Donna Behind the Big Red Glasses and Big Ideas
Updated: Sep 1
For Donna L. Holloman, the big red eyeglasses became much more than a fashion statement. They became a symbol of vision—in every sense of the word.
There was a time when Donna could not see the world clearly. Living with severe keratoconus, her eyesight deteriorated until she was considered legally blind. She could read and navigate her surroundings, but distance was a blur. Eventually, she underwent two corneal transplant surgeries, receiving the extraordinary gift of sight through donated corneas.
And Donna kept moving.
She raised her children, continued her education, built a career spanning business, technology and real estate, earned multiple college degrees, became an entrepreneur, wrote a book, and carried dreams that sometimes took decades to fully reveal themselves.
Somewhere along the journey, big red glasses became part of Donna.
Bold. A little unconventional. Impossible to overlook.
Maybe that's why they fit her so well.
Today, those oversized red frames represent something deeper than style. They represent a woman who once struggled to see the world clearly—and who now has more visions than she knows what to do with. 😂❤️👓
They represent experience, creativity, curiosity and the courage to finally be seen.
Behind those glasses is a Boomer who is still dreaming.A founder still building.An author still writing.A woman still learning.And an entrepreneur determined to give some very old dreams a chance to become real.
Perhaps the greatest irony of Donna's story is also the most beautiful:
The woman who once struggled to see eventually became a woman known for her vision.
So when you see the big red glasses, you're not just seeing Donna's signature look.
You're seeing a little piece of her story.
Big Red Glasses. Big Ideas. One Remarkable Journey. ❤️👓✨
The woman behind the avatars is very real
Avatars are fun. They let us play.
One day they can show a ponytail. The next day, bangs. One version can feel bold and polished. Another can feel relaxed, sunlit, and barefoot near the water. They can capture a mood in a split second.
But they are not the whole story.
Behind every version is the same woman with the same brain, the same heart, and the same restless pull toward creating something useful. The avatars are a doorway. They are a visual hello. They make the work feel more personal before all the details are ready to be explained.
Still, the work is not pretend.
The late nights were real. The research was real. The education was real. The questions were real. The moments of doubt were real too. So were the little sparks that kept showing up at the most random times, the ones that said, “This idea has something. Keep going.”
I worked hard for my MBA and MS. Really hard. And I did not earn those degrees just to hang them on a wall and admire them once in a while.
I earned them to use them.
To research better.
To ask sharper questions.
To organize big, messy ideas into something people can actually understand.
To build things with care instead of just excitement.
To solve problems in a way that respects both the numbers and the humans affected by them.
That matters to me. A lot.
Because ideas are everywhere. Good intentions are everywhere too. But turning an idea into something that can stand, serve, and grow takes patience. It takes learning. It takes humility. It takes the kind of work most people never see.
For years, much of my work has happened in that unseen space. The notebooks. The drafts. The study. The systems. The questions. The research trails. The “what if” moments. The projects that needed more time before they were ready to be shared.
Now I am ready to share more of that process.
Not in a perfect, polished, everything-is-finished way. That is not real life. I am sharing it as a founder who is still building, still learning, still dreaming, and still willing to try.
The big red glasses became part of the story
I did not sit down one day and decide that big red glasses would become a thing.
They just fit.
They are a little ridiculous in the best way. They are bold. They are hard to miss. They make people smile. They give the avatars a thread of consistency even when the hair, outfit, or setting changes.
Over time, they became more than a visual detail. They became a reminder.
Be visible. Be brave. Be recognizable as yourself.
That sounds simple, but it is not always easy.
When you have lived with big ideas for a long time, sharing them can feel tender. You know how much thought has gone into them. You know how many times you changed direction, paused, restarted, and questioned whether it was time. You know the difference between a quick idea and one that has been quietly tugging at you for years.
Putting those ideas in public means letting people see pieces of you.
That can feel vulnerable.
The red glasses help me make peace with that. They bring a bit of humor into a serious process. They say, “Yes, I care deeply about this work, but I am also going to show up as myself.”
That matters because I do not want to build from behind a curtain forever. I want people to know there is a person here. A real founder. A real woman with curiosity, education, lived experience, and a deep desire to create things that make a difference.
There is room for thoughtfulness and play. There is room for research and imagination. There is room for beach vibes and big strategy notes. There is room for serious work and a pair of glasses that make everything feel a little more human.
Big ideas need more than a spark
A spark is exciting, but it is only the beginning.
The beginning is where everything feels possible. The idea is fresh. The energy is high. You can almost see the finished thing in your mind. That phase has its own kind of magic.
Then comes the real work.
The research. The planning. The “who is this for?” questions. The “does this solve a real problem?” questions. The “how would this actually work?” questions. The “what am I missing?” questions.
That is the part I love, even when it is hard.
I have spent years learning how to move between imagination and structure. The dream matters, but so does the model. The purpose matters, but so does the plan. A beautiful idea still needs roots.
For me, building starts with questions like these:
Who could this help?
What problem does it speak to?
