Dingman Bootstrapped

This episode of Bootstrapped features UMD alumna Lauren Foundos ’06, a former Maryland varsity field hockey player, and Founder and CEO of FORTË. After years of working in the finance industry, Foundos left the stability of her well-paying job to start FORTË, a technology company that helps gyms and studios livestream their classes. An entrepreneur ahead of her time, Foundos came up with the idea for FORTË after inviting her clients to her daily gym workouts. As global lifestyles shifted after the COVID-19 outbreak, the FORTË model became an investment win, with demand increasing by the second. Tune in as we discuss raising capital with big-time investors, entering the tech space with no tech experience, and the importance of perseverance amidst a venture’s most troubling moments.  

On this episode of Bootstrapped we discuss running a business in a post-COVID world with Oliver Schlake, Clinical Professor at the Robert H. Smith School of Business. With years of academic and professional research under his belt, Schlake is a dictionary for all things entrepreneurship. We dive deep into the pressing questions of our time, including adapting a venture to our changing economy and planning ahead for life after quarantine. In our conversation, we learn how entrepreneurs can prioritize their business operations and optimize their time to sustain their business in an uncertain future. Join us as Schlake highlights the importance of resilience and capacity for agility in this highly requested Bootstrapped feature.   

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we sat down with our Entrepreneur-in-residence Harry Geller ’81, who has over forty years of experience as a serial entrepreneur, investor, and mentor. Geller shares invaluable insights and real-world advice from his experience turning his startup Global Mail into a 60 million dollar success. He also takes us through the startups and investments that followed, including running fine-dining establishments that turned into 10 million dollar businesses. Through his journey as a mentor and angel investor for the Dingman Center of Entrepreneurship, he discusses what is needed to scale a venture and run a business through tough times. Tune in now, and grab a pen and paper because you’re going to want to take notes!

This episode of Bootstrapped features the story of University of Maryland alumni entrepreneur Aaron Epstein ’03, founder of Creative Market. From small beginnings in his college dorm room, Epstein started Creative Market by creating a color-matching web-based service during the dot com boom. After graduating from UMD, he became a self-taught developer and designer to turn his website into an app. Through eventual partnerships with his Co-Founder and collaborations with Y Combinator in Silicon Valley, Epstein was able to transform his idea from a website that generated petty cash to a a full-on marketplace for graphic design assets from independent creators around the world. Join us as Epstein shares what he wishes he would have known as a young entrepreneur and how his connections in San Francisco aided him in making strategic decisions for his company.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we talk PYT -- not the Michael Jackson song, but rather the clean beauty brand. Maryland Smith alumna Mary Schulman ’97 discusses her entrepreneur journey as the founder and CEO of PYT Beauty, a makeup brand that offers beauty without the BS, that is, without the harsh chemicals contained in beauty products that can be toxic to the skin. Prior to PYT, Schulman founded a Natural snack company called Snikiddy Snacks in 2006. The company gained the attention of Utz Quality Foods, which bought the company for their delicious puff products. Utilizing her past experience as a founder and her finance background, Schulman decided to launch PYT Beauty. Listen and learn how her daughter inspired the company’s mission, how she’s using her marketing strategy to stand out in the beauty industry, and how she’s managing a team of people who live in different states.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we dive into the story of Amanda Nachman ’07, founder and CEO of College Magazine. A QUEST Honors Program alumna and English major, Nachman began her venture with an idea that she submitted for a business project. Nachman envisioned a trusted guide on how to navigate college, an idea that ultimately became College Magazine. In 2007, Nachman launched the print publication at the University of Maryland and structured her company through an ad-revenue model. She went on to win Kevin Plank’s Cupid’s Cup student business competition, and today the company reaches over nine million readers. Tune in to learn how Nachman built her online platform, designed fully integrated marketing campaigns, and ultimately inspires young professionals to unapologetically pursue their passions.

