Maegan Carpenter grew up canning with her family, but she never thought she'd turn fermenting foods into a career. After countless licensing and zoning challenges, she and her husband founded Hex Ferments, a successful company that uses traditional fermentation to preserve and transform local, organic ingredients into nourishing foods.

Yelitsa Jean-Charles never had a doll that looked like her growing up. The one time her parents gave her a black doll, she burst into tears because she thought that it wasn't the "pretty one". Since then, Yelitsa has made it her goal to make sure that no other children feel the way she did about her own appearance growing up, so during her junior year at Rhode Island School of Design, she created Healthy Roots Dolls, a toy company that creates dolls and storybooks that empower young girls and represent the beauty of our diversity. This is a story about empowerment, self-love and raw ambition.

Alex Torrey is a former CIA employee who founded The Rounds, a company that refills your nonperishable pantry items and picks up your empty containers. Like the modern-day milkman, but for sustainable staples. Focused on reducing waste and creating convenience, The Rounds are on their way to becoming a household name.

Jerry Kozak and Ricky Winowiecki began printing and selling t-shirts out of their college dorm with little success. After graduation, they borrowed $16,000 from friends and family to buy their first commercial t-shirt printer. After a couple more years of dismal sales, business started to pick up. The company got its first significant contracts and moved into a warehouse. With over 50 employees and two dogs, Ann Arbor t-shirt company prints and embroiders over 500,000 shirts per year for clients all over the world. This is a story about resilience and absolutely refusing to give up.

Don Trunk is a music producer dedicated to giving artists a space to be themselves and create music in a safe and comfortable environment. From recording music in his grandma's basement to building a highly reputable full-service studio, Don is helping to make artists dreams come true.

Since 2017, Drew Patrick has been developing a concept that would connect people with locally sourced and grown grocery products. So, when the pandemic hit, he knew it was time to fasttrack the concept and launch his business, Michigan Fields, as quickly as possible. Essentially an online grocery store, you shop just like you would through Instacart or the other services, but the products are coming directly from the source. This is a story about quickly adapting to your environment and bringing businesses together to provide a valuable service.

Ian Smith the owner of SurfSup, a company that offers guided standup whitewater Paddle Boarding tours and instruction. Ian turned four paddleboards and a vision into a successful company that mentors inner city youth through ecological education, Ian is doing well, by doing good.

After witnessing a drive-by shooting in his community of Wilmington, North Carolina, George Taylor decided to take action. He started Tru Colors Brewery, whose mission is to unite and create understanding between rival gangs in order to better their community.

La Cruz are the owners of Essex Squeeze, a juice bar that offers a healthy taste of New York City flavor. From running bridges in NYC to serving up delicious juice, Cedric and Charles are focused on helping people find a healthy balance through exercise and nutrition.

Two high school friends, Andrew Hare and Matt Daniels had a dream to bring healthy, local produce to South Carolina. Vertical Roots has since grown into the largest hydroponic container farm in the US producing year-round leafy greens and produce all throughout the United States.

Mike Malcanas is the founder of Olde Towne Overhaul, a company on a mission to revive Downtown New Kensington and open doors for new business owners. Mike started with a vision of what "could be" for the city of New Kensington, and his efforts are changing the future of this Pennsylvania community.

Amanda and Dave Jacobs loved the beach so much they wanted to bring it home with them. After experimenting with a variety of methods, they finally found a way to turn Wrightsville Beach into a delicious salt perfect for cooking and created their own business, Sea Love Sea Salt Co.

Founded by Andre Peart, Conconnect is a company that has revolutionized the process of reentry by connecting formerly incarcerated people with services instantly. Going through the process himself, Andre recognized the challenges that were leading to high recidivism rates, and decided to create a system that would give the formerly incarcerated a real chance at successful re-entry.

Dave Myers was in Hawaii on vacation when a canceled scuba trip led him to "Trike Flying." This life-altering experience set Dave on a mission to create Amphibian Air, a company that invites the public to ride and pilot a FAA certified amphibious trike over the waters of Savannah, Georgia.

Churn is a business committed to coffee, community and delicious homemade Ice Cream. Founder Kelley Costa has overcome enormous health challenges to create a successful, multilocation homemade ice cream and coffee shop.

Tracey and Girard Newkirk believe that every community needs a place to collaborate and create together. Genesis Block provides not only coworking spaces, but also an Entrepreneur Academy with small business courses for all backgrounds and ANZA, a platform that pairs minority and women owned businesses with anchor institutions and prime contractors.

Water Song is a restaurant that brings the traditions and flavors from founder Colin Liang's hometown of Yunnan Province, China. Originally coming to America to study business, Colin's life took a series of twists and turns that led him right back to his roots.

Lou Thomann and Lori Judge took a vacation to Ossabaw Island where they were introduced to the Yaupon Holly tree. After experiencing the tea made from the Yaupon's leaves, Lou was hooked and spent the next three years researching until finally launching The Yaupon Tea Company in hopes of sharing the health benefits of tea with world.

David and Aaron Cabello are the founders of Black and Mobile. A food delivery company that is on a mission to help elevate underserved black owned businesses. Focused on businesses that are often overlooked, Black and Mobile provides them with the technology they need to not only expand their customer base and stay competitive in this rapid changing economy.

The Wrights are the proud parents of four children. Their two youngest, Bitty and Beau, have Down Syndrome. The Wrights opened their first Bitty & Beau Coffee in Wilmington, NC, a place they hoped would teach acceptance and inclusion. Today, Bitty & Beau is a franchise business that has grown to several locations across the US and employs hundreds of people with disabilities, providing the community with not only great coffee, but also a meaningful experience.