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.

Judi Uttal

The idea for the Autism In Entertainment Workgroup was inspired by my background and a need that I saw in the industry. My career has been high technology marketing executive working in networking and operating systems. Read more>>

Attianna Palmer

In 2015 while I was in my last year of university, I got accepted to be an English Language Assistant in Lyon, France. I’ve never been to France before, so this was going to be a whole new experience but I was excited to explore a new culture and country. Read more>>

Nicholas Jackson

The idea for Vicious Studio was born out of a blend of frustration and a spark of opportunity that came during some of the most reflective times in my life. Read more>>

Adam Roth

The idea for Balladeer Coffee was born from a love of coffee and my admiration for artists and songwriters who pour their blood, sweat and tears into their craft despite the odds being stacked against them. Read more>>

Crystal, Hillary, Kelly Uhl, Blake, Mckinney

Crystal (The Calm) spontaneously signed up for a virtual masterclass, and afterwards, she called Hillary (The Storm) to discuss it. When she asked about the class, Crystal told Hillary it focused on blogging for income, and that she was keen to leverage her content creation skills. Read more>>

Melvin Nicholson

I’ve always been interested in music. I spent a lot of time learning about it, I spent a lot of money on it (CDs, Tapes, Posters, shirts, concerts), I really didn’t have any other interests as a kid. Read more>>

Jodi Maertens

THE IDEA: This idea came to me after a conversation with friends that seemed too far-fetched to be true. “One of us should open up a boutique so we have somewhere to shop [in our small community of 300 people]” was the comment made. Read more>>

Lena Shabanova

The idea of starting a wedding videography business didn’t come to me immediately. I received my Master’s Degree in Banking from the Economic University, but I knew from a young age that I wanted to pursue a creative career. Read more>>

Aubrey Taylor

As a depressed teenager struggling with extreme anxiety, I found myself constantly striving to meet others’ needs while neglecting my own. Read more>>

Vaishnavi Moturi

I have always been fascinated by public policy and the intricacies of drafting legislation, ideating the aforementioned legislation, and collaborating with people at all levels to develop policies that change lives. Read more>>

Chen Zhao

After earning a master’s degree in mechanical engineering, I found myself drawn not to the world of machines but to the power of storytelling. Read more>>

Elizabeth Hall

Travel-eeze is the end result of decades of suffering from constipation through health issues from endometriosis. The bouts of constipation became so severe that I stopped enjoying food and had to resign from my dream job of being a flight attendant. Read more>>

Chrisshele Griffin

“Chrisshele, this is so good, you should sell this!” “If you truly enjoy it, why not start a business?” I would hear that phrase or question many times before I finally pushed myself forward. Read more>>

Rachel Adams

I have been in advertising since I was 19 years old. I worked for my father-in-law at his agency for years. When you work in the field of advertising, you must find a way to squeeze descriptions and services into 30-second scripts. Read more>>

Christine Eberle

Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to run my own business so I was always on the lookout for something that I could do on my own. Read more>>

Jennifer Frisco

I love to thrift, browse around antique shops and anything vintage. When I lived in Brooklyn, New York, I was lucky enough to have a really great thrift store in a short walking distance – I shopped there often and started to collect old army camo jackets. Read more>>

Doug Parsons

I was planning to start a podcast in my last job, but then I was let go and was never able to start the project. So between jobs, I decided to keep my brain sharp, and I started the America Adapts podcast. Read more>>

Joseph Brackins

Hello, my name is Joseph Brackins I was born in Milwaukee ,Wisconsin I grew up as a kid watching my mother and father cooking different types of foods. Read more>>

Gary Peterson

While I owned my previous company, gap intelligence, we purchased season tickets to the Padres and Gulls and shared those tickets with employees, clients, and service partners to stay engaged and celebrate great work. Read more>>

Deidra Hepp

My husband and I were going to a rodeo and I had gotten a new outfit. I tried it on with my cowboy boots and they looked too plain. I love bling and had the idea to make a rhinestone bracelet for my boots. Read more>>

Breana Hardy

I was 18 years old working at a popular fast-food restaurant when 2 of my favorite princesses came through the drive thru. As I was handing THE Ice Queen her burger and fry, I looked at her and said, “How do I do whatever it is that you’re doing??”. Read more>>

Megan Garvin

My husband and I had our first two children in the span of 15 months. I left my job running a yoga studio to stay at home with our first 2 girls but I picked up a part-time job as a consultant/content creator for a nutritional program that focused on teaching people how to maximize their health and wellness by eating real food with balanced macronutrients to optimize metabolism and stabilize blood sugar. Read more>>

Elise Tabin

When my then 12-year-old daughter, Madysen, began experiencing her first bout of breakouts, I felt for her, as I do every teenager dealing with skin that makes them uncomfortable about their appearance and diminishes self-confidence. Read more>>

Christina Hodges

As a child my mother had albums and albums of pictures. I didn’t have a close relationship with my moms side of the family and didn’t know my fathers family, so these albums were like a peephole into my past. Read more>>

Apryl Payton Gordon

AP Athletics was established back in 2016 when I became certified as personal trainer. The journey was new for me and I was still trying to figure out which direction I wanted to go as far as working at a corporate gym facility or traveling to train clients. Read more>>