Podcasts about bigfoot podcast studio

Lee Hedgmon grew up in Portland, Oregon, there was a culture of craft so making sweet drinks came very naturally and there are plenty of bee keepers in the region and lots of honey. Making a great brew is one thing, selling it commercially is another. So Lee has partnered with other spirits producers, among them Freeland Spirits of Portland, for whom she also works as a distiller. Previously a distiller for McMenamin's, a regional pub owner, Lee knew people in the business. She began asking around if people had barrels they were dumping anytime soon and when they did, they went to Lee! In exchange, the distillers got some bottles of Barreled Bee and go their names on the bottle tag for advertising and everybody was a winner! And since distillery barrels have more than one life, Lee also gives her barrels away after she uses them; it's a great ecosystem and great community. Beyond the actual brewing regimen, Lee is an astute marketer. Her packaging is superb, with distinctive bottling and labeling. The label looks “sophisticated woodsy” and the lid is reminiscent of any fine liquor bottling. A master stroke: She has added the signature wax sealant on the top ala Maker's Mark. And luckily during the lockdown, her production numbers were small enough she never experienced a shortage of bottles, so distribution was not disrupted. Growth plans are in the works and the challenges to overcome are basic. Lee needs space, the right kind of space. Barrels are large and when filled with honey, very heavy. And as mentioned, temperature and humidity control are crucial. If too cold, the honey can crystalize inside the barrel and it's not a fun rescue, if rescue is even possible. Aging time is about four months, and the barrels are mixed and tested in between. Drinking the honey straight is probably for the very few, it's best as part of a cocktail recipe. And here's a good one (write it down): The Honey Drop. Geneva Gin (from Freeland, Lee makes it also), Barrel Aged Honey (of course), lemon juice, a bit of Cointreau and egg white. Yes, your mouth is watering, so go make one and enjoy. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

The Specialty Food Association puts on a show, a really big show, It is the largest U.S. event focused exclusively on the specialty food industry and although COVID slowed down the show schedule, our very own hosts, Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall, attended the first 2022 show, February 6th through 8th in Las Vegas (yes, it's a tough job, but somebody has to do it). In this episode, they talk about the things they did, the people they saw and the great foods they ate. The Association is comprised of specialty food manufacturers. Specialty foods are hand-crafted, of extremely high quality and this association helps protect their standards, build a community and keep promoting good eating of nutritious foods which are generally found in specialty food stores, certain sections of a grocery store or shops such as your favorite cheese shop. Twice each year, the association puts on their Fancy Food Show, essentially a trade show for their members to reconnect, share, grow their knowledge base and help promote each other's wares, and to connect with Buyers! Our hosts had a little time to enjoy the big art exhibit on tour and catch a few venues recommended by friends. Of particular interest was the art exhibit. To enter, you go through a door that feels like a minimart with real and not-real products. As you explore, you can go through a refrigerator door, look behind a meat case, open a file cabinet drawer and it opens a secret door – very Alice In Wonderland. Outside in the city, our hosts found a very clean, not crowded Las Vegas. And the food in the restaurants was wonderful; this episode contains a great list if you're interested. But back to the food show. Part of the value of a show is new connections for young company food entrepreneurs and Sarah Marshall gives us a case study in this episode. Tonia Farman, whose company is Queen of Hearts Hemp (episode #82), was personally introduced around by Sarah. Tonia met new food buyers and grocery buyers. These are buyers who would normally take weeks, months and years of door knocking to get an audience and even then might be impossible to see. But a person-to-person setting with a qualified introduction by a known quantity can make a huge difference in the growth trajectory of a budding food company. Queen of Hearts Hemp is one of a long list of Oregon food founders who got to meet and greet important people in the industry by our hosts. It's great to see business is getting brighter and brighter. And stay tuned to more episodes! Our two hosts are working on a secret “new idea” which will probably be revealed over time…" "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

