Going from idea to execution isn’t easy. Part of the difficulty is that often there is no playbook to follow and while we can’t offer a playbook either, we wanted to create a space where aspiring entrepreneurs could read the stories of how some very smart, very thoughtful entrepreneurs form the community got started.

Dylan Davino

When I graduated from high school, I went to Uconn to study engineering. This was during the COVID lockdowns, and I never saw campus once. Schooling was all virtual and I quickly became frustrated with this experience. I had high hopes for my classes and the social experience of college. Once the semester started I found out that college was not at all what I hoped it would be. No one had a social life at the time, and the professors linked us Youtube videos and articles to prepare us for exams. Read more>>

Amy Johnson Julie Lawrence

For years we talked about starting a business in home decor. We settled on lighting. Made drawings. And then, panicked. We didn’t have a clue about metalwork, wiring or appropriate UL listings. It was unnerving and we felt like fish out of water cold calling metal manufacturers and foundries trying to convey our idea for a high end, hand crafted piece of lighting. Read more>>

Tiffany Harrison

I’ve always had the dream to open and operate my own gymnastics club. The idea of making it a reality jumped around a lot throughout the past couple of years and finally, this summer, an opportunity opened up to bring it to life. From there, we secured a temporary building, invested in equipment from various sources to get us started, and created our brand name, “Emerald Coast Elite Gymnastics”. Read more>>

Nick Ward

The seeds for our business were planted in Northern Japan. I am a retired Air Force fighter jet mechanic and was stationed at Misawa Air Base in northern Japan from 2016-2019. In a shopping center right out the front gate was a Neapolitan pizza restaurant. My wife, Brittainy and I were not familiar with Neapolitan pizza but were hooked immediately. We ate there so often my wife bought me a Bakers Stone pizza oven. Read more>>

Mark Raymond.

We started by identifying a problem in the disabled community. There was not a community based program centered around continued rehabilitation post outpatient therapy. For people with sever physical disabilities, if they don’t continue exercising they can get a secondary complication and end up back in the hospital. The next step was creating the solution. We set out to open the first community based fitness center for people with disabilities. Read more>>

Desmond Du

#Inception This year, I was given the incredible opportunity to launch my first online video course, “Advanced After Effects: Coding for Motion Design,” on Domestika, the biggest creative community for curated courses and short documentaries. Domestika discovered me through my YouTube channel, NoSleepCreative, which I have been running since late 2019. Our collaboration began in mid-October 2021 when they invited me to produce a course about my work and creative process, taking care of all the workload and cost of filming, editing, and promoting the course. Read more>>

Adam Vernon

It’s amazing how much work is actually involved in launching a company. I really took it slow on this one and went through hundreds of steps of getting the idea for the first product sketched out, eventually built, rebuilt, improved, refined, etc.. Then it’s sourcing issues and sales and marketing and hiring and firing and scaling and financing and so many other steps. No wonder so many small businesses fail. I love it so I’ve been very relisilient and persistent so with a lot of luck and help and unrelenting effort, we’ve been a small success story! Read more>>

Mary Drennen

Truthfully, I’m an entrepreneur by accident. Back in 2012, I was doing freelance recipe development and food styling for various publishing clients. One of the projects I worked on was a Paleo cookbook, which was the diet craze of the time. The author, who I knew quite well, called me up randomly one day and said, “The gym I belong to is looking for a chef to provide healthy, Paleo meal plans to the clients every week. Since you know how to cook the Paleo diet, I recommended you.” Read more>>

Katrina Allen

My company has been on my heart and mind for a decade. As a child, I was surrounded by everyday people that had businesses. At the time, I didn’t understand the extent of how important the foundational aspects of business were developed. My first job was at 14 years old. I worked as a shampoo assistant at Bobby’s Hair Styles in Columbus, GA. During this time, I realized a lot of my internal gifts that I was unaware of prior to me working for Bobby. He was hardworking, a great teacher and allowed me to blossom in my own way. Read more>>

Tiara B

In 2019 I was unfortunately laid off from my corporate role in technology. This than led me into a deep state of anxiety and depression. I knew I was creative, collaborative, analytical and resourceful. I just needed to apply these exact skills to my vision! Read more>>

Spencer Sutlive

It all roots back to high school chemistry class. My teacher had invited a guest to come speak about his career as a biochemical engineer and some of the projects he’d been hired for, one of which was for the United States military. The speaker explained that he and a team of others were tasked with creating a blast-resistant spray that would coat the walls of government buildings and the bottoms of Humvees to protect them from explosives. Rumor had it if you coated an egg in this spray and threw it off a skyscraper, it would bounce. Read more>>

Sebastian Sanders

Back in 2017 before i founded my nonprofit organization “Sanders Hand” i had the idea of doing a simple back to school drive for my local community. At the time i was 20 years old and didn’t know anything about nonprofits i just had a burning desire to give back. I remember sitting inside of my statistics class at University of Texas at San Antonio, on my laptop googling about community work. Read more>>

BreeAnna Johnson.

