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.

Philip Pienkos

A big part of my job at NREL was to develop multiproduct biorefinery concepts for algae biomass. We were interested in algae for biofuels but the economics just don’t work. It was frustrating because the DOE didn’t show much interest in any of the potential bioproducts that we looked at. Then one day at a conference, a colleague from San Diego who was an avid surfer, showed up with two surfboards. They were made from polyurethane produced from algae oil. These captured great interest among the attendees and great envy from many of us who wanted to be cool too. Read more>>

Rian Feldman

After realizing that arbitrarily exploiting non-human animals based on their species was unethical and immoral, I devoted myself to veganism and began educating others about animal rights and the plight of farmed animals in the food system. I had adopted a pitbull named Uncle Neil, another animal exploited based on outward appearance, and nursed him back to health after he was found in an abandoned backyard in horrible shape. During that time, it was impossible not to think about the countless other animals who needed love and protection, just as much as Uncle Neil did. I became inspired to take the unconditional love that I have for Neil and spread it to other animals in need. Read more>>

Damon Oliver

PulseCheck Corazón, was created organically. It’s a combination of who I am as a person, my circumstances, my life, and being an essential worker. I wear my heart on my sleeve. My upbringing is thanks to my mom, dad, and granny for the fact that my heart is in the right spot. Being an STNA, on a daily, I display empathy, and sympathy. Losing my big brother at the age of 15 had the biggest influence. The late great Jeshawn K R Johnson, a boxer from Cincinnati Ohio who is known for the pedigree of historical boxers. Soon to be professional he tragically lost his life to gun violence, a year before he could show the world his talents in the 2004 Olympics. This scared me pretty good. I developed PTSD from my brother dying unexpectedly, anxiety from him dying at a social gathering, and depression from the totality of my brother’s death in general. Read more>>

Sandy Wall

Growing up between visiting my family in Colima, Mexico, hearing stories about my mom’s childhood, and the food I grew up eating. Their was always a key item in most stories and meals that never stood out to me until 2020, tortillas! During the pandemic, it felt like bread makers were popping up left and right. Whether it was someone experimenting with a Tik Tok recipe or local farmer utilizing their ingredients, it seemed like everyone was making a loaf. As I was on a typical mid-afternoon pandemic neighborhood walk for the third time that day, it made me think about a few things. 1. What was something that I could make from scratch that would feel new and different that I could share with others? and 2. I began to think about how tortillerias weren’t very common in Long Beach, California where I live. Read more>>

Gina Colin

I have spent the last 20 years of my life working in Human Services. More specifically, I’ve been helping moms transition through different seasons of motherhood. I went into business as a life coach for moms because I believe that motherhood is THE most challenging job in the world. I wanted to be a part of the movement that focuses on supporting and empowering moms so they can pass that support and empowerment on to their children, creating a legacy for future generations. When the world was on lockdown during the pandemic, moms were faced with many new challenges. Good mental health and self-care were never more essential in order to maintain balance and positivity in the home. The need for moral support increased amongst our entire population, especially for moms. Read more>>

Brian & Lindsay Schlick

Our business has evolved over the years, not necessarily when it comes to our Core Values, but when it comes to the types of clients we serve. We love working with small to medium sized businesses to help them succeed with their visual marketing online. For over a decade, we’ve been working with our clients and community to create high-quality photography and video content and with that, we would also give them advice on how to use their new visual content to maximize their marketing power. Read more>>

SHELLY MULLIN

Coming up with the idea for my business was pretty simple. I decided I wanted to focus on my talents and help others while combining my three passions in this life, graphic/web design, photography and dogs. Having served in the Marines and holding numerous corporate jobs over the years, money became less important and the desire to help others took precedence. Waking up and doing what you love everyday should be something everyone gets to do. I was determined to make that a reality and did. For me, you can’t associate money with the level of happiness and purpose I get to feel every day. I always had a feeling I would succeed mostly because of my work ethic and that I firmly believed when you pour your heart and soul into what you love, the money will follow. Read more>>

Leslie Rodriguez

I was a new Mom, taking care of a newborn, recovering from childbirth, and lost about how to help my body recover. Having worked as a trainer for many years, exercise during the early postpartum season was brand new to me. After giving birth, my body no longer felt the same, the workouts that once felt great no longer did and I was struggling. I remember going for walks the first few weeks and just waiting for the six week mark so I could get clearance to return to exercise. After getting cleared by my doctor to resume exercise, my first activity was to go for a light jog. Feeling excited about getting back into it, just a few minutes into my jog I felt this heaviness in my pelvic floor, my hips felt off, my core was weak and after one loop around the block I walked back home. Read more>>

Evans Mutavi

My name is Evans Mutavi, founder and CEO of MutAfrique Minerals Ltd headquartered in Nairobi Kenya. I am result driven pragmatic leader passionate about innovations and positive changes. Growing up, have always wanted to be someone in the society who can inspire young people in Africa and across the world. This started all the way back when I was in University 2016 where I got opportunity to work with different embassies in Nairobi and international organizations like UN, International Human Rights Commission Geneva Switzerland amongst others where I got to interact and network with different people from different professional backgrounds. All up to where I am is the power of networking.

