly sought an online presence. Read more>>

Perry Aston

My name is Perry Aston, founder and CEO of CrowdBoost Marketing. I launched CrowdBoost in 2021 because I saw an opportunity to do more—to provide businesses with real, strategic growth beyond just marketing. From the start, it wasn’t just about building a company; it was about being actively engaged in the community and supporting local businesses. Read more>>

Helena Liu

When I started my first business, ExamsPM, I was 22 and I had no idea what I was doing. I was working in project management at IBM and all the senior staff members always told me how valuable PMP certification was for career growth, so I got the certification. During my own certification journey, I saw that the study materials were dense and hard to follow. This was also the start of online learning and there weren’t many online courses at the time on project management. I thought, “There has to be a better way to teach this.” That’s when the idea hit me—I could create an online course to help professionals pass their PMP exam faster and for 10% of what the local colleges were charging for in-person trainings. Read more>>

Shane Wieters

During the beginning of 2023, I found myself golfing more frequently as it was enjoyable, quickly becoming my new passion and hobby, and I also used it for business. I was a Registered Representative and Financial Advisor, a somewhat new career that introduced me to golf.

I originally came up with The Tee Clip as a means to solve a minor inconvenience of a good place to hold tees on me. Since there was no solution online that I could purchase I decided I would make something for myself. Read more>>