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.

Mark Dority | Marketing strategist & loyalty expert

My background and career in marketing has been incredibly rewarding. I’ve had the opportunity to build brand loyalty and customer engagement for exciting global clients which has fueled my passion for the field. I’ve been able to navigate the challenges of working for large corporations, weathering economic downturns (the dot-com bubble, 9/11, and the subprime mortgage crisis). Read more>>

Colleen Ferris Thompson | Entrepreneur

I came up with the idea for my business after spending several years in the Swimwear industry on the retail side. I was on a vacation and wished that my swimsuit was reversible and the ties could be changed out so that I could secure the same tan lines and the same great fit, but look different anytime I wanted to. Read more>>

Katie Cone | Voice Coach & Singer-Songwriter

I began teaching privately during my senior year of high school. I didn’t know I’d actually end up sticking with it, almost a decade later! My business started out humbly, teaching different instruments to kids in my neighborhood. As I continued to develop myself as a singer-songwriter in college, I fell more in love with the science behind singing. When covid hit, my business shifted to solely online. Read more>> 

Jason Diminich | Creative, curious & compassionate non-profit leader

Biome was born out of a camping trip in 2020, during the pandemic. Ricardo (Biome co-founder) and I were sitting around the campfire late at night, reminiscing about the things we missed before lockdown and dreaming of the spaces we longed to return to. The recurring theme of the convo was to capture the sense of joy and meaning we so often felt during the communal and creative experiences of our past. Read more>>

Kara Vendel | Founder MM Lidl Co.

MM Lidl Co. was born in 2020, the same year my son was born. He was actually born on January 1st – what I thought was going to be the best year ever quickly took a turn with the pandemic, a racial reckoning, a massive political divide and the country quite literally was on fire. All I could think was “what world did I bring this little boy into!?” Read more>>

Julie Gentry | Transformational Life-Coach and Well-Being Facilitator

I am a life-long learner and highly value supporting people to empower themselves in their own healing and well-being. My intention was to incorporate the services and modalities that I found most useful in my own journey and to integrate them in a way that could change and evolve as I do and be tailored to each individual. Read more>>

Christopher Batlle | Electrician & Homeless with disability

Being homeless and having inadequate resources I realized that getting the word out about the truth is a two edged sword. I can help educate people to truth and reality and at the same time I can have. Full time job with my content channels due to having seizures and having a service dog makes getting employment extremely difficult. Life is a Beautiful thing yet full of trials and tribulations. Read more>>

Priscilla Pope | Founder & Therapist at Tantra Sacred Realm LLC

The idea for my business emerged from my personal journey of transformation. I was experiencing a profound disconnection from my feminine energy and sexuality, which was affecting every aspect of my life. As I embarked on a journey to reconnect with my feminine essence and embrace my sexuality from a place of connection with the divine within, I witnessed a beautiful transformation in myself. Read more>>

Christa Paustenbaugh | Photographer & Owner

I have always had a love for photography. We are a military family and when we moved to Japan I needed an outlet since a job in my trained professional career was not in the cards. I figured if I didn’t enjoy it I didn’t have to proceed with it. Turns out I loved it and 11 years later I’m still cultivating this little one woman show! Read more>>

Loa Warner | Fingerstyle Guitarist

I’d say you know when you know, and that giving up on one thing doesnt mean giving up on you. Throughout our lives we all go through phases. We may think we have it figured out when were 18 but then 20 comes along, then 25….etc. I’ve been playing guitar for 18 years, but didn’t take it seriously for many of them. Read more>>