We'll be able to enjoy a fresh look at Midwest entrepreneurship as START UP returns for its 14th season on PBS, with 13 businesses from across the states of Ohio and Illinois taking center stage. The new episodes spotlight everything from Persian food and stained glass to pet nutrition, private-aviation software and sustainable meat, offering a broad portrait of ambition beyond the usual business and tech clichés.
Essential Takeaways
A Midwest focus: Season 14 follows entrepreneurs in Columbus, Chicago and the surrounding areas.
Thirteen varied businesses: The line-up spans wellness, food, hospitality, technology, crafts, sport and pet care.
Real-world stories: The series explores reinvention, family, perseverance and the practical pressures of building a company.
Easy access: Episodes launch nationally on WORLD Channel and stream through PBS.org and the PBS app.
A wider view of innovation: Several featured companies are making specialized products feel more approachable and useful.
START UP puts everyday founders in the spotlight
The diversity of this season of START UP is striking. One episode may lead viewers into a paintball park with a castle-style arena, while another explores the careful restoration of stained glass. The contrast is part of the appeal: entrepreneurship doesn't arrive in one neat package.
Hosted and created by Gary Bredow, the series follows owners as they turn personal interests, family histories or stubbornly persistent ideas into working businesses. The regional focus means these aren't just abstract startup pitches delivered under studio lights. They're stories about finding customers, adapting to setbacks and making a business fit the community around it.
From Persian food to non-alcoholic celebrations
Food and drink should provide some of the season's most charming stories. Charmy's Market in Columbus, founded by Sherry and Rezi Bayegan, combines Persian dishes with everyday groceries, bringing flavors from Tehran into a welcoming neighborhood setting. Chicago's line-up pushes the idea of convenience in several directions. Farmer's Fridge uses smart self-serve locations to make fresh meals easier to find, while Nouvie offers non-alcoholic sparkling wine for people who still want the ritual and sparkle of a celebration. Caviar Dream, meanwhile, is trying to make a traditionally exclusive luxury feel less intimidating and more accessible. These businesses may also reflect a wider shift in consumer habits.
Small brands are solving surprisingly specific problems
The season also makes a persuasive case for niche businesses. Goodwin develops software for private-jet charter brokers and operators, a highly specialized market that might not sound immediately familiar but still has complex operational needs. Best Dam Tape began with hockey, offering grip, durability and easy tearing, then started exploring applications beyond the rink. Clever Carnivore is looking further ahead, working on meat production designed to use resources more efficiently without losing taste. These are useful reminders that innovation doesn't always mean inventing something flashy. Sometimes it means improving a tool, streamlining a professional workflow or rethinking how a familiar product is made. For viewers considering a small business of their own, that's a practical lesson.
Family, craft and community shape the season
Several featured businesses are built around a distinctly human kind of expertise. Replenish, founded by two sisters and their mother, brings spa services, movement and community programs together under one wellness-focused roof. Maker's Social pairs a makerspace with a bar, giving members room to work with jewelry, leather and wood while socializing. Restalgic blends pottery classes with original pieces and everyday luxury, while Solstice Stained Glass handles repairs, restoration and new designs for homes and institutions across Chicagoland. There's a quiet pleasure in seeing these founders treat craft as both creative expression and serious work. The products may be tactile and beautiful, but the businesses behind them still depend on pricing, scheduling, customer service and stamina. In other words, the pretty part is only the beginning.
Why this season feels especially relevant
Girls Gone Raw, based in Ohio, prepares minimally processed raw diets for dogs and cats, tailored to individual dietary needs. Alongside the pet-food business, LVL UP Sports shows how a childhood dream can grow into a full outdoor paintball and airsoft experience. Together, this collection of businesses suggest that today's entrepreneurs can pay close attention to identity, wellbeing and community. Customers aren't simply buying a product; they're often choosing a set of values, a story or a place where they feel understood. This 14th season arrives at a useful moment. As more people seem to be weighing self-employment, side projects and independent brands, these stories show the less glamorous but more durable ingredients of progress: patience, flexibility and a willingness to start again. The show doesn't make building a company look easy, but it does make the effort look possible. Season 14 premieres nationally on WORLD Channel on October 4 and begins streaming the same day on PBS.