A Veteran of the Marine Corps, Josh Emison is another Vet from a military family. With siblings in the armed forces and a Navy Veteran for a father, Josh grew up all over the world. Virginia in the US, England, Puerto Rico…well, you get the idea. Josh new early on he wanted to have a military career, and his father's advice was, not surprisingly, go to the Naval Academy. Not really knowing what to expect, Josh applied and was accepted and met a bunch of terrific Marine officers. That directed him to the Marine Corps where he spent five years as an infantry officer. He had two non-combat deployments. First to Spain where he got to work with the Spanish military, then to Okinawa, where he trained with the Korean Marines. In Okinawa, he also got to do a lot of scuba diving, so not all work! He then went to Jordan for 13 months working at the embassy in charge of administration and logistics. Josh worked with the Jordanian military, but also got to interact with a lot of the civilians. The Jordanian culture and the people really appealed to Josh and remains one of his fond memories. The biggest takeaway from all that travel? At the basic level, all people are the same. Yes, we may dress differently and eat different foods, but we are all going through the human experience together. And if you can embody that philosophy, you can be comfortable almost anywhere. As rich as his Marine experience was, Josh was wanting to do other things besides a military career. One downside to the Marines in Josh's experience was learning. He was around a lot of smart Marines, but found the schools and the true learning was lacking and felt he would eventually be held back from his true potential. Teach For America caught Josh's attention. Interestingly enough, Josh also had a fascination with Jackie Chan Kung Fu movies, so he tied the two together: Get an assignment in China teaching so he in turn could learn Mandarin and Kung Fu, and it worked. Always an independent thinker, he decided while in China he wanted to start a business. Back in the States, he was set to go back to China when the COVID lockdown began. Scrambling for money, Josh sold his car and somehow made it back to his parent's house and asked to crash for a time. Not knowing what kind of business to start, he eventually landed as a franchise consultant, which meant if nobody bought a franchise, he did get paid. That lasted for the first nine months since few people wanted to start a franchise during lockdown, but it gave Josh a chance to read volumes of business books and study what franchises were available and what made them interesting. Qualifying franchisees made Josh realize that the prime audience was accredited investors, those with sufficient net worth. He also was learning about block chain at the time and wondering how this world-changing technology could work. So how could he help the non-accredited investor world participate in building wealth? Josh came up with the idea to used blockchain to offer fractional real estate ownership and own real estate debt. This gave high, stable returns to “regular” people, and that was the beginning of Sans Bank. For as little as $100, many people can participate in real estate investments. Veteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia Kao We record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster Theme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Chef, garden advisor, recipe writer and more! That's the introduction to Shannon Feltus, owner of Urban Farm Foods, a real information center and shopping place for those who love fresh and inventive meals. Her career began learning from “Gram”, who taught her hearty and wholesome recipes from her secret stash. That evolved into canning foods as a hobby and her generosity evolved into sharing her canned treats with others. An unabashed food nerd, Shannon was herded into the cheffing profession by friends and family who worshipped her cooking. They asked her over and over again to cook for them professionally (meaning Shannon got paid) for dinner parties and special events. This made Shannon feel confident she could enter the chef's world and that was the beginning of her entry into the commercial world. Around 2012, after gaining notoriety both on local television shows and nationally on the Food Network, she started working seriously on creating her own brand, which is basically her knowledge, passion and energy. Besides being a chef on TV and catering pop up dinners, Shannon puts on classes to teach others. She instructs on proper gardening so people can grow their own nutritious food, invents and shares custom recipes and points to books for background reading. She is so inventive; she is currently developing new seeds for a local seed company, going above and beyond the normal food preparer or even food grower. Shannon loves how she is involved in creating new plant varieties, test-tasing them, and creating even more new recipes to share. An admitted vegetable pusher, Shannon appreciates how her seed producer is creating seeds for plants that will continue to produce year after year, rather than the “one and done” seed production from most companies. And of course, COVID has changed her business model. Not feeling comfortable going into people's houses to cook for special events as in the past, Shannon channeled her time and energy into more recipes and sharing them along with Urban Farm Foods merchandise to spice up the special meals you can serve. That's where you'll find procured book titles as well, and the superb food photography will really put you in the mood to cook. You would do well to check out urbanfarmfoods.co – NOT .com (somebody grabbed that one). You should also note Shannon's high standards for more than food and seeds. She has eschewed becoming an influencer even though she has had multiple offers. Shannon doesn't feel right pushing products, she prefers the path of being an honorable businessperson. Her business success is no surprise based on her moral success. