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.

Sophie McGrath

I didn’t set out to join the s*x industry. At the time, I was running a thriving PR agency (still am) with incredible clients and a career I genuinely loved. I’m ambitious to a fault—always chasing ideas, building things, doing too much on purpose just to keep my brain occupied. Read more>>

Ian Taylor

After university I decided to take a year off to travel the world. I went to Kilimanjaro the Himalaya’s, Southeast Asia, New Zealand and the US. When I went to Kilimanjaro the tents were leaking, the food was in a bag, there were no chairs, no pacing of group and only 3 of the 12 trekkers made the summit. It was a terrible experience. I also remember less than averages experiences on other excursions I went on. I remember thinking I could do a better job. This was when I decided to start exploring the idea of running a quality adventure travel company. Read more>>

Rakaiah Eutris

I came up with the idea of starting my own business by noticing that the 9 to 5 lifestyle, the mundane lifestyle never resonated with my soul. I come from a family of entrepreneurs, we all create our own way of life and being to support ourselves and our family because we realize that our life is not determined by a day of the week, It is something much more meaningful. Read more>>

Brandi Eatman

It started with a few photo albums in my Grammy’s house that she kept under her bed. I would pull each one out and look at it for hours. Sometimes, I would make up stories about the people in the pictures, and sometimes, I would ask questions. When my mother died, Grammy had more pictures of her than anyone else, so I would steal them and keep them in my room. Pictures of her and my father before I was born. Pictures of her smiling and laughing and a few of the three of us and a few with my sister and our mother. Proof that she has been here, that she loved us and we loved her. Read more>>

Maya Kaspi

I think what’s unique about my vision for the Blueprint Stan Experience is that it wasn’t an idea that came overnight. The idea started when I had no idea I even wanted to start a business. I believe my first idea for my business came to me when I was around 18 years old and I ended up with two extra tickets for a concert. I decided I wanted to give the tickets away instead of trying to sell them. The reactions from the fans that day was a moment I knew in that moment that I wanted to be able to create special memories for fans as much as possible I just didn’t know how to. I started working a dream music industry job and I realized something was still missing. It was my desire to focus solely on creating magic for fans and that’s how the idea for my business was formed. I love the magic of fandom more than anything and I can’t imagine myself doing anything else. Read more>>

Saniya Khalid

I was never a baker, infact im a pharmacy graduate, and with that degree i was looking for further studies options, we have plans but god has different plans for us. Soon after i got married, i was blessed with 2 kids one after the other.. And having 2 kids back to back i never had time to get back to studies and i wanted to spend my time with my husband and kids. Read more>>

Crystle Jones-Bond

Since I was nine years old, I imagined myself as a hairstylist. I didn’t just dream it—I saw it. I’d picture myself styling, creating, running my own salon and spa. Back then, I didn’t know what a vision board was—but I was making them anyway, cutting out images, drawing sketches, and piecing together the life I saw for myself. Read more>>

Kaena Smith

To be honest, I was never a jewelry person before I started Piece of You Permanent Jewelry. Mostly because I disliked the process of putting it on and taking it off every day. I have had arthritis since my 20’s and working clasps was always a struggle for me. When a friend of mine suggested going together to get a permanent bracelet, I had no idea what it was. After learning more about it, I quickly fell in love with the idea of permanent jewelry, what it offered, and the sentiment it can hold. At that time, we had to travel nearly two hours to purchase permanent jewelry, but It wasn’t long until I decided that adding it to my Esthetics salon would be a great idea to bring something so meaningful and fun to the area. Read more>>

Kasandra (Kat)

I have always had an interest in Tarot and anything witchy. I grew up as a child in Tennessee hearing stories of my great grandmother who supported her children making moonshine while engaging in Appalachian witchcraft practices. My mother shared with me stories of the women who followed in the footsteps of my wild great grandmother which inspired me to explore Pagan practice a bit as I got older! Despite all the myths that surrounded Tarot, I built up the courage to pick up my first deck in 2019 and teach myself how to read the beautiful imagery of the cards! As I strengthened my intuition and Tarot reading abilities, I read for my family and friends who told me I had a real knack with Tarot and should consider reading for people as a professional reader! In November 2023, Read more>>

