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.

Danni White

I have worked in some form of marketing or advertising for the last ten years — B2B, B2C, B2B2C — and find that most business owners struggle with two primary things: funding and visibility. I didn’t know a ton about the first, but the visibility piece was an area I had grown some expertise as technology and social platforms have evolved. I decided to start my own agency for business owners to know what to do after they have built a good product or service. Read more>>

Tracey Hagen

This experience was created to celebrate women and sharing the stories of women over the ages of 40, 50, 60, 70 & beyond & to start a conversation around the beauty of aging and change the way the world sees & hears mature women by celebrating their wisdom, strength & beauty. Read more>>

Tiana Pistillo

Being a candle maker was never in the plan. I had been working in clinical research until I was laid off during Covid. During this time I also lost my older sister, began graduate school, and became a single mom. My stress was through the roof and was looking for a distraction from how I was feeling. I came across a video about candle making by complete chance. My immediate thought was I could do this! And so I made my first candle….. Read more>>

Selina Yung

Art has always been my refuge, my escape from the world.⁠ Growing up, I wasn’t granted the opportunity to pursue art school, but my passion never wavered. When I moved to Toronto, I started delving into collages during my free moments – late nights and weekends. It became more than just a creative outlet; it became my sanctuary.⁠ ⁠ Read more>>

Dejah Griffith

The idea of The Lean on Me Foundation was not something that dawned on me over night. It actually started out as a tiny little thought that slowly brewed overtime into this beautiful idea in a two year time-span. In 2020, during covid just like everyone else, I too wanted to start my own business but I just didn’t know what I wanted to do. Creatively designing things not my specialty so a clothing line was out of the question. I’m not artistic nor talented so making a product from scratch or learning an artistic skill/hobby was definitely out of the question. Read more>>

Melissa Somma

Our business initially started out as a fun project my husband and I wanted to do together. We were newlyweds and wanted to combine our talents – which were quite different, really – into a single endeavor that tapped into all of the senses. For most of my life, I have studied wellness, healing, and metaphysics: I’ve been a Martial Arts instructor, a Licensed Massage Therapist, a Holistic Healer, and a Psychic Medium. Read more>

Maliyah Ponce

I grew up reading Harpers Bazaar and Instyle as a child. Fashion and Design was my safe space. I have always been creative, and have always loved telling the world who I am. With fashion, I get the best of both worlds! I didnt grow up with a ton of money. I am also a curvy, Biracial Black woman. This industry never cared for people like me. But those challenges made me more obsessed. How can I create a stunning look for less than $50? How can I create an outfit that shows off my curves, instead of hiding them? Read more>>

John Roberts

I had served several years in the US Army in special intelligence units and had acquired particular skills over the years. I had always been an expert marksman professionally and wanted to bring my skills to the civilian market. During the pandemic there was a massive uptick in new firearms owners, particularly in the African American community. There had always been a stigma associated with Black Americans owning firearms and I wanted to change that dynamic. Read more>>

Lisa Alexander

We saw an opportunity to create Wellspring Manor & Spa after visiting multiple “luxury” brand hotel and noting a visible absence of Black culture. As long-time residents of the metropolitan Washington, DC area, we knew that there was an opportunity to meet an unmet need to bridge the gap between culture and luxury, elegance and relaxation. Read more>>

Tasheka Washington

Curvy Girl Dreams Boutique actually started as Curvy Girl Dreams. I wanted a platform that would allow curvy men and women to freely express themselves. My passion for fashion and frustrations surrounding our limited availability of fashionable clothing birthed the boutique. Read more>>

Jake Copeland Aaron Allred

Being longtime friends and musicians, both of us stayed fairly up-to-date on the latest trends with professional guitar gear. We have both always had a passion for professional music and how to achieve top-quality sound. In the last decade, we had both noticed the growing trend of guitar players switching from big and heavy tube amplifiers to devices like the Kemper Profiling Amp, the Line 6 Helix, or more recently, Read more>>

