Sondra Noble | Hip Hues
Co-Founder of Hip Hues
Sondra Noble is the Co-Founder of Hip Hues, an event printing company that offers attendees a unique experience of printing their own commemorative gifts during events through creatively swag bars.
How It Started
Sondra and Tracy grew up watching their entrepreneurial parents build small businesses from the ground up. That front-row seat taught them the grit, strategy, and soul required to sustain a business long term. When the idea for Hip Hues sparked—live screen printing at events—they couldn’t shake it. “If we don’t do this, we’ll always regret it.” That inner fire was louder than any doubt.
Fueling the Fire
Before launching, they did the hard work. Market research. Competitive analysis. Validation. “We searched everything—screen printing, live screen printing—we tried to find anyone else doing this.” When they found no one doing exactly what they envisioned, they knew they had something. They turned their idea into a polished, scalable event experience, where guests design their own swag—right on the spot.
Lessons from the Journey
For anyone considering starting a business, Sondra’s advice is clear:
Don’t skip the research. Vet your idea. Talk to people. Make sure there’s a real need. But more than anything—check your motivation. You have to want it enough to keep going when things get hard. Because they will. But if the desire is there, and the idea is sound, it’s absolutely worth it.
“There was an inner need, an inner fire to do this—and it almost superseded anything”
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I am Sondra Noble, co-founder of Hip Hues, and my business partner Tracy and I started this company about 10 years ago here in Nashville. We set up branded swag bars at events. What that means is that, in just a few minutes on site, people get to customize and print their branded—or just fun—gift for the event.
We kind of say it’s like a photo booth on steroids. But instead of walking away with a photo, they walk away with a branded gift or takeaway.
My business partner and I are actually sisters. Our parents are also entrepreneurs and small business owners, so we grew up watching that mentality—what it takes to really grow a business and what that means over time.
Entrepreneurship is incredible, but it’s also not for everyone. For my business partner and I, it was a matter of: If we don’t do this, we’ll always regret it. There was an inner need, an inner fire to do this, and it almost superseded everything else. You really do have to believe in what you're building and be willing to work for it.
Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, I’d say: do some thorough research and a little soul searching. Is this something you truly want to do? Do you have a burning desire to work for yourself? To take risks? And if you have an incredible idea—and this is where research really matters—if you see a need in the market, build a plan. Vet it. Start asking people about it. Do your research. See what’s already out there. That’s what we did when we started our business—we searched screen printing, live screen printing. We tried to find anyone else who was doing this and so do your research. See if there’s a need.
Entrepreneurship has been a huge part of my life—pretty much my entire adult life. It means I get to get up every day and keep building, keep creating. This is a really worthwhile endeavor.
Why We Share These Stories
We believe that celebrating Tennessee’s entrepreneurs will inspire the next generation of bold thinkers, risk-takers, and community builders. Entrepreneurs don’t forget where they come from—and they carry the power to transform not just their businesses, but entire neighborhoods, towns, and local economies. See more entrepreneur stories from the Patton Foundation.