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Lots of food entrepreneurs start in their kitchen and then go commercial. But Stefania (please note the spelling) got her start in her mother's kitchen. A stay at home Mom in Perugia, Italy, Stefania's Mom along with Stefania's aunts cooked homemade pasta. Stefania's Dad worked with farmers and would bring home fresh produce and the family had absolutely delectable dinners. They sat around the table and talked and laughed. Of course, friends and other family members would join in the feasts and at the tender age of four, Stefania was hooked on cooking fresh and authentic. Stefanie, her husband and two boys moved to Portland, Oregon around 2008 and Stefanie was rather shocked to discover grocery shopping in the US. She would go to the store and see people filling their grocery carts with processed foods! Stefanie had learned the Italian way: You go to the baker for bread, the butcher for meat and so forth. You only buy fresh ingredients, take them home and spend a good portion of the day creating masterpieces that go far beyond simply “fueling” the body, you also fuel the soul. And as we have seen before, Stefanie decided to offer her talent to the public. She started a small operation in southeast Portland offering take out dishes including soups and frozen meals. She also sold her foods at a farmers' market as more or less an experiment, but decided that venue was not the best way to showcase and sell. And now she operates Stefanie's Kitchen, which is a fascinating case study in dealing with the COVID situation. Stefanie hangs her hat on homemade, fresh ingredients, authentic Italian meals, sauces and pastas. The pasta meals are made with fresh pasta and are available to either pick up or be delivered next day. So, no restaurant with employees and worries about being closed unilaterally, just cook and have meals ready. The magic of her business is her website. Check it out. It is easy to navigate, absolutely sizzles with mouth watering images, and makes it easy to choose and buy. And she has really merchandised well. She offers not only her own cooking, but also direct import Italian products for your pantry (she only offers the best; I have been to the Gentile pasta factory in Italy and it's world famous). Plus, you can buy her custom napkins, utensils and other accessories. And don't wait; every day Stefanie loads up the quantities of the different fresh dishes on the website. You will often see “sold out” on the popular dishes that day if you dally too long. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

There are a few hot and spicy flavor companies out there certainly. But Althea Potter's company combines crunchy, hot, spicy and tasty like no one else. Her love for spicy flavors began early. As a mere baby, her parents gave her pepperoncini peppers as snacks and Althea never lost her craving. Whether you call the taste chili oil or chili crisp, it's all those things and more with a crunch. Taking from the world's table from China, Mexico, Central America, Japan and Thailand, Althea has created a flavor base to go in just about any dish to make it more special. Or, as many of her customers write on her website, eat it from the jar! During her career as a chef in Portland, Oregon she received accolades from Portland Monthly, Eater Portland, the Portland Mercury, Willamette Weekly, Imbibe, Time Out London, USA. That 10-year stint was cut short by the COVID lockdown, as the restaurant went the way of so many during that period. And entrepreneurs are borne of that necessity/desperation; Althea decided to pursue her passion in a way to make her own living via a food brand of her own. Like many of our guests, a huge help in getting launched was reaching out to the Food Innovation Center, headed by our host, Sarah Masoni. At the time, the class was offered by teleconference and the lessons learned by Althea saved her much time, heartache and money in getting launched. The instructors were awesome and inspired Althea with confidence. In 2018, with her local press as credentials, she was contacted by The Food Network to apply for Guy's Grocery Games while working in the restaurant. Althea applied, got on the show, filmed it in California and won! That prize money bootstrapped her new venture, The Flavor Society. She is doing it right; packaging is in jars with art-deco like labels that are supremely designed. The jars are clear, so you see the ingredients that are hand crafted in Portland. The Flavor Society website sells Bagel Crunchy Sauce and Pizza Crunchy Sauce jars in combinations online. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

And why would anyone named Robin call her business Vivienne? Vivienne is the French spelling of the name and represents the idea of a Grandmother – Robin's Wheelright's best version of a Grandmother – to give people that comforting, genuine feeling when they walk into her Vivienne Kitchen and Pantry, Portlands newest Culinary Bookstore! And to make the feeling even more real, there's a portrait of dear Vivienne in the store. It's similar to the Betty Crocker mystique as pointed out by our own Sarah Masoni. Vivienne Kitchen & Pantry is a relaunch, a very ambitious relaunch, of Robin's former restaurant. The old model before lockdown just didn't work going forward, so Robin completely changed the layout and offering of her store to be more community-based. Instead of a traditional menu, Vivienne has culinary books to cover the spectrum of recipes and food related stories. And