We were fortunate to have Matt Stevens, Manager of Strategic Initiatives in the Office of Entrepreneurial Development, and Edward Haddock, the Deputy District Director of the SBA in Arkansas on the show this week.
We dive into the strategic initiatives of the SBA to help grow scalable ventures in the innovation economy. We discuss the overall initiatives, and how Startup Junkie has been leveraging those initiatives to develop strong programs in the region of Northwest Arkansas.
Contact and learn more:
https://www.sba.gov/
Edward.Haddock@sba.gov
Matthew.Stevens@sba.gov
Hosts:
Jeff@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Brett@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Caleb Hamilton of Metova talks about growing the culture of a world-class development company that just opened a new location in Fayetteville, AR.
They have a fantastic model to work with anyone from startups to Fortune 500 companies.
They are always looking to bring on great talent. They have a flexible culture and well thought out training programs to help their employees grow within the company.
www.metova.com
Caleb.hamilton@metova.com
Hosts:
Jeff@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Michael@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Michael makes the switch from co-host to the victim of Jeff's jokes on the other side of the table.
Michael & Jeff dive into the making of FML! The Game, which is a board game parody of The Game of LIFE, marketed for young adults. As Jeff eloquantly describes it: "It's like cerebral beer pong"
The project will be live on Kickstarter from April 12 - May 13. Preorder your game at:
www.kickstarter.com/fmlthegame
www.fmlthegame.com
www.facebook.com/fmlthegame
michael@fmlthegame.com
Host:
Jeff@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Bentonville High School students are working on some interesting projects! This week we have two groups, one who recently won the Congressional App Challenge for their work on an educational virtual reality app. The community has rallied around the second group to support their Electronic Vehicle conversion.
Guests this week:
Tyler Gay
kennethtylergay@gmail.com
Marc Aranibar
@MarcAranibar
aranibarmarc@gmail.com
Steven Douglass & Kyle Watson
@BvilleEVTeam
evchallengebentonville.weebly.com
Tye Killingsworth
tkillingsworth@bentonvillek12.org
Hosts:
Jeff@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Michael@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Tim Robinson, an owner of Phat Tire Bike Shop, was welcomed to the show. He shares the story of following his interest in biking, and seizing every opportunity that presented itself in growing both his company, and the biking culture in Northwest Arkansas.
http://phattirebikeshop.com/
https://www.facebook.com/PhatTireBikeShop
Hosts:
jeff@startupjunkieconsulting.com
michael@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Jeff Charlson, CEO of Bike Rack Brewing Co. talks about how he and his world-class team have implemented smart growth, and had a fun time doing it. Listen in to learn about the future for BRB, and how they've become a leader in the Bentonville brew scene.
bikerackbrewing.com
https://www.facebook.com/bikerackbrewing/?fref=ts
Hosts:
jeff@startupjunkieconsulting.com
michael@startupjunkieconsulting.com
We pulled a group of co-workers the Startup Junkie Headquarters on the Fayetteville Square and gathered around the microphones. Learn about some great businesses operating in Northwest Arkansas making use of our space. From beautiful mahogany wood, to in home health care, this episode was wide ranging - Enjoy!
Episode 33 Guests:
Jessica Boyd
Executive Director of the Community Venture Foundation
jessica@communityventurefoundation.org
www.communityventurefoundation.com
Scott Andrews
COO/CFO with Hayseed Ventures
Scott@hayseedventures.com
www.hayseedventures.com
Seth Ellsworth
Founder of Belize Mahogany Designs
belizemahoganydesigns@gmail.com
belizemahoganydesigns.com
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Contact the hosts:
Jeff@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Michael@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Permjot Valia guest hosts with Jeff Amerine interviewing the team assembled for a mini Mentor Camp at the University of Arkansas. The impressive team from Atlantic Canada assesses our entrepreneurial ecosystem, compares it to their home scene, and even calls the hogs! Enjoy!
This show's guests:
Permjot Valia
Mentor Camp Founder
pvalia@mentorcamp.ca
Collin Deacon
President & Founder, BlueLight AnalyticsTM
Sandra Goodwin
Managing Director, Client Development, McInnes Cooper
D.Darren MacDonald, MSc, CUXP
Manager, Island Sandbox at Cape Breton University
Gillian McCrae
VP Propel ICT
Stephen Nicolle
Technology Executive Advisor
Our guest, Leo Orpin, has opened the first cidery in the state of Arkansas, located in the heart of Springdale. Leo was kind enough to bring some "prowlers" (the cidery's version of a growler) to share his delicious product, and he walks us through the cider making process, as well everything they leveraged to build a destination hang-out spot in Springdale.
In this weeks episode, we say goodbye to co-host Jon Cadieux, who is moving on to bigger and better things. Thank you for all of your efforts in launching the podcast, it's been a fun ride, and we hope to see you for many beers to come.
Find Leo and the Black Apple Crossing here:
321 E Emma Ave, Springdale, AR 72764
Cameron Magee of Avad3 talks with the Startup Junkies about building the capital intensive company, Avad3, which specializes in audio/video event production and helping brands tell their stories through high-quality videos.
Startup Junkies Podcast host Jon Cadieux announces that he will stepping down as a host after next weeks episode.
Contact information for Cameron Magee:
Rick Boosey shares the story of how a trip to Africa inspired him to create Kyya Chocolate so that he could have a meaningful, sustainable impact for the orphanages he visited in Africa. This led to a real passion for chocolate. Sourcing the coco direct from the farmers who grow it. Truley a unique take on a delicious treat.
Richard Bell is the Head Brewer at Core Brewing Company, he has a dream job. Core Brewing co is rapidly becoming a marquee beer brand in Northwest Arkansas and has generously supplied our podcast audience with the chocolate beer they teamed up with Kyya Chocolate to brew.
Together Richard and Rick talk about two of our favorite things, beer and chocolate and how they joined forces to make Chocolate Beer.
Menguin is an online shop for tuxedo and suit rentals. Justin and Nathan built Menguin with the mission of making the tux rental process easier on the customer. And that is exactly what they strive to do day-in and day-out. Listen in as they tell us a story of how far they go to provide their customers with the best customer service.
Jessica Boyd with the Community Ventures Foundation joins us for a conversation on their mission to educate, engage, support, and build the entrepreneurial community by increasing the breadth, depth, and quality of free entrepreneurship initiatives.
The Community Venture Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in July of 2015. Our organization was formed to address the need for more free entrepreneurship initiatives in our community. We are committed to building the entrepreneurial community in Arkansas and our surrounding regions. All of our activities fall within one or more of three focus areas: Entrepreneurship Education, Engaging Entrepreneurs, and Supporting Existing Efforts.
We have provided support for and led efforts such as the Small Business Association's (SBA) Regional Innovation Cluster Initiative, the SBA's InnovateHER contest, the Winrock International and the state of Arkansas’s Innovate Arkansas program, the 100 Girls of Code program, MentorCamp, Give Camp NWA, and many more entrepreneurship-focused initiatives.
Our mission is to educate, engage, support, and build the entrepreneurial community by increasing the breadth, depth, and quality of free entrepreneurship initiatives. Our goal is to improve the quality of life in the regions where we operate, by increasing the number of entrepreneurial opportunities and success stories.
www.communityventurefoundation.org
Our contact information:
Jeff Amerine / Jeff@startupjunkieconsulting.com / www.startupjunkieconsulting.com
Jon Cadieux / jon@455mediagroup.com / www.455mediagroup.com / www.bentonvilleworkplace.com