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.

JESSICA SANTANDER

This passionate desire to do something on my own within the fashion/beauty industry has been a part of my journey for quite some time, ever since I was a little girl. I can say that my mom and Latina cultural roots profoundly influenced my personal fascination with this world. The big pivotal moment came about after finally landing my digital marketing role after 2 years of job hunting to then feel only numb, disconnected, and unsatisfied. I knew what the answer was but was simply scared to confront the right path that was asking to be created. Read more>>

Jacob DeSio

My “ideas to execution” really has taken decades and is still in progress. When I was a child I remember watching the movie “True Lies” and thinking that I wanted to make movies… However, I was a bit confused about who actually made the movie and I thought the actors had something to do with the creative process, so as I aged I kept a notion that I wanted to be an actor. This was pre-cell phones so I didn’t have the means to make a video but I would play with my legos and GI joes and make up my own movie plots. Throughout the years I was also an avid writer and I would often write down movie plots that I wanted to create in the future. Read more>>

Sonja Wendt

My business is writing, publishing, and marketing a book, which then became, multiple books. The inspiration and passion drove me and continues to drive me through the execution. A local Denver radio host, Dom Testa, had just published his book, so I contacted him for advice. He referred me to a book marketing consultant in the area, Judith Briles, the Book Shepherd. The book needed to be written, edited, illustrations made, and book covers designed. Once that was complete, the question of how and where to publish was next. In parallel and ongoing, Read more>>

Stacy Feinman Megan Harris

We met at a public relations agency in Miami when we were both working for clients in the consumer technology industry. During this time we gained so much valuable information from using the latest databases and software, to writing pitches and interacting with clients and later, when we put in our resignation and told our boss that we were striking out on our own, receiving incredibly valuable information on how to run a business and the steps we needed to take. It’s important to always remember that no matter where you are working or the project you are tasked to do, there are always learnings to take from it. Everything is a stepping stone to get you to the next place in your professional career. Read more>>

Elisabeth Johnson

I launched Pretty Prissy Merch around my birthday in January 2022 and the idea came to me while I was recovering from major surgery (abdominal myomectomy) that I needed to have. For about 11 years, I knew that I had uterine fibroids but I was always nervous about having the surgery because of the recovery time, which is about 4-6 weeks. Unfortunately, one fibroid multiplied to 3 and after my surgery when I woke up, my doctor told me that I had 18 which truly blew my mind. I am a very independent person however when I had my surgery, Read more>>

Kira Goff

As a brand photographer, I often find myself trying to find great, modern, indoor options to do my sessions in. While there are tons of great studios in Denver that I love utilizing, I live in Colorado Springs and knew that once I had my son (a year ago now!) I wouldn’t have the capacity to drive up north nearly as often. Even before that I always wished there were more options available in the Springs for my clients down here and just to be able to stay closer to home. I figured I wasn’t the only one feeling that way, which is where the idea began! I was so excited to fill this need in my community and my industry of fellow photographers, but there were a lot of steps to actually making my rentable studio space a reality! Read more>>

Ronnita Huff

The first it was my husband and I decided to move our family to Houston Texas. My husband and I knew that there would be more opportunities for us and our kids in a big city with nothing but opportunity only thing is we came without a plan we did not have a place to live we did not have anything in place but a job for my husband I was coming from a full clientele with my own salon back in Cleveland Ohio he was coming from his dream job remodeling million dollar homes and we both left it because we knew there was a bigger vision we just did not know what. We just had faith. Read more>>

Dez Brown

Our family farm started with the construction of a chicken coop in late 2017, I had raised chickens before and loved the eggs and having backyard chickens to hang out with. Over the next year our flock grew, we purchased a small herd of cows, and we began talking about building the farm to provide healthy eggs and meat to our friends and community. We started reading books by farmers like Joel Salatain and following and learning from other family farms that were providing pasture-raised products and our devotion to being healthy and sustainable took root. We knew we didn’t want to build a typical commercial farm; Read more>>

Aisha Byrd

My passion for baking dog treats started in 2005 after purchasing my dog Benjamins’ 1st birthday cake. I learned that Benjamin had a very sensitive stomach along with allergies at a very young age. Benjamin developed severe diarrhea and had to receive medication to help his stomach for several days after celebrating his 1st birthday. I began to notice that some treats even irritated his skin causing it to be itchy along with occurrences of diarrhea. I wanted to ensure that I could provide Benjamin the best quality of life so I began to research nutritional information for dogs. Read more>>

Laura Easley

Ideas come naturally to me. I love to daydream and come up with ideas and new possibilities. So this was not my first idea. But it was the first idea I acted on with any intention. Commitment to an idea is the new and challenging part to me. What made this idea different was the realization that many of the things I needed to begin I already had or were fairly cheap to acquire. The timing of this idea made it’s potential for reality tangible as well. It was at a time I was able to step back from my day to day circumstances and evaluate where I was for the first time in a long time. Read more>>

Waverly Lucas

The most important aspect of bringing your ideas and ambitions to a place of realism is your ability to stay focused and set small adaptable goals based on opportunity. It doesn’t mean you shift your goals aimlessly. Having a clear and simple plan will do wonders for your ability to navigate through life’s challenges while pursuing your ambitions. I was at a challenging point when the idea that I could start a dance company confronted me. I had a whirlwind of difficult situations that led me to leave the comforts of dancing with the Dance Theatre of Harlem in New York, where I received the Princess Grace Scholarship. Read more>>

Jeremy Williams

Going from idea to execution is probably the biggest step to starting a business. I think people come up with great ideas everyday, but being able to execute those ideas is what brings those visions to life. My idea was to create a baseball hat that could be dressed up or down and worn for most occasions because I couldn’t find one in stores. Once I decided I was going to start the business I researched as much as I could about the process and steps to starting a business and followed the steps that were common on the websites that I visited. Read more>>