Robin has continued the afternoon bake shop from her earlier restaurant plus she serves a variety of sandwiches. She also has kept many of the take-and-bake items from her original restaurant offerings during the lockdown. In addition, there is a European-style bar, featuring foods and selected natural wines not available anywhere else in the neighborhood. She also offers cookbook workshops for those who wish to further their expertise in the art of food. Patrons are taught from a particular cookbook recipe, learn the techniques for the dish they are preparing, and leave with the cookbook to continue their exploration in their own kitchen. And for those who cook at home, there is a shop full of vintage and new cookware. Vivienne is a two-woman run business, so everything is handled, molded and cooked by Robin. Also, Robin's background and education is in minimal waste and she is most pleased to call Vivienne a zero-waste business. The café and pantry is a work in progress, however. To launch, Robin started a crowd funding campaign, and is in fact in the middle of another one. Ordering books and cookware, let alone baking supplies, takes capital and Robin wants to raise it from the community she desires to serve. Her café is a “connecting point”, a place of food and comfort blended with a library devoted to food and food's important place in our lives. Vivienne is located in a great community also, in the heart of Portland, Oregon's Hollywood district which is a mix of traditional and gentrified living. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

It will be hard to find Tracy Oseran's company, Tracy's Small-Batch Granola on social media. That's because she focuses her media outreach through her non-profit organization, Urban Gleaners. That's right, this double-barreled startup founder lives by the philosophy emblazed on her website: “There's something special about baking by hand and using organic, wholesome ingredients. There's something even more special about making a product that gives back to the community something special.” Tracy loved to cook growing up and her cooking experiences were with her father. As she says, it would have been hard to survive on their cooking, but she and Dad had a lot of fun! She then had a catering business in Los Angeles where her popular dish was enchiladas. So popular in fact that she sold them to a grocery store chain that in turn sold them as frozen; her first venture into the food industry. Her big foray into the world of food products was rather typical for food entrepreneurs. It began in 2004 when she couldn't find good granola in her hometown of Portland, Oregon. So, she started making her own, in small batches. And as the old story goes, family and friends couldn't get enough of it and soon Tracy was convinced she had a commercial product. Also in 2004, Tracy met our own Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and that began her catapult from kitchen to sales. She took the leap in 2006 and approached City Market in Portland. She simply asked if they'd like to sell her granola, they said, “yes”, and her first sale was made. During this same year, Tracy was driving one day listening to an NPR show about a woman saw so much good food in her community being thrown away while there were so many people going hungry. The woman began picking up the excess food and getting it to hungry people. Tracy was touched by the story and also troubled that she and her friends had plenty of good, nutritious food while so many in Portland, including children, were hungry. To make it worse, she knew of the perfectly good and delicious food that went into the garbage as waste everyday, simply because no one would make the effort to get it to the ones who needed it. She decided that she could accomplish the same thing as the woman on the radio show. And that was the beginning of Urban Gleaners, the organization that gathers, packages and distributes the useable food to those in need rather than throwing it away. COVID has been challenging because the schools have been shut down and many of the children and their families go to the schools to pick up the food. But moving some of the distribution to the parks has helped get back on track plus more schools have opened back up again. All profits from Tracy's Small-Batch Granola go to support Urban Gleaners, and the organization runs on volunteers and donations above that. "Maybe we should just eat it." "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

All entrepreneurs are on a mission of some kind. Something in their lives gave them a strong sense of duty and steeled them to jump out into the uncharted waters of business life. And Essential Convection's Linda Naylor says it well in her website, “We model and live the soft skills of hospitality – relationally.” It stems from the Supreme Candy Goddess, an imaginary friend created years ago. The genesis is Linda's family's incredible cream candy. It's a pulled candy similar to taffy, except the candy sets overnight and the next day has this amazing creamy taste of vanilla or maple or whatever flavor was put in from the beginning; almost indescribable. The fascinating thing was, there was no recipe, it was a skill. And Linda had a lot of challenges to master the making of it, but it was the beginning of becoming a confectionary master, if not goddess herself! That passion to be skilled and be a perfectionist also comes through in her writing. She is the author of