Shannon Dohemann

Made in Marin was created in Summer 2023 when my husband, Carson Dohemann, and I were looking for ways to bring positivity into our lives, as well as find a new hobby that we could work on together. Carson had been injured just a few years prior, resulting in a spinal cord injury and a long road to recovery. Read more>>

Janeth Garcia

It all started out of necessity, really. I was working a regular office job, juggling bills like everyone else, when I realized I needed to bring in extra income. At the same time, I had this creative itch that just wasn’t being scratched in my 9–5. I’ve always loved cooking! I worked as a cook in local restaurants before but I found myself back in the kitchen in a different way: baking cakes! Read more>>

Rick Boxx

My life was changed by a Bank President who actually used the Bible and its principles to run the bank we were hired to turnaround. I was intrigued that the book I learned as a child was being used in practical ways in business. Later after being caught up in a riptide in Hawaii and God miraculously saved me I decided I wanted to learn all I could about the Bible and how it could be used even more for business. I searched for any organizations that were teaching these biblical principles, with very little success. Read more>>

Gabi Sanchez

I’m a lawyer in my home country, Brazil, and I had never thought about becoming a baker—until one day, during a women’s meeting about finances, someone asked me what I planned to do after retirement, since people are living longer these days.

I’ve always had a passion for baking. My mom was never great baker, so I had to learn early on how to bake my own cake if I wanted to eat one. With that retirement question lingering in my mind, I thought about what I loved doing the most: baking bread and cakes—even if, at the time, I had no real technique. That’s when it hit me: “I’ll open a bakery when I retire!” Read more>>

Anna Herrin

Nicole and I always knew we wanted to build something together. We’ve been best friends and workout partners for years, and during the pandemic, we finally had the space to get serious about creating a business.

At first, we started designing sweatpants and robes—products we genuinely loved and wanted to wear—but the deeper we got into the process, the more we realized we were looking for something with more purpose and impact. Read more>>

Rachel Arbuckle

The idea for 2000 Paces Photo Organizing came to me during a moment I’ll never forget. In 2014, wildfires were sweeping through San Diego County, and we had to prepare to evacuate our home. As I rushed to gather our most important things, I realized how scattered our family photos were—some in boxes, some in albums, others in frames. There was no easy way to grab them all, and it left me feeling overwhelmed and unprepared. Read more>>

Tulasi Ognibene

my wife and I have always been passionate about food and feeding people. In 2015 we wanted to turn our passion into a business. So we decided to start devis donuts, an all vegan donut shop filling the vegan donut gap in Long Beach. Everyone in the area needs to drive quite a bit to get there Vegan donut fix. Read more>>

Keyonna Hollingsworth

I always was a lover of beauty products – lip gloss especially. While I was a biology major in college I learned about plenty ingredients and supplements that are healthy for the skin. I quickly learned a of products I grew up and loved using were toxic for me and my community. When COVID hit I unfortunately had to pull myself from school and wondered what were the next steps in my life. I started Lock N’ Key Kosmetics as a brand that will provide healthy, affordable products for me and my friends to use. I got more support than I ever expected and turned it into an actual business! Read more>>

Branda Fan

I grew up traveling with my father, who had a gift for turning every trip into an adventure. He never planned in the conventional sense—no spreadsheets, no endless review scrolling—yet every journey felt perfectly tailored, filled with surprises that became lifelong memories. His mantra was simple: “Life’s beauty awaits those who don’t wait.” Read more>>

Fernanda Rodriguez

The idea of Merengón Colombia was born out of my passion to create a business that shares my Colombian culture with our community in Nashville. As an entrepreneur and passionate about natural and high-quality products, I have always been interested in creating unique and authentic experiences that connect with people. But as a mom of two young children, I also wanted to create something that would allow me to be at home with them and be a role model of determination and passion for my family. Merengón Colombia has given me the opportunity to do exactly that. It allows me to work from home, be present in my children’s important moments, and at the same time, pursue my dream of sharing my culture and passion with the community. Read more>>