Going from Idea to Execution for me was a very long and complicated process, but in the end I’m very happy I went listened to my heart and went for it! I started my Business Stickyy Figures when I got diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder in 2020 and could no longer work a “normal” 9-5 job, luckily at the time I was in a position to be able to afford to live normally financially while starting up my business from the ground up because I had a decent savings account and help from family if I needed, so I went ahead and did it! Read more>>

Mary Gerard

I’m not sure if I had the idea or it was thrust upon me! After graduating, I spend most of my career working for two of the largest international interior architectural firms. Although an interior designer, I found myself using my education to communicate for these companies through marketing and business development Corporate – very big on communication, organization and relationship building. After 13 years of 80 hour work weeks, I slowed down enough to marry and start a family. Read more>>

Tasha Castagna

I’ve always loved the way lashes make your whole look come alive. As a child, my mother was a model so I always got to see all the beautiful glamorous women with their stunning makeup and lashes. From that early age on, I was hooked! Read more>>

Rey Romo

I went from working at a restaurant to being a self-taught decluttering coach all in 1 year. There was a time in my life where I lived the same day over and over again: put on my server attire, worked a busy shift, grabbed drinks after with coworkers, got cozy and binged Netflix, and then repeat. Yes, I am grateful for everything I learned from my serving job (and all the great people I met!) but I was unfulfilled with the life I was living. Read more>>

Starr Himmel

I started with a few Facebook posts and then moved to doing a blog each day. after two or three weeks of blog posts, I got some really positive feedback. Then, I committed to writing every day for a year. Soon I considered turning it into a book and was able to publish my first book, Songs in the Morning, the following year. I formed my business, Starrgazers Creations,LLC to handle the book sales with room for expansion going forward. Read more>>

Claudia Gutierrez .

I was working for a corporation staffing agency for 11 years and I wanted to start working part time and go to school part time to eventually use my 11 years of expertise and a associates degree to get a better job opportunity. I started thinking how I can generate some extra income to help my husband with the family expenses so since I love cooking I thought selling something from my small kitchen on the weekends would be a great way to supplement our income while I went to school, Read more>>

Alex Louis-Jacques

I started Lavender Blues because of an idea I had while working as a nanny. While I was working and living in London, England in someone else’s music class, under someone else’s parachute I told myself that this was something I could do. Not just well, I knew I could be one of the best. Read more>>

Laurie Cortez

As with most creatives my love of art, beauty, and photography started at a young age. I was always doing makeovers on friends and family and then taking their photos so naturally I started working as a makeup artist while getting my degree in fashion design. Read more>>

Connie Bauldree

After I had the idea for the Writer’s Block Boxes, I knew that I would need useful products and a great website. I had basic experience in setting up websites, but I had no idea how much of a monster this particular website would be. I’m a stay-at-home mom to a toddler and a teenager so time was limited. For one month straight, I would put the baby to bed around 7pm and then I would spend approximately 4-5 hours each night learning everything I could from themes to plugins to E-commerce. Read more>>

Teresa Baker

I started Brown Boy Brown Girl (BBBG) in 2015 for me and my husband’s three children as a solution to crack the urgent problem facing black children in America. In the wake of social injustice surrounding teens Treyvon Martin and Mike Brown, I wanted to create a new narrative of how black youth were perceived. Read more>>

Nabila Brabez, PhD

My story isn’t your typical business story it was a long time in the making. Once upon a time, about 23 years ago exactly, I had the idea of creating a business that I enjoy and would bring pleasure to people. Indeed, I had a deep passion for scents, I thought they were majestic, literally could be comforting, exciting, relaxing, could make you feel anything and I discovered the world of chemistry and thought, “wow” it would be great to work on something where I could merge both and serve people with that magic that scents bring. Read more>>

Melissa Panszi Riebe

I started my business later in life. I had two masters and a successful career. I felt like something was missing. I was around 45ish when I started dabbling with selling my jewelry, and did a few shows. I remember getting my business account and square, but really still treated it like a hobby. I kept making excuses why I couldn’t do it completely start. I thought everything had to be perfect. Read more>>

