How to take a business from concept to reality

The idea for BriteCo, an innovative jewelry and watch insurance company, stemmed directly from my frustrations at work. I was in my second decade as a third-generation jeweler, helping to run the stores my grandfather started in 1958 in the Chicago suburbs. My responsibilities included sales, writing jewelry appraisals and dealing with insurance claims. You need an appraisal to get insurance, but otherwise these processes were completely disconnected. They were also outdated and tedious, and they wasted huge amounts of time.

During the 13 years I worked at the store, tech startups were building better mousetraps for every task under the sun at an increasing rate. Instead of running to the grocery store, a user could place an order on Instacart. If they needed a ride, it took a few quick taps to get a Lyft. Paying bills no longer required a stamp and a trip to the post office; the money magically moved online.