This episode of Bootstrapped follows the story of QUEST alumnus Sahil Rahman ’12, co-Founder of RASA, an Indian Fast Casual restaurant located in Washington, D.C. Equipped with a bachelor’s degree in Operations and Supply Chain Management, Rahman launched his career as a Business Analyst for Deloitte. Then, in 2014, he and his childhood best friend, fellow UMD Alum, Rahul Vinod ’11, followed the footsteps of their restaurateur fathers and started RASA. The duos vision for delivering traditional Indian food through the lens of a trendy, fast-casual restaurant has attracted tremendous attention and numerous accolades. In fact, the company is planning a major area expansion alongside NFL Redskins star Vernon Davis. Listen now to learn about building customer loyalty, attracting angel investors and climbing the ladder of the culinary industry.  

This episode of Bootstrapped features University of Maryland alumna Lauren Filocco '12, Founder of OpenBarre in College Park. Filocco’s background in supply chain and operations management from the University of Maryland landed her positions at McCormick & Company and Amazon. A few years into her corporate career, Filocco became obsessed with taking Barre classes. After spending 10 hours a week in the studio, she had the wild idea of opening up a studio of her own in College Park, Maryland. She took the leap, quit her job and began her journey as an entrepreneur. Tune in to find out how Filocco built her studio from the ground up and grew a community of athletes that have not only become her core customers, but also her family. 

Kombucha may be sour, but to our guest entrepreneur it's a sweet business opportunity. On this episode we interviewed Sergio Malarin ’13, Co-Founder of Mobtown Fermentation, the brewery behind Wild Kombucha. A University of Maryland alumnus with a major in history, Malarin worked for a time as a manager at Thompson Creek Window Company but found his calling as an entrepreneur after his brother perfected a home recipe for kombucha. Malarin reveals how he used supply chain and community engagement to build his brand, and discusses where he hopes to take Mobtown Fermentation in the future.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed serial entrepreneur Ori Zohar ’07, co-founder of spice company Burlap & Barrel. A University of Maryland alumnus who majored in Marketing and participated in the QUEST Honors Program, Zohar speaks on the struggles and triumphs of his entrepreneurial experiences, beginning with his very first venture: selling cap and gowns while he was a student at UMD. Zohar defines two entrepreneur archetypes and outlines his career journey as “The Operator” type. From graduation gear to mortgages to spices, Zohar spills the tea on what it’s really like to be an entrepreneur. He also details the secrets behind the launch of his current endeavor, Burlap & Barrel, and how a fascination with cumin lead to the first comprehensive single origin spice company in the United States. 

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed Andy Shallal, MBA ’19, founder and CEO of Busboys and Poets. Shallal founded the iconic restaurant chain in 2005, where it started from a restaurant/events venue/coffee shop/bar/bookstore in D.C. and expanded to eight locations today across the DMV. After years of operating his business, Shallal returned to school through Maryland Smith’s Executive MBA program, where he acquired newfound tools to help his empire soar. Shallal sits down with the Bootstrapped hosts to discuss his motivations for starting Busboys and Poets, how his passion for democracy became the bedrock of the business, and the challenges he’s faced in building Busboys and Poets to what is is today and what it can soon become.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed University of Maryland alumnus Pramod Raheja '91, co-founder and CEO of Airgility and mystaffNOW. Since graduating from Maryland, Pramod navigated a split career as an Airline Captain for United Airlines and also as a serial entrepreneur. Now as the CEO of Airgility, Pramod has been able to leverage his experience as an entrepreneur and as an alumnus at UMD to bring his passion for aerospace engineering to life. On this episode, Pramod shares his experience combining his love of the aerospace industry and entrepreneurship, and how he’s been able to maintain his passion for flight at the center of it all.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed University of Maryland alumnus Zeki Mokhtarzada '00, co-founder of TrueBill and formerly of Webs. After graduating from Maryland, Zeki was ready for a life of entrepreneurship and he knew exactly where to find co-founders.  Alongside his brothers, Zeki co-founded Webs, one of the earliest free web hosts. Together, Zeki and his brothers led Webs to an acquisition to Vistaprint in 2011, and they’ve since gone on to found TrueBill, a company dedicated to tracking and managing all of your finances in one place. On this episode, Zeki shares his experiences balancing family and business, as well as leading a team focused on innovation.