everything on her website and in particular her blog, “Our Pleasureful Pastry”. The word “pleasureful” is a touchstone for Linda she says, and exemplifies how she feels about confections and how she wants those who taste her confections to feel as well. It's an uncommon ability to be an artist with words as well as confections. That drive for perfection obviously includes high standards for ingredients and to Linda, it also means finding local ingredients that meet her standards to support other local food entrepreneurs. Growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio, Linda had an early interest in baking. The baking industry was rather unimaginative in that era, but Linda had the fortune to visit Italy as a teen. It opened her eyes to a world of food and culture that she treasured and never looked back. It spurred her on to the Culinary Institute of America in New York in the mid-80s and later at the Midwest Culinary Institute in Cincinnati. There was a side venture, however, as Linda spent many years selling residential and commercial real estate in Cincinnati. She kept baking all that time however, and her special cookies and candies were big hits with her clients. Even in real estate, she was reaching others at that most visceral level. But after 25 years, she took stock and felt it was time to live her dream. She moved to Portland, Oregon and enrolled in yet another culinary school, this time the Oregon Culinary Institute, earning a degree in Pastry Management. After a couple of great internships, she became pastry chef at a restaurant. Simultaneously, she enrolled in a course called, “Getting your recipe to market”, a collaborative effort with Food Innovation Center and the CLIMB Center of Portland Community College . New Seasons stores picked up her recipe in 2015, launching her reputation. After the restaurant career ended abruptly in 2020, she put more time into fine-tuning her formulae and started her company, Essential Confection. Flexibility is key for the entrepreneur Linda says because pivoting is a regular part of the journey. And also a sense of mission plus a feeling of accomplishment when you have served others an uplifting experience and made their day a little brighter with good food. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Our One Hundredth show guest! Kim Wilson of Seattle-based Good King Cacao joins our hosts to explain snacking cacao. It's a whole, crunchy caramelized cacao bean, exactly like chocolate except it's processed so it doesn't melt in a tropical warm climate. The impetus to making a snack that doesn't melt is Kim Wilson's story. Having attended two great business schools and worked with the world's largest winery, you would think Kim was set to climb the corporate ladder. But her heart spoke loud to her about social causes, in particular extensive bonded labor, child trafficking and unfair wages in the chocolate industry. And since she was a life-long chocolate lover, she began to think and pray about how to solve those human problems by augmenting the chocolate market and not competing with it by driving the chocolate makers away. In addition, the solution had to work with the primitive resources available to the poor farmers, such as unreliable electricity and lack of running water. And then it came to her, make a snack out of the cacao bean instead of a chocolate candy treat, providing the farmers with an additional income stream and the public with a healthy, delicious snack – that doesn't melt! In 2014, Kim connected with show co-host Sarah Masoni at the Oregon State University Food Innovation Center in Portland, Oregon. As she has done for an incalculable number of food entrepreneurs, Sarah saw a multitude of challenges that needed to be addressed for the final product to be shelf ready. But the two of them dug in and solved the problems along the way and Kim had a plan for success. The beans currently come from Indonesia and Honduras and from coops that are providing women with the opportunity to earn a good wage. Women historically have been left out of the chocolate industry employment scheme. The beans are peeled and processed and the snack is a nutrient-dense, allergy-friendly, stable superfood. They are naturally bite-sized so perfect for a snack around the house or for taking on a hike. And they complement, rather than compete with chocolate. Beans are single sourced, which means they come from one growing region only and are not mixed with other regions. That way, the consumer gets a unique flavor and not a commoditized product. Plus, the growers are paid more for raising a premium product. Kim works directly with the coops as well, ensuring quality control and consistency. Good King Cacao beans come in different flavors, some quite spicy. People who prefer black coffee, bold wines and whiskey neat tend to love snacking cacao beans. For those who need a milder snack, Good King Cacao beans also are packaged with more traditional nuts for a mixed snack pack. It looks like Kim's prayers are being answered, and there are many communities enjoying a higher standard of life because of her big heart, smart business sense and hard work. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

