The Moment That Inspired Me to Become an Entrepreneur

If you’re an entrepreneur, you’ve had it. That one moment that changed everything. The moment you realized you wanted to start your own business. Whether it was getting fed up with your 9-5 lifestyle, or if you’ve always dreamed of it the moment you saw Richard Branson on MTV Cribs, that moment led you to where you are now.

We asked four entrepreneurs what was the moment that inspired them to become entrepreneurs. Each of them had something different and inspiring to share:

I couldn’t believe it didn’t already exist!

I left a cushy, six-figure salary as VP at a world class creative agency, because I wanted to empower women creatively.

In 2013, my social feeds were exploding with pictures of hand-painted nail designs. (Nail art is one of the top 5 most shared things on Instagram and Pinterest.) I don’t have the skill to paint such mini-masterpieces, in fact I don’t even have time to watch the paint dry. So for me and many women, custom nail art was more of an aspiration than a reality.

I wanted to put my Instagrams on my nails as easy, no-dry-time nail wraps and I was shocked that that didn’t already exist. This idea rattled around in my head for a whole year while I worked as the VP User Experience Director for Crispin Porter + Bogusky. It was a great role at a company that makes award-winning work but I couldn’t stop thinking about nails and the more I looked into it, the more I realized that I needed to create a better solution.

The 8.5 billion dollar nail industry thrives at women’s expense. Modern nail polish evolved from car enamel and women have been doing their nails the same tedious, toxic way ever since. From harmful chemicals to labor abuse, the nail industry is ripe for a revolution.

I formed a partnership with a mutual acquaintance. Using my UX skill and her marketing talents, we’ve started the nail revolution with NailSnaps.

I left the agency in the summer of 2015 to put all my energy into making NailSnaps the world’s best way to create, share, and wear nail art.

Angel Anderson, CEO & Co-Founder NailSnaps 

My network showed me it’s possible.

I always really admired entrepreneurs and particularly my first boss who is a self-made success. I just always thought it was a special person that was chosen to be an entrepreneur and started just dabbling on the side with no plans of going full-time.

Then I joined a business group that ended up being full of legitimately successful entrepreneurs. They showed me that all there really is to it, is to actually just do it. Jump in feet first and decide that’s what you’ll do.

So I quit my job, sold my real estate and literally everything else I had and moved to Europe to be mentored in ecommerce and now I’m living my dream.

– Alex Drysdale, Founder Crik Nutrition

I was tired of making safe choices.

I was inspired to become an entrepreneur when I realized I was tired and unfulfilled with making safe choices. I decided to start a business after graduating from law school, and others thought I was crazy to throw away something I spent years working towards. Being an entrepreneur requires you to bet on yourself, time and time again. I’ve learned to always bet on myself over anything else, because that’s something I’ve spent my entire life working towards.

I founded Feather, an online marketplace that helps families find, hire, and coordinate in-home senior care.

– Rachel Fuller, CEO Feather

My boss encouraged me, and became my first client

I was inspired to become an entrepreneur by a former boss, who I worked for as the in-house marketing director for his clothing brand. He encouraged me to start my own public relations agency and offered his brand as my first client. The thought of starting my own business made me very nervous, but looking back after 18 years, I can’t imagine doing anything different.

The moment I knew being an entrepreneur was my calling, was when I realized that I create my own destiny in this role – from the clients, to the amazing team of people who I work with. That is why I love being an entrepreneur. (Thank you to J.B. for believing in me.)

– Erika Klein, Founder of Shout Public Relations

We loved hearing these entrepreneurs’ inspirational moments. What was yours? Tell us in the comments the moment YOU were inspired to start your own business.