Welcome to the Startup Junkie's Podcast!
Kim Bryden of Cureate joins our Startup Junkie hosts, Jeff, Caleb, and Davis to discuss shifting the dollar to Northwest Arkansas' food and beverage industry. Whether it's making a killer Bloody Mary, almost being in the FBI, running a grocery store, or having a massive heart for small businesses, Kim was beyond fascinating to learn from! Cureate will be NWA's new best friend; listen to the whole episode to hear how!
Thanks for joining us!
Shownotes:
(1:06) Introducing Kim Bryden of Cureate
(8:43) Early Stages of Cureate
(11:51) Why Northwest Arkansas?
(19:06) Distribution End Goals & Co-Packers
(23:25) Staffing Hospitality Industry in 2021
(28:08) Consumer Demands Solution in NWA
(31:22) Kim's Expectations of The Heartland
(50:57) Advice To Younger Self
(54:18) Wrap Up
Links:
Quotes:
"I'd like to work with people that, I don't know, care about stable cashflow. Who actually build businesses that are of and from their communities." (8:02) - Kim Bryden
"[It's] that inflection point where they've done a thing for a certain period of time, and now they're considering "What's my next business development strategy, marketing strategy, sales strategy?" (9:29) - Kim Bryden
"I'm hoping and desiring that the small businesses that emerge from this time truly define what their mission is and what values [they have] and what they stand for." (24:48) - Kim Bryden
"The best businesses with the strongest cultures are going to attract the best people and everyone else will suffer." (26:15) - Jeff Amerine
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This is the Startup Junkie's Podcast; welcome to it!
In episode 261, we have Jeff Amerine, Caleb Talley, and Davis McEntire from Startup Junkies sit with Ryann Hartley of Hartley Flooring. From the dynamic of being a woman in the industry to the entrepreneurial spirit being in her DNA to creating an immaculate company culture, we got to hash it all out with Ryann!
Thanks for tuning in!
Shownotes:
(1:24) Introducing Ryann Hartley of Hartley Flooring
(3:48)) From Sherwin Williams To Flooring
(5:23) Company Culture
(7:31) Winning & Customer Targeting
(10:39) Glass Ceiling In Construction & Contract Work
(15:22) What's Next For Flooring?
(19:04) Owning The Business 100%
(22:02) Advice to Women in Trade Space
(25:33) What's Next For Ryann Hartley?
(34:33) Advice To Younger Self
(37:27) Wrap Up
Links:
Quotes:
"Working with Sherman Williams, a 150 year old multi-billion dollar business, the career ladder was forever long, as long as I wanted it to be, but there was just something attractive about small business in Northwest Arkansas." (2:28) - Ryann Hartley
"Nothing is perfect. It just isn't. So being willing to just ride those waves and meet those challenges when they come up, there's all kinds of unforeseen things and unknown things… so when you just meet those challenges as best you can over time, you gain respect." (11:38) Ryann Hartley
"...So [I was] running a gas pump at a liquor store. That's what small business is, it' 's not always sexy, it's hard work." (20:25) Ryann Hartley
Welcome to The Startup Junkie’s Podcast!
Ben Clark, CEO of B-Unlimited, joins our hosts, Jeff Amerine, Caleb Talley, and Davis McEntire, to discuss how he created a people company that just so happens to sell t-shirts. Ben breaks down how making a bought-in team, along with well-curated values and a striving for excellence, has scaled this t-shirt company into an entire culture. From building trust and rapport with competitors, helping other struggling businesses during COVID, to the impact of technology, to even the NCAA licensing fiasco, we dive into just about everything!
Thanks for tuning in!
Shownotes:
(1:07) Introducing Ben Clark of B-Unlimited
(5:19) Big News for B
(8:19) Reaching Out To Competitors
(10:08) COVID and Uncertainty of University & Greek Life Retail
(12:02) Building Brand Loyalty
(16:01) Transitional Leadership
(26:22) Culture Creation and Talent Acquisition
(28:39) Science, Technology, and Earth Friendly Initiatives
(37:15) Impact of New NCAA Protocol
(44:27) 5 Years From Now
(44:27) Wrap Up
Links:
Quotes:
"Through COVID it really has caused me to reach out to all my competitors, which has been something really different than the past… I've just been able to talk to them and just kind of talk through what we're doing. It was good to know that you had someone there, even though they were competitor... that could help you and pick up the pieces." (8:19) - Ben Clark
From seeing another business fail, [it] actually helped me understand that I needed to make [us succeed]... and it's really more about systems, procedures, and automation." (16:45) - Ben Clark
"Our ethos is: be unique, be yourself, be unlimited and that's on our wall... we don't care how big we get. Culture costs money, it's an investment." (24:39) - Ben Clark
"You've got to find a community to help you navigate… Seek out good mentors and advice." (45:23) - Ben Clark
Summary:
This is the Startup Junkies Podcast.
Brendan Howell of Loloft jumps into this episode with our hosts Jeff Amerine, Caleb Talley, and Davis McEntire to discuss transforming the industrial workspace. Brendan discussed his newest venture meant to take traditional industrial space contracts and work environments and aim them to serve small to midsize companies. This looks like combining office grade co-working space with the fit and amenities a larger warehouse would offer. This will be coming to a city near you so listen to the rest and look out for Loloft!
Thanks for joining us!
Shownotes:
(1:22) Introducing Brendan Howell of Loloft
(5:44) Brick & Mortar to Digital Startup
(10:14) Dutch Auction Digital Project
(10:13) Pandemic Pivot
(14:25) Transition to Industrial Co-Working Model
(30:38) Benefits For Early To Mid Size Companies
(33:47) Future with Northwest Arkansas
(41:07) Advice to Younger Self
(46:40) Wrap Up
Links:
Quotes:
"The whole idea was that we want to enable small to midsize companies to get started and take physical space on a flexible basis. We want to have the amenities that office coworking has also." (26:17) - Brendan Howell
"So if you're a startup, you want to get into business in a physical space, you come and see us go: "Yep, I need 300 square feet." or "I need 1,000 square feet." [And then you can] sign up tomorrow." (27:37) - Brendan Howell
"So now the idea is to make this a unicorn billion dollar plus company that was born in Northwest Arkansas." (28:59) - Brendan Howell
"Being a startup, you just don't know how much space you need... You've got an idea how much you need today, but you don't know how much in three to six months [or] in a year, because you know, startups are the kind of slow and steady growth to explosive growth, or explode into pieces." (30:58) - Brendan Howell
"Collaborate. It's all about the team with any sort of business. I've tried to do it all by myself and being a dictator is not the right way to do it. You just get sick of yourself." (45:41) - Brendan Howell