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.

Charles Washington

My DJ journey started in 2000 when I got my first turntables as a fresh man in High school. Fast forward to 2016 I had my son and it sparked and ignited an understanding of the direction that I wanted to take my sound. I started to disconnect with the direction music was going on the commercial club side of thing, The club commercial side specifically because it became a job requirement to work with records I didn’t really vibe with. Read more>>

Kariba Jack

The process from going from an idea to execution has always been quite interesting for me. I’ve been told that I hold a treasure chest of ideas and that they come to me naturally. With that being said, I would absolutely have to agree. My brain is hardwired as a creative. I have new ideas floating around all the time and I do think that it’s been a blessing in my business career over the past 14yr. Read more>>

Colin Shepherd

I have been working in the coffee industry for 10 years. At the time of writing this, I am 28 years young, and have spent over 1/3 of my life completely submerging myself into the world of specialty coffee. For most of my journey I have been behind an espresso machine or register chatting up my regulars about their plans for the day, or hyper-obsessing over having the most consistent and clean latte art. Read more>>

Debbie and Donna Lim

Their journey from hardship to hope is a source of inspiration and empowerment for others. The Lim Twins, born to Asian immigrants in Detroit, Michigan, where they faced strict and complex family dynamics. They experienced foster care, homelessness, and other challenges at an early age of 15, but they never gave up on their dreams. This is their story. Read more>>

Jamal Sharp

Going from idea to execution is easier said than done for sure. My business started off as a passion, as most peoples do. By All Means has been a phrase my brother and I indoctrinated at a young age and created a “group” with it. When I reached the business space and decided to start taking photos I named the business By All Means Creations. I did not want to be held into a certain place, yes I take photos, but I do a plethora of other things as well. Read more>>

Ashley Delose

My mom’s love for vintage and thrifting piqued my interest in textiles early on. When rummaging through her closet, I’d get lost in the mix of colors and textures, from stripes to florals, velvet to leather, and sequins to rhinestones. When I received a sewing machine in high school, I realized how much time, effort, and money went into creating clothing from scratch – quite the opposite of my mom’s and her mom’s generation! Read more>>

Dru Davis

It’s funny because when I first started my online business it wasn’t by choice- I had gotten fired from my job and truly had no idea what I was going to do. BUT what I did know… is that there was no way in hell I was going back to working corporate America LOL. I had just graduated college and landed the job I once considered to be a dream. Read more>>

Kaitlin Schreiner

When I was in high school I took my first art class when I was a sophomore, it was required. This was always my favorite class and I looked forward to it every day; We did clay work, drawing, print making, oil pastel work, pencil shading and point perspective (I hated this the most!!). My next year in art class we did our first painting assignment, which was a 24″ x 24″ ceiling tile that we projected a flower onto and then painted them with acrylics for the main hallway in the high school. Read more>>

Kristin Marquet

My journey from ideation to execution was both exhilarating and challenging. It all began with a clear vision and a strong desire to create something impactful. The first step was the conceptualization phase. I thought of creating a boutique branding and PR firm, Marquet Media, which could help lifestyle, beauty, and fashion brands amplify their presence. Read more>>

Ashlie Sutton

The idea of Bayside Service Dogs began in 2016 when I realized my passion for helping others could also include my love for dogs. Service Dogs are the best of both worlds – helping those in need while also working with dogs. While attending college the development phase of Bayside was put on hold, but was always the dream. I graduated in 2020 with a Recreation Therapy degree. Read more>>

Kathy Gills

My inspiration & idea came from my mother, she was a big inspiration for me wanting to have my own boutique. Coming up as a teenager into my early adult years, she had her own boutique for the church women, that she ran from our garage, that was eventually turned into her shop that was called “Ida’s Designs & Accessories. My mother found so much join in selling and connecting with other women, and I can see why, because it was more than jus the money, but she built so many great friendships and relationships through her business. Read more>>

JOE GRASSO

Once a year, for as far back as I can remember, my dad would make his hard espresso for family and friends. I think I was about 14 when I realized the excitement people showed when they knew a batch was on the horizon. He would only make about a dozen bottles or so, and each year people would hope to be on the list, clamoring for a bottle of their own. Obviously I could tell this was something pretty special, but I really didn’t realize just how special it was until I came of drinking age and started clamoring for a bottle myself. Read more>>

John Sanchez

I distinctly recall the pivotal moment when the ideas for Stay Bent began to take shape. It was during a fishing expedition in the heart of the L.A River, surrounded by an intriguing blend of nature. The river featured small islands adorned with lush vegetation, the soothing sound of rapid water flowing downstream, and pockets of water teeming with small largemouth bass and giant carp. Interestingly, this natural haven existed in stark contrast to its urban surroundings – parallel to one of the busiest freeways in Los Angeles, near Dodger Stadium. Read more>>

TK Owens

I was always told that it was smart to have multiple streams of income. Although I had a full-time job making great money, people were still asking me to host weddings and events on the side. I will have people asking me to speak at events and I will host events and participate for free. Therefore, I wanted to become a professional speaker and make a career out of it. The first step I took was researching other speakers. Read more>>

Angela Taylor

It took me a few years to find what I’d call my passion, but writing is it! (My husband would call it my obsession, but never mind him.) In a way, though, you have to be a little obsessed to jump into a dream and swim upstream in a multi-billion-dollar business like romance publishing. Actually writing the books can be magical, but I’m not sure if any independent author is ever prepared for the amount of other “stuff” you have to do in order to succeed. Read more>>

