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.

Damla Yenigun

Atelier Newday didn’t begin as a perfectly mapped business plan, it began as a feeling. The idea came quietly, during a time when I was craving something slower, more tactile, and more human. Read More>>

Ashley Smith

Honestly, it didn’t start as a business plan — it started as pressure. I kept having ideas that didn’t fit neatly into anyone else’s box. Music ideas turned into worlds. Worlds turned into systems. And every time I tried to squeeze that into a traditional role, something felt off. Read More>>

Andrew Darrigo

The idea started back in high school needing to make a few bucks. My best friend and I didn’t want to do what most of our friends were doing, working retail or fast food. We also were not old enough to drive so we had to do something local that we could walk to. Read More>>

Anthony Sisson

In 2019 all I know is I wanted to do something with a camera. It could’ve been anything I just wanted to do something. In high school I did mess around with photography but the passion didn’t hit me until I went Georgia State. Read More>>

Brad Driver

We never intended for Thirteen Adventures to become a business. When we first hit the road in our Airstream, we were just two professionals—a Marine and a Nurse Practitioner—looking to keep our families in the loop. But we quickly realized that while people liked seeing the views, they needed to understand the machines that got us there. Read More>>

Jordan Meinster

The idea for PickUp USA started with frustration. I was playing basketball regularly and realized there was no consistent, professional space for adults to play organized games. Everything was either chaotic pickup or expensive leagues with rigid schedules. I thought: What if there was a better way? A gym built specifically for basketball, where adults could play structured, officiated games in a professional environment. Read More>>

Julia Goolia

When people ask, “How did you actually start? How did you go from idea to execution?” — it’s honestly a loaded question, because in content creation you’re constantly reinventing yourself. Launching never happens just once. It’s idea → execution → repeat, forever. Read More>>

Afroja Khatun

Hey there! I’m Afroja, the founder of NEOMODEST. Growing up, I was always drawn to fashion, but as a teenager, I started to feel disillusioned with the industry. I would flip through magazines and see women being objectified, their bodies used to sell products, and it made me feel like I didn’t fit in. Read More>>

Mark IVERSON

Idahistory started as my friend and co-worker’s idea while we worked together at the City of Boise Parks and Recreation Department. I had graduated from a master’s program in history at Boise State University in 2014 with my MA and began working with the city in 2015, my main task was to manage the administrative side of Boise’s historic cemeteries. Read More>>

Ashley Richards

E Squared Marketing started during one of the most defining seasons of my life. I had just had my babies, and suddenly every part of my identity felt like it was being questioned at once. I was at a crossroads between being a working mom and becoming a stay at home mom. Read More>>

Raynetta Nah

My recent fashion show I did in April 2025 was the Let Them Eat Cake Fashion Show. The original idea of the show was to blend the worlds of The Black Panther Party, the Marie Antoinette era, and African war themes to further discuss the elements of revolution and what it takes to successfully accomplish one. Read More>>

Jodi Slate

I have always loved to cook meals, but I was never really good at baking. I have made some disasters of desserts. A cake that was pretty much liquid in the middle. Another cake that basically slid off itself. Some really crunchy cookies that could break someone’s tooth. So, I just kind of have up on baking and stuck to cooking meals instead. Read More>>

Tim Croll

I have always been a teacher at heart. But I found that I loved the business world and all the adventures that come with entrepreneurship. I studied Youth Development for my BA and then started in on a life that allowed me to experience almost every aspect of the business world. Read More>>

Daniel Maloney

In the very beginning, it was about getting the idea out of our heads and onto the page. We wrote draft after draft letting ourselves create without worrying yet about whether it was perfect or even fully realistic. At that stage, we didn’t have anything to hang our hat on. No track record. No case studies. Just a feeling that there was something there. Read More>>

Earl Hall

How did I actually start? The real start wasn’t some perfect moment. It was frustration. I had just come off a major business loss—and I was sitting with this feeling like, “I’ve got too much experience to not be helping people win.” That was the spark. Read More>>

C. Neil Davenport

The clearest example I can give of taking an idea all the way to execution is the suicide-prevention short film I’m currently co-producing with Todd Smith. It is titled, Giving Séance, and it is written & directed by Madeline Burgin. Read more>>

 Christopher Jones

I started writing my book in 2014 after coming back home from a tour with Prince. I started writing what I thought would be an auto biography then I got a call to move to Atlanta for a work project and I never picked back up writing it. Read More>>

Lauren Kay

As a young girl, my human experience was enriched by spending time in Nature. I felt whole, healthy, curious, and safe while in the woods among the plants & animals. A sense of wonder and a power greater than myself was ever present in the presence of the Wild. Read More>>

Jen Amos

For my first public origin story, I’m thankful to have had my first article, titled “Filipino women sharing and writing their own history,” published by The San Diego Union-Tribune on October 21, 2017, less than a year after starting the TFAW Project. Read More>>