Jennifer Giugliano

Coaches’ Wives Night Out is just that. It provides a wonderful opportunity for coaches’ wives, fiancés, girlfriends, and retired coaches’ wives from all sports to interact with other ladies with similar stories and provide encouragement. A n event full of shopping, raffle prizes, wonderful speakers, and amazing fellowship. Founder & Chair of CWNO, Erica Hardin, wife to Blair Hardin, River Bluff football head coach and athletic director, had a vision when moving to Lexington, SC to bond the ladies in the area. Read more>>

Cody Elles

What feels like an eternity ago, I had been working as a concert promoter/producer for some time. I loved the challenges of getting multiple acts onstage in front of a willing audience. Everything from finding quick fixes for busted gear, to wrangling VIPs and making flyers. Read more>>

Anita Sue Kolman

In 1977, I completed my formal education achieving a Ph.D. in Sociology. For the next 24 years, I engaged in multiple activities using my professional skills to conduct research, teach undergraduates, and evaluate mental health, social service, and educational programs. Although these activities were personally rewarding and financially successful, I became bored and realized that I needed a change. Read more>>

Christina Smith

Amidst the pandemic’s upheaval, I found myself brimming with untapped creativity and a deep desire to take action. Recognizing my own potential, I couldn’t bear the thought of letting my ideas go to waste. Thus, I embarked on the journey of starting my own business, Velvet Apparition, determined to channel my creativity into something tangible and meaningful. Read more>>

TAVIA SHARP

After years working as fashion designer in NYC, my job was no longer fulfilling to me and I was looking to create a business around something more meaningful and impactful. After 15+ years of working in the fashion industry, I was tired of the hustle and grind. I was burnt out. I was done feeling overworked and under valued. My job became all about sales and deadlines. Almost zero creativity. Read more>>

Adjoa Edzie

My journey began at Jam’n 94.5, a popular Boston radio station where I worked as a receptionist. I was constantly asked, “How can I get a DJ for my event?” This sparked an idea, and I proposed creating an in-house DJ service at the station. With the support of the Marketing Director, I brought this vision to life and ran the service for almost five years. Read more>>

Yunqi Zhao

My creative design career emerged from a deep passion for design, initially sparked by the captivating colors and imagery found on labels, shoeboxes, and garments. From a young age, I was drawn to the world of art and began honing my skills in drawing, laying the groundwork for my creative journey. In 2015, I took a definitive step towards pursuing my passion by officially embarking on a career in design. As I furthered my education at SCAD Atlanta, specializing in graphic design and exploring fashion as a second major, my perspective expanded, and new possibilities emerged. Read more>>

Rhonda Jones

In 2004, I went on a cruise and brought back a lot of rum, so I decided to bake a rum cake. A family friend in Philadelphia, who I called Grandma Hagans, always baked rum cake for me. My Mom baked every chance she had and I stayed in the kitchen watching her along with using my EZ Bake Oven. Friends & family suggested I start a business because they loved the cake so much. I officially started the business in 2005 as a hobby. Read more>>

Mona Mudd

It all started with a medical bill. Around 2015, my daughter Maggie got her arm caught on a handrail partition at the airport in Providence, Rhode Island. She managed toge ther hand unstuck, but when she went to step toward me she fainted. Something about white blood cells rushing to the location of her now fractured wrist. She quickly came to, but the ambulance was called. Read more>>

Danielle Wiley

Once upon a time, my dream was to own a fitness studio. But not just any studio. A studio where people felt welcomed exactly as they are. A place free of judgement, pressure, and unrealistic expectations. A studio where anyone could experience high quality fitness that was accessible, inclusive, and effective. Read more>>

Elizabeth Clark

I come from the social work world but have always been a creative soul and often used my creativity as a stress outlet from the daily mental stress of social work. Eventually I used my creativity to start a part-time business selling my creations. I tried selling my creations online but you really have to have a lot of time to dedicate towards keeping up with it and working a full time social work job it was hard to do that. Then I started looking for store front space to sell my creations. Read more>>

Amy Singleton

When my partner Joseph & I decided to start a marketing agency, we were practically living separate lives. I had been a registered nurse for what seemed like eons, but my own health took that physically demanding job away from me years ago- so I was at home, with much to do about nothing. I felt a calling to serve again, but how? Read more>>

