My friend, Adrienne Orris, started the small business of EsperanzaViva in 2017 with the hope of supplying people with personalized, thoughtful jewelry for gifting. Over the past few years, she has made thousands of sales both online through Etsy, and at seasonal craft shows, outlet malls, and coffee shops. Primarily, she sells earrings made from various types of metals, along with lava bead bracelets and necklaces. Additionally, she sells DIY pearl necklaces at craft shows, where customers can shuck an oyster and make a pearl necklace!

As a former missionary in Canilla, Guatemala, Adrienne worked closely with a ministry to financially support widows living in the rural villages of the country. She would buy their hand-woven baskets and cloths, and then transport them to the U.S. to sell at local churches and craft shows. By doing so, she had a positive impact on many impoverished communities and demonstrated the importance of redemptive entrepreneurship.

Along with my parents and friends, Adrienne was one of the main people to encourage and support me in running a small business myself! She connected me with many other small business owners and gave an abundance of creative product and marketing ideas that I continue to utilize today.

Check out her handmade jewelry here: esperanzaviva.etsy.com

Songlorious, a creative company built by the young entrepreneurs Atout and Ellen Hodges in 2020, offers personalized songs for special occasions. Customers are able to choose their genre, mood, artist and story, and then Songlorious works to create a song through its network of over a hundred independent professional artists. The musicians of Songlorious are highly-trained in writing, recording, mixing, and mastering music, making it a very useful platform for people seeking to give the thoughtful gift of a high-quality, personalized song.

In 2022, Songlorious was featured on ABC’s Shark Tank, where they successfully got a deal with four different Sharks (Mark Cuban, Daymond John, Kevin O’Leary, and Peter Jones)! Since then, Songlorious has exponentially grown in popularity, reaching new audiences through its creative use of social media.

The story behind Songlorious is inspiring because the owners, previously having no experience with music, were able to tap into an entirely new passion by providing people with the thoughtful gift of personalized music.

For more information about Songlorious visit: https://www.songlorious.com/

Lovepop, founded in 2014 by the young entrepreneurs John Wise and Wombi Rose, is a company that seeks to help people gift thoughtfully through unique, 3-D cards. With hundreds of different designs to choose from, there is a card for every occasion, ranging from graduation to Disney to Easter. Additionally, Lovepop has expanded its product options to include pop-up bouquets, gifts, handmade paper flowers, decor, notecards, advent calendars, ornaments, pop-up stickers, and gift wrap. By doing so, they were able to more successfully meet the needs of their customers and be a part of every step in the gifting process!

“Lovepop is on a mission to create one billion magical moments.”

Lovepop was created as a combination of art and engineering, both of which were passions of Wise and Rose. These two entrepreneurs met at Webb Institute where they were training to become naval architects. After learning about the paper art from of kirigami on a trip to the Harvard Business School, they began to develop Lovepop. A year later, they were able to earn an investment from the Shark Kevin O’Leary on ABC’s Sharktank, allowing them to further expand their business and reach new customer bases!

The story behind Lovepop is inspiring because it shows the great potential of combining different passions to create a unique value for customers. By focusing on the customers’ needs, Wise and Rose were able to creative a fun product and brand that helps people give thoughtfully and creatively.

“How can we bring ice cream with us without a freezer?” asked the young entrepreneur Jordan Stern after going on a road trip to Yosemite in the summer of 2017. Stern was inspired by the technology of coffee thermos and their ability to keep drinks hot, and wondered if the same technique would work to keep things cold. After many attempts to develop a container to keep ice cream frozen over a long period of time, Stern finally succeeded and The Ice Cream Canteen was born.

From start to finish, Stern and his innovative business venture were strongly supported by many people. First of all, he collected a lot of feedback before finalizing the product, and was able to raise over $120,000 on Kickstarter, which was enough to launch the business. Further along on the journey, Stern was invited to be in season 14 of Shark Tank, where he pitched this unique product idea to the Sharks. He excitedly walked away with a deal from both Lori Greiner and Mark Cuban! With its foundational network of support, The Ice Cream Canteen has continued to grow and reach many new places since.

The story behind The Ice Cream Canteen is inspirational for entrepreneurs in all different stages of business development. Stern was able to succeed because he saw a problem that many people deal with, but perhaps don’t clearly recognize. He opened a doorway to something new – an opportunity for people to experience the joy of eating ice cream anytime, anywhere. By persevering in his work to create a well-designed product and gaining the support of many customers before launching the business, Stern was able to supply one of the greatest needs of ice-cream eaters around the world.

To learn more about The Ice Cream Canteen, visit https://www.theicecreamcanteen.com/

Dominic May, previously a scuba diving instructor, started the business CoastXP at age 23 (2018) with the goal of providing people with the opportunity to experience the coastline, history, geology, and marine life of his home in Australia. His startup has now grown to include a variety of different experiences and services in different locations, including a whale-watch tour, helicopter tour, adventure tour, lake cruise, nature walk, dining experience, and bespoke tour. Additionally, CoastXP offers private charters, making it a great family-strengthening and team-building activity. Customers are able to take a break from their phones and the rush of life to enjoy a peaceful day, immersed in the beauty of nature.

“We create innovate coastal interactions and experiences”

CoastXP was able to succeed and continues to grow for a variety of different reasons. Most importantly, Dominic was able to share his passion for scuba diving, marine tourism, and Australia by overlapping them into a single brand and customer experience. Dominic’s innovative mindset and love for nature attracts people who aspire to be adventurers, and he provides them with an opportunity to become just that through his business.

Dominic’s entrepreneurial journey is inspiring because he was able to successfully combine his many passions into an experience-based business that provides customers with long-lasting value and a reason to enjoy the beauty of God’s creation.

For more information about Dominic and his startup, visit the CoastXP website at https://www.coastxp.com/!