On the season 6 premiere of Bootstrapped, host Joe Bailey and new co-host Holly DeArmond, MBA '17, managing director of the Dingman Center, interviewed University of Maryland alumnus Bill Boyle ’81. Bill is the founder of FiberGate, Inc, chairman of the Dingman Center’s Board of Advisors and an active member of the Dingman Center Angels. From Fiber Optics to the funding table, Bill Boyle has leveraged his experience building and running his own venture into a successful career as an angel investor and venture mentor to numerous students. On this episode, Bill shares his experience running FiberGate for 17 years until its successful exit, and provides a firsthand account of his journey into the world of advising and angel investing.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed current University of Maryland student Jasmine Snead ’19 and alumna Imani Rickerby ’17, co-founders of 2019 Pitch Dingman Competition finalist startup Aurora Tights. As both women of color and figure skaters, Jasmine and Imani struggled to find tights that matched their skin tone, and saw their performance and confidence suffer as a result. To solve this problem, in college they started Aurora Tights, an athletic brand that designs performance sports gear in an array of tones for all complexions and sizes. On this episode, Jasmine and Imani share how they explored consumer interest, navigated contract manufacturing and formed a diverse team to help all women feel comfortable in their skin.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed Radio & Television host Santana Moss. Moss played in the NFL for fourteen seasons. As the first-round pick in the 2001 NFL draft, Santana knew that he was going to need to take proactive measures to maintain his newly acquired wealth. Santana adopted a live and learn approach to entrepreneurship and began investing in real estate and other small businesses. All with varying degrees of success. From his early missteps, he gradually learned what to look for in an investment. On this episode, Santana shares how he learned the hard way that you shouldn’t blindly trust everyone you come across and the importance of perseverance following failure.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed alumnus Jay Sunny Bajaj ’99, the Founder and CEO of DMI and a Robert H. Smith School of Business advisory board member. Growing up with two entrepreneurs as parents, Sunny knew he was going to have his own business one day. Now, Sunny operates a $350 million company that offers comprehensive digital solutions to federal and commercial markets. On this episode, Sunny discusses how he stayed close to innovation to win contracts in the federal market space, and how he shifted his mindset from entrepreneur to CEO to grow as a leader alongside his business.

Listen to Dr. Charlene Brown’s story of starting CareGiver Jobs Now (formerly Reciprocare Jobs), a recruiting platform to help caregivers find jobs in the healthcare industry. She shares the challenges of balancing a two-sided market and navigating product market fit.

As a student hockey player at University of Maryland, startup founder Stephen Steinberg developed a powerful yet safe-on-skin cleaning solution for his smelly sports gear. Learn how he bootstrapped his company, Raw Athletics, which sells green cleaning products to gyms, athletic teams and consumers all over the country.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed UMD alumnus and co-founder and CEO of Zentail Daniel Sugarman ’10. Daniel and his co-founder, Daniel Sperling-Horowitz, first launched a business called HD Trade Services that used technology to decrease fraud in international trading. After entering Y Combinator, they ultimately realized their business model was not sustainable, pivoted, and renamed themselves Zentail to offer their strong automation and data analytics software to retailers. Today, Zentail is an ecommerce platform that gives online retailers and brands the ability to sync catalog and inventory data, maintain competitive pricing, obtain analytics and ship products through channels such as Amazon, Jet.com and Walmart. In this episode, Daniel shares how forming a network and understanding the capital structure behind his startup allowed him to pivot his idea to a different runway while leveraging his current strengths.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed founder and owner of MOM’s Organic Market Scott Nash. Scott started MOM’s Organic Market in 1987, selling produce out of his mother’s garage and using his sister’s Chevy Malibu to deliver grocery orders at night. Today, Scott has grown MOM’s Organic Market to a point where it has stores in four states and Washington D.C., employs more than 1,000 people and has a dedicated following of customers committed to its purpose of protecting and restoring the environment. In this episode, Scott discusses the slow and methodical approach to his growth, how branding is the most valuable aspect of MOM’s and how progressive and socially active values are integral to his business.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, our executive producer switched to the special guest chair as we interviewed UMD alumnus Oscar Zeballos EMBA ’16, co-founder of Podcast Village and executive producer of Bootstrapped. Often, podcasters have a difficult time nailing every aspect of their show as they don’t always have the resources or know-how. To resolve this pain point, Oscar created Podcast Village to provide a turnkey solution for podcasters to collaborate and create their video or audio show at the highest level possible. On this episode of Bootstrapped, Oscar discusses the business model behind Podcast Village, the future he sees for podcasting and how he leveraged his network and unfair advantages to bring his vision to fruition.  

