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.

Chiante’ Person

Since I was a young girl I have always had a passion for fashion, I came up with the idea of becoming a boutique owner when I walked into a franchised owned clothing store that only had a small selection of plus size clothing at that moment I knew it was Time for me to start my own plus size women’s boutique to cater to women like me, I bought a flight to LA and sourced vendors in the fashion district and executed my plan. I rented out a small 300 sq ft studio and turned it into my very own store. 3 years later I have a 800 sq ft store. Read more>>

Jeramy Purley

I came up with My idea in 2013,while I was working at Dillards Warehouse.This Clothing Brand called Hurley I seen a lot,I told my coworkers this is my name Remove the H and add a P.So I eventually ended getting a Logo created and ran with it.I started selling Merchandise at Events I threw and the ones I attended.My name spreading quickly in 1 Full Year.I gifted many Celebrities when they came to town definitely had plenty proud moments doing so.My Vision I did it alone & I’m still consistent here in 2023 stronger than ever after facing multiple life changing obstacles,with the help of God I survived it all. Read more>>

Nikki McGregory

Once upon a time, there was a young girl named Nikki, that lived-in inner-city Atlanta, Georgia. Her middle school was offering two trips. Option 1 take the bus to Washington, DC and New York City. Option 2 fly to Acapulco, Mexico. Although, I didn’t know what it meant. I was already a lil bougie, so of course I wanted to go to Mexico, which of course was more expensive. Read more>>

Victoria Mack

I came up with the idea to create Mack Glam-Ish after dealing with soreness and pain after majority of my fitness workouts. The ingredients I used to create both Mack Glam-Ish body scrub and body lotion are completely natural, my family and friends who suffer from pain after workouts and just pain in general on certain parts of their bodys were the first to give Mack Glam-Ish body scrub and lotion a try. My family and friends were amazed at how my product instantly took away soreness and pain, they then told me you have to package this up and make it a business to help other people around the world. Read more>>

Royce Woolridge

Growing up with a passion for basketball, which led me to play in college and professionally in Europe, I experienced a pivotal shift during my time overseas. Europe’s rich cultural tapestry exposed me to a broader perspective on life, highlighting the fusion of art, intellect, and sports. Read more>>

Dr. Linette Montae

My entrepreneurship journey is a story of building authority, profitability, and legacy as a woman of color navigating the nuances of a male-dominated industry. My experiences exposed the distinct contrast between prevalent leadership styles and the underpaid qualities of empathy, emotional intelligence, and collaboration. In a rapidly evolving business world, traditional, Read more>>

Black Girl Unmuted

Lakiesha and I (Kiona) were college roommates that always had a goal to create something for black women that would get us recognized on the annual show we watched together in college called Black Girls Rock. We never knew what the idea would be, but we knew that we wanted it to be impactful and bring awareness to our community. Read more>>

Michelle Yozzo Drake

Stonington Designs began with a Christmas gift. At that time I was working full time as an executive director at an assisted living community and my husband as an engineering director for a large commercial construction company. Our son was trying to find a beautiful hitch cover of Block Island for his new truck and was having a hard time finding something that he liked. Read more>>

Laurel Harris

I’ve been working in the entertainment business for decades as an actor and producer, and I absolutely love it. With that said, I’d been slowly progressing towards launching my own production company for a while. It was the succession of some powerful life events that brought this to fruition for me: First, COVID shut down our industry. Later, I became my father’s full time caregiver. Then, most recently, we weathered the union strikes. Ultimately, the smoldering fire within me to create this was turned into an undeniable BLAZE, because of these challenges. Read more>>

Hilarie Viener

The idea for Black Paw Memorial Pin came to life when I was sitting at the hair salon…while that might sound strange…innovative ideas can come at any time anywhere… After many years of living in Manhattan not near my mother, I moved during Covid, and now we live within 30 minutes of each other. Siezing on that opportunity, she had begun to make a habit of popping in when I was at the hair salon (for those of you familiar, that can take hours and the company was always welcome). Soon she got to know everyone there and they too would await her arrival when I would hop into the chair. Read more>>

