Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Franklin.
Hi Ashley, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Wonderlane did not begin with a formal business plan or a background in the event industry. It began with me paying attention.
I have spent nearly two decades working in healthcare, I am a wife and mom of two girls, and I spent more than seven years experiencing events from the vendor side. I kept noticing the same gap: families wanted meaningful things to do together, but “family-friendly” too often meant the experience was built only for children while the adults simply survived it.
The idea first came to me in 2024 and became much clearer in 2025. I was approaching 40, had been a parent for ten years, and could not stop thinking about the kind of family experiences I wished existed. I wanted color, music, culture, beautiful design, local businesses, and room for parents to have fun too. My co-founder and I began building that vision through Mini Kiddos Market and our Kidchella concept, which became the foundation for Wonderlane.
Our first festival release sold out in four hours and welcomed about 1,600 families. Since then, Wonderlane has produced the Kids Zone at Taste of Randolph in Chicago and grown Wonderfest in Northwest Indiana. Our most recent Wonderfest presold more than 2,300 tickets and welcomed about 2,600 guests, even after the event had to be rescheduled because of weather. Across our recent live work, we have connected with more than 15,000 families.
Today, Wonderlane is growing into a Midwest family media and live-experiences company. We are building experiences in South Bend, Hamilton County, and additional Midwest markets while developing original content, family travel stories, UGC, and brand partnerships.
The heart of it is still simple: I want families to have beautiful, memorable things to do together, and I want my daughters to see that they do not have to wait for permission to build what they believe should exist.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No, it has not been smooth. Some of the hardest parts have come from Wonderlane growing faster than our systems and resources.
I have been building this while still working in healthcare and raising my family, so there have been seasons when I was the visionary, salesperson, producer, customer-service team, and cleanup crew all at once. I learned the exhausting way that effort is not a system.
One of our biggest tests came when severe weather forced us to reschedule Wonderfest after more than 2,300 tickets had already been sold. Families had made plans, vendors and sponsors were involved, and an entire team was depending on us. I had to own our part, communicate honestly, make difficult decisions, and rebuild the event instead of treating the setback as a failure. When roughly 2,600 people still showed up, it reminded me that trust is built in the messy moments, not only when everything goes perfectly.
The biggest personal lesson has been learning to move from being the chief doer and people-pleaser into being a real CEO. Heart got Wonderlane started, but heart alone cannot protect a company or the person leading it. I am learning to create stronger boundaries, price the work correctly, build a team, and make sure every opportunity has a budget, an owner, a deadline, and a clear definition of success.
I am still learning, but I am no longer confusing doing everything myself with leadership.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Wonderlane is a Black-owned, mom-founded Midwest family media and live-experiences company. We create colorful, culture-forward experiences that give children and parents something to enjoy. Our belief is that family-friendly does not have to mean watered down.
At a Wonderlane experience, children might dance at a silent disco, make art, play games, explore sensory activities, or settle into a reading nook. Parents can enjoy good music, mocktails, thoughtful reset spaces, local shopping, and brand discoveries without feeling like an afterthought. We design the entire environment, from programming and partnerships to visual moments and community touchpoints, so it feels cohesive and memorable.
Beyond live events, Wonderlane works with family brands, destinations, and community partners through custom activations, original content, UGC, and family travel storytelling. What sets us apart is that we are not studying families from a distance. We are the families we serve. We understand the logistics, the overstimulation, the need for value, and the desire for experiences that still feel cool and culturally relevant.
I am proud that families trust us enough to show up and that brands increasingly see Wonderlane as more than an event. We are building a year-round platform where families can discover places, products, stories, and experiences that make life together feel more joyful.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I used to think risk-takers were people who felt fearless. I have learned that courage can look like being scared, doing the homework, and moving anyway.
My biggest risk was allowing Wonderlane to become more than a cute side project. I have a family, a career in healthcare, bills, and no giant safety net. Building this company has meant investing my time, money, reputation, and energy before I had proof that every idea would work. It has also meant walking into rooms with festivals, stadiums, destinations, and national brands and presenting a vision that was bigger than our current size.
The weather reschedule for Wonderfest showed me the other side of risk. The downside was real, and I could not pretend otherwise. But we communicated, rebuilt, and still welcomed about 2,600 people. That experience changed how I think about risk. It is not about blindly jumping. It is about looking honestly at the economics, capacity, repeatability, and what happens if the plan goes wrong, then deciding whether the opportunity still aligns with the larger vision.
Today, I would describe myself as a calculated dreamer. I am willing to think big, but I want the big dream to have a budget, a responsible owner, a deadline, and a plan. The goal is not to become fearless. The goal is to become someone who can be trusted with bigger things.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wonderlaneevents.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wonderlaneevents
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1CJw9isPqJ/