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed alumnus Jon Chapman MBA '07, Co-Founder and President of EverFi, a leading EdTech company. Jon and his co-founders launched EverFi during the recession of 2008, when they identified an opportunity to teach young adults critical skills such as financial literacy through a gamified educational platform. EverFi’s strategy allows private sector entities ranging from banks like BB&T to professional sports leagues like the NHL and NFL to private label EverFi’s product and partner with EverFi to run educational programs in communities they care about. In this episode, Jon details how EverFi focused on understanding their clients as well as their end consumers, and how EverFi went from a bootstrapped company in 2008 to raising $190 M in a Series D round in 2017.

Entrepreneurship can be overwhelming. Social entrepreneurship, more so! In this episode, Melissa Bradley explains the nuances of social entrepreneurship and how social entrepreneurs can make the impact they set out to make.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed UMD alumnus Eddie Inlow MBA ’09, founder and CEO of Shift Transit. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Eddie had extensive experience in strategy and operations, having worked on the leadership team at Under Armour and consulting for Best Buy and Ross Stores. Eddie’s first exposure to the bike share industry was when he worked for Atla Bicycle Share as the General Manager of the Chicago program in 2013, and he later transitioned into the role of COO for the company. It was in 2015 that Eddie went off on his own to found Shift Transit, a comprehensive bike share service provider that collaborates with cities to launch personalized bike share programs. In this episode, Eddie discusses how he tailors his program to each individual city, the rapid evolution of the bike share industry and the challenges of working in the public-private partnership space as an entrepreneur.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed Pam Rothenberg, partner at Womble Bond Dickinson and member of the Dingman Center Board of Advisors, and Chris Finlay, Founder and Chairman of Shelters to Shutters and the founder and principal of Middleburg Real Estate Partners, a multifamily real estate development company. Pam became an intrapreneur within her law firm by founding the firm’s Impact Business whose mission is to “Power Commerce in the Impact Economy.” Through the Impact Business, Pam and her colleagues work with high growth startups, stabilized Impact operating companies and legacy businesses that are all engaged in both pursuing profit and addressing endemic social challenges through their core business activities. Through this work, Pam encountered Chris and his non-profit organization, Shelters to Shutters, that partners with apartment community owners to provide full-time employment and discounted housing to the situationally homeless. In this episode, Pam and Chris discuss their backgrounds in real estate, the growing evolution of the impact economy, and how Chris is developing Shelters to Shutters into a scalable, self-sufficient nonprofit through implementing a sustainable business model that provides value for the clients it serves, as well as for the multifamily developers that partner with the organization in providing jobs and housing to its clients. Pam works closely with Chris and the Shelters to Shutters team to support the organization’s mission and objectives.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed former Dingman Center Angels and co-founders of Legends of Learning, Josh Goldberg ’03 and Vadim Polikov. In 2008, Josh and Vadim launched their first business, Astrum Solar, and together successfully anticipated trends in the market and grew the company until its acquisition by Direct Energy in 2014. Utilizing their background as founders, they then launched the Panther Angels with the aim to invest in and mentor Baltimore and D.C. area entrepreneurs. It was in 2016 that Josh and Vadim co-founded Legends of Learning, a platform which uses gaming as an educational tool to foster stronger subject mastery and engagement among K-12 students. In this episode, Josh and Vadim explore their shared experiences as both founders and funders and share some of the challenges in being entrepreneurial in the K-12 education space. 

