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.

Nicole Swartz.

I started my first business in 2015. It was a skincare company and we sold at craft fairs and festivals. I remember the first festival, I left with $500 in my pocket and I was hooked. Soon we were in stores locally and then around the state. After two years, we were in stores around the world. That’s when I received a cease and desist letter from someone who had already trademarked my brand name. I wasn’t legally allowed to use it and I had to rebrand the entire business in 30 days. It was a nightmare. Read more>>

Fanya Randall

Life can be so explosive even after you try your best to steer it in the direction of safe and predictable. There’s always key events that happen in life where you really get a good look at yourself and learn if you have all the qualities that you think you have, but actually find you may be lacking. Mothers have a remarkable instinct when it comes to their children and by the age of 2, I had some serious concerns on the development of my son. My gut instinct knew David had Autism but hearing it out loud from a well-known pediatric neurologist just made it REAL. Read more>>

Jennifer Martin-Sorrentino

Back in 1993 I had a dream/vision when I rescued a sick dog off the streets of Deerfield Beach. She was a senior with a 5 lb tumor hanging off her side. I was determined to help her. Once able to gain her trust so I could safely get her medical care, I took her to Dr Cindi Bossart at Ft Lauderdale Animal Hospital. She estimated “Heidi’s” age at 10, removed the tumor, vaccinated her, and eventually treated her for heartworms. She lived three years with myself and my family. Those were probably the best three years of her life. Read more>>

Demetrius Murray

I started Photography with the idea to save money on not having to pay a photographer. My wife was pregnant with our 4th child, we have 3 boys and we finally was about to have a baby girl. This was going to be special and I needed to capture every moment. I had plans to capture the maternity photos, her first birthday and any other special occasion that came up. Read more>>

Mandy Dorsett

After several years of unsuccessful outpatient counseling as an adolescent, my parents made the difficult decision to send me to a wilderness therapy program. I struggled with emotion regulation through middle school and high school while facing social challenges. I spent the summer of 2004 backpacking in Utah and learning how to manage and process my biggest feelings. I came back a more confident person with new communication skills and a defined dream: I wanted to help other teenagers with emotional regulatory challenges find ways to become the best version of themselves—as a therapist. Read more>>

Leslie Kell

My life as an artist ignited around the age of nine. I can scarcely remember a time that was not invested in creative pursuits of some kind. I began my career out of college as a painter and illustrator and transitioned to a graphic artist. As a designer, I worked in various positions spanning from sign shop production to art direction for a monthly magazine. Eventually, I became self-employed with an active design business. Over those years, I developed a deep knowledge base in the tools of the trade. Read more>>

Adisyn Pyles

Freeleaf is the combining of my passions for women’s rights, collective freedom, and finding beauty amidst chaos. In 2016, my co-founder, Jiayi, and I started Freeleaf after having met several survivors of trafficking who were desperate to get free but remained trapped in cycles of poverty and exploitation due to economic need and a lack of viable opportunities. By starting a social enterprise, we were able to provide full-time employment with fair wages and safe working conditions to these survivors. Read more>>

Shawnie Grant

How I came up with the idea for my business: Due to there being a recession the year I graduated from university, many companies within my industry weren’t hiring new college graduates with little to no experience. There was also a huge layoff that year, which limited job opportunities. During that time, I was designing and handcrafting my own accessories and reconstructing clothes in my personal wardrobe because I loved the freedom to express my own style. Read more>>

Maureen Prince

I designed all the stationery and signage for my wedding! Everyone loved it so much they kept telling me I should start a business. I decided in 2021 to take that leap and start my own business. It’s funny because I started with cards and then decided to make a wedding invitation. As soon as I did, I got my first client. That’s when I started becoming confident that I can actually do this. It was a game changer for sure! Read more>>

Brad Byerson

I’ve always been around a camera. My mom was the manager of an old photography store called Glamour Shots. Being that my dad was in the Army, me and my brothers had to go to work with mom sometimes. Being in the studio with and having, at the time what I thought were costumes, wardrobes and props was fascinating. Fast forward to me becoming a father, my son started playing sports so naturally there was a thought to capture every moment. As I started posting content, there was a great response to almost everything I was sharing with social media. When COVID started, I decided to make this hobby a business and here I am today. Read more>>

