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.

Amy Kleinhuizen

The journey to creating Grace Essentials began out of personal need and passion. As someone whose immune system is severely compromised due to Lyme Disease, I have to be incredibly careful with what I choose to consume or put on my body. For me, this isn’t just a lifestyle choice like it was before I became sick, but a matter of true well-being. This health journey I am on has only made me fall more in love with natural remedies and all the benefits they provide. Read more>>

LaShae Hayes

Two months after my baby brother Theron Wallace transitioned to heaven, Christmas 2021. God dropped the name of my ministry Grief Reveals Gifts, LLC in my spirit. When my baby brother passed it was the biggest tragedy I’ve faced in life. I decided to live my life on purpose. My 5th book was published with my husband in honor of my brother and those we’ve lost along life’s journey to impact and heal the Nation titled “From Pieces to Perfect Peace: Overcoming Grief” Read more>>

Nancy Kalu Okoro

Nans K Apparel idea came from a casual date I had with a close friend.We were pondering how what type of business to do but we settled on been a personal shopper for men’s items. He promised to help me get the right suppliers,right contacts and brief me on the business because I had no idea about it. Along the way,we both fell out of the friendship and I felt all hope was lost because I had no idea on the business and I didn’t want to fail at all. Read more>> 

Avery Tate II

Small town kid from Baton Rouge,LA my inspiration started at an early age. Sneaking to watch BET out of curiosity & eagerness to be more connected to doing what I love today. Of course everyone takes their 1st big step of independency when enrolling in college & moving out of home, in which my business was born. Through heavy involvement with my university organizations & community my passion for connecting people through media grew more & more as it became a tool for me to build/grow relationships which were so important towards my progression as a college student. Read more>>

Eugeniia Gul

The genesis of my business idea was a transformative journey that unfolded against the backdrop of my personal evolution and the realization that impactful change doesn’t solely emanate from the realm of politics. This profound realization reshaped my perspective, triggering the birth of an idea that would soon become the cornerstone of my entrepreneurial endeavor. In the early stages, my convictions were staunchly fixed on the belief that the sphere of politics was the exclusive avenue for catalyzing positive global change. Fueled by this belief, I immersed myself in the study of political science at the Master’s level, eager to equip myself with the tools to steer societal transformation. Yet, as time coursed forward, the veil of idealism gradually lifted, exposing the inadequacies of my singular viewpoint. Read more>>

Christine Meredith and Daisy Kwoh

Christine: The way the wine is sold has never made sense to me – the shopping experience is both overwhelming and underwhelming – huge selections without many great options. Whether it’s at a restaurant or retail store, there are so many wines to pick from and so little information is provided to help with the decision. The wine industry has also been flooded with mass-produced wines. The family-owned, small-batch wines have limited outlets are getting harder and harder to find. Read more>>

Janet Elaine Schmidt

In my journey, I uncovered a revelation that would shape the trajectory of my life and career. Driven by an insatiable curiosity, I delved into the realm of epigenetics, intrigued by the idea that our genetic programming might span generations, influencing not just our physical traits but also our beliefs and actions. As I explored this concept, I embarked on a journey of self-discovery, unraveling an underlying money consciousness program that had endured through generations. Read more>>

Mary Mecham

I run the Disability Book Week organization, founded a non-profit, and write young adult novels, many of which are disability inclusive. I first got into inclusive literature because I have a non-verbal daughter with a rare genetic syndrome, complex medical needs, and a Severe Intellectual Disability. While I was reading to her one evening, I thought it would be a fun idea to read a book with her that had a character with an intellectual disability so she could see herself represented in a book. Read more>>

Rachel D’Acquisto

I am a hospitality lifer and consulting is the placeholder for developing my passion as a hard tea brewer. In my career the aspect I love most, is sharing memorable experiences with folks as a bartender. I wanted to expand on that and do it on a larger scale. From behind the bar I could note trends in what people drank and I became obsessed with filling a void in options. Not a beer, not a cocktail, and a-better-for-you option, started my long love affair with spiked tea. I carefully selected ingredients to achieve a favorable drinking experience, that could appeal to a broader base of people than some traditional options. I choose to make something that allowed folks to worry less about calories, sugar content, gluten or being too strong. And so Ray Ray’s Sonoran Spirit Tea was born! Read more>>

Charles BUCK

I always enjoyed working with people and motivating them. As a retired Marine, I once had a lot of opportunities to do this while on active duty. Then, after returning and moving to the corporate world, those opportunities were further apart. I then met my fiancé, and she inspired me to get certified as a speaker and coach through the John Maxwell Leadership program, and things started to move forward from that point. Read more>>

Candace Bell

In 2012, I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, and I turned to the internet to learn how to completely overhaul my life. It takes a lot, and I needed to learn how to cook gluten-free meals for myself. Food blogs saved me because I used their recipes and didn’t have to come up with everything on my own. I ended up falling in love with cooking, and quickly started creating my own recipes. Read more>>

Hayley Wick

Six weeks before my own wedding I was struck by a car when crossing the street in Boston and suffered a traumatic brain injury. Prior to this, I was working as a Vascular Surgery nurse and had just been accepted into Nurse Practitioner school. After my accident, I was left with many physical and cognitive deficits and was unable to work as a nurse for over a year and a half despite all my efforts to get back to my “old self.” Read more>>

Justin Mahy

I am from New Zealand and got the idea for KOPU when I first came to the states. In New Zealand, when you go out to dinner you’re served New Zealand bottled water. In Europe, when you go out to dinner you’re served European bottled water. In America, you go out to dinner and you’re served European bottled water. I was like “Wait a minute?! This is weird”. America this vast, resource-rich country with sprawling mountains and amazing springs. It made no sense that bottled water was being imported from half-way around the world in heavy glass bottles. Read more>>

Grace Andres

I was working remotely as the Chief Revenue Officer of a tech startup based out of New York when we moved from Michigan to Florida. When I started looking for a cleaning service in Florida, I found myself quickly frustrated. It was hard to get someone to call me back, find someone that spoke fluent English, and was reliable. The cleaning service I did hire said they would show up at 9am and sometimes wouldn’t show up till noon. Being on back to back calls, this wasn’t going to work. I had to idea when they were on their way but yet I knew when. my dinner was on the way from doordash. Read more>>

Jessica Roberts

I have always had the dream of opening up my own boutique. The idea started in college with my friend. We would talk about opening up a wedding boutique, but I was going to school for education. I finished my education at Kent State University and then moved down to Columbus and became a special education teacher. Throughout my teaching career, the idea of starting a boutique was still in the back of my mind. The idea changed throughout the years, though. It changed to a women’s boutique and then I settled on children’s clothing. Read more>>