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.

Zach Bingham | CEO A to Z Sports

A to Z Sports is an On-Demand Sports Talk Network that covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks through live-streaming sports talk shows and website publications. A to Z Media, LLC was created by Austin Stanley and Zach Bingham in August of 2016. After being in Sports Talk Radio in Nashville, TN for several years, my business partner and I realized that we could take the same type of concept and put it on social media. Read more>>

Michelle Lu | Boba Lover | Teacher | Mom

I’m Michelle and I am a boba addict. I started my Instagram page to promote local boba shops and showcase drinks around town. As the page grew, I wanted to share my love of boba with others, in a real way. I considered different types of food/drinks events. I kept seeing wine tastings and beer tastings and thought, “Wouldn’t it be amazing to have a boba tasting?” I shared the idea on my Instagram stories and got great feedback. Then, I reached out to a few boba shops and made it happen. Read more>>

Laquitta Smith | Tax Preparation Company Owner

I came up with the idea of my business because I never wanted to put myself or any of my clients in the position that a shady tax preparer put me in before. That experience caused me to want to start my own tax preparation company to show people that there are still some good business owners and that I can treat my clients how I want to be treated. Read more>>

McKenzie Crawford | Bookstore Owner

When I was young, I always had a fascination of books. It was incredible how words on a page could take my mind someplace completely different. If I read a book and I really loved it, I’d read all the books written by the author of the book I loved. I have so many memories of asking my Dad what words meant or what context certain sentences were and really bonding with him. The books that stick out the most are the Harry Potter series. Read more>>

Christina Campbell | Nurse Practitioner and Cosmetic Injector

The idea of my business started when I left to work in NYC in 2020 doing the COVID-19 Pandemic. I actually filed for my LLC application while in NYC. Being there made me realize that I needed to pursue to my dreams,, life is short and there will never be the right time, I started it all there all while work 12-14 hours 7 days a week. Read more>>

Lindsay Ronga | Founder OutshiningED | TEDx & NEDA Speaker

I had an eating disorder for over seven years. I tried so hard to recover and it wasn’t working. The frustrating part was that in every other area of my life, if I put my mind to something, I could figure it out! I was at Harvard Business School, just got a job to be CEO for Gary Vaynerchuk. I was training for marathons. I was goal-oriented and driven as heck! Read more>>

Jamila Mitchell | Designer Vintage Reseller

Starting a business can be very intimidating. It involves a lot of “what ifs” and often naysayers when you explain your vision, but you have to know your audience. Studying my targeted audience really gave me the push that I needed to actually start my business. I consider myself actually to be a part of my audience as well. I sat on my brand for at least 3 years, just unsure of where exactly I wanted to go with it, but I was always working on it. Just trying to put ideas together with what I thought would be perfect for me. Read more>>