When her family moved to Salt Lake City, UT, Catherine Ferguson was super excited.  She was closer to family, their house had a big backyard, and they got a ping pong table!  Of course, when you’re 5, everything is pretty exciting.  

One morning she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, went down for breakfast, and made a sound that only deliriously excited little kids can make when they see CHICKENS in their yard.  Thusly began Catherine’s entrepreneurial journey.

After learning the basics of cleaning chicken coops and all the ways to cook eggs, Catherine decided others should share in her fowl bounty.  She sold all her neighbors on a weekly subscription for a dozen eggs delivered by an excited young girl with an infectious smile.

Catherine used those proceeds to buy baking goods (she didn’t need any eggs).  And by golly did she learn how to bake.  It started with cupcakes for neighbors and birthday cakes for relatives, but before she even started high school she had developed such a reputation that complete strangers paid her to make their wedding cakes.  

Before long, Catherine had a long customer list and many fans on Instagram, waiting excitedly for her next “cake drop” picture.  When she got to Original Nations as a high schooler, Catherine knew she wanted to launch something related to her baking passion.  Through the brand creation process, she decided to give a hug to her dearly departed grandmother, for whom Catherine was given her middle name of Florence.

Jamie Lynn Davis was never really a dog person.  She was too busy with gymnastics growing up - Olympic hopefuls need to spend a lot of time at the gym.  Then it was off to college, where being a scholarship athlete cheerleader took up all her time.  Not a lot of time for a dog :(

The closest she got to a pet was a Puma, the company for whom she started and ran social media activities.  Then she met the (first) love of her life - Boone the golden retriever.  The wagging tail, the joyful chasing and pouncing on tennis balls, the boundless energy running on the beach.  Just… pure… joy, and unconditional love - it changed her life.  

She was hooked, and became involved in animal causes.  When she decided to launch a brand on Original Nations, the most “on brand” thing for her to do was to make a brand about her dog, to support animal rescue.  That is how Boone & Co. was born.

The hats were an easy call. She loves the sun and the beach where she loves to take Boone to run around and could use a little shade from the sun.  

What better product than a premium every day “dad” hat?    And what better organization than Puppies & Golf, a charity that combines her two loves!

This isn’t her full-time job, but her dog and the cause are her full-time loves and passions.  She decided she could do both, and you can too!

Kelsey Knigin’s first business was collecting trash.  It was a short commute, stable customers, recurring income, and the hours fit her demanding school schedule.  Collections became a bit of an issue, though - Mom and Dad paid regularly, but her three siblings were always delinquent and complained about price.  

Her next business had a bigger market - New Jersey shore beachgoers.  Who doesn’t want a colorful threaded bracelet during the summer?  She had manufacturing problems, though - she only had one Rainbow Loom and her little brothers kept getting sand on it at the beach.

With these experiences, Kelsey knew exactly the headaches she wanted to avoid when she found Original Nations.  Given her experiences, Kelsey had a clear idea of what she wanted to create - something that people would love to show off!  

Kelsey was headed off to business school at the University of Texas in the fall, but felt like going back to her roots with her product.  After a long pandemic senior year, she wanted to spread some positive vibes with her Our Voices brand.  

She curated charm bracelets with inspirational, fashionable, and positive messages to support Addi’s Faith Foundation to end childhood cancers.  Some emails and texting, some IG posts, Dad and Mom posting on LinkedIn and Facebook, and Kelsey sold out her Campaign!  

When she arrives at UT Kelsey will already be a successful entrepreneur with her own brand, have her own money for social events, and be a philanthropist.  Not a bad way to start off freshman year!

Aiden Cunningham submitted his first idea with a CAD drawing.  CAD (computer-aided design) software allows engineers and architects to render 3-D pictures of complex objects.  Aiden was a 13 year old in 9th grade.   

The CAD design was accurate down to fractions of a millimeter and rotated on our computer screens.  Our jaws were on the ground as we scrolled through it and his list of 20 other ideas.  He had *clearly* given his product ideas a lot of thought.  

Aiden had heard about Original Nations at school and wanted to make products.  He talked about it with his Minecraft community - for whom he of course ran the server - and they were supportive.

Aiden’s energy and creativity were contagious.  Original Nations’ brand, creative, manufacturing, and design teams LOVED his enthusiasm.  We discussed Aiden’s ideas with him, and we all decided not go with that first idea.  Or the next one.  Or any of the first 20 ideas.  

Eventually, though, we landed on a brand and product that he loved and that supported his passion around environmental sensitivity.  

During the pandemic, Aiden’s small Montessori school stopped using reusable utensils for lunch, and went to disposable plasticware.  Everyone WANTED to not use plasticware, but they didn’t have an option.  

And that is how the Portable Planet brand was born.  Its first product was a modern-looking, portable, reusable utensil set (including chopsticks!) - easy to wipe down, can be taken anywhere, and won’t end up in landfills.  

For his next product launch, Aiden already has his brand, and we’re pretty sure he’ll have plenty of ideas.

When did you open your first bank account?

As a kid I remember putting my Christmas and birthday cash into a sock in the back of my underwear drawer.  You had to be 16 to get a job in Ohio - my first job was as a bell boy at the Holiday Inn on Rockside Road in Independence, Ohio. I had to cash the checks, so that’s when I got my first bank account.

I thought of this the other day when Anderson Walsh wrapped up his Campaign for the Lone Peak Supply Co. knife.  He more than doubled his minimum order, and had raised plenty of money for his Eagle Scout project.  

We confirmed the final tally with Anderson, and he was very excited.  The amount was more than enough to pay for his Eagle project - building a bench outside of his school - and the remainder would be donated to the school!

At our next meeting, we met Anderson’s hero, his dad Marc.  Anderson asked his dad to join because this was his first income - he wasn’t 16 yet and had never had an official job.  It was enough money to be taxed (“what’s a W9?”), and required a bank account to receive payment (“what’s a routing number?”).

These were all firsts for Anderson.  He got to learn about marketing, products, profits, and also bank accounts, taxes, and charities.  Now.  In high school.  

We started Original Nations imagining anyone with enthusiasm and energy could be an entrepreneur and make the world a better place.  

We imagined people like Anderson Walsh. 

Luke wanted to make a motorized electric couch.  Or a spray bottle for really thick hot sauce.

Luke was never afraid to try new things.  His dad was an incredible piano player, and as Luke got the musician bug, he decided to go a completely different direction and took on the drums.  He still played the piano, and the guitar, and the bass, but DRUMS... that became his passion.

This was all before he even got to high school.  That was when the inventing and entrepreneurial bug really kicked in.  Luke was in the first round of alpha testers for Original Nations, but he deferred for a year.  The motorized couch was an itch that he had to scratch.

As he started junior year of high school, he had built quite an audience for his online videos of epic drum licks and guitar riffs.  He wanted to learn how to combine his passion for music and entrepreneurship.  He wanted to make a music brand, a throwback to great concerts, rock and roll, but still modern.  

What about drumsticks, he asked?  We did some research and asked him “what about a GUITAR?”  And that is how Luke launched the Spectre music brand.  His first product would be the most expensive thing we’ve ever had on the platform.  Undaunted, with handwritten letters to his musical heroes, he sold out of his guitars in less than a week.  

We’re all excited to see what itch Luke wants to scratch next.