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.

Tamika Gilchrist

My passion for giving is what sparked this endeavor. The evolution of Eats With Mik started early by enhancing notable recipes and dishes with a slightly different flavor profile and lowering the amounts of sodium. Read more>>

Ayisha Hendrix

During the challenges of Covid, my job hours were cut dramatically, and I found myself in a position of needing to find something that I enjoyed doing that also leveraged my talents as a businesswoman in order to sustain myself. Read more>>

Lena Payton Webb

My journey toward founding Blu Impressions Publishing LLC is deeply personal and transformative, shaped by adversity, resilience, and the rediscovery of my purpose through art. Read more>>

Christine Smith

I was actively running events and networking groups already. I constantly get asked about finding connections, resources, etc from people who have found me to be the center of our community hub. Read more>>

Rachel Zeigler

In 2020 when the beauty world shut down, I was able to pivot into a space of skincare and that is when Naked Chemistry Skincare was born. There was a need for vegan, sustainable, and effective skincare that helped to care for dry skin, dark spots, and irritated skin. Read more>>

Robert Allred

I was fortunate my junior year at Wofford College, in Spartanburg, South Carolina to meet Bob Fogarty, the President of Kindel Furniture Company who graduated from Wofford in 1958. Read more>>

Diane Love-Suvada

I’ve been a maker of sorts all my life. My mother introduced to crafting at a young age and its just always been there. Partly our of the joy of making and partly out of necessity as there were times we didn’t have much money for gifts at Christmas. Read more>>

Tammy Oluvic

My husband had just retired from the US Navy and had been diagnosed with PTS, anxiety and depression. We had purchased a small ranch in Alpine and decided to adopt two rescued horses. Read more>>

Rabia Davis – Ndiaye

In the midst of my son’s struggle with eczema, a journey marked by frustration and sadness unfolded. The sight of his painfully broken-out skin, coupled with the evident discomfort he endured, became a powerful catalyst for the inception of Blue Rose Organics. Read more>>

Heather Mulhollan

Being a business owner was never something I thought I would do. I had always had full-time employment in the corporate world and was also a professional singer, but I honestly never felt truly fulfilled. Read more>>

Maria Hindle

When the pandemic hit I had a business doing lash extensions and I had always wanted to have a little online business. Since I was unable to do lashes anymore I felt I needed to pivot a different direction. Read more>>

Lofiet Brown

I was doing secular music, my health started declining, when I went to the hospital, the doctor told me that I had almost no kidney function at all, and that I will have to start dialysis, at that time I told God if you take me off this deathbed I will serve him, that’s when I created GetDown Gospel Music. Read more>>

Christina Cabrales

**What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on? Tell us the backstory so we understand circumstances/context and why it’s meaningful to you.** Read more>>

Cleo Davis-Urman

Masks were our first product, but our pandemic project evolved into a broader self-care and wellness mission when we realized that our customers wanted their beauty arsenal to include protection against everyday threats to their well-being Read more>>

Meg Heynen

My photography journey is a bit different than others! I graduated from college in 2020, also known as covid year with a degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management with an emphasis on meeting and events. Read more>>

Zenda Walker

When my daughter, Zara, was four she started having insecurities about her Afro-coily hair texture. She wanted her hair to look like her friends who had straight hair. Read more>>

Julie Mitchell

We live in a small rural town in Ohio and so when we would go to larger cities and see the fun quirky shops we would always say…”I wish Ashland had something like this!” So one day we decided we would try. Read more>>

Raquel Baron

I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) when I was 5 year old. It was tough but even at a young age, I really didn’t want anything to do with the type 1 community. Read more>>

Irene Kang

I have always been fascinated by languages and cultures around the world. Growing up as a Chinese-American in Texas, I studied Mandarin Chinese and Spanish in elementary, middle and high school. Read more>>

Christine Stacey

Love Your Butt Co. isn’t just a brand; it’s a story of love, resilience, and finding joy in unexpected places. When the pandemic hit and our gym closed its doors, my husband and I found ourselves facing uncertainty and darkness as well as a lot of free time to think. Read more>>

Jacquelene Amoquandoh

My storytelling has transformed over the years, but at the heart, my goal has always been to create meaningful work. At times my meaningful writing was for my soul practice: poetry, prose, songwriting, and lifestyle articles. Read more>>

Tanisha Copeland

As an Elementary School Counselor, I began to notice an increase in anxiety in the students that I serve. I began to research mindfulness, meditation and breath work for school age children, especially children of color (our school was 99% african-american). Read more>>

Niza Disla

My path to founding Meraki Path wasn’t linear. It was a culmination of experiences that shaped me and was grounded in curiosity and a drive to redefine what’s possible. Read more>>

Viktorija Sinkeviciute

LivedinMane Co was created at a time in my life when i honestly didn’t think it was possible. Since the start of my hairstylist career, i stayed as a commission employee. Read more>>

Marshal Peralta

The short answer is that I like to read and I like meeting new people lol. The longer answer is that I saw a need for a community space in the witchy community. Read more>>

Chanda Mitchell

During the pandemic, burning candles in my home was apart of my daily routine. I have always loved candles however, working 100% remote intensified my love for them even more!! Read more>>

Justin Ruger

I started out as a Nuclear Physics student at Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Never in my wildest dreams did i think my path would take me to accessibility and art. Read more>>

Sarah DesJardins

The start of Free Rein Dog Training seemed very sudden to me at the time, but in retrospect, it’s a no brainer. I’ve always had a passion for animals. I grew up training horses and family dogs. Read more>>

Kenny Beers

I returned from Cambodia where I had been helping youth and kids learn music. We used to take the kids to the zoo and they would see the Sun Bears and we could feed them. Read more>>

Kelly Welk

9 years ago I was sitting in a gathering, listening to the reality of s*x trafficking. I could not help but think about the what if’s. What if it was me? What if it were our daughters? Read more>>

Hannah Sweitzer

We live in a society of sickcare, not healthcare. Health Insurance companies want to control as much as possible while reimbursing the provider as little as possible. Read more>>

Tanayah Thomas

Blessings, what’s funny is the idea was brought to me that I should create my own clothing brand. So I’ve always been into fashion and brought my family brand from one borough to the next in NY. Read more>>

Taylor Randal

I moved to Portland, Oregon right before Covid. Prior to the pandemic I was bartending, but when everything shut down I couldn’t get a job. I had sold vintage on the side for years, and had collected a lot of old quilts and denim. Read more>>

DahVeed E

I have young nephews and a niece. I needed a creative outlet as my regular job and education endeavors typically do not provide that. I was on a hike a couple of years ago and saw a little dog running around, which inspired me to think of a short simple story that could entertain my nephew and niece. Read more>>

Sally Clements

As I finished college in the early 2000s, I saw an interview with David Kelley and his IDEO team redesigning the shopping cart. It was the first time I heard the term human-centered design. Read more>>

Mars Avila

As a first generation Mexican-American, it’s become a goal of mine to reach all communities alike. My businesses mission has always, from day one, been that I want my services to be accessible to everyone. Read more>>

Anne Schot

For years, in various global roles, I was travelling two-thirds of my time. In my last role, as the global COO for an Oil & Gas practice, I was in the US every other six weeks. Read more>>