Kari Patsy

The idea for Kari’s Create and Paint (KCAP) began during a time of transition in my life. I spent eight years as a stay-at-home mom, pouring my heart into raising my kids while finding joy in painting as a creative outlet. As my youngest child was approaching kindergarten, I started feeling the pull to return to work. My background was in dentistry, so naturally, I explored that option. I even went for an interview at a dental office, but when I walked in, something didn’t feel right. It wasn’t where I was meant to be anymore. That night, I had a vivid dream about opening an art studio in Stillwater, a place where people could gather, create, and unwind. Read more>>

Nate Hester

My idea for a more beautiful America arose from how squalid my college dormitory was, At Rice University, I interned for the incomparable Curator Anne Wilkes Tucker at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in the photography department. We were putting on retrospectives for both Picasso and Rauschenberg; I was also cataloguing the work of Andre Kertesz and Walker Evans. On campus, I had just been the lead student volunteer on a yellow and black, giant balloon installation of the Japanese celebrity artist, Yayoi Kusama. The previous year I had lived in a rural village in France. In short, my eyes were surrounded by and accustomed to exquisite elegance – the gorgeous. So, imagine how discouraged my eyes were when I pulled into the living room of my off-campus housing my senior year – what we called the “rugby house.”  Read more>>

Casey Roberson Trawick

Imagine using a beauty product that you love because its convenient for your lifestyle,
beautiful results and durable.

Then you began to realize this product is impacting you negatively such as irritating the
area of use, develop allergies, or causing pain and damage due to removal process. Read more>>

Richard Borjas

During the pandemic, I was laid off from my dream job—an opportunity that had brought me to Los Angeles. As I faced this unexpected crossroads, I took the time to reassess my life and career. I had always dreamed of starting my own business, but the security of corporate life—steady salary, benefits, and stability—had kept me from taking that leap of faith. However, this challenging experience became the catalyst for change, pushing me to turn my vision into reality. That’s when I founded *Bormont Entertainment*. Read more>>

Courtney Edman

Thr entire inspiration and reason for 2tametheshamE, Inc, is my son. He is now almost 23, and we have been on a journey together for over 20 years of discovering what it means to be neurodivergent and the implications for me as a parent, raising him.

The term neurodivergent is a broad term that incorporates people whose brain functions in a way that is different from what might otherwise be “expected”; Debbie Reber termed the phrase “differently wired” to help describe people who are neurodivergent, and this term includes a broad spectrum of brain differences such as ADHD, autism, dyslexia, giftedness, as well as something known as twice-exceptional which is a term that I didn’t learn until I read it in my son’s neuropsychological evaluation when he was 17. Read more>>

Ibrahim Oduniyi

I came up with the idea while on a youth outreach shift with fellow coworker, James Mullins. Myself along with others had been working a couple of years doing outreach work with the Youth Coordinating Board, an organization that provides informal mentorship for youth throughout Minneapolis. Fortunately the Youth Coordinating Board created space for outreach workers to bring themself to the job in alignment with youth work. For me that meant starting up a program named Hard In The Paint Hoops. The foundation of this program was and still is to provide a safe space for youth to grow through game of basketball in the Twin Cities and surrounding suburbs at no charge to the participant. The unique approach for HITP Hoops to grow was that we worked in middle schools and high schools throughout Minneapolis so getting parents and participants involved was a conversation away. Read more>>

Rachel Blydenburgh

I had always had a dream of owning a salon and barber shop, but was afraid to take the big leap. When my daughter was born, I had the urge to change the world and leave a lasting impact. I had thoughts of changing careers to a job that I perceived had a greater impact. Maybe a school teacher? A police officer? An immigration lawyer? But being an ADHD girlie, the school setting was never my strong suit. It took a bit, but I finally realized that the career I had and loved was more powerful than the world has ever given it credit for, powerful enough to change the world. So I got to work finding a salon space in our little suburban town about 30 minutes out of the city. Read more>>

Muriel Langdon

The story of my creative business began with a love for fashion that has always been deeply rooted in me. I’ve been a creative person for as long as I can remember, and sewing was something I learned at a young age. Fashion, styling, and self-expression through clothing have always been a source of fulfillment for me. As I grew older, this creative drive became more apparent, finding its way into many aspects of my life. Read more>>

