TL;DR: Marissa Ramos went from speech-language pathologist to top Creator and Dare to Dream Top 5 winner by showing up online with authenticity, consistency, and a mission rooted in service. Dare to Dream met her at a pivotal moment—giving her the support, coaching, and community she needed to keep building and spark a ripple effect of impact. Ready to build your dream? Enter the Dare to Dream Challenge and share the impact you could create.
Marissa Ramos never set out to become a Creator.
As a speech-language pathologist focused on helping toddlers learn to talk and sign through play, connection, and everyday routines, she turned to social media to share her knowledge and land more clients for her business, Rise and Sign Therapies. Her mission was simple: help families understand that speech therapy could feel accessible, practical, and human—not scary or clinical.
She began sharing videos that broke down speech therapy into playful, bite-sized actions parents could do at home. What started as a way to reach a few local families quickly became something much bigger.
Today, Marissa is a seasoned Creator and one of the five Dare to Dream 2025 winners. She uses her platform to advocate for equity and awareness in early childhood education—particularly for deaf and hard-of-hearing children—and supports over a million families through her content.
But getting here wasn’t easy. Becoming a Creator meant stepping away from the stability of client work, pushing past the discomfort of being on camera, and continuing to show up even when her finances felt uncertain.
When Marissa applied for Dare to Dream, she was looking for the support and momentum to continue scaling her impact—not just her income. What followed marked a turning point in her journey.
Here’s how Marissa became a Creator, why Dare to Dream mattered when it did, and what’s happened in the year since she won.
Marissa’s Path to Becoming a Creator
Before she built her online community, Marissa was a speech-language pathologist working in schools. But the system was draining—mountains of paperwork, overwhelming caseloads, and limited time to connect meaningfully with families made it hard to deliver the kind of care she believed in.
Exhausted by her full-time role, Marissa left and transitioned into private contract work, where she could work directly with families in their homes. To attract local clients, she set up a Facebook and Instagram page and began posting videos. Her goal was to show families that speech therapy could be simple and rooted in playful interaction.
“Families want practical tips, not vague advice. My goal is to make speech therapy feel human…I’m not trying to be perfect. I’m trying to make it fun.”
Then, something unexpected happened.
Her third video went viral, racking up over 100,000 views. Marissa didn’t intend to create content full-time, but viewers were asking for more—so she kept showing up.
Growth, Cringe, and the Cost of Showing Up
As Marissa shared more videos, she quickly learned what resonated. The highly edited videos she spent hours perfecting usually fell flat, while simple clips of her playing games with toddlers—paired with clear, actionable tips—reached millions of views.
Showing up on camera as her authentic self felt awkward at first, and Marissa worried about how she’d be perceived. But instead of trying to be perfect, she leaned into the cringe.
“Cringe is the price of entry for connection.”
Now, Marissa treats cringe as a positive force in her process. Embracing imperfection has been essential for building trust and authenticity with her audience.
“I care about the person on the other side of the video a whole lot more than I care about my own appearance.”
Marissa’s growth came from being real—not polished. She laughs at herself, shows her flaws, and uses honesty to build relationships with her audience. And now, two years in, she has over a million followers across Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.
But behind her growth was a quieter reality. As her audience exploded, Marissa questioned how she’d pay her bills. She’d backed away from seeing one-on-one clients to focus on building her business and was living off her savings.
“I was literally looking at my bank account and being like, okay, I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this.”
Despite running on fumes, Marissa stuck fiercely to her values. She turned down brand deals that didn’t align with her mission, knowing that maintaining trust with her audience mattered way more than earning commissions.
Betting on Her Dream: Marissa’s Submission
When Marissa came across the Dare to Dream Challenge, she decided not to overthink it. She was already using Stan to share her resources, and the opportunity felt aligned with what she was building.
She dreamed of creating courses and training programs for families, but lacked the emotional and financial support to do it alone. She saw Dare to Dream as a way to accelerate her mission without sacrificing her values.
Her story was different from most. She wasn’t a lifestyle Creator and her focus was niche, but she believed that was exactly what could help her stand out. Instead of centering herself in her submission video, she focused on her community and the impact winning could have on countless families.
Dare to Dream Top 5: What Winning Meant for Marissa
When Marissa found out she was a Dare to Dream top five winner, the timing couldn’t have been better. She was starting to run out of money, and the $10,000 helped her cover her bills for another two to three months—giving her space to stay focused on building her course instead of rushing back into client work.
But for Marissa, the biggest win was the coaching calls and relationships she built.
“The reason why I wanted it even more than the money was that I knew that it came with coaching calls from the Stan team. That was honestly even more beneficial to me than winning $10,000—that relationship with Stan.”
Our team told her how moved we were by her story and the work she was doing, reinforcing that she was on the right path. “I was just really excited to be seen in that way,” Marissa shared candidly.
Winning also connected her with fellow Dare to Dream winners at Stan Fest—giving her a sense of community she hadn’t realized she was missing.
“It’s really nice to be around other Creators. I have benefited from it so much, because it feels like everybody just gets it.”
Gaining Momentum in the Year Since
Since winning Dare to Dream, Marissa has continued to build momentum.
While developing Sign & Say, a new app designed to give parents short, everyday coaching moments that help guide natural interactions at home, she received an email from a colleague she barely knew—the director of a prestigious university focused on early childhood intervention.
After a casual Zoom conversation, Marissa mentioned she was trying to build an app but hadn’t secured funding. Their response was incredible: they offered to fully fund it.
“I was able to hire people for videography and app development, making a product that is 20 bajillion times better than I could have ever done on my own.”
She didn’t ask for the opportunity—it found her. For Marissa, it felt like a reminder that when you keep showing up, aligned opportunities tend to follow.
The Ripple Effect of One Creator’s Dream
Marissa isn’t afraid to be vocal about what she believes—like asserting that every deaf child deserves access to sign language from birth. She built her platform by showing up regularly, leaning into vulnerability, and staying grounded in service long before anything was guaranteed.
“When you’re bold about what you believe, people have something real to root for.”
Dare to Dream gave Marissa the support she needed at a pivotal moment. What’s unfolded since reflects why this challenge exists in the first place: when Creators are given the time, belief, and backing to keep building, the work they’re already doing reaches further, serves more people, and creates a ripple effect that outlives a single moment or person.
Ready to say yesto your dream? Now’s the time. The Dare to Dream Challenge is here, and we want to hear from Creators like you. Share your story and tell us what you’d build if you could focus entirely on your dream.
👉 Enter the Dare to Dream Challenge
Follow Marissa’s journey:
Stan Store: Marissa’s Stan Store
Instagram: @riseandsigntherapies
TikTok: @riseandsigntherapies
YouTube: @riseandsigntherapies
Facebook: @riseandsigntherapies
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