What would make it simple enough to use?
What would make it meaningful enough to last?
What needs to be researched before it becomes real?
What kind of people, support, or knowledge does it need around it?
Those questions keep an idea honest.
They also slow me down in the best way. Not every idea needs to become a project. Not every project needs to launch quickly. Some need time. Some need testing. Some need to be set aside until the right season. Some need other people to help shape them.
That is part of the founder’s path too.
People often see the announcement. They see the new page, the new post, the new project, the new image. They do not always see the years behind it. They do not see the quiet learning. They do not see the study notes, the half-built outlines, the research folders, or the moments where you whisper to yourself, “I think there is something here.”
But those unseen parts count.
They are not wasted time. They are the foundation.
And now, little by little, I am bringing more of that foundation into view.
I earned the education so I could use it
I am proud of my MBA and MS.
Not in a “look at these letters” way. More in a “I know what it took to earn them” way.
There were long nights. There were hard assignments. There were concepts that stretched me. There were times when life did not pause just because school demanded more. Earning those degrees took discipline, focus, and a lot of grit.
So yes, I am going to use them. 😂
I am going to use them to study problems with more depth. I am going to use them to think through ideas from several angles. I am going to use them to create, question, test, revise, and build.
Education does not make a person finished. It gives them tools.
And tools are meant to be picked up.
That is how I see this next chapter. I am picking up the tools I worked for, along with the creativity that has always been part of me, and using both to build things that feel aligned with who I am and what I care about.
That may look like writing. It may look like research. It may look like community-centered projects. It may look like resources, concepts, conversations, or new ideas that begin small and grow over time.
Some projects may speak to people right away. Others may take longer to explain. Some may be practical. Some may be personal. Some may be rooted in big questions about how people learn, connect, heal, create, or support one another.
The common thread is purpose.
I do not want to create just to create. I want to build with care. I want the work to mean something. I want the ideas to have a heartbeat.
No founder builds anything meaningful alone
Here is something I know for sure.
Big ideas need people.
No founder builds anything meaningful alone. No community grows because of one person. No project reaches its full potential if it stays locked inside the mind of the person who imagined it.
At some point, an idea needs conversation.
It needs people who ask questions. People who cheer. People who challenge. People who understand the heart of it. People who bring their own experience, wisdom, and perspective.
That is not weakness. That is how meaningful things grow.
Community is not just an audience. It is not a number. It is not a list of names. Community is the living part of the work. It is where ideas are tested against real needs, real stories, and real hopes.
Without community, we are nothing.
I believe that deeply.
The older I get, the more I understand that purpose cannot stay private forever. If something is meant to help, encourage, teach, connect, or open a door, it has to meet people. It has to leave the notebook. It has to find the ones who need it, love it, question it, or carry it further.
That is why this invitation matters to me.
I am not only saying, “Look what I made.”
I am saying, “Come see what is forming.”
Come be part of the early chapters. Come notice what speaks to you. Come follow along if you are curious. Come support a project if it feels aligned. Come watch the process unfold.
You do not have to know exactly where every idea is going yet. I do not always know either. That is part of the journey.
But I do know this: the right people showing up at the right time can change everything.
What I am building next will keep growing
This next season is about bringing more into the open.
More writing.
More research.
More ideas.
More projects.
More pieces of the larger vision.
Some of it will be polished. Some of it will be in progress. Some of it may start as a small question and grow into something much bigger. I want to make room for that growth instead of pretending everything has to arrive fully formed.
That is honest building.
It is also more interesting.
When people only see the final result, they miss the courage it takes to begin. They miss the learning curve. They miss the tiny decisions that shape the final thing. They miss the pivots, the pauses, and the moments when a small detail suddenly makes the whole idea clearer.
I want to share some of that.
Not every private detail, of course. Some parts of building need quiet. But I do want to let people see the founder behind the ideas. I want the work to feel connected to a real person, not just a name or a graphic or a finished page.
So here I am.
Hi, I’m Donna.
I am the woman behind the big red glasses.
I am the founder behind the ideas.
I am the person who worked hard for the education, saved the notes, followed the questions, and kept believing that these ideas were worth building.
And I am just getting started.
Come along for the journey
If you have been seeing the avatars pop up and wondering who is behind them, now you know.
It is me. Donna.
The hair may change. The setting may change. The mood may shift from beachy to bold to thoughtful and back again. But the heart behind it is steady.
I am building, creating, writing, researching, and dreaming up what comes next. I am taking ideas that lived behind the scenes for a long time and giving them space to breathe.
You might find a project that speaks to you.
You might decide to support one.
You might simply follow along and see where this all goes.
Any of those would mean something to me.
Because the work may begin with one person, but it does not grow that way. It grows through connection. It grows through community. It grows when people show up, even quietly, and say, “I see what you are building.”
So consider this your invitation.
Come take a peek at the ideas behind the big red glasses. Stay for the purpose, the curiosity, the research, the creativity, and the next chapter.
I would love to have you on the journey. ❤️
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