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.

Megan Oliver

I envisioned the idea for League of Friends when I was on maternity leave with my oldest daughter (now 6 years old) and I was having a hard time finding quality baby clothing that would stay looking nice even after a few washes but also wasn’t a luxury price point. Read more>>

Brandon Washington

I was raised in a family of entrepreneurs, which deeply influenced my aspiration to start my own venture. Observing my family, I learned the importance of entrepreneurship not only for personal independence but also for its positive impact on the community. Read more>>

Heather Lopez

As the founder and owner of MrsLopezOverbooked Travel, let me take you on a journey back to where it all began. Picture this: It was a typical Monday morning, and I was juggling the demands of being a stay-at-home mom, surrounded by piles of laundry and dirty dishes. Read more>>

Ashlei Shorty

During Covid with all the emotions going Anxiety was at an all time high, I remember saying I need to find something to do to keep my mind busy. I seen some waist beads and thought huh maybe I can make some. Read more>>

Danielle Ozuna

During the pandemic, I got divorced, lost family members to covid, and decided to go back to school. The shelves in the stores were empty when I went to shop and I had been laid off from my job as a behavioral Health Specialist working in the community. Read more>>

James Lewis

Embarking on a journey fueled by my passion for graphic design and photography, I initially found myself immersed in the serene beauty of natural landscapes—lakes, forests, and woods—where I meticulously documented the diverse flora and fauna, capturing the essence of each moment. Read more>>

Ashley McRae

Growing up I was the family baker. Even my friends and there friends and family will come to me and ask for baked goods for birthday parties to family cookouts you can count on me to always bring the dessert! Read more>>

Hannah Pesetsky

While I was in college at the University of Tampa, I was studying to become a veterinarian and had such a passion for animals. I didn’t have a dog of my own at the time, but saw them all over my apartment complex and all over the city! Read more>>

Ramiro Perez

After I stopped playing in Bolivia Pro Major League and National Team (Bolivia) I had always the dream to continue involve in soccer, I had a knee injury that’s when I stopped playing and it’s when I came with the feeling and idea to start coaching soccer, Read more>>

James Farr

It was the spring/summer of 2016 when the idea of selling vintage clothing made sense. Years before that, in the late 2000s, I was intro three things heavily: rap music, graphic design, and fashion. Read more>>

Jennifer Serrano and Veronica Vasquez

In January 2024 Jennifer Serrano and Veronica Vasquez the wife duo behind JZD, the lifestyle brand opened up their second store front in Brownsville Texas. Read more>>

Jazmin Gresham

From 2017-2019, every month I would travel to another city or country to get my nails done and Insta-storied my process. Everyone already new me for my nails and would have so many questions about my process, Read more>>

Nicole Hinde

I have been on a holistic health journey for the past 7 years. While in the process of finding out I was celiac I stopped drinking coffee and turned solely to tea, specifically matcha. Read more>>

Alecia Colvard

I came up with the idea for my business while speaking with a close group of women who have all had recent awakenings. Read more>>

Paula Collins

It all began in 2020. I had just been forced to retire from a career teaching high school English. Read more>>

Stephanie Catlow

I’ve been lucky enough to grow up surrounded by exceptional cooks and bakers, but my food-loving journey definitely began with my grandparents and their traditional Italian cooking. Read more>>

Ashley Cadet

Burning Candles has always been something I enjoyed doing when I came home after a long day. It sets the mood and helps me unwind with its aroma. Read more>>

Tim Van den Thillart

As a Financial Controller for international NGOs I flew a lot. I was a lot on airplanes to sometimes hard to reach locations and I loved it. Read more>>

Kenise Bridgers

When I first thought of an idea for my business, it came from my passion for planning parties. I’ve always found joy in bringing people together to celebrate, and becoming a parent only amplified this passion. Read more>>

ZAKIYA ELLICK

When I was a child, my older brother Husani made the Ambrosia Salad for every holiday. I hated coconut and the walnuts in it, so eating a spoonful was out of the question. Read more>>

Alana Abdal

I think the best way to talk about my reasons why I decided to open up a yoga studio is by exploring what yoga is and can be for each of us. Read more>>

Francia Telesford

Gracelamp Wellness has always been a part of my heart and soul ever since I had my second child. Read more>>

Sandy Eckard

Well, when I started helping at the Mahoning Drive-In, I was a volunteer during the pandemic. Read more>>

Erin Meinel

When my first son was born back in 2018, I *thought* parenting would be a breeze, after all, I had a B.S. in early childhood education and had worked with young children my whole life. Oh, how wrong I was! Read more>>

Lauryn Haygood

My sophomore year in college, I decided to change my major over to work Kennesaw State called “ Apparel and textiles.” I was in the process of learning, my own style and understanding of my love for fashion. Read more>>

Fred Gatty

Imagine this: three young kids huddled over a laptop, navigating the landscape of PowerPoint. That was my cousins and me three decades ago dreaming up a fictional company we called Gatts Consulting. Read more>>

Bushra Awwad

I was first introduced to macarons during our visit to Paris, we stumbled upon Laduree. I had always had the interest in baking macarons, but only started baking macarons since 2021, during the COVID Pandemic. Read more>>

Mara McEwin

Over 27 years ago, I founded Treehouse Shakers, alongside my business and creative partner, Emily Bunning. Treehouse Shakers was created in a time when there was limited women led arts organizations. Read more>>

Bailee Stewart

I had a passion for fashion growing up and loved putting together outfits! I discovered as I started college that I would love to do something that involved clothing and possibly helping others with inspiration, Read more>>

Angela Mathews

My boyfriend and I are both photographers with different strengths. Having made magazines / zines and being avid collectors, we knew the creative power of printing and showing your work. Read more>>

Richard Parrott IV

I started Global Money World to create a safe space for artists where talent came first. Back in 2017 I was still a music artist dying to make it in the industry and felt like I didn’t have a place, so I created that space. Read more>>

Shari Escott

Paper Cutz was not a business at first. It started as a Friday night crafting get together with a friend. We were both going through difficult times personally and we didn’t have the energy to be around people so we started a therapy crafting night. Read more>>

Markia Baker Navi Johnson

(Markia) We came up with the idea of NM Legaci Marketing while at brunch in February of 2022. We were discussing our individual business ideas and realized we both were doing social media marketing for clients individually! Read more>>

JeNea Smith

My journey into content creation began with a love for watching YouTube videos instead of traditional television shows. This sparked my interest in editing photos and videos, prompting me to pick up my phone and dive into the world of content creation. Read more>>

Jeanette Price

Face painting has already been around for so many years however for me, TikTok made it happen! I was scrolling through my For You Page and came across a talented face painting artist and immediately thought “I could do that!”. Read more>>