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed Hillary Berman, a Smith School MBA alumna and the founder of Popcorn & Ice Cream, a marketing and consulting firm designed to cater to the needs and budgets of small businesses and startups. Hillary encourages her clients to see their business in the eyes of their customer, then builds them a customized marketing strategy that both attracts customers and meets measured goals and objectives. After six years in business, in 2016 she published Customer, LLC: The Small Business Guide to Customer Engagement & Marketing to provide a resource for entrepreneurs looking to find the most efficient marketing tactics for reaching their customers. In this episode, Hillary discusses the benefits of marketing automation technology, common startup marketing pitfalls and her three pieces of advice for entrepreneurs looking to boost their business.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed UMD alumnus and co-Founder and CEO of Compology, Jason Gates. Compology provides the only image-based container monitoring hardware and software that allows for increased revenue generation, efficiency, transparency and sustainability across the waste and recycling industries. Compology streamlines the waste and recycling collection process for waste haulers, generators and regulators. The idea for Compology started in 2012 when Jason thought to join his passion and background in waste management with his co-founder’s experiences in sensor technology. While Compology initially focused only on monitoring food waste, through customer feedback and market analysis the founders decided to pivot their initial idea to encompass all streams of solid waste. In this episode, Jason discusses how his startup evolved over time and how his hands-on approach and flexibility with customers allowed him to build extensive brand loyalty.

On this episode of Dingman Bootstrapped, we interviewed UMD alumnus and serial entrepreneur, Paul Capriolo. Throughout his career, Paul founded and led a multitude of technology startups to successful acquisitions. In 2009, Paul noticed the explosive growth in the social gaming industry and the lack of a monetization method to capitalize on its user base. Paul started Social Growth Technologies to serve as a flexible platform that allows companies to monetize the social gaming market through in-game advertising. After seven years of growth and expansion, Paul recently secured an acquisition of Social Growth Technologies by Kiswe Mobile in 2017. In this episode, Paul details his initial motivations behind being an entrepreneur, the challenges he faced as a computer science major with no background in business and the process of growing a business in an emerging two-sided market.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed University of Maryland alumnus and co-founder & CEO of Rybbon, Jignesh Shah. At his previous position as CMO at Metalogix, Jignesh experienced frustration with the outdated physical gift-giving model; marketing was shifting to digital platforms such as email and social media, and sending a physical gift card in the mail was too slow and cumbersome. So, Jignesh founded Rybbon to streamline the digital gifting process and to serve as the digital gifting platform for marketers and researchers. In this episode, Jignesh speaks to the struggles Rybbon faced being a bootstrapped company, the unique strategy they implemented to acquire their first customers, and their the role they play in the digital marketing industry.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed Jennifer Lee-Harrison, a Smith School MBA alumna and the founder of Perfect Hair International. Jennifer spent 16 years working in corporate America before she was struck with entrepreneurial inspiration. As Senior Director of Marketing and Advertising at Choice Hotels, she was encouraged to complete an MBA to pursue a position as Vice President of Marketing at the company. During her entrepreneurship class, Jennifer got the idea to disrupt the $13 billion hair-extension industry with branded products targeted to African-American women. That business, Perfect Hair International, went on to achieve $1.3 million in sales in just one year. Listen to the episode to hear how she leveraged her network to orchestrate her rise to success and learn her three pieces of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed UMD alumnus, serial entrepreneur and President and CEO of ThreatQuotient, John Czupak. Before ThreatQuotient, John worked at Sourcefire in a variety of roles from 2002 to 2013, until he ultimately engineered a $2.7 billion acquisition with Cisco, the 3rd largest pure play cybersecurity acquisition ever. In this episode, John discusses the approach, mindset and key factors that cybersecurity startups must implement to be successful in a competitive environment.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed venture capitalist and UMD alumnus Gary Swart. Gary operates out of Silicon Valley as a general partner at Polaris Partners, a Boston VC firm that invests in technology and healthcare companies. Prior to his role at Polaris Partners, Gary was CEO of oDesk, a job-search platform that aimed to be the number one destination for job-seekers looking to work remotely. During his eight-year stint as CEO, Gary gained keen insights on customer acquisition, global expansion and staying ahead of competitors, lessons that as an investor he imparts to the entrepreneurs he works with. In this episode, Gary describes the challenges of being CEO, the key factors a startup needs before seeking investment and the differences between the startup ecosystems of Boston and Silicon Valley.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed Kathryn Stewart, an investor in private and public equity and a member of the Dingman Center Angels and Board of Advisors. After spending 10 years working as a partner at Alex.Brown covering healthcare and technology, Kathryn wanted to give back and help others by creating jobs, so she started to invest in companies that utilized technology in order to make an impact. In this episode, Kathryn discusses her personalized approach to how she invests in entrepreneurs, and reveals the attributes a startup needs to draw angel investors.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed veterinarian Dr. Mark Olcott, co-founder and CEO of VitusVet. After losing a pet patient because he couldn’t access their medical records on a weekend, Mark started VitusVet to electronically connect pet parents and their care providers to improve the health and safety of all pets. VitusVet capitalizes on the two-sided market of the vet industry by creating a platform that streamlines the customer service experience, keeping pet parents happy and practices in business. While researching his business model, Mark looked to other industries suffering from similarly outdated, paper-driven customer service practices and found some unexpected parallels.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed academic turned founder, Dale Nirvani Pfeifer. Less than 4 years ago, when Dale recognized there was a need to bring philanthropic giving to the next generation, she started Goodworld. The company allows non-profits to receive donations through hashtags and shares on social media sites. Dale's first VC pitch was brutal but it taught her to think bigger about her potential market reach. After raising nearly $3 million in VC funding, Goodworld has successfully bridged the funding gap between non-profits and Millennials. 

