Now might be the perfect time to launch that business you’ve been dreaming about.
Americans filed more than 3 million applications to start businesses in the first six months of 2026, up 16.5% from a year earlier, according to US Census Bureau data. The uptick comes as AI lowers the barriers to entrepreneurship, and shifting job requirements and recurring layoffs make some traditional careers feel less secure.
Deepali Vyas, an executive recruiter and founder of Vyas Media, told Business Insider that more opportunities are opening up for people to build businesses.
“Twenty years ago, you probably needed employees and designers and marketers,” Vyas said. “Today, AI can do much of that first draft work.”
Business Insider spoke to the founders of Jones Road Beauty, PopSockets, Olipop, and OpenFarm about how they built their companies and grew their brands.
This is the advice they had for entrepreneurs:
Bobbi Brown, founder of Jones Road Beauty
After leaving her namesake beauty brand in 2016, Bobbi Brown spent several years experimenting with new ventures, from a supplement company to a Lord & Taylor concept store. Those experiences eventually led her to launch her second act: Jones Road Beauty, a clean makeup brand built on the same philosophy that made her first company successful: that makeup should be simple and natural.
“I don’t want to be like other makeup brands. I never did,” Brown told Business Insider.
Brown said one of the biggest lessons she’s learned is to listen to customers and act on their feedback. Jones Road expanded its bestselling Miracle Balm line after hearing from shoppers in stores, via emails, and in DMs.
Rather than chasing competitors, Brown said entrepreneurs should trust their instincts.
“My advice, and what I do, is put my head down, not try to look what everyone else is doing, and just do what I think is right for Jones Road,” Brown said.
David Barnett, founder of PopSockets
David Barnett didn’t set out to build a global accessories brand for iPhones. While teaching philosophy at the University of Colorado, he glued buttons from his shirt to the back of his phone so he could wrap his tangled headset around it. After a couple of years of tinkering with prototypes, he launched PopSockeats from his garage in Boulder, Colorado, in 2014.
Today, PopSockets has sold more than 300 million phone grips across 200 countries and expanded into cases, wallets, chargers, and other accessories.
Barnett credits his success to “a lot of trial and error, and a lot of luck.” His advice is to solve small, everyday problems rather than chase the next billion-dollar idea. He cautions against thinking too big.
“Don’t think you’re Elon Musk,” he said. The founder said the best way to come up with an idea that sticks with consumers is to think on a smaller scale about the frustrations in your daily life.
“Life is full of these daily pain points that are opportunities for inventions or services,” he said.
Barnett also encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to prototype cheaply, seek feedback early, abandon the idea if it doesn’t gain traction — and slow down on quitting your day job.
“Start working on ideas at night and weekends, unless you’re independently funded,” Barnett said.
Ben Goodwin, cofounder and CEO of Olipop
Ben Goodwin started his career in the healthy beverage category more than two decades ago. Prior to Olipop, he launched an early probiotic soda in his 20s that failed to take off. Rather than abandon the idea, he treated it as proof that consumers were ready for a healthier soda, and used the experience to rethink the formula, flavors, branding, and packaging.
“The work the first time around was really helpful,” Goodwin said, adding that, “it allowed us to be bolder and more disciplined and more clear.”
Olipop launched in 2018 and topped $1 million in sales the following year by positioning itself as a soda first, not a niche health drink. Goodwin said he wanted the brand to appeal beyond wellness enthusiasts. “My straw man for our product is somebody who shops at Walmart in Ohio,” he said.
His biggest lesson for entrepreneurs is to treat early failures as opportunities to learn, to act with integrity so people will support your next venture, and to delegate responsibilities as the business grows. He said founders have to adjust their identity to become leaders as their businesses scale.
Jacqueline Prehogan, cofounder of Open Farm
Jacqueline Prehogan cofounded pet food company Open Farm in 2014 with her husband Isaac Langleben. The idea came after the couple had struggled to find ethically sourced options for their own pets. Prehogan said the company’s mission was to do good for animals and the planet, because it was an area they felt “genuinely passionate” about.
“We were so clear on who we were from the beginning,” Prehogan said. “We built the entire business around that.”
She said that this authenticity resonated with customers. Her advice to entrepreneurs is to find what genuinely motivates them, and build from there.
“Find your passion and what you genuinely care about, because that’s what you’re going to go out and kill it in,” she told Business Insider.
Prehogan added that preserving a company’s values sometimes means resisting the urge to grow too quickly. She said scaling at the right pace has been key to maintaining Open Farm’s mission.
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