This episode we welcome Jeff back to the microphone after a brief hiatus, and the conversation couldn’t be confined to one episode, so it’s broken into two. We’re also happy to have Lance Stokes, founder of Lauren James with us for a conversation that covers many topics, including:
Lessons learned and planning for the next B2F Square2Square Run, Walk, & (pub)Crawl (30+ miles of running, walking and drinking local beer).
What is special about Northwest Arkansas, and building the density and gravity for a successful entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The 479 Founders Forum – a group of local entrepreneurs that Lance is a part of – will be hosting a startup job fair, Build 479 on April 20th.
If you’re interested in any of the upcoming events, email Michael@startupjunkieconsulting.com and tune in to the next episode (79) for more!
Our guest this episode is Caroline Gschwend who is the most recent victor of the Congressional App Challenge for District AR 03 with her app "defendUS". She shares her story of a growing interest in computer science, building the winning app, and the tools that she used to win.
Check out her App: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjBe90OEInA
Her Tools:
http://stackoverflow.com/
http://www.fotor.com/
Caroline is also an active volunteer with the Community Venture Foundation, whose Executive Director, Jessica Boyd joins as a co-host of this show. Jessica gives an update on the different programs that CVF is running and has on the horizon.
Follow and stay in touch with CVF:
www.communityventurefoundation.org
https://www.facebook.com/communityventurefoundation/?fref=ts
Host:
Michael@startupjunkiespodcast.com
Rolf Wilkin, founder of Eureka Pizza, Local Trade Partners, and the original RazorBucks joins the podcast to share stories and lessons learned from growing multiple businesses by being opportunistic and sticking to his core values.
Rolf see’s opportunity where other’s see risk or potential failure. He is a genius promoter, and remains a student.
Some of his book recommendations include:
Guerilla Marketing – Jay Levinson
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing – Al Ries & Jack Trout
Four Agreements – Don Miguel Ruiz
Join Local Trade Partners: www.localtradepartners.com
Eat Eureka Pizza: www.eurekapizza.com
Hosts:
brett@startupjunkieconsulting.com
michael@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Lifetime entrepreneur, Bill Beyer is our guest this episode. He and his family are building a world-class tea company. Savoy Tea is the third venture that Bill has started, and he’s on his way to creating one of the first billion dollar brands without raising a dollar of capital.
Savoy Tea has 3 (soon to be 5), locations where they create a customer-centric atmosphere and serve their house-blended teas. They source tea from tea gardens and family farms all over the world: China, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, South Africa, Argentina… And yes, Bill is actually a certified Tea sommelier.
You can find more information, and order your blend here:
https://savoytea.com/
Hosts:
Michael@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Brett@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Eric Hinson, CEO and Founder of Explainify joins us to share his story of building a great culture in a great company. Explainify is a company that can “find the diamond in the haystack” in helping brands clearly understand the value that they deliver to customers – and how to communicate it effectively.
Eric is currently publishing his first book from his lessons and experience at Explainify: “Diamond in a Haystack: How to uncover your brand story, rise above the noise, and give your customers a reason to care.”
Get your free sneak peak here: Go.explainify.com/book
Reach out to Eric here:
http://explainify.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericjhinson/
Hosts:
Brett@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Michael@startupjunkieconsulting.com
We are joined by the professionals from SCORE, the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Center, and the regional SBA office to discuss the services available to small businesses around the nation, and particularly in Northwest Arkansas. If you’re interested in reaching out to utilize any of these services, you can reach out to our guests below:
Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center – Bill Fox
bfox@walton.uark.edu
SCORE NW Arkansas – David Bernstein
davidb@nwascore.org
Regional SBA Rep - Jeffery Salazar
jeffery.salazar@sba.gov
Hosts:
Brett@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Michael@startupjunkieconsulting.com
We are joined by Will Hurst from AT&T as well as the team from Little Bird Systems - Bryon Western, Edgar Cilio, and Jim Lewis. The conversation leads us through an entertaining deep dive on the Internet of Things - both what it is and how it will have an increasing effect on our lives going forward.
http://www.littlebirdsystems.com/
Hosts:
Jeff@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Michael@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Disclosure: We do not own the rights to Skynet :)
James Smith joins us from James + James Furniture, a business that he started in his garage and grew to a nation-wide furniture and logistics company that's currently hiring if you like what you hear:
Check out their showroom in Fayetteville or their online show room here:
https://carpenterjames.com/
Hosts:
Jeff@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Michael@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Elise Mitchell is the founder of Mitchell Communications and most recently the author of Leading Through the Turn, which details her story of how a journey mindset can help leaders find success.
In this episode, we learn how Elise took her interest and skill set and built it into an international strategic communications firm. We also discuss her brand-new book: Leading Through the Turn, which is available for pre-order and will officially launch January, 2017.
Learn more and buy the book here: www.elisemitchell.com
Hosts:
Jeff@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Michael@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Jeff and Michael dive into the intricacies of Kickstarter, and the recent successful campaign that Michael and his business partner Jay Clark had for FML! The Game. You can find out more about their project by viewing the updates to their campaign, and look for games to be available early 2017.
Kickstarter: http://kck.st/2fdIBAL
Michael@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Host:
Jeff@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Jeff is joined by Bob Pelley with Innovacorp, and Darren MacDonald from Cape Breton University. During Global Entrepreneurship Week they set up shop at the Navigate Startup House in Cape Breton - all the way in North Atlantic Canada. In this episode discuss the incredible work that is going on there to build the entrepreneurial ecosystem and share perspective on what it takes to lift up a region. Learn more about their organizations below. Enjoy!
Ashton McCombs and Jeff are both Naval Academy graduates who took a successful plunge into entrepreneurship. In this episode, Ashton shares stories about the path that led he and two colleagues to leave corporate careers and start Phigenics, a smart water management company in 2004. It has been over a decade, and Ashton shares stories, lessons learned and advice to future entrepreneurs.
Hosts:
Jeff@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Michael@startupjunkieconsulting.com
We sit down with Jason and Justin to discuss retail technology and everything that the Skosay team has to offer. These entrepreneurs have been working and innovating in the CPG space for their entire adult lives, and have created a new product that is beginning to gain traction.
Find out more at:
www.skosay.com
Hosts:
Jeff@startupjunkieconsulting.com
Michael@startupjunkieconsulting.com
In our final episode from the Tinkerfest at the Amazeum with co-host Jon Cadieux we speak with Adam Tobin and Sam Bell from the Chabot Space & Science Center.
This conversation covers Adam's two previous toy companies, the museum they run in the bay area, cycling, education, hiring, and even dumpster diving! This is a fun one!
Chabot Space & Science Center
@ChabotSpace
Hosts:
Jeff@startupjunkieconsulting.com
jon@455mediagroup.com
In this episode Jeff is joined by Jon Cadieux and two fantastic guests. First is Carrie Beach, who is a veteran teacher at Washington Junior High in Bentonville. She runs the cardboard construction at the Tinkerfest, and created a Fab Lab in her classroom to help mold the creative minds of the students that she works with every day.
At 11:50 we shift to speak with London Kaye who hails from New York City. She got her start making elaborate street art out of yarn, and turned her passion into a profession, you can check out what she is working on now at:
@madebylondon
www.londonkaye.com
Hosts:
Jeff@startupjunkieconsulting.com
jon@455mediagroup.com