Founder Stories
We're inspired by founders who are changing the way the world buys, sells, and thinks. Below, we cover the ups and downs of those who’ve built something from the ground up in hopes that through their challenges and victories, you can find purpose and inspiration for whatever idea you’ve been thinking about.
Community and Competition: Inside the Mind of a 19-Year-Old Founder
Ollies and Ocean Life: Inside the Mind of a 14-Year-Old Founder
If You Build It They Will Come—But It Might Not Be Who You Expected
Books and Big Dreams: Inside the Mind of a 19-Year-Old Founder
Overdraft: KOTN’s Founder Talks Hard Times and Soft Shirts
Cartoons and Coding: Inside the Mind of an 11-Year-Old Founder
Overdraft: How One Founder Built A Braiding Business—from her Living Room
Beezus and Boxer Shorts: Inside the Minds of Two School-Aged Founders
Overdraft: How this Eyewear Mogul Started a Business from a Backpack
Pecans and Politics: Inside the Mind of a 12-Year-Old Founder
Social Studies and Stationery: Inside the Mind of a 10-Year-Old Founder
Overdraft: How This Army Vet Fought His Way out of a Financial Ambush
Beagles and Basketball: Inside the Mind of a 12-Year-Old Founder
Vanguard: How A Tribe Called Red Brought Activism to the Dance Floor
Overdraft: The Dark Side of Overnight Success
Overdraft: How Native Poppy Bloomed—Even Through Its Founder’s Darkest Days
Sharks and Shooting Hoops: Inside the Minds of Two School-Aged Founders
Vanguard: This Latinx Bath Brand Is Bubbling with Nostalgia
How to Be a Boss: 18 Tips from This Is Us’ Randall and Beth Pearson
Bath Bombs and Batman: Inside the Mind of a 6-Year-Old Founder
Vanguard: The Unique Voice Behind Gender-fluid Wellness Products
How to Be a Boss: 10 Tips from Shrill
Outraged: T-shirts and the Ongoing Fight for Women’s Equality
STEM and Stargate Atlantis: Inside the Mind of a 11-Year-Old Founder
Vanguard: Meet the Nigerian Publisher Heating Up African Romance Novels
How to Be a Boss: 12 Tips from The Crown
Overdraft: Success for This Founder—at First—Simply Meant Surviving
Baseball and Black Panther: Inside the Mind of an 11-Year-Old Founder
Vanguard: This Artist Conjured a Magical World of Black Anime Characters
How to Be a Boss: 16 Tips from Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Overdraft: Will His Family’s Food Business Turn into a Recipe for Success?
Sloths and Shiny Things: Inside the Mind of a 10-Year-Old Founder
Introducing Homework—A Series Taking You Inside the Minds of Kid Founders
Vanguard: How Northbound Leather Became a Thriving Fetish Wear Company
How to Be a Boss: 12 Tips from GLOW
How Tibetan Monks and Cross-Country Moves Inspired This Artist’s Journey
Vanguard: He Ditched a Government Job to Start a Skin-Care Line for Men of Color
How to Be a Boss: 19 Tips from Schitt’s Creek
Overdraft: She Spent Retirement Savings to Launch These Building Toys—Without Regret
“It’s Never Been a Fear of Mine to Try Things”
How an Ex-Financier Built a Beauty Behemoth from her Kitchen
Vanguard: The Lengths This Indigenous Jeweler Went to for Her Craft
How to Be a Boss: 16 Tips from Orange Is the New Black
Overdraft: When This Self-Made Beauty Boss Risked Everything
Behind the Curtain: How This Magician Turned an Art Form Into a Business
Vanguard: She Traded a Career in Law for High-Fashion Hijabs
How to Be a Boss: 19 Tips from Big Little Lies
These Brothers Run a Business—Between Football Practice and Playing with Lego