Page Wasti

I am super lucky to genuinely like my sister-in-law! Our home organization business really started many years ago when we would visit each other. It always seemed like a good time to tackle a project we had been avoiding when we were together. Things always seem easier with another set of hands and encouragement, right? We were always organizing closets, cabinets, and drawers when we were together. Read more>>

Eva Slattery

I had been in the mortgage industry for 13 years and doing creative side hustles for 5 years. I made graphics for clothing with my cricut machine, I did themed photoshoots out of my garage, I sewed hundreds of custom face masks during covid, I made bolo ties. In 2019 I knew I was going to receive some inheritance from my grandparents so I started thinking about how I could utilize it to escape the corporate world. Read more>>

Nathaniel Schmidt

It all started when someone gave us a kit to make beer. During those times, we went to the wine festivals and after a LOT of wine,all we really wanted was a nice, cold beer. The concept of craft breweries wasn’t as known in Baja back then, so we started making our own beer as a hobby, people started liking our beer and we started growing rapidly. Read more>>

Psychi Media

My photography business was truly one of those I was in the right place at the right time stories. On February 22nd 2014 I went to a local rave in my town when I was sixteen years old, it was my first time ever going to a rave. It was at this small little venue I have never heard of before. My friend was the photographer at this event and I was talking to him. Read more>>

Jason Merrill

For our wedding in 1999, my wife and I had our clothing made from Victorian patterns. I already owned a modern tuxedo and we wanted something that felt more like ‘us’ than standard wedding attire. There were several sample waistcoats our seamstress made for us to pick from and I started wearing those to events and fan conventions. Read more>>

Jodi Warren

I’ve always been drawn to decorating even as a child starting out by redesigning my bedroom using “Tiger Beat” posters (I’m GenX!) and have really never looked back. My father owned a construction company and my mom was/is a realtor so I was always surrounded by blueprints and other design/build influences. Read more>>

Pamela Ortiz

The inception of Solo Para Ti was out of necessity and a touch of rebellion. Picture this – it’s a warm, sunny day in 2019, and I find myself in my aunt’s kitchen. At that time, I was in my junior year of undergrad, juggling summer classes to fast-track my pre-med program. Concurrently, I was working part-time at a luxury skincare/makeup store in the bustling heart of NYC. The summer brought with it stress, and stress manifested on my sensitive skin in the form of persistent hives. Read more>>

Yansi Fugel

As a fashion brand known for its contemporary women’s clothing, with stylish and versatile pieces, my mission was to empower women in business to feel confident and effortlessly chic. The look was softly tailored with jackets, pants, skirts and tops appropriate for the C-suite, and designed to function as sportwear, imbue confidence, and create a variety of looks with minimal number of pieces. Read more>>

Lyndsey Theriot

It seems as if the dental industry is being taken over by corporations – which their obvious goal is to get as many people through the door as possible without individualized attention. I wanted to have an office that is not one size fits all and really personalizes your dental care. I wanted to focus on quality, not quantity. Read more>>

Stacie Shifflett

The idea for the company, including various aspects of Modern Consciousness®, was gifted to me in meditation. It became an all-consuming idea that simply wouldn’t leave me alone! I resisted it for a couple of years for various reasons – I wasn’t certain I wanted to start a new business; it’s a business model in which I had no experience; plus, who was I to step into this grand role? I found the entire concept a little daunting. Read more>>

Connor Farrell

As a competitive, year-round swimmer who trains six days each week, my daily drive to the pool requires that I pass the Triune Mercy Center, a local soup kitchen, where there is consistently a line of homeless individuals. During the spring of 2020, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, I spoke to the Pastor of Triune Mercy Center, Jennifer Fouse Sheorn, who confirmed that many of the homeless were not receiving adequate hygiene supplies to protect themselves from the pandemic. With my family’s help, Bright Lights Greenville began. Read more>

