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.

Jamie and Jessie Zano | Creators of Vote or Dare

My brother and I always had a passion for games, growing up we always played games with our family. Monopoly, Uno, Stratego, you name it. It was when we were older, we always enjoyed having game nights with our friends. This is when we realized all the games we were playing were all so similar and just weren’t so enjoyable. We thought why not make our own party game that we can make different than all the other party games while having the best time with your friends. Read more>>

Toni Porter | Candle Maker & Home Fragrance Specialist

My name is Toni Porter, I’m a mom, serial entrepreneur & DJ. I became an official business owner after being laid off from my job. I was also in college at the same time, in need of extra money. The economy wasn’t the greatest and lots of layoffs were occurring across MI. I’ve always burned candles to relax but was having difficulty finding a good brand that actually smelled good. My god mom started making them as a hobby and I loved them. So, I started selling them at the local hospital that I worked for. When I got laid off, I asked my godmother if she wanted to go into business together. Read more>>

Gintare Blooming Sky Florist | Floral designer

I have worked in very prestigious floral store in Los Angeles couple years ago, and I fell in love with floral designs, profit it brings. I was trained by extremely talented and experienced designers and I was very good at it. So I decided to open my own floral business as under the consequences of events I had to move to Miami. I noticed that Miami does not have that kind of lush modern designs to offer. And 2 years later, last week actually I purchased an established floral business in Fort Lauderdale it is called “A Marc in Design” which going to be run under my name by me. Read more>>

Yessenia Mendez | Founder of Bark & Purr SoFlo Pet Care Services LLC

From a very young age, I had a passion for animals and always dreamed of working in the pet care industry. Four days into my 19th birthday, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, and the dream of working with animals was put on the back burner. As a young single mom, taking care of my daughter was my top priority. I worked in different fields and excelled at anything that came my way, but I was never truly happy with my career choices. Fast forward 15 years, I had recently moved to South Florida from New Jersey right before the Pandemic hit. Read more>>