Ideas aren’t everything, execution matters greatly, but starting often requires an idea and so we asked folks to think back and tell us the story of how they came up with the idea for their businesses. We’ve highlighted some of our favorite stories below.

Katie Bibler | Vintage Luxury Seller

I’ve always loved vintage items- home decor and clothes (I wore an altered version of my mother’s wedding dress)- and enjoyed the hunt. I think any secondhand shopping is fantastic; it’s good for our wallets and for the environment. So when I found my own vintage Louis Vuitton, I thought, why not do this for others? I enjoyed it and it was fulfilling. And I am able to give part of my proceeds to charity. Read more>>

Bea Bogan | Photographer& Youtube Content Creator

Fearless Expression is a creative endeavor I decided to explore after now being a full time photographer for about 3 three years. Photography has been my passion for over 10 years now, which has also allowed me to always be open to new creative concepts, content and connection that are presented to me. Read more>>

Nikka Suleymanova-Winchell | Interior Designer and Content Creator

They say ‘there’s no place like home’ for a reason. Your home is the place that grounds you, a place you can retreat to after a long day, and the place you spend creating memories with your loved ones. It’s where the magic happens, so to speak. I realized long ago that certain design choices directly impact not just my mood, but my overall disposition . A cluttered home made me feel anxious, while a light and bright room gave me energy. Read more>>

Anthony K. Myrick-Lawson | Short Trip Planner & Product Expert

Bondz Travel originally began as a way to solve my own problem in October 2020. I’ve always been the Trip Planner in the family, but towards the end of the nation’s quarantine period I felt very connected to how my time was being spent. Read more>>

Lauren Rae Holtermann | Illustrator & Designer, Creator of Monster Market

I’ve always had a couple of side-projects burning at time— freelance gigs, commissions, collaborations with friends. I love exploring interests and I love building things from scratch. In college, I found a handful of artists with similar ambitions, and we started a group called Rozelle Artists Guild— named after the street where we found and fell in love with an abandoned warehouse. Read more>>

Mandy Yates | Artist

Fall, 2016, I was in school at the time. I had gone back at 34 because I came to a point in life, where I was trying to figure out what direction I was going in and what I was supposed to do. At the time, I was going for Occupational Therapy, and school took up pretty much all of my time. I wasn’t working, income was low and Christmas time came around. I had to figure out something to make as gifts because I didn’t have time, money, or much energy at that point. Read more>>

Trevor Bassett | Owner Western Slope Gear

I had been working on various brand ideas for a while. I wanted to build a little outdoor brand of my own where I could create fun and unique designs, write blogs about hiking, post photos and videos of my adventures, and generally engage with a like-minded community. While reading about the history of the Colorado Rockies, I learned more about the importance Colorado’s Western Slope plays in providing water to the majority of Colorado’s citizens. Read more>>