A dad can’t find a bakery to make a birthday cake that can accommodate his daughter’s allergy-related needs. Two freelancers realize they need a way to organize all of their client contracts and can’t find software that adequately handles their use case. Necessity is often hailed as the mother of innovation – but not all ideas come from necessity. Unfortunately, in our experience, often media coverage of the ideas that powered amazing businesses and projects often stops at a very superficial level. The founders noticed a need and boom – idea. Often the ideation process has a much longer, more complex story and so we’ve asked some entrepreneurs and creatives we admire to go into detail about their ideation stories.

Tina Nale

The idea for Cherryline came to me during a period of reflection on my personal style and a deep desire to merge timeless classics with modern aesthetics. I’ve always been drawn to the effortless cool of trucker hats – they evoke a sense of nostalgia, yet their versatility makes them perfect for today’s fashion-forward crowd. But as much as I loved them, I noticed a gap: most trucker hats on the market were either overly simple or too loud, missing a middle ground where sophistication met individuality. Read more>>

Kenzie Bereal

Back in 2021, I was 7 years old. When we would have family dinners, my mom would tell my siblings and I to go get lemons from the tree in our backyard. I would then be tasked with making the lemonade. GOD showed me how to make the lemonade… wash and cut the lemons, grab the biggest pot we had, and add water and sugar. Overtime, the lemonade recipe GOD showed me was made great with organic ingredients and spring water. Read more>>

Tanisha Bankston

My name is Tanisha Bankston. I am a mother of 3 children. I am from Grenada Mississippi. I am a survivor of rape, molestation, incest, childhood sexual abuse, bullying, grief, domestic violence, and Narcissistic Abuse. I am an author and speaker. I was raped at the age of 5 and not believed. I instantly lost my inner voice and went into a shell that took 27 years to come out of. I was taken from my mom, separated from my siblings and adopted by my aunt. I thought I was protected but was only failed. The broken judicial system failed me. I became a teen mom at the tender ages of 14 and 17. I lost one of my brothers to an accidental drug overdose. Read more>>

George Li

When we started Superhairpieces, our idea came from a genuine desire to solve a real problem in the hair replacement industry. We noticed a gap in the market—many customers were looking for high-quality hairpieces, wigs, and toupees at affordable prices but struggled to find options that offered both quality and value. Our mission was clear: to provide top-tier hair systems and accessories that cater to everyone, from individuals facing hair loss to those simply looking to enhance their style. This idea wasn’t just about products but about creating a brand that people could trust for reliability, comfort, and affordability. Read more>>

Ashlynn Jackson

Shortly after graduating from Howard Community College I started a job at a bakery just as a sales associate. The manager at the bakery needed a cake made but the bakery we worked at didn’t have anymore availability so she asked me if I could do it for her as I had previously made simple, small cakes for family and friends just for fun. I made it and she couldn’t have been happier! Months go by and our cake decorator at the bakery decided to pursue another career and so we were down a cake decorator. Read more>>

Destiny Finn

Finn and Burk was created from the adventures I had out in the Alaskan Wilderness. As I like to joke “apparently too many days spent out in the wilderness leads to big dreams and a clothing store launch.” Because it’s true. When I first came to Alaska I was immediately captivated by its wild spirit and untamed nature. Everything about The Great Land fascinated me. Then when I’d fly down to the lower forty eight and share my stories of the adventures I had in Alaska, people would be equally as excited to hear about them as I was to share them. That’s where the ideas started blooming, creating gear from the adventures I had had out in the Alaskan Wilderness to share that spirit of adventure in every single item with travelers, nomads and everyone in between. Read more>>

Tammy J Cohen

I am a Brand Messaging Consultant in the Gem and Jewelry Industry, the Founder of a women’s business network called Women Beyond the Table and a podcaster. I am most proud of being an author, and this is what I want to focus on for this opportunity. When everything shut down at the beginning of the pandemic, I had the time to take stock of myself. I realized I was not very happy and needed to figure things out. Suddenly, there was all this time to go inside and look into my mindset, and I did not like what I saw. So, I began to immerse myself in programs, coursework, and seminars, learning how the mind is wired and works. I was learning about the effects of thoughts and beliefs. I was learning how much of what we believe comes into being at a very young age. It was a very enlightening time for me. I was reading books written by visionaries and leaders, and I thought I would love to share this knowledge and wisdom with my kids.  Read more>>