Julianna Schneider, Aidan Schneider NA

Julianna: Growing up I regularly helped organize food drives, collect donations for orphanages, and tutor fellow students. I didn’t classify these occasions as “volunteer work” — I saw people in need and had the ability to help, so I did. When I was in a international school in Albania, I saw my American peers struggle to find volunteer work while the nonprofits in the Albanian community struggled to find enough volunteers to run their initiatives. Read more>>

Hazel Griffiths

I had been world building in virtual reality for BRCvr – the virtual burning man held in Microsoft’s AltspaceVR – for the last two years. I was also creating my own imaginative spaces in VR just based on ideas I had for immersive experiences and installations, then translating some of those creations into augmented reality. In the meantime the Metaverse narrative was becoming an increasingly relevant topic, bridging both the crypto world and the world of gaming and virtual spaces which I found very interesting. I saw that there was lot opportunity – more and more ‘Metaverse’ platforms were being built at an ever increasing pace, each one offering a different variety of features. Read more>>

Erica Rivera

I founded my business, Love and Wonder Co, in the fall of 2021. I along with the rest of the world was trying to figure out how to live life in this new normal. I have always been a creative and a maker since I was a kid, it is what brings me the most joy. I wanted to create a business that brought joy to people. I took a look around and what things I had that brought me joy and that’s where my product ideas came from. There is a term called “Dopamine Dressing” where people dress to improve their mood. Read more>>

Quita Michelle

In 2019 God gave me the vision to go out and do what I love, encouraging women to feel and look beautiful. The idea for HQC came because I wanted women to celebrate inner beauty. We all know that true beauty is only skin deep but, in a world, where everyone is focused and judged on outer beauty, many women have forgotten that true beauty is within. Many have lost their inner beauty trying to keep up with what the world defines as beauty. I launched HQC with the goal of creating quality, innovative cosmetic products for women of all origins and for everyone who wears our products to discover their true beauty (Queen) within while using our products to express it outwardly! HQC “For the Queen in You” Read more>>

Gabriel Rice

Just imagine being a teenager, starting your first year of high school and moving away from all of your friends to a brand new school and neighborhood where you literally know no one. The school that you’ve just started is a predominantly white school and you’re a black girl with thick kinky hair. You’re just getting into the swing of trying to figure out different ways to style your thick kinky hair, whereas all of your classmates can literally wake up brush and go. You’re the only kid in your entire class with your hair texture and no matter what style you come to school with you get weird stares and questions regarding your “hair.” Read more>>

Linda Nemec

Happened by Chance Horses Inc was formed in honor of my special needs son Chance and his love of horses. Raising a child with special needs has taught me a lot about second chances, patience and perseverance. Many of the horses we accept are critical. They are emaciated, injured and have been traumatized from their past experiences. Read more>>

Laurel Taylor

Winter of 2010, I was a happy – but very lonely – newlywed. I had moved from Alaska to Oregon to marry my now husband, but as many of us know, making friends as an adult is a challenge. I was job hunting, but winter is the slow season for many tourists towns, like Hood River, so the wait was making me stir crazy. That Christmas season, I knitted everyone their gifts. Partly to save money, but also to keep myself from going insane. I had learned to knit a few years previously, but hadn’t given it much time. Now that I had nothing but time on my hands, I found myself falling in love with the craft all over again. Read more>>

Daniela Ortega

My business started because I always had the chance to work in retail and fashion, because of this I found out the potential Colombian creativity and handmade products had, also I am a big fan of creating in color different and special products. So this connected with a empowering content was the perfect equation for created Maramba Accessories. Read more>>

Amanda Rodriguez

I started The AVA Network at the beginning of the pandemic. I was out of a job, no income and was brainstorming different things I can do from home. I’ve heard of virtual assistants before and thought it was just all luck – which, I still think so! I figured with all these big companies and entrepreneurs now working from home, some need a VA. Read more>>

Akira Brown

WildStar Press started on a whim. First it was because I was rejected from publishers when I wanted to share my own stories. “If I can’t get published, then I’ll publish things myself.” – that was the mindset. And then it branched off from creating a comic anthology, having all of these creators submit stories, and me deciding to create a company where indie creators get their chance to have their stories published. Publishers have a tendency to want a certain type of person (usually cis, straight, white men) and I wanted to create a platform for marginalized groups to get their chance to share their own stories. Read more>>