In this episode of Bootstrapped, we spoke with serial entrepreneur and CEO of Halen Brands, Jason Cohen. Cohen walks through his journey from being unable to pay his phone bill to selling 5 companies worth over $500 million, including brands like Sensible Portion Veggie Straws and SkinnyPop, the two fastest growing “better for you” snacks known today. Dubbed as the 'club king' of packaged foods, Jason highlights the importance of targeting high quantity distribution channels such as Costco to augment your reach toward popular outlets like Whole Foods. Tips on how to hire top talent with no startup capital is also covered.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we spoke with Brian Taff, serial entrepreneur and President of Streetsense, an experience-focused strategy and design collective. Brian talks about the changing face of retail and the need to create a personalized experience for customers. The goal of brand marketers is no longer about authenticity as people see right through that, Brian claims; it's about making the brand approachable and meeting customers' expectations. Brian discusses how to get customers to be not just promoters, but defenders of your brand. 

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we spoke with former NFL Cornerback and former NFL Players Association President Domonique Foxworth. After seven years in the NFL, two of which he served as NFLPA President, Foxworth pursued his MBA at Harvard Business School. While enrolled at Havard Business School, Foxworth discusses how he went from investing in bonds to investing in startups. When evaluating whether to invest in an entrepreneur, he cites soft skills as key to the decision-making process. Understanding an industry and coming up with a viable idea is the easy part, according to Foxworth. Your level of self-awareness, coachability, and motives can make the difference between a venture’s success or failure.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we talk football with Grip Boost founders Matt Furstenburg and Chanda Arya. As a former NFL player, Matt was familiar with the shortcomings of football gloves. After receiving half a million dollars in seed funding through organizations such as TEDCO and VOLT, the founders iterated for almost 2 years. With NFL's enormous budget, they appeared the segment to target. Instead, Matt focused on the less famous segment of sports teams—high school athletics, which makes up 95% of the market. Five years later, Grip Boost is sold in 70 stores across the US, selling apparel for football, baseball and golf. 

In this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed Ursula Mead, founder of InHerSight.com. The website easily appealed to users eager to rate their experience as a female employee. Unlike other job sites, InHerSight.com gathers data on the female perspective and became a prime location for companies looking to recruit women. Ursula monetized her company by selling data insights back to the companies rated on her site. Now three years old, InHerSight.com has over 170,000 users and 30,000 companies on the website.

In this episode of Bootstrapped, we interview Elise Whang, CEO and Co-Founder of SNOBSWAP. As an avid consignment shopper, Elise got the idea for SNOBSWAP while working late hours as an attorney unable to access second-hand finds online. With brick & mortar only consignment stores losing approximately 30% of their potential revenue, Elise found an 'in' to this traditionally winner-take-all market. Supply-side customer acquisition was as straightforward as googling "best consignment stores in LA" then pitching their idea to a select target list. Now 5 years after their launch, SNOBSWAP is turning down about 50% of the stores that apply to be on their site. 

In this episode of Bootstrapped, the Dingman Center's Entrepreneur-in-Residence and 1776 Startup Mentor Bob London discusses marketing. During a time when there is a constant 'war for customer’s attention,' London advocates for listening. If your start-up is not getting customers, try asking someone, "what would make you a customer for life?" Starting with a customer’s 'elevator rants' or complaints about a product or service makes for a solid foundation for a new enterprise. 

