Summary
On this special episode of Startup Junkies, hosts Caleb Talley, Grace Gill, Darian Harris, and Tom Douglass head north to the Ledger in Bentonville, where they sit down with four of the participants in Fuel’s AI and machine learning 2023 cohort. Fuel is specifically designed for seed and growth-stage technology companies ready to scale and become enterprise-ready. Members of the cohort receive mentorship and education from leaders in their vertical, as well as coaching and connections from Fuel’s enterprise partners. Caleb, Grace, Darian, and Tom sat down with Andrew Bart of AlgoFace, Dexter Caffey of Smart Eye Technology, Kevin Butler of Edify, and Keith Fix of Retail Aware to discuss their entrepreneurial journeys and their experiences with Fuel thus far.
Show Notes
(0:35) Introducing This Year’s Fuel Accelerator
(2:51) Andrew Bart and AlgoFace
(13:11) Dexter Caffey and Smart Eye Technology
(23:14) Kevin Butler and Edify
(32:44) Keith Fix and Retail Aware
Links
Quotes
“Even in the mentor sessions, I know we’re here to acquire enterprise-level customers and learn how to be better at doing that and optimizing that process. But the reality is I came here to meet people. The way I’ve operated in life historically is that things tend to develop organically…People do deals with you ultimately because they like you and they trust you. And look, I just want to engage with people in the community. I’ve met an incredible group of people. The exposure [through Fuel] has been nothing short of amazing.” - Andrew Bart, (6:11)
“The business climate [in Northwest Arkansas] is something that’s completely different than any other place I’ve been in the States as well as globally…It’s a completely different environment here business-wise. I don’t think a lot of people understand that.” - Dexter Caffey, (18:26)
“Getting exposure to mentors and business people around the area is a huge benefit [of Bentonville]...But even though it’s a small market, Walmart, a Fortune 1 company, is here. We’re not limited in where those connections go and where the results of Fuel take companies, and I see that as one of the big benefits here.” - Kevin Butler, (27:06)
“I don’t think anyone really understands or knows what’s happening in [Northwest Arkansas] until you get here. It’s just such a hidden gem.” - Keith Fix, (37:29)
Summary
En nuestro segundo episodio del podcast Startup Junkies En Español tenemos como invitada a Jessica Sánchez. Jessica es propietaria de NWA Bilingual Solutions una compañía que se especialista en proveer servicios de traducción e interpretación a diferentes corporativos y organizaciones del área para beneficio de la comunidad. Fundada a finales del año 2020, NWA Bilingual Solutions también se dispone a concientizar a la comunidad de los derechos que la ley le otorga en cuanto a la interpretación en su idioma sin costo alguno se refiere. Jessica tomo experiencias vividas en su niñez y la convirtió en una compañía la cual está haciendo la diferencia en el Noroeste de Arkansas.
Show Notes
(00:28) What is your company? How did it start? What was the need you saw?
(02:21) When did you launch the company?
(03:15) You saw the need and decided that you would do something about it.
(05:54) Parents needing their kid’s help for translation & interpretation.
(07:47) From idea to business
(09:40) Who is Jessica Sánchez?
(11:46) No place to live.
(12:08) Cultural shock
(13:01) Learn English
(16:15) Give value to the service you offer.
(18:06) The importance or limits
(19:59) Linguistic access
(20:57) Where is the diversity?
(22:35) Where do you see your business in the next few years?
(26:10) Your kid is dead.
Links
Quotes
“Como muchos que crecieron en este país que son padres de la primera generación en este país hemos estado interpretando por nuestros padres.” - Jessica Sánchez, (01:05)
“Esto fue un crecimiento gradual.” - Jessica Sánchez, (09:10)
“Yo soy Jessica y tengo ansiedad social.” - Jessica Sánchez, (09:56)
“Yo crecí en ese papel donde yo tenía que encargarme o ayudarles a mis papás de lo que fuera la necesidad de ellos.” - Jessica Sánchez, (10:19)
“Nos mudamos aquí (Arkansas) en el 2005 y otro cultural shock… Yo no entendía el inglés… ¿Qué es y’all? ¿Qué es esa palabra que utilizan en inglés?” - Jessica Sánchez, (12:12)
“Cuando mi mamá iba y les decía ‘spanish please’ o algo, no, la miraba horrible, la ignoraban, la hacían a un lado, entonces, he crecido mirando eso, he crecido mirando las diferencias y la discriminación que hay por el idioma que uno habla y como las personas nada más se lavan las manos diciendo ‘aprende inglés’ estamos aquí en los Estados Unidos y exactamente por eso porque estamos en los Estados Unidos en un lugar que es una mezcla de culturas que está basado en esto.” - Jessica Sánchez, (13:01)
“Uno tiene que darle valor al servicio que uno provee.” - Jessica Sánchez, (16:22)
“Culturalmente se nos ha enseñado una lealtad ciega a la familia.” - Jessica Sánchez, (18:45)
“Una de las cosas que más me encanta de tener mi propio negocio… Es que nadie me puede tapar la boca.” - Jessica Sánchez, (34:25)
“Tenemos que ser pacientes cuando estamos empezando nuestros propios negocios.”
- Jessica Sánchez, (37:16)
Summary
On this episode of Startup Junkies, hosts Jeff Amerine, Caleb Talley, and Victoria Dickerson are joined by returning guest Brendan Howell, co-founder and CEO of Loloft, which is reimagining the warehousing industry by offering small and growth-stage companies a physical space to store and manage their products without the burden of traditional long-term leases. Loloft officially opened its first location in Rogers at the beginning of September, and it is already surpassing its early targets and goals. Throughout the episode, Brendan discusses Loloft’s emphasis on community building, which cities are next for Loloft, and his thoughts on appealing to an unexpected market.
Show Notes
(0:32) Introducing Brendan Howell and Loloft
(7:51) Loloft’s Emphasis on Community
(11:55) What’s Next for Loloft?
(16:28) Brendan’s Origin Story
(24:56) Appealing to an Unexpected Market
(29:50) Loloft’s Intentional Positioning
(32:07) Advice to the Younger Self and Closing Thoughts
Links
Quotes
“So the best way to describe what we’re doing is office coworking combined with warehousing. So it’s really a kind of mix of the two concepts. And we coined the term industrial coworking to try and accurately describe what we’re doing.” - Brendan Howell, (4:27)
“It was really eye-opening to see the access you can get by being in a community that is actually trying to build community and trying to build connections. So companies can come in and just do their own thing here, but if they want to participate, there’s that option as well.” - Brendan Howell, (10:27)
“We never intended to be in this business. We’re not property people. We don’t have a background in commercial property. But we saw a solution to a problem that we had, and a lot of other people had the same problem. So, we weren’t constrained by the dogma of the industry. We just came from outside and solved the problem.” - Brendan Howell (20:49)
“For us, from a business operations perspective, it’s dollars outside of square feet. There’s a lot of opportunity for us as a business to provide services. For the members, it’s below cost relative to getting a full-time employee. But for us, it’s also good revenue because we’re not just renting space, we can provide a service inside the space.” - Brendan Howell, (27:42)