Summary
Nuestro primer episodio del podcast Startup Junkies En Español tiene una invitada increíble. Ana Sáenz, propietaria de la panadería en línea The Magical Spatula. Originaria de Costa Rica, Ana se mudó a Arkansas hace 5 años con su esposo. Apasionada por la cocina desde muy chica, y sobre todo el gusto por hornear, Ana decidió llevar su pasión al siguiente nivel al decidir tomar clases de cocina y graduarse del centro Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food en la ciudad Bentonville en el Noroeste de Arkansas.
Show Notes
(0:05) Introducing Ana Sáenz and Her Origin Story
(1:46) What inspired you?
(4:31) Best part of culinary clases
(9:22) Challenges of entrepreneurship
(11:34) Networking
(18:30) Education & Recepies
(20:34) What makes you different?
(33:45) What’s next?
Links
Ana Sáenz
Quotes
“Desde niña siempre horneé con mi abuelita y me acuerdo que todas las navidades hacíamos galletas, hacíamos tamales… Y me acuerdo de escoger con ella sabores, colores y todo ese tipo de cosas y siempre fue la cocina en general pero especialmente la parte pastelera con ella siempre fue recuerdos que tengo de mi niñez con ella.” - Ana Sáenz, (01:46)
“Paso el tiempo y perdí el miedo al idioma, perdí el miedo a manejar e independizarme y mi esposo me dice ¿por qué no te metes a clase culinarias y lo haces una carrera profesional?”
- Ana Sáenz, (02:40)
“Los eventos que hacían en la universidad, en Brightwater, traían chefs de todo el mundo… Super interesante, super divertido.” - Ana Sáenz, (04:57)
“Yo no quise entrar al mundo de pedir préstamos, no quise entrar a pedir capital o a pedir algún préstamo a ningún banco, yo quise empezar con lo que yo tenía, como yo pudiera y de ahí partí.” - Ana Sáenz, (09:24)
“Lo que mejor aprendí es que todo está en networking, todo está en ámbito de con quién te relacionas, que contactos puedes absorber, que personas adecuadas puedes reunirte o puedes estar en contacto con y de ahí salen tus ramas al éxito definitivamente.” - Ana Sáenz, (11:45)
“Algo que admiro de la cultura aquí o de donde estamos, es la cantidad de oportunidades de hacer ese networking, esas conexiones.” - Claudia Scott, (12:11)
“Siempre va a haber miedo, siempre va a haber dudas de uno mismo, pero yo siento que depende de las herramientas que la gente busque así va a haber el éxito después de esto.”
- Ana Sáenz, (14:59)
“Yo sé que nunca es tarde para empezar un negocio… Nunca, nunca, nunca es tarde.”
- Ana Sáenz, (23:14)
“Tienen que confiar en lo que su instinto les dice.” - Ana Sáenz, (31:12)
“Yo no quiero llegar al punto de odiar lo que hago, quiero seguir amando lo que hago, que es lo que hago hasta el momento, amo dar mis clases, amo atender a mis clientes, amo ver esa sonrisa cuando comen pancitos.” - Ana Sáenz, (32:59)
Summary
On this special episode of Startup Junkies, hosts Jeff Amerine, Caleb Talley, and Victoria Dickerson head to Startup Crawl, where they interview several entrepreneurs participating in this year’s event. The night celebrated entrepreneurship in the Heartland with food trucks, local craft beer, live music, and entrepreneurial connection. Jeff, Caleb, and Victoria sat down with Joshua Carnes of Sights & Sounds NWA, Brody Maxwell of TrueRep, Orson Weems of the Music Education Initiative, Bryan Fittin of Go Rogue X, and Bridgett Skeirik of Montay Coffee to discuss their entrepreneurial endeavors and Startup Crawl’s impact on the community.
