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.

Lauren Goldney

How did Pattern Ops start? My husband is a current active duty Air Force fighter pilot. He wanted a classy button down shirt to wear with his A-10 jet on it. Read more>>

Minyon Patton

Works of Wonder (WOW) was founded by a Mother (Georgia) and Daughter (Minyon) duo. The awesome seamstress whose intricate designs and fabulous beading coupled with Minyon’s savvy business sense and creativeness Works of Wonder came to life………………… Read more>>

Maddie Casadonte

Well for you to really grasp the story behind it all, I feel like it warrants a proper introduction. I’m Maddie Casadonte. A Jersey gal, the daughter of hustlers. I had the immense privilege of growing up in a dance studio, competitively and recreationally, and fell in love with the concept of teaching just about immediately. Read more>>

Esther Zeledon

More than a business, my venture embodies a global movement. Born from my work in international development where I collaborated with communities and governments worldwide, my focus has always been on striving for transformative impact. Read more>>

Valeria Lasak

The genesis of my business was less about a single moment of inspiration and more a journey of adaptation and discovery. Initially, my career trajectory seemed firmly rooted in the media corporate world. Read more>>

Stacey Millhorn

For years, I have suffered from chronic pain and I was given medication after medication to treat it. I found Pure Sweat + Float Studio in Nashville that offers full-spectrum infrared saunas by Sunlighten, while we were living in TN. Read more>>

Maya Wright

My journey to becoming a Creative Brand and Marketing Consultant was born out of deeply personal exploration. Taking the time to rediscover how I wanted to contribute to the world transformed my perspective, helped me see beauty in a place I’d overlooked, and ignited dormant passion. Read more>>

Annie McCurdy

I was presented with a very unique opportunity that was too good to pass up. The clear choice to was to step up and go for it. When I met my life partner, Daniel, I was in the midst of working with a few different start-ups, including a non-profit Protest Artist Collective, and assisting a shoe designer in her studio. Read more>>

Naomi Rachlis

I am a mother, a music therapist and the founder of Hellokoo. When covid lockdown made it impossible for me to practice music therapy I began writing. Read more>>

Rajia Abdelaziz

One harrowing night, after an event, I faced a chilling encounter when a group of men in a large SUV began following me. When one stepped out and pursued me on foot I ran to my vehicle in fear. Read more>>

Morgan Sharlin

Growing up, I was always a very “girlie girl” who dressed up no matter the occasion and loved to spend weekends sorting through the sale racks at the mall to find the perfect outfits to wear to school that would make me feel confident and excited. Read more>>

Meryl Ciraolo

I had been in the floral industry for a few years when I had landed my first floral designer job in Philadelphia, PA. After being taught one on one with an AIFD certified designer, he brought me along to Beautiful Blooms. Read more>>

Robert Hansen

My very first piece was that of my mother’s funeral. I was going through hundreds and hundreds of pictures of my family that mother had in photo albums, envelopes, and boxes…a lot of boxes. Read more>>

Candace Johnson

TOUCHY/FEELY intimacy card game was created the day after a really good date. Its a long story but the date involved a horse, gold medal placement and candlelit dinner by the Delaware River, spoiled by sweaty cheese and a White supremacist group march. Read more>>

Mikalynn Amos

Before I started Venturing Vows, I was a jack-of-all-trades photographer: weddings, maternity, senior photos, sports photos, you name it. I did photography as a side project while I taught high school science. Read more>>

Jackie Monk

Junebug Ink came to fruition out of frustration. Everytime I needed to buy a greeting card I was disappointed by the selection I had to pick from. Read more>>

Keaidy Bennett

“There isn’t a market for that kind of character,” the uniformed agent declared proudly. “You’re going to have to choose. Is she black, or is she Spanish?” Read more>>

Christiana Unaeze

OhSoColorful Co. is a stationery and gifts brand that features bold imagery, vivid colors and uplifting messages. The current product line includes a collection of stationery items like journals and bookmarks, tumblers, gift sets, party favors and more. Read more>>

Katina Boyd

I’m Katina Boyd, your friendly Pharmacist dispensing your Declutter Prescription…organization, décor and encouragement. On any given day, you may find me taking care of patients on my day job as a Clinical Pharmacist AND inspiring others to add joy to their homes with seasonal décor and organizing. Read more>>

Sadé Leschuk

I embarked on my entrepreneurial journey during 11th grade when I was on the hunt for budget-friendly gothic jewelry. Gathering materials to create jewelry for personal use, I found myself with enough leftover supplies to create an additional 10 necklaces. Read more>>

BRENDA LEVESQUE

During the pandemic in 2020 I wanted to find a way to connect with people and spent a lot of time on Instagram. I was connecting with a lot of creatives that had very small followings at the time and I thought it would be gray to find out what their stories were. Read more>>

Jennifer Jimenez

Owning a metaphysical store has been a lifelong dream of mine. Dusk and Willow Designs had humble beginnings in my hometown of New Orleans where I began making jewelry with my grandfathers tools, who had been a bench jeweler for a well-known local jewelry store. Read more>>

Will Sidaros

Coming up with ideas is often my favorite part of the creative process. There’s no logistics or budget, it’s limitless! Only restricted by your imagination. Read more>>

Haily Sutton

The story of how Crock’n CLE came to life really starts in the middle of our crazy everyday chaos. Picture us, two bartenders juggling work, kids’ activities, and trying to keep everyone fed. Read more>>

Kaliva Morgan

It all came to me as I was walking home from work one day and started to think about full work days and work schedules in general. I was working full time, dedicating 8-9 hrs a day to a company. Read more>>