It takes a lot more than an idea to build a business, but there can’t be a business without the idea. So we asked folks who’ve built wonderful businesses to tell us about how they came up with the idea in the first place.

Dr. Joy Brown-Bolden | Parent Coach & Professor

The idea behind my business was based on a personal need. I had struggled to find a motherhood community led by a professional woman of color. When the pandemic hit, I was a new mama and desperately needed to get into community with like-minded mamas. After sharing about my need on social media, I learned that so many other mamas had the same problem. At the time, there were many social media parent influencers, but few were trained experts. Being that I had the professional training and expertise to serve parents, I created the My Modern Parenting and the Modern Mama Squad to meet a need for myself and others. Read more>>

Christy Luspo & Leighann Westfall | Uptown Picnic Company Founders

We are Christy and Leighann, co-founders and creators of Uptown Picnic Company. We’ve been best friends for 10+ years, and we have always loved spending time outdoors with our friends – especially in Dallas, a city that means so much to the both of us. We launched Uptown Picnic in the heat of Covid during the summer of 2020 – at that time, there was a need and an urge for people to get out of their homes to be able to connect with their friends and family in a safe, effortless way. Read more>>

LaShon Rodgers | Wedding & Event Planner/Travel Agent

I came up with the idea for my business after having the love and desire to always host and throw game nights and parties for friends and family. I love helping people and being the subject matter expert. I grew more involved with event planning when I planned my own wedding and did everything from beginning to end. The satisfaction of seeing how everything came together and being a part of all of the logistical elements bought me so much joy that I quickly saw and felt that this was a great business opportunity to go into. Due to this, Forever In a Day Wedding & Event Planning was born. Read more>>

Noah Chen | Co-Founder & Community Growth Manager

BJJLINK was born of out recognizing that in order for the martial art and sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to truly evolve and keep expanding globally, the Jiu Jitsu community needed embrace a shift towards a worldwide online presence. Before the creation of BJJLINK, there were no collective insights on almost any form of data surrounding the sport (how many people train around the world, how many academies exist, belt rank distributions, etc.), no way to truly connect with and engage with other practitioners outside of one’s academy, and no platform designed to help run Jiu Jitsu academies and businesses. Read more>>

April Prohaska | Entrepreneur, Pet Enthusiast & Business Owner

I have always been very driven in business with an entrepreneurial spirit. After leaving the corporate world in 2000, I realized I wanted to pursue my passion of working with animals in some discipline. Between 2000 and 2004 I began looking into veterinary services, dog retail storefronts, 501c(3) dog organizations, and traditional dog services like day care, boarding and grooming that people rely on heavily to maintain their pets healthy lifestyles. Read more>>

Angelita Howard | Wedding Officiant& Mental Wellness Coach

I started Authentic Unions because I noticed a need for diversity in inclusive officiants. My wife and I have married five years ago, and we had a difficult time finding a nontraditional officiant who was willing to marry an LGBT couple. We wanted someone who looked like us and we could not find one. We ended up being married to someone wonderful however it left me wondering, how many other couples had the same issue? As time went on and I progressed in my graduate degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling other questions began to go through my mind. Read more>>