Show Notes
(0:32) Joshua Carnes and Sights & Sounds NWA
(3:33) Brody Maxwell and TrueRep
(7:02) Orson Weems and the Music Education Initiative
(13:34) Bryan Fittin and Go Rogue X
(22:03) Bridgett Skeirik and Montay Coffee
Links
The Music Education Initiative
Quotes
“The reactions we’ve been seeing tonight [at Startup Crawl] have been really cool. People have been…enjoying learning about the ecosystem of small businesses and startups here in Northwest Arkansas. It’s just been cool how engaged people want to be.” - Joshua Carnes, (2:39)
“With the way we’ve structured our pricing and also the affordability of using a product and a hardware device that most people carry around every day, and then just our magnet we sell at cost, you’re able to utilize velocity-based training whether you’re a strength coach at the university level and you want to outfit your athletes with the latest programming that professional athletes are using, or if you’re just an everyday gym-goer that wants to utilize programming that D1 athletes are utilizing, we’re able to provide that.” - Brody Maxwell, (5:39)
“What we’re doing is exposing careers and opportunities in music, entertainment, and live events. Because, as you said, that ecosystem, that’s a sector of industry that people don’t think about, that nighttime economy where most people go out.” - Orson Weems, (9:03)
“[Startup Crawl] is like a big family reunion for entrepreneurs because you get to see people that you only see online or haven’t seen in a couple of years or whatever else…And so it’s so encouraging to see so many people doing well [and] thriving here.” - Bryan Fittin, (19:25)
“[Startup Crawl] was incredible. There were so many people here. The vibe was really cool, just with all the music and everything, and getting to interact with so many people who are interested in our story and entrepreneurs and wanting to support. It was just great connections for us.” - Bridgett Skeirik, (25:21)
Summary
On this episode of Startup Junkies, hosts Caleb Talley, Victoria Dickerson, and Claudia Scott sit down with Erin Campbell, co-founder of Gen Z Water. Erin joined the podcast last year after Gen Z Water won the People’s Choice Award at Startup Crawl 2022, and she’s back this week to share what she’s been up to since. Throughout the episode, Erin discusses the unique challenges of marketing water, how she found her ideal niche in the Gen Z market, and the benefits of taking risks as an entrepreneur.
Show Notes
(1:17) Introducing Erin Campbell and Her Origin Story
(6:47) Marketing Water
(12:39) Connecting with Gen Z Customers
(20:53) Leaning into Risk as a Startup
(26:28) Building to Sell
(31:10) What’s Erin up to Now?
(33:06) Advice to the Younger Self and Closing Thoughts
Links
Quotes
“With the insights and the data and the research that we did during the pandemic, it was incredibly clear that that fit, filthy-rich, famous brand imagery was a huge disconnect from the value system of the Gen Z generation, [and] much more inline with the aspirational millennial generation.” - Erin Campbell, (13:22)
“It landed so well because I feel like we did it with such intention. There is a story, there is a reason, there is a strategy, there is a data point, there is an insight behind every decision that we made. So, to that risk point, they’re informed, and they’re educated risks. They’re not just careless; they’re very calculated, and we made sure that we had a reasonably data-informed argument that would justify that risk.” - Erin Campbell, (22:46)
“I don’t know if [my] younger self would have been ready to hear, ‘just take risks.’ I think she had to go through the whole process to get to where I am today.” - Erin Campbel, (34:29)
Summary:
We're gearing up for Startup Crawl 2023! In this special episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast, we're revisiting the live show we recorded during Startup Crawl 2022. It's an evening of exciting startups, passionate entrepreneurs, incredible craft beer, and amazing live music. Tune in to get a taste of what you can expect at Startup Crawl 2023, happening Friday, September 8th from 5-9 pm at the Fayetteville Square! Get tickets at www.startupjunkie.org/startupcrawl.
Show Notes:
(0:46) All about Gen Z
(1:17) The Genesis behind Gen Z
(4:01) Reception from Buyers
(4:45) What’s Next for Gen Z?
(8:09) Background on Calvin Smith
(12:54) A Metaphor for Entrepreneurship: Little Failures Lead to Greater Success
(16:12) What We Need from the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs
(19:11) Advice to Younger Self
(20:51) Ronnie Brewer, Hero of Basketball
(21:10) Thoughts on the Startup Crawl
(22:57) Excellence in Athletics Translates to Entrepreneurship
(25:11) Accept Nothing Less than the Best
Links:
Quotes:
“...I think in this culture of fast fashion, fast this, fast that, we can slow down and enjoy things and enjoy the smile that these bottles bring. And it's so unique because not a lot of products these days really are doing that.” - Bo Mo, (6:04)
“...What we need is the next generation of people coming up…to give back selflessly, without expecting anything in return and saying, ‘Hey, if I give back to this community, we're all better for it. I’m better for it.’” - Calvin Smith, (17:42)
“...The constraints that you have on yourself [are]…only in your mind. If you let that go, anything is possible and you can achieve anything. And we’re a prime example with the Razorbacks. But again, we're just scratching the surface. And that's motivation to people in the entrepreneurial world, and you can do anything, but don’t just settle for scratching the surface - keep on grinding, keep on getting better.” - Ronnie Brewer, (26:05)