Our city is home to so many incredible businesses and so we asked the founders how they came up with the ideas for their businesses and have shared their responses below.

Jadmen Welch | Creative Director, Serial Entrepreneur & Business Coach

I always knew I would live a life with multiple incomes. Growing up I dreamed of being apart of so many industries. I branded myself under Jazz Beautiful Hair the cosmetologist for 6 years and grew to hate the box it put me in. I just knew I was way more then that. I was stuck between 3 different industries. Social event planning, cosmetology and business coaching. When Covid hit, amongst other things, I really was lost in which career I should focus more on. I mostly felt alone and without a community that truly understood my entrepreneurial journey. I remember discussing this feeling with my therapist and she supported me to focus in and make it make since. Read more>>

Nicola Poplin | Entrepreneur, Owner of Pop’s Famous Foods

I was in the process of resigning from my job as a principal and decided i wanted to work for myself. I was recovering from back to back concussions and realized my medical issues were not a result of happenstance. The universe gave me limes so i decided to make guacamole. My friends were always asking me how i made certain dishes but the guacamole hit them different. One of them was hiding behind the kitchen counter trying to scrape the remaining guac out of the bowl and right then and there, i knew i had something special. Read more>>

Rochelle Smith | Co-Founder, Beauty Braids & Beyond

way that people sell bundles. and then, after consulting my business partners, we decided just to open an entire beauty supply store. This was at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement following the tragic incident with George Floyd. We noticed that beauty supply stores that catered primarily to the Black demographic did not have a stance on this atrocity and displayed no alliance with our community during this time. Read more>>

Rich Tenor | CEO of Clearbridge Properties

I came up with my idea of Clearbridge Properties when I seen the lack of understanding between traditional and non traditional real estate. How we assist our clients, structure deals, and communicate with each was a on going problem. I decided to form Clearbridge to assist with bridging the gap between the to real estate worlds. Read more>>