Holden Bierman

It was my 6th grade year of middle school, and COVID-19 had just made a boom. At 12, I combined my passion for creating with a desire to make a difference. I saw a gap in the market for stylish, eco-conscious clothing, so I founded Coastal Cool. I wanted to create a brand that didn’t just look good but also aligned with my values of sustainability. I realized my generation was hungry for purpose-driven brands, and I was excited to offer something that combined quality, comfort, and impact. That vision drove me to build a brand that could truly resonate and make a difference. Read more>>

Jude Sharp

Several years ago, I was handed a life-altering diagnosis that forced me to confront a terrifying reality: I was on the brink of becoming diabetic, risking not only my overall health but also the potential loss of my eyesight. My mother had walked this path, living with diabetes and enduring the complications it brought, including the necessity of insulin injections. I knew I didn’t want the same fate. Read more>>

Jake Moore

We saw that people were seeking adventure and fitness as well as an event to showcase their hard work. Obstacle course racing definitely had most of that already. We wanted to add a new or upgraded version of OCR by introducing a warzone and things that only we could provide. We knew that if we added a few things like explosives, gunfire, flamethrowers, and big permanent obstacles, that we would draw adventurous athletes. Due to our permanent and privately owned location in southern Ohio, we can do all of it and give a wild experience. Read more>>

Danielle Rifkin

One day, I was triggered by a friend, and I felt so angry. I knew I didn’t want to direct this anger toward her, but it was bubbling up, fuming within me. I also knew the anger was more about what was happening personally within me rather than about them. In the midst of feeling this intense anger, I started to imagine us having a catfight. I began to growl, hiss, and claw. I made loud sounds to release the rage, and simultaneously, I started laughing. In the midst of expressing so much anger, I felt so much amusement and enjoyment all at once. This was the beginning of How to Play in the Dark. Read more>>

Jose Gonzalez

As my wife, Shani, & I were beginning to explore Oregon’s craft beverage movement, my son said Cider is where it’s at. He was right, we fell in love with Cider. then shortly after my wife said, “too bad there aren’t any with the flavors we grew up with”. I agreed and we went online searching for some to buy, even if we had to pay to ship them. We could not find any across the country and we were a little shocked, the flavors we were looking for are loved globaaly. That is when I turned to her and said, “why don’t we just do it?” Read more>>

Nils Davey

As with much in life it was a complete accident. I accidentally became an experiential creative director by taking on a freelance job through a contact who needed someone to design and implement an event. It just happened to be for Grammy’s week for a 7 day long Mastercard showcase at Tower Records. Pretty big first job. After that experience I ended up working with the same group of people and eventually starting an agency with them. During this time I really learned my chops in experiential dealing with a high volume of work across a lot of ongoing projects. Read more>>

Jessica Osborne

The idea for my business was born out of both passion and a desire to fulfill my God-given purpose. As an educator, I loved teaching physical education and inspiring students to embrace health, discipline, and teamwork. But even in the joy of teaching, I often felt a stirring in my heart—a sense that there was something more for me to accomplish. I knew God had a bigger plan, one that aligned with my purpose and desire to make a greater impact. This realization deepened as I reflected on my own journey of balancing work, personal growth, and relationships, especially within my sorority. I saw how sisterhood empowered women but also recognized the challenges of staying connected while managing daily life. I realized there was a need for tools that combined organization, personal growth, and meaningful connections—tools that would inspire clarity and confidence while building stronger bonds of sisterhood. Read more>>

Lauren Roach

After spending about a year deeply involved in the bookish community, I couldn’t help but notice a troubling pattern: Black and brown creatives were consistently overlooked, their stories passed over in favor of others. The lack of representation and recognition for their work was glaring. When I decided to chase my dream of becoming an author, I worried that my stories might meet the same fate. Read more>>

Brendon Jackson

Atlanta has such a bustling music scene. There’s so much independence and creativity it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. But that bustling makes it big and hard to navigate. I started doing these events at legendary Atlanta record store, Mood’s Music, that I dubbed Waxxed on Waxx. We meet once a month and discuss various legendary artist and some of their greatest albums. It has helped me to meet some great lovers of music, and also other creatives who just love it just as well. Meeting and hearing their stories, learning in my studies, and just watching the changing in the landscape of the music scene, I began to realize that being an independent musician will be where successful artist thrive. Read more>>