Brad Priest

The concept for my business originated from my wife, who is an amazing photographer. She would come home from photographing weddings and tell me about them – usually beginning with the downlow on the desserts at the reception, and then about other key details like how good the DJ was (or wasn’t). Over time we both began to realize that photo booths were becoming a major trend at weddings, and how it would make a lot of sense for us to run our own photo booth to take advantage of the foot she already had in the door of the world of weddings. Read more>>

Tiffany Green-Hood

In 2017, I decided to move to Atlanta with my boyfriend. There was no planning, no financial preparation, it was pretty much a spur of the moment decision. I had a hard time find a job in my respect field of mental health. The jobs I did find were paying 75 percent less than what I was use to making. I’d already had years of supporting authors in the publishing industry and knew something’s myself about how to self publish your own book. The early pre of 2017, I’d published my first author. Read more>>

David Baxter

My process of going from Idea to execution is a 10yr journey. I was introduced to the idea of starting my own business from my ex wife. She was a serial entrepreneur and she showed me how she turned her ideas into profitable businesses. So one day I mentioned to her about this Valet Trash Service my apartment offered as an amenity. She had never seen a service offered like this and she immediately said that it is something we could do ourselves. Read more>>

Kennedy Fitzgibbon

I’ve had the idea for many years – from working for my TKD teacher at his studio, to partnering with a friend teaching at his Tae Kwon Do club. It has been in the back of my mind. I was never quite sure if I would really go for it. This past summer, a friend asked if I could teach them Tae Kwon Do. I really enjoy training outdoors, so I decided to host a few park classes! Before I realized what I was creating, I had about 6 new people coming to my classes weekly. I soon realized that I had begun a (very small) club of my own. Something I had played with the idea of for so long. Read more>>

Samantha Rei

When I was in high school I decided I wanted to be a fashion designer. I got into fashion in Middle School and my mom had always sewn our fancy clothes and costumes so I had knowledge of construction. The main reason I wanted to make it a career was I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted to wear and I knew people probably also had the same issue. I started my first business when I was 20 and I did most of my advertising on Yahoo message boards and live journals because it was the infancy of the internet being used in that type of way. Read more>>

Minakshi Shekar

In 2016, I had moved to the US from India after I got married as my husband had a project here in Denver, Colorado. One of the first things I noticed was as a 29 year old, I would walk up a flight of stairs and feel completely out of breath! Personally, that’s when I decided to take my own health a little more seriously. But living in the US and working with coaches who weren’t familiar with Indian food or cultural nuances, it made it hard to not think of health as a “diet”. Read more>>

Meschida Philip

Originating from a desire to provide a platform for local creatives, the 12°N, 61°W Grenada Film Festival, also known as the 1261 Film Festival, was born – aimed to cultivate a profound appreciation for Grenadian and Caribbean narratives, celebrating the diversity inherent in global storytelling. Read more>>

Otis Jones

I, a visionary entrepreneur, have always had a passion for media and a desire to create a platform that connects people and communities. It was during a moment of reflection that the idea for Hills Views & Valleys was born. I envisioned a print + digital media company that would showcase the vibrant culture, stories, and businesses of cities across the United States. Read more>>

Mohini Pollock

I taught 3rd grade at a charter school during the 2020-2021 academic year. That academic year was HARD. The doors of our school were closed during the first half of the year, so I taught remotely. This meant trying to engage 30 students at a time via zoom which was developmentally inappropriate…children in elementary school need to move and learn through relationships! Read more>>

Shelley Cleveland

My husband is the artist for Art of the Spirit by night. By day, he has his “real job” as a graphic designer as well. One day, they needed to test a new machine. Rick offered a piece of his art for the sample. They wanted it print on something porous so they grabbed a tile and printed the design. The result was breathtaking! We decided there might be a market for our artwork printed on ceramic tile. Read more>>

Charlotte Oliva

In 2017, I held various roles at a small SEO firm, including operations director, marketing manager, and project manager. The company prioritized profit over client satisfaction, often neglecting to provide personalized solutions for our clients. Recognizing this gap, I began devising a strategy to offer bespoke marketing services to local brands. Read more>>

Rebbecca Bakre

Prior to becoming a life coach, I was a business coach helping clients take their ideas from idea into execution. I did this using a workshop I named, the “Launchpad Workshop.” In this workshop, we assessed your time, community and finances in order to restructure your life in a way that yielded better results. Entrepreneurs left feeling clear on what was inhibiting their confidence and growth and clear steps on how to realign to see more productivity. Read more>>

Cindy Davis

I was working as a vet tech doing what I love the most, caring for animals. I was working the front desk one day and heard a client saying that she was so worried about what to do with her pet while she had to fly out for a business trip. Her pet had an illness that required medications and monitoring. Our vet didn’t offer overnight boarding and she couldn’t find anyone that would be able to help her. Read more>>

Mark Castillo

Going from idea to execution I heard about this event about 7 years ago and couldn’t believe it til I seen it , the thought of having female dancers fight at a gentleman’s club sounded a bit wild and to good to be true.. Once I seen video footage that led me to attend my first Caliente Cage Rage that’s when I knew I wanted a piece of the action . I reached out to a promoter that I knew to get my foot in the door. Read more>>