The pandemic lockdown changed career paths for many people when the industries in which they were employed simply stopped. Besides restaurants, movie theaters and sports, conventions and meetings were closed down. And with it, the jobs that entailed putting on those events. And so it was with Jaime Landsverk whose event management career suddenly disappeared. Not to despair, however. Originally from Minnesota, Jaime loved all the Midwest cheese but her lactose intolerance made it difficult to enjoy dairy based dips and sauces. She needed to solve that problem of enjoying that taste but without the dairy. Her nutritional education in grad school at the University of Natural Medicine, Portland, Oregon helped solve that problem and gave her the inspiration to go more culinary than clinical with her degree. During school, she interned at a small food company and got to learn some of the basics about the food business. Jaime had considered being a consulting chef while she continued to work her event manager job through school when the COVID lockdown laid her off. She had always spent time in the kitchen making her proprietary snacks, but now she had more time and began to leverage her treasures trading with friends to cope with the layoff. One of the trades was with a friend who was sewing hard-to-get facemasks. The friend encouraged Jaime to sell her snacks as they were both novel and delicious, not to mention healthy. Then next steps were very familiar to other food entrepreneurs. Jaime sold some to friends who told other friends and her snacks became known. Then she offered her snack to sell for some fund raising activities and she became known by those in the food business circle. Soon they were telling her how to take her snacks from her kitchen table to the store and helping her take those many small steps. Farmers' markets have helped boost the awareness for her company, Sidekick Provisions. The big selling point of Jaime's snack foods is the ingredient selection, fueled by her nutrition degree. If you look at her website, you will see that all ingredients are organic and selected because of their medicinal qualities. They help balance cholesterol levels, detox the kidneys, liver and brain, aid in the absorption of iron and many more ways to make bodies healthier. Sold online and in select stores, Jaime also uses her event experience to showcase her dips and sauces at select events throughout the Pacific Northwest. Jaime also takes time to remind herself to appreciate the success of the small steps it takes to get a project off the ground. That helps her through the rough spots, which every entrepreneur experiences. Healthy body, healthy mind. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Charles E. Gaudett II started his entrepreneurship journey early – at age four to be exact. Never one to take on a traditional “job”, Charles was always fascinated by building and growing companies. After college he founded a company voted one of the most successful seed companies by Ernst and Young CPAs and he was just getting rolling. He continued his start-build routine until 2010 when someone offered to pay him to help them build their company and the consulting career began organically. He named the company Predictable Profits because in his mind, the basic building blocks for every business were so established that earning a profit was very predictable. The International Business Times even did a featured story on him call him the “Go to guy for 7 and 8-figure companies”. Charles sees a difference between Veteran CEOs and non-Veteran. Charles was selected to attend the US Army War College during a training session for Colonels. They wanted to have a dialog with business leaders and Charles' humble awakening was he had no doubt that any of the officers in that meeting could run his company better than he could! He decided that because of a couple of things: Military personnel were not afraid of hard work. On top of that, they were not afraid to do the hard things either, and that's a trait that separates the entrepreneur from the rest of the pack that tends to look for the “easy button” and do things by the traditional formula. The key to success, in Charles' view, is doing the stuff that most people don't want to do; it's the hard stuff that often produces the best results. The other big AHA was the analysis the Colonels would do thinking through a situation. Charles was stunned by how emotion was completely missing from the analysis so as not to cloud their judgement. He has since morphed this discipline into one of his pieces of advice: A good entrepreneur lets the data do the talking. They look at the problem and not ask how they feel, but ask “what is the data telling us?”; that is the trait of a leader. And leadership is the other trait that military Veterans bring to the business world, mainly the ability to remain calm. As an example, Charles points to the initial pandemic lockdown. When it hit, employees look to their leaders to see how they are reacting and react accordingly. When the leaders are calm, resolute and stay focused on solving the problem, the rest of the organization falls in line. Again, the discipline, the work ethic, the attitude of completing the mission is the military background that makes Veteran business founders the most successful group business people. Veteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia Kao We record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster Theme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