Shivani Mehrotra

Vismaya is a brand of women accessories and was founded by sister – brother duo. It is a brand which was passed on from our grandfather to father and now to the two children as family legacy. Family owned and operated, it is a brand that means “wonder of life”. With that in mind, we wanted to create something that was beautiful and wonderful and also evergreen. The family legacy which was a gift to my brother and myself was the best asset we had and inspired us to take the brand from one level to the other. Read more>>

Mike Yapps

I’ve always created art ever since I was little. I had a great art teacher through high school who always encouraged me. I went onto college, Maryland Institute, College of Art. I graduated with a bachelors in graphic arts. I started out doing editorial illustration and had a few jobs here and there, but always loved drawing cars and monsters. I loved the lowbrow art and kustom car scene. Artists like EdRoth, Robert Williams and the like. I just wanted to do that more. Be more creative. I decided to switch gears and go back to what I loved to do and always had done, drawing cars and monsters. I came up with the name Kreative Oddities. The “K” is a nod to kustoms and oddities just because I like odd things. Read more>>

Monica Ferrari

The idea for Soul Restoration Pilates was born from my personal journey of self-discovery and my passion for holistic well-being. I was inspired by a deep desire to cultivate meaningful connections and restore the harmony of the mind, body, and soul. My own transformative experiences with Pilates and the profound sense of community it brought into my life ignited the spark for this venture. I firmly believed that Pilates, with its emphasis on strength, flexibility, and mindfulness, possessed the power to heal not just physically, but also emotionally and spiritually. Read more>>

Krista Carter

I started creating gift boxes that are centered around self care, back in 2020 during the height of the pandemic. I was living in New York City and was a relatively new mom at that time. Given that it was such a challenging and stressful time for so many people, I wanted to find a way to bring a bit of joy and relaxation into the lives of women who were managing so many moving parts. I was inspired to create all-natural self care products that were soothing and provided little moments of luxury that could be used in a few minutes for relaxation, especially for mothers. From there, I moved into curating intentional gift boxes as a way for women to pamper themselves and their loved ones, with everything that they’d need all in one box. Read more>>

Jessica Galindo

I came up with the idea of my business a while before I even had a business. I was living in LA attending fashion school (FIDM) and waitressing. I really wanted to be a wardrobe stylist so I made myself business cards and passed them out during my shift. I ended up getting my first client who wanted help getting dressed for the ESPY awards, I shopped with her and we came up with a super cute look. When we put her look together it felt like something was missing… I knew she needed a statement bracelet, like a big, hot pink cuff on one arm to stand out. I remember looking at different shops and couldn’t find this statement piece I could so clearly envision. Read more>>

Kemberley Portis

I was approaching the Big 40 and terrified of what this meant. I had so many questions about chapter 40 and how the world believes a 40 year old women should dress. I had great turmoil over what the world says is age appropriate vs staying true to me! I’ve always loved clothes and making a statement, so when I turned 40, I wanted to make sure that my style was still on point. I looked in my closet and realized that I needed women’s clothing that were flattering for my new mom body but still edgy and stylish enough to maintain my confidence. Whew that was definitely a struggle. I knew that if I experienced this challenge I’m sure others were struggling as well. Read more>>

Natalie Cody

As we progress in the interview I will paint a very clear picture and walk everyone through my career path and entrepreneurial endeavor. You will leave with a clear understanding of why my career journey is so worthwhile to me. As well as how I have tried to make it a blessing to others as well. For now I want to delve deeper into why I choose to share my story and interior design journey in the form of a coffee table book. Let’s go deeper into why I chose to do this. Usually, coffee table books feature mansions, high-end homes, luxury apartments, penthouses, yachts, or places that many of us can’t afford. Read more>>

Gretchen Watson

Back in 2019, my husband and I decided it was time to change directions, so with a job change that allowed us to go remote, we took our family on the road full time. After diving into the full time Rv lifestyle, we began our Instagram account and joined the community of life minded families living their best life on the road. It didn’t take long for me to develop a passion for the online Rv community. I soon realized the opportunity that lay before after 2020 when so many families were considering selling their belongings and going full time on the road. It was during this year, we took a trip out west visiting the National Parks in Utah that I was introduced to the idea of making an income from my social accounts. Read more>>

Ileana Martinez

I started candle making near the end of 2020 as a mindfulness practice. 2020 was an extremely difficult year for everyone, as we were in the middle of a global pandemic and health crisis. At the time, I was also battling the terrifying thought of taking my own life. I won’t go into too much detail about that… One day I woke up and decided I needed a hobby to focus my mind on something other than the thoughts I was having. After thinking about it for maybe 10 minutes and lighting a candle, I thought, “I bet I can make these.” I grabbed a credit card and ordered everything to make about a dozen candles. Read more>>

Haliegh Hayes

Every year, I make a vision board cutting and pasting everything I want in that particular year. A vision board is a collage of images and words representing a person’s wishes or goals, intended to serve as inspiration or motivation. Going into 2019, my mother and I were having a conversation about ” making money in your sleep. Being the fashionista that I am, I came up with the name Haliegh’s Kloset for my online boutique. Starting a business at such a young age you don’t know in particular if your idea will work or not. Read more>>