Diana Lee

In early 2023, I had just finalized my divorce. I was a newly single mom, navigating a season of deep uncertainty—personally, emotionally, financially. My job felt unstable and soul-sucking. My identity had unraveled. I wasn’t chasing growth or some bold new vision—I just needed to breathe. To survive. To feel like myself again. Read more>>

Mateo Duchier

Tess and I met while traveling through Sri Lanka, both deeply passionate about photography. As we explored new places, we found a unique way to fund our travels…surf photography. Working at stunning surf resorts in remote destinations, we captured unforgettable moments for guests because, really, who wouldn’t want a photo of themselves riding waves on the trip of a lifetime? Read more>>

Kevin Jones

As a young child, I dreamed of having a museum – or at least a place where I could gather all the things I cherished and invite people to come and enjoy them. The notion seemed whimsical at the time, but the realization that I could actually create my own museum did not come until many years later. Read more>>

Apichat Paiboonpanupong

The idea for Aroon Thai Kitchen came from a deep personal desire to share the true flavors of Thai food with the local community in more honest and heartfelt way.

“Aroon” means “dawn” in Thai and to me, it represents a fresh start-a new light in the way people experience Thai cuisine.

I noticed that many Thai restaurants in the U.S. often adjusted flavors to fit expectations, sometimes losing the depth and balance that make Thai food so special. I wanted to change that by creating a space where guests could enjoy bold, authentic Thai flavors made with care and respect for tradition. Read more>>

Jamie Hizer

My husband and myself built a vintage window greenhouse when we moved into our house. I sourced the majority of the materials and we spent 2 months building it. I started filling it with vintage garden items and antiques. A real place of peace. We host baby showers, bridal showers, tea parties, elopements, engagements, family sessions and more. I only bought pieces I truly loved so I didn’t want to get rid of them as the decor changed for the next season. Eventually, I built stock, rented a warehouse, and started renting out pieces. The “side business” continued to grow and my rental business was born. We specialize in vintage and antique rentals for all events. Read more>>

Imani Bordeaux

Like most grand ideas, Jo Phillipe was born from many smaller ones that eventually formed something bigger. I wanted to create a fragrance collection that didn’t yet exist: a reflection of quintessential California luxury expressed through scent. Natural, mood-boosting compositions that feel like a grounding burst of joy with every spritz. Fragrance not just as adornment, but as a tool for presence. Read more>>

Marie-Charlotte Vatelot

Having been a model in my twenties and an avid fashion and style lover, I started selling my clothes to give them a second life. After doing it for many years and taking environmental classes in college, I became passionate about extending the life of garments. Read more>>

Gabriel

CLUBELEVEN started as a passion project, out of the idea of highlighting the untold stories of American Soccer. Back in 2018, my twin brother Pablo and I were just starting University in Maryland, and we found ourselves with a lot of free time the summer before freshman year. Pablo loved writing, and I loved photography, so that year we decided to start a social media page called Peru 18, focusing on Peruvian players who had attended the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Based in the U.S., we soon decided to only focus on those Peruvian players who were currently playing in the American domestic league, Major League Soccer. Read more>>

Susan Sears

The shared space concept was introduced to me by an acquaintance at the time, Suzi Jett, who came up with the idea in 2015 because she wanted to move her children’s clothing business out of her basement. She found a warehouse, recruited enough other small businesses to join her and to get the rent paid, and that is how Gallery 3976, now Local by Design got its start. It wasn’t long until many of those small businesses wanted to try being open to the public in hopes for additional sales, but with no foot traffic, the idea was put on the back burner. Read more>>

Yash Tekriwal

I was one of the co-founders of a business called Radify Labs that was born out of a program from a non-profit that me and a friend ran in college called HackCville (now known as Forge https://joinforge.co/). The idea was that at HackCville, we built an internship program that was an immersive in-person summer experience. We could only have 100 spots in the program because it was limited by the number of businesses we were able to get sold internships with. The idea of the original non-profit program was that we would give students internship placements and course skills that were hot and emerging. Read more>>