Adam Marburger

founded on a Southwest flight headed home from San Francisco in February of 2019. I was working for an older gentleman that didn’t see what I saw. I had been utilizing social media to brand myself and the company that I was representing, and my boss sort of heckled me for it. I knew in my heart that I was on to something as I was gaining massive traction with in bound leads. Read more>>

Kyea Sturkin

Dreams are real, all you have to do is just BELIEVE! (Ashanti), October 11th, 2021, I opened the first cosmetology school in Georgetown, SC, KNK Academy of Cosmetic Arts. Outside of Georgetown High School, there is no other school in this county that offers Cosmetology, Nail Technology, Esthetics, or Instructor Training. Whew, you talk about taking a risk. This journey began August of 2008. Read more>>

Joi Stevens

As long as I can remember I have had a love for animals, especially puppies and dogs. As far back as being 8 or 9 years old I was walking neighborhood dogs to earn extra money. I recall a neighbor having a litter of golden retriever pups, I walked dogs for weeks to save up (with my parents help) to buy one of those pups. The entire process fascinated me, breeding and whelping and raising them, and the thought to someday responsibly breed dogs was cemented into my mind where it remained for over 4 decades, all the while learning with each dog and job in my life. Read more>>

Katie Sportel

I was a stay-at-home mom for over 10 years, spending the majority of my days with our three children. I wasn’t sure what God had in store for me as our kids entered school full-time and honestly felt like I didn’t have a lot to offer in terms of earning money for our family. Read more>>

La’Shea Thomas

I write them down in my notes app. My friends send me crochet related inspo video via instagram dm. My friend sent me a video tutorial on how to make a beach bag. I hesitated to try it at first however, low and behold I was able to complete the entire bag. If she never would have sent the video on a whim I wouldn’t have ever known that I was talented enough to create, crochet, complete ( the three C’s if you will) that beautiful bag all in one sitting. When customers are inspired with a vision I try my best to fulfill that want and make them happy. Read more>>

Adam Lowe

After spending my early career working for other people, I decided to strike out on my own. I know a lot of people wish they had started sooner, but I’m actually glad that I had that time in corporate since it gave me business and management experience under someone else’s guidance before I had to do them for my own company. I still had a few meanderings and missteps before my business took on the shape it has today. Read more>>

Marisha Wallace

Being a mom is no easy task and when you’re left to carry the load, you just learn how to weather the storm and that’s what I did. Starting my first business initially was a side hustle. I was a single mother of three and my money was tight, so I had to figure out a way to bring in additional income to help offset some of my expenses. So I prayed and planned and with God’s help I launched my first business Ree’s Lavish Minks. Read more>>

Shawn Larson

This idea that we did here has been a work in progress for years in the making. Obviously you have to go through some ups and downs and everything happens for a reason. After having an unsuccessful partnership in another venture I chalked it up to a very expensive learning lesson. My current business partner actually used to work as bartenders at Sol Cantina. We always talked about doing a place together. Read more>>

Matt Logan

I always knew I wanted to own my own business. Before I started Made New Home Services, I had been working in the construction industry for several years. Most of my experience had been in residential remodeling but I dabbled in commercial construction for a season as well. Read more>>

Joy Bridge-Huber

So as a single parent I have always ‘made’ some of the things we needed for costumes, dress up, school projects, etc. out of necessity mainly. I have always been a bit artistically inclined but did not have the nerve to pursue as an income but ended up ‘monetizing’ many of my hobbies from sewing to painting furniture, as others always asked to have something similar done. Read more>>

Bill Thomas

When I was in college, I found a pair of World War II khakis at an Army surplus store. They were the best khakis I ever found. At the time, the chino pant category was price driven, not quality. No brand took a craft approach to what was considered a commodity category. No brand had established itself as the best and few consumers had a favorite brand of khakis. I started Bills Khakis from the trunk of my car. Read more>>

Siren Soapbox

Siren Soapbox released their first Episode: Getting to know the Sirens, on November 13, 2020. After more than two years of producing a podcast episode each week, the Sirens look back at how it all started. Read more>>

Steven & Whitney Sains.

Crown Love Beauty Supply was built from an idea, just like all businesses. Beauty supply is not a new concept, it’s been around for decades. It’s an industry with very little diversity in ownership. It’s business that African Americans are over 90% of the consumer rate, yet under 1% ownership. Not only do we not have ownership in an industry that relies on us, but there has also been story after story about mistreatment in these places. Read more>>