Deon Draper

First of all, let me just say how honored and humbled I am to still be on Voyage’s radar after all this time, I pride my myself on maintaining long standing relationships with great platforms like this. And to be featured a third time is truly an incredible experience that I will never take for granted. But to answer your question, the idea for my business was direct result of my passion for what I do. have been a stylist at heart since I was a little boy, granted I was my only client, LOL. But still even back then clothes and fashion where everything to me, I was always creative when it came to how I dressed, was always experimenting and trying new things, was very versatile, and always preferred to stand out. Read more>>

Britney Semago

After finding some jewelry while shopping and freaking out when I saw the price tag, all I could think was “I could make that”! I snapped a pic of the necklace, started researching materials and got to work. After creating my own version of the expensive necklace I had to have, friends and family began asking me to make one for them. That was when my love for jewelry making was truly established. I found that creating different pieces was not only therapeutic, but it was a way for me to add that finishing touch to my outfit without breaking the bank on name-brand jewelry accessories. Read more>>

Sylvia Scruggs

As a math teacher by trade, I received my GA DDS Certifications to teach dui risk reduction and defensive driving classes between 2014-2015. I was teaching math on Monday through Friday and I taught dui risk reduction and defensive driving classes on alternate weekends. I really enjoyed my weekend clientele. These were adult classes with adult conversations. More of my personality was shared and it seemed more natural and a lot less stressful. In 2016, I started planning how to turn my weekend gig into my full-time gig. I’d work at different dui schools and I learned to interact with clients on a professional level. Read more>>

Rhonda Penders

In spring of 2006, my writing friend and I were very discouraged at the climate in Publishing. An author had to wait months, sometimes even years to hear back from a query and usually it was with very little feedback. An author was clueless as to why the manuscript didn’t work for a publishinig house. You weren’t supposed to call or email the publishing house to check the status. It was very frustrating. eBooks were just starting to become something and my friend, who was very good with technology said “ebooks are going to be big, we should get involved with this.”. Read more>>

Morgan Kloesel

After moving in with my now-husband, I found myself stocking the apartment we lived in together with all the home essentials. The one item I kept buying on rotation was candles. Eddie had the idea that we could start making our own and we did just that! I expected him to order a small candle-making kit that maybe made 4-6 candles but the following week a 50lb box of soy wax showed up at our door and everything moved quickly soon after. Read more>>

Luke Jensen

When I was 23 my father died. It was on a Tuesday, August 21, 2007. My father was my hero. As he took his last breathe, in the hospital bed, I stood right next to him. Something made me look up, I looked around, the room was filled with family and friends. They were all embracing each other, and it gave me a deep sense of pride, plus an awakening seeing the impact that my father had on the people in the room. Read more>>

Dan & Leslie Lowry

The last decade has been transformative in many ways, going from two professionals with advanced degrees to quitting our jobs, moving across the country to be next to Disney World and Universal, building a business together, and focusing heavily on content creation through our platforms as podcasters and vloggers. There have been many forks in the road and travel industry impacts in recent years that shaped our journey, but we would not change where we are now for the world. Read more>>

Chef Nakia

Food, and sharing food with loved ones, has always been a huge part of my life. As a kid, I remember loving to spend time in the kitchen with my family. Whether it was making pies with my grandma, pizza with my dad, cookies with my mom, or anything and everything with my grandpa – I found the process of cooking fascinating and a ton of fun! Filled with a passion for food, I worked at cafe’s, restaurants, hotels, a dessert manufacturer and attended Johnson and Wales University in Denver. Read more>>

Regan Dunleavy

After graduating from art school in 2019 I found myself scrambling to find a job in the fashion industry. The ultimate goal was to run my own business but at 22 I had no clue where or how to start. I landed a ”dream job” as a fashion design assistant in a small studio in Philly. I was quickly appalled by the amount of waste that was produced even on the small scale that this studio operated. Despite being entirely locally made and sourced this particular business was still contributing an overwhelming amount to landfills. Sustainable fashion was a vague concept that I had heard of through out undergrad but never taken seriously. Read more>>

Daphne Marie

I never planned to be a fashion stylist. I literally fell into it. I was a part of an organization that had a National presence that promoted positive body images. I was a part of the National Movement. The organization was based out of Atlanta, GA. When they decided to spread across the country I was chosen as one of the lead people to form a group of peers in my city to help with the movement’s growth. Being a part of the organization we had photo shoots quarterly. So I was “dressing” myself at that time. Read more>>