Christine Evans

I’ve always wanted to have my own brand ever since I was seven years old. I was able to create a six look, 20 piece thesis capsule collection my senior year of college upon graduating Parsons School of Design that I felt really showcased my design ethos and love for Americana inspired fashion. The collection combined my own personal style and love for color, graphics, nostalgia and I integrated hints of political influence into my clothing as well. I love exploring the relationship between fashion design and politics—something I want to continue to investigate in the future. To this day, this capsule collection is the body of work I’m most proud of and truly reflects what my craft is as a designer. I always look back to my thesis for inspiration, in times of creative-block and as my guiding north star—my vision for my brand. Read more>>

Ketonya Bankston

I started modeling mainstream during my college years. After I graduated from Northern Arizona University (NAU), I signed with my first agency and truly began my career as a Professional Model. I noticed sometimes while on set, most makeup artists during that time didn’t know how to work well with my skin tone. My makeup for commercials and magazines was often times too light, too dark or below basic standards for the beauty industry. I noticed that the other models on set who did not have my skin tone looked beautiful and their makeup was near perfection. It was at this point that I took it upon myself to get professionally trained as a professional makeup artist. In 2006, I flew to L.A. where I had the pleasure of being trained by Celebrity MUA Sam Fine. I didn’t realize that it was not only an investment in myself, but for my future business. Read more>>

Aimée Barigian

It all started in the midst of the pandemic during the summer of 2021 when I really needed a new pair of jeans. I put on my mask and went to a big box department store. I had worn the same size jeans for years so my expectation was that the same size would fit me. I decided to try on the same pair of jeans that I have purchased before and to my dismay they didn’t fit me. I tried on pair after pair and nothing fit me. This simple shopping trip turned into a nightmare. After spending an hour in that store, I left completely defeated and in tears. How could the store change their sizing after years of the same size chart? Read more>>

Austin Benz

I always enjoyed cooking, but it’s tough to make a career out of it. I knew I needed branch out and make my own way. The plan was to start with a very approachable comfort food, and go as many directions as we could with it. The grilled cheese sandwich is an awesome vessel for so many styles of cuisine! Read more>>

Lieve Saether

How I came up with the business? Well, it was initially born by the experience of people who pursued me. It became very clear already in my early college days – you know, those days when I was surrounded by friends and neighbors in apartments around my own apartment – that people would ask me for help with their spaces. Friends would come over, see my apartment and immediately ask for my help. I always got questions like: “How do you do that?”, “How do you make this space feel so good?” Read more>> 

LaToya Watkins

The name eymjusme (I’m Jus Me) came to me in 1998 while only in the 6th grade. Long story short, I always felt like I was the lonely kid in school. I could hang with everyone but I’ve always felt I was different. One day while on a break I looked around and realized that I was all alone. I felt this presence come over me (it was literally like a hug from Jesus), I walked back into my classroom and wrote on a piece of paper “eymjusme”. That was my confirmation to embrace my different and be who God created me to be. Fast forward to 2020 I decided to create an apparel company to allow others the opportunity to showcase that they too were embracing who God created them to be. Whenever you see someone wearing “eymjusme apparel” let it be a simple reminder that you are beautiful, you are unique, and to embrace EVERYTHING about YOU, including what makes you different. I wouldn’t say that I was solving a problem that no one else was solving but I would say I was creating a lane where it gave people the confidence to be who they were created to be. Read more>>

Rian-Louis

My friends have been suggesting that I create a podcast for years due to my ability to engage in conversations with people. However, I struggled to execute the idea properly. In early 2020, I was dealing with health issues and was laid off from my job and on top of that a pandemic was happeing. This allowed me to reflect and figure out what I wanted for my podcast. I didn’t want to just talk; I wanted the conversations to be engaging and meaningful. While browsing Twitter, I stumbled upon a group of amazing independent black queer artists, and it immediately clicked. I wanted to create a podcast that focused on black queer creatives and provided them with a platform to speak freely and promote their work. Read more>>

Greg Gerber

When I shut down my business in 2019, I was left without a sense of purpose. Those feelings of uselessness were magnified during the isolation of COVID lockdowns. As a result, I was angry and depressed without any hope for a better life. Fortunately, in 2021, a mentor noticed something was wrong and offered to chat about it. After baring my soul to him, he suggested a lot of people, especially men, feel the same way. They retire or are pushed out of jobs they enjoy and find themselves without purpose. Read more>>

Margaret Jones-Paige

My inspiration for starting Bad Beez was to create something that made all women feel beautiful. I was inspired after struggling for years to find lip products that I felt looked good on me due to my darker skin complexion. The only brands that had colors for my complexion were like Imani, Fashion Fair & shoutout to Mac Cosmetics. At the time, no one was really solving this problem. I wanted something to make all women feel included. I knew it was worthwhile after years of testing and when I first started getting sales. The opportunity to impact so many women’s lives has meant the world to me. My family is also my inspiration. Read more>>