Imagine you are in front of a venture capitalist, what are you going to say that will convince them to invest in your start-up? In this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed Terp alum and executive coach Glen Hellman. Serving as founder, mentor and venture partner for multiple organizations, Glen knows a lot about getting funding. Glen explains that using story-telling to engage the reptilian brain in your audience helps move people toward action and increases your chances of wooing investors. 

On this week's episode of Bootstrapped, we talked with Aviva Goldfarb, founder of the Six O'Clock Scramble. This online meal planner offers busy parents health-conscious solutions for the daily scramble of cooking a family dinner. Aviva admits "my biggest competitor is free." Aviva monetized her idea through a membership model, offering dietitian-approved recipes that can be made quickly, along with a mobile grocery list. By requiring customers to submit a credit card to activate their free trial, Aviva has managed to gain a sizable following with a 60-70% customer retention rate. 

In this episode of Bootstrapped, we spoke with Brad Sayler, co-founder & CFO/COO of Spotluck. The app is an asset for both restaurateurs and foodies alike offering up discounts to customers while driving foot traffic to restaurants. One might ask-- how did a lawyer get into app development? Brad says, "you don't need to have a computer science degree" to get your product going. He stresses the importance of separating form from function when developing prototypes. He turned to knowledgeable friends and family for the initial bootstrapping of Spotluck. Brad admits satisfying both sides of a 2-sided market is challenging but knowing that there is an ever-changing formula keeps the customer base growing. 

Ann Yang and Phil Wong, the co-founders of MISFIT Juicery, started their cold-pressed juice company in their dorm room at Georgetown University with a hundred pounds of peaches and a borrowed blender. A social venture, MISFIT transforms "ugly" fruits and vegetables into visually appealing, delicious juice that disguises its "misfit" origins while combating food waste. Through bootstrapping and a scrappy willingness to ask for help when they needed it, they managed to grow MISFIT into one of the hottest local food startups. After graduating from Halcyon Incubator, they secured funding from angel investors including the Dingman Center Angels, and are currently one of six food startups around the country accepted into the Chobani Food Incubator. In this episode, MISFIT founders Ann Yang and Phil Wong discuss the passion and tenacity required to run a social venture, the secrets of their strong branding strategy and the power of asking for help. 

Micha Weinblatt founded his first company, Crooked Monkey, in college at a bar. While sitting at legendary bar Cornerstone, just off campus from the University of Maryland, Micha considered how the traditional college t-shirt could be re-fashioned. Like any true entrepreneur, he started a company that produced cool, graphic t-shirts and called it Crooked Monkey. The shirts are now sold at Bloomingdale's, Urban Outfitters and other chic retailers. Seven years into the venture, Micha got what he calls the "7-year itch" to start something new. That something is Betterific, a platform where ideas and innovation can be crowdsourced. In this episode, Micha talks about how he funded his startups and the one thing every investor or entrepreneur should know before investing in or launching a startup. 

Whether you are the sole founder or co-founder of a start-up, equity can play a major role in the growth and direction of your company. Andrew Sherman, Partner at the Seyfarth Shaw law firm, began his career with a successful start-up in aerobic tennis. Today, he advises entrepreneurs on the brass tacks of drafting stock options, exit strategies and aligning managerial responsibilities with equity. Accustom to asking hardball questions like, how to value sweat equity, what are the income needs of the various stakeholders and how to link expertise to equity, Andrew encourages entrepreneurs to do an (often free) preliminary attorney meeting in the early stages of a start-up.

In this episode of Bootstrapped, Ed Barrientos, CEO of Brazen, a cloud-based HR tech start-up, talks about the market for talent. In its initial onset, Brazen aimed to create the LinkedIn for Millennials. Focused on improving product market fit, Ed's team shifted gears and created a communication platform for texting-centric Millennial job candidates to get past the 'apply online' brick wall recruiters often have trouble pulling top talent through. Today, Brazen is used by Deloitte, Nasa, Amtrak, and over 120 universities. Ed is also the Managing Partner of Zeitgeist Holdings, an angel investment firm.