Reyna Torres

It all started with my first business, I sold prescription glasses because my profession was an optician. Having several years of experience in that filed, I decided to start my own. When I was 22 years old I told myself that I wanted to run my own place but I also understood that I had no idea what I wanted to sell or do. So as the years went by and I was in the Optical Industry I decided to open my own store, OptopusGlasses. Read more>>

Tay’Laur Ambrene

I can say it all started with self love, and that’s why I’m so influenced by it and do my best to influence others to love themselves in all ways they imagine possible. I was living in Santa Clarita with my sister back in 2019 and I was brainstorming ideas for a name. I knew I wanted to create all types of fun, creative, pop culture and lifestyle content— Instagram + blog posts, YouTube videos— but I didn’t know where to start. I wanted to do it under a brand of sorts, only I didn’t know a brand was what I was creating at the time. Read more>>

Steve Wright

Cloudburst Misting Systems Two months before starting my 8th year in the NFL, I sat at an outdoor restaurant in Palm Springs in the heat of the summer enjoying the cool mist vapor cooling the patrons. Knowing that our pre-season games in the LA Colosseum would be 80+ degrees without a breath of cool air stirring, I asked the manager how the system worked thinking I would ask our Head Coach if we could try this on the Raiders sidelines. Read more>>

Brandy Peer

For several years, I knew that I had a talent for life coaching. I was always asked for guidance from friends, family, and others. I’m really good at helping people come up with their own answers. I’ve asked thought-provoking questions that help people dig a little deeper. I was once told by a friend that she didn’t like talking to me because she always said more than she planned to say. This was confirmation that I had a gift for making people comfortable with telling their stories. Read more>>

Sumer Rose-Nolen

I’ve sat on many boards and been a member of many organizations. In 2017, I noticed I was coaching a lot of my female clients through end of year evaluations, negotiating for more money and growing their businesses. In 2019, I approached my now business partner, Marci Dickerson, with a concept to create an organization tailored to female professionals and business owners. We saw a gap in the professional organization realm for women. Read more>>

Cathy Cowan

It was a typical Saturday when my phone rang, and to my delight, it was my longtime friend since 6th grade, asking, “Hey Cat, wanna go to brunch?” As a mom of two small kids, weary of endless episodes of Bubble Guppies and Dora the Explorer, I immediately seized the opportunity with a resounding “Yes!” After swiftly picking out my clothes and getting dressed, I left my kids with instructions to behave during my absence. Read more>>

Iliana Ingram

I started sewing really, about 25 years ago. My mom signed me up for sewing classes at the local fabric shop. I had a machine at that point that over the last 25 years I used a total of 5 times probably. I never really stuck with it until a few years ago. My best friend was having her rainbow baby and I decided to make her son a quilt. Read more>

Yonatan Elkayam

When I first met my wife Jaime, I was a full time musician and actor. I loved the creative work and in particular performing, but was struggling to find balance in my life. Financially I was constantly living in times of feast or famine, which was a constant challenge for my nervous system. My health was relatively good, because I’ve always been aware of it’s importance, but I was living a life that wasn’t sustainable. Read more>>

Becky Pelton

Morning , afternoon or evening. My name is Becky and I’m a small business owner and self made farmer. I have been around critters all my life but chickens have alway been my favorite. They are small, easy to care for and give me breakfast. I sell egg and chickens all over the US and every one that leaves my house is special to me. If you receive birds from me you will get as much help as I can offer. Read more>>

RJ Smith

The idea for my business dawned on me during my inaugural year in the construction industry. From the outset, my vision was crystal clear: to construct the finest homes imaginable in the South Bay. I yearned for this goal so intensely that I could almost taste it. Year after year, my aspiration fueled me to push the boundaries and outdo our previous accomplishments. Read more>>