Ashley Schmick

I planned my own wedding which was 165 guests; 75% coming from out of state and didn’t hire a planner or coordinator to help. Although I was able to run my own show, I understood how valuable and necessary it was to having someone to be in charge of your wedding day. There is no better way to learn all of the challenges of planning a wedding than to actually be a bride and put yourself in the shoes of her on wedding day. I learned from my mistakes; not having certain people in charge of certain things, not knowing how to bustle my dress, figuring out how to make a layout for the reception, guiding my own processional, etc. Read more>>

Angel Hayes

So, I’ve always had a “what if” thought about potentially pursuing a career in makeup. I was unsure of the route I would take in the beauty industry I just knew I wanted to be apart of it. I was a broke college student who couldn’t afford paying someone to do my makeup, so I started experimenting and fell in love. From there, I developed a passion and used makeup as a way to express my creativity. Read more>>

Stephen Alfred

The idea of Brandstrum came about after years of watching and listening to business owners struggle to effectively brand and market themselves. It seemed every conversation I had continually exposed an inability to properly distinguish the difference between branding and marketing. They’d never properly postured their brands for success, many times putting all of their eggs in the same basket and banking on tangibles, and not the intangibles. They were relying on this approach to resonate to an audience they’d never even targeted, and hoping things like their logo, business cards, brochures, and other tangible pieces told the story that would sell and grow them. Read more>>

Melina Fuenmayor

I became a Notary Signing Agent in June 2019, by coincidence. At that moment I was working in an attorney’s office, they asked me to get my notary commission, and so I did. Something caught my attention, I discovered that besides the Notary Public career there was something else called “Notary Signing Agent” and I started to research information related to this. I fell in love with it, and this is how, within 42 days I had started a new business. A Notary Signing Agent guides the borrower through the loan package, and get the paperwork signed, dated, and notarized. Read more>>

Brianna & Patrick Aguero

We started our business when Covid hit (scary – YES!) Our kids birthday have always been a big deal to us. We love going all out for them especially when it comes to the decor. It was our daughter 9th birthday and event planners were not accepting new clients. Decided to watch a couple YouTube videos and buy the supplies and we went from there. The next morning when she woke up to see her unicorn decor and how happy she was and constantly telling us she loved it lit this spark in us to think if we can make her this happy with our balloon decor just imagine doing this for other people and their special occasions. Read more>>

Miguel Frias

Since I can remember, photography for me was a hobby that always sparked my interest. There were times when I remember waking up early, often before class, at times during college to go capture a sunrise shoot. That’s how much photography excited me even if it meant getting up early. Soon after moving to Houston back in 2016, another passion of mine slowly started to develop, travel. Over time, I slowly started to see there was an opportunity to merge both travel and photography into a creative business. Read more>>

Jerricka Staten

Coming up with the idea of You Love My Hair Care was a process. It all started with my good friend, Tianna, who recently went vegan and was making her own aloe spray for her hair. I love creating things, so we started playing with recipes for a hair cream. After the first couple of batches, I started to research more natural ingredients and different recipes on Youtube. I kept trying out recipes until I got my three core products: The Extreme Hair Growth oil, Strengthening shampoo, and Infinity cream. Once I had these three products, I transitioned to using only these products on my hair and my two daughters’ hair (now 3), along with other products I was testing out. Read more>>

Christopher Howard

The Name that I came up with to give people the service that they want is… We Cater to You! As I first started going out eating in restaurants. shopping and just receiving services, it was either not quality, not quantity, not good service or just not what I asked for. So as life was just conteniuing and I was really enjoying what I do ( cooking) I decided , why not get good service , get what you pay for and even if the meal is expensive why can’t I get good quality at a reasonable price? Read more>>

Christopher Green

When my grandmother passed in 2011, I was just perfectly my craft in poetry and creative writing. I was writing about real-world issues and everyday situations that I was directly or indirectly involved in. I sought listening to music and spending time outside as an avenue to relieve stress. Losing a family member can be difficult, but there’s something about losing a grandmother hits differently. I understood then that family means way more than I ever could have fathom. I started to write on a daily basis to help relieve the pain and assist with the grief. Read more>>

Gabby Forlano

After graduating college with a degree in Kinesiology I became a certified personal trainer with a niche for mindful movements. I combined two of my passions, helping people and understanding that movement and exercise have a major impact on mental, physical, and emotional health. While working at shared space gyms, I noticed that the set and setting was not optimal for time effective goal achievement. Read more>>