Irina Rachow

I clearly remember sitting at my desk in my home office in early 2022. The pandemic was still a global concern, and the world seemed to be trying to find its balance. My two retail boutiques were humming along, though one had recently closed due to flooding. The repair work needed by the shopping center, combined with time constraints, made it impossible to keep the store open. With one store fewer, I figured I’d have a little ‘extra time’ to explore something new. Read more>>

Sai Srikar Hari

Upon completing my undergraduate in 2015 until I started graduate school in 2022, I was absorbed in learning and gaining hands-on experience in various capacities in the Film Industry in Mumbai, India, later on working with NGOs in documentary and journalistic projects around the Southeast Asian region. This allowed me to explore the possibilities and limitations of story-telling within my work inducing a curiosity towards finding a direction and intervention through video, photo and other forms of visual media. While observation and documentation led me towards creating anecdotal work that was deeply inspired by and involved the communities I collaborated with, I soon realized the inherent power dynamics of the camera as a device and the biases of communicating through a visual medium. My practice started shifting towards creating work that can reveal new perspectives of reality in the viewers, instead of memorialising subjects and fixing the image using a singular perspective of the camera. Read more>>

Vinay Mullick

I’ve always been a serial entrepreneur with a deep passion for the sports industry and a knack for identifying opportunities that resonate with fans, athletes, and teams. With over nine years as an athletic director and more than 20 years coaching youth sports, I’ve had a front-row seat to the moments that inspire and unite people through athletics. Read more>>

Alexander Geht

The Story Behind Testa-Seat: A Journey of Empathy, Innovation, and Determination Back in 2015, I found myself at a crossroads. I was in my third year of a Bachelor’s program in Industrial Design, fully immersed in figuring out the kind of designer I wanted to become. At the same time, I was starting to imagine what it might mean to be a parent one day. These two paths converged in an unexpected and deeply emotional way when I began volunteering at children’s rehabilitation hospitals, working with kids with physical disabilities like Cerebral Palsy (CP). Read more>>

Myriam “mylo” Lopez

The concept for Mylofleur Biophilicture originated from my extensive experience in the floral hotel industry, which I began at the age of 16 in Las Vegas. I worked my way up from basic cleaning tasks to processing and eventually designing elaborate floral arrangements. Throughout this journey, I was also pursuing my studies in landscape architecture at UNLV. My fascination with architecture led me to earn a master’s degree in hospitality architecture. Despite my passion, I often faced scrutiny for not having traditional experience in architectural firms, yet I remained committed to my projects and my love for flowers. Read more>>

Alejandro Rodriguez

I came to this country to help the community know, learn and appreciate karate the way I do. I wanted to have a martial arts school and to pass down a tradition that started with my father. Now my son, nieces, and nephew are the third generation. I wanted to be able to teach the way I learned. It took me a while, but a good friend of mine helped me purchase the karate school. Read more>>

Gabe Saldivar

I started my career as welder growing up in weld shop working with my dad. As I got older my creative side started to really started to come to light in my metal work. I always wanted to make custom rings but didn’t want to be that cookie cutter guy who made rings that you see everyday. I was a big fan of skull rings and knew I wanted to get in that field. I took a few classes to learn the basics and that is where it all began. My jewelry isn’t like any other pieces you will find. As for the car customization I have always been into cars from an early age. We stepped up our game by spending some time getting certified by some of the top companies in the US doing color change wrap, high end detailing and high end ceramic coatings. We started doing hand engraving in January 2024 to expand our offerings which has turned out to me a great adventure. Read more>>

Blair Castro

Greetings and Happy New Year! Thank you for the opportunity to highlight my firm, Shook PR, as well as our expanded growth and new projects and endeavors for 2025! I’m beyond excited to tell you about a new aspect of Shook PR’s business —our strategic video and audio partnership with Thomas Jenkins, also known as The Fuzzy Fiddler. Thomas is a professional music concierge, violinist, Louisiana State Champion fiddle player, and a rising TikTok star. Together, we’re combining my expertise in politics, media campaigns, and entertainment business with Thomas’s musical talent and creative artistry to expand our services. Read more>>

Robin Byun

Just a general thought that I had living in America was that Asian food is so expensive. And when I was a college student, I earned $7.25 as I was doing a modeling job in an art class. In order for me to eat a bowl of pho was about $20. I was kind of disturbed by the price because first of all me, myself as an Asian knows that a bowl of noodle doesn’t cost of much to make. Secondly $20 was almost three hours of what I get paid. When I was starting Kups, I was hoping that a lot of people can enjoy Asian food without that much of pressure. Kups’s goal is to give happiness to people in one bowl. Read more>>