Montressa Hammond

Towards the end of March in 2021, my family suggested celebrating my stroke recovery and commemorating my one-year stroke anniversary with positivity and love. By this time, I had completed over 50 paintings and decided to sell them at my Stroke of Art Showcase and Celebratory Dinner. The event was a success, all the paintings sold, and feedback received was extremely positive. Read more>>

Caley Gunthorpe

I was a collegiate athlete, and after college didn’t want to lose my competitive edge. I started doing bodybuilding competitions and received my personal training certification as well. I started eating a lot of protein and having digestive issues, my coach at the time suggested drinking kombucha to aid in digestion. I didn’t know what it even was but started drinking it 7x a week! I was also a teacher at the time, not making much money and still paying off my college loans so it became quite the expensive habit. I decided to make it myself! Read more>>

Adam Valentine and Nick Hammett

We both had a long conversation one day about how we hate working for other people and we would love to go into business for ourselves. We both have a passion for gaming, including board games, D&D, and card games. We wanted to open a place where our family, friends, and our community could come and join us for a great time doing what we love. Read more>>

Kimberly Capron Gonzalez

So during the COVID lockdown of 2020, I taught myself how to make cold-process soap. There was a big demand for soap because everybody was washing their hands about every five minutes. Learning about all the different oils, herbs, butters, and fragrances really stoked my creativity — the possibilities seemed endless. Read more>>

Patti Monson

In hindsight the idea of niching down to equine photography seems like it should have been a no brainer, but it was actually a process. I grew up with the love for horses and have been a horse owner the majority of my life. Currently my husband and I have three quarter horses that are a huge part of our lives. Read more>>

Ravinder Sharma

I have been a chef for over 20 years. I practiced in India for 10 plus years and then continue to grow in my creative services when I moved to the U.S. I worked in Phoenix, AZ for 8 months. Once we moved to Columbus, I worked with several different Indian restaurants by bringing the original Indian dishes, techniques and flavors. Read more>>

De’Arrial Harley

Hey there! I have recently launched my new online boutique that caters to plus size women! As a plus size woman, I would go in different stores and see such cute outfits but they were never in my size! I used to think in my head “This is so cute! I wish this was in my size!” Read more>>

Pamela Cohen

After getting married, my husband and I moved to Arizona so he could go to school. What I figured would be maybe four to five years turned into more like 15—lots of milestones and special events missed. I sent gifts, trying to make them as personal as possible, all with cards that expressed our love, but could never quite capture my feelings—words were just not enough. Read more>>

Jeff Hitzler

In the fall of 2020 I was doing some online research for something else I was thinking about when I came across nonprofits in the County I live in. I discovered there were about 300 nonprofits in the County where I live in Wisconsin, and I found that amazing and a bit troubling. I say troubling because my Wife and I participate with and support several nonprofits in our area, and after looking into some of the nonprofits, it was astonishing how many I had never heard of. I then wanted to find out how many nonprofits there are in Wisconsin and found out there are about 25,000, and there are about 1.5 million in the United States. Read more>>

ROBERT KINGSBURY

JUST LAST WEEK A CLIENT ASKED ME HOW I COME UP WITH MY FLAVOR IDEAS – WHICH FOR ME ARE ALL VERY PERSONAL IN THAT THE WAY I CREATE IS MOST DEFINITELY BASED ON MY FLAVOR AND TEXTURE PREFERENCES. ONE OF THE ITEMS THEY WERE PURCHASING WAS MY “MOROCCO BAR”, SO I SHARED THE STORY FOR THAT CHOCOLATE BAR. I WAS ON A HIKE IN THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS OF MOROCCO FOLLOWING A TRAIL ALONGSIDE A STREAM OF CRYSTAL CLEAR GLACIER WATER. Read more>>

Matthew Cahill

We partner with businesses to identify, analyze and address how bias is impacting their business. We know that bias can destroy business. Unmitigated bias erodes the bottom line for every organization. The question is if or when but where, how and why. This is the evolution of my life’s work. The conceptual models I use provide a common language and framework that empowers employees to tackle tough issues. Read more>>