Meet courageous entrepreneurs who followed their passion

Doug Bard and his father, Bob, have been inventing for most of their lives. However, their greatest idea yet is that of tape. Specifically, moving tape where you can always find the end of the roll. It’s called The Wave Tape. Now, as they reimagine a simple solution to a universal issue, the duo is continuing to find success in the market.

Jordan Lawson has always loved drawing, coloring, and creating art as a whole. When he was in college, he was inspired by an art entrepreneurship class to start his own business. However, when he graduated, he started working for the government instead. After nine years there, he was ready to make the leap. Jordan founded Ground Zero Studios, a branding studio that helps organizations stand out from their competition.

After spending many years as an Executive Assistant, Ethan Bull unexpectedly faced layoffs, forcing him to reconsider his career path. With his severance package as a financial cushion, Ethan and his wife, Stephanie, launched ProAssisting, a fractional EA company. Their business focuses on connecting highly skilled EAs with top-level executives, offering flexible, high-quality support without the need for a full-time hire.

While browsing the Golf subreddit, David Paxton saw a lot of people posting deals on golf gear. Looking through these deals was fun, but it was also time-consuming if you were looking for a specific item. So Paxton created Daily Golf Steals, automating the deals to help golfers find what they wanted faster. He still runs the business as a side hustle while working a full-time job.

Kris Louis entered the world of audio/visual by chance while job hunting during the 2008 recession. After several years in the industry, his frustration with the way his employer operated pushed him to take the leap of quitting to start his own successful AV company. Kris credits failure for shaping his journey, teaching him to stay open to multiple paths rather than limiting himself to a single direction.