The year was 1924. Gary Moore's grandfather, Melissa Collman's great grandfather, bought acreage in Boring, Oregon to start his dairy farm. But there's a backstory. The grandfather left Switzerland for the U.S. at age 15. He then travelled to Wisconsin to milk cows by hand, and finally trekked across the US to Oregon to found what is now Cloud Cap Farms. He was a colorful character and even had a reindeer herd he would put in the local parade at Christmas time. He also was a traditionalist, using horses to plow the fields and milking the cows by hand as he had learned. When the farming age changed, he grudgingly accepted tractors and milking machines, although he never trusted them. Then in the late 70s, grandson Gary came back to be part of the company and began getting the farm in tune with the times, including implementing artificial insemination to strengthen the heard. In the 80s, things got tough and the family had to try new and revolutionary methods to keep the farm alive. In 1999, a visit from George Siemon, CEO of Organic Valley Coop changed everything. George came through the area looking to increase the organic milk run into the Pacific Northwest. George had been told to visit specific farms, luckily including Cloud Cap, to join the Coop. Gary was thrilled but Grandpa was terrified that the cows would get sick from converting to the organic model and that the whole farm would go bankrupt. Gary deferred to his Grampa for the time, but after Grampa's passing, Gary got hold of Organic Valley and joined in 2004. Being part of the Organic Valley has been great because their model and mission is to protect the family dairies. It's also been great for Melissa as she actually worked for the coop for some years and still helps occasionally. Organic Valley also makes their farmers part of their marketing team and gives them all a chance to get to know each other and to learn from each other. The coop is now 1,700 farms with over 80% of the dairies with herds less than 100 cows. Currently Clud Cap's milk is processed in Portland, Oregon. So has it been worth it to be part of the coop? Absolutely. According to Melissa, Cloud Cap Farms probably wouldn't be around today without the coop. As proof, she points out that there is no dairy within 45 minutes of Cloud Cap, when there used to be 20 on their road alone. Her county alone has seen a 50% drop in dairies in two years, so there is no doubt Cloud Cap is a survivior and Melissa credits the coop. Dairy farmers are in the industry for the passion, for the cows and they rarely get rich. So when the market eventually swings down, those farms without some financial padding get wiped out. But being part of Oraganic Valley has added stability to the financial side of the business by taking out the high and low swings of the market. This has created a much more solid future for the family and now the fifth generation is fully and happily engaged. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Retired Army Colonel Rob Campbell really preferred basketball over the military, but getting cut from the college team his freshman year – he says not having a “left hand” finally caught up with him – plus the fact he ran out of money nudged him toward the Massachusetts National Guard, which had some education financial packages. Rob's father having been a Reservist was some familiarity, so Rob decided to give it a try. In 1987 he went off to boot camp and decided he really liked what he experienced. It was the challenge and the opportunity to lead that really got Rob's interest and his excitement going. He had found a part of his life that he hadn't really explored but had always yearned for: Leadership. He jumped right in, went to ROTC, got his commission and by 1990 he was off and running. Infantry was his area of choice and the challenges he knocked down one by one made him stronger for it. Rob never intended to make the Army a career, but the process of facing and winning challenge after challenge was so interesting and stimulating he wound up with a 27-year career. And that career gave Rob his definition of being a professional. It's meeting one challenge after another, climbing up the ladder of your chosen field and understanding the greater picture. And Rob got that picture of the “greater Army”, sacrificing for the team and the mission. Obviously, Rob interacted with tons of people, but the military is working with people knowing that lives were at stake. Transferring that leadership skill to the civilian world is different. One huge difference is the large amount of responsibility that is put on the shoulders of a 20-year old military personnel versus a 20-year old civilian. Another huge difference is resources. The Army can afford to pull someone out of their job for a year and send them to leadership school or to a foreign country for an intensive education that increases their worth exponentially, while a private sector company cannot. Rob's big awakening was 9/11. Before fighting in the middle east, the battlefield in the Cold-War linear; Rob is not a linear thinker, he's an artist. But Afghanistan changed all that because the battlefield became very murky and fluid. Rob's command as a Lieutenant Colonel leading the counter-insurgency effort gave him a chance to flourish as a creative problem solver and make him an even stronger leader. And an entrepreneur, even in while in the military. So when he retired, he had the entrepreneur and artist skills and the time to enhance them. It started with book writing. He decided to take a year off after getting out of the Army. His wife was working and it was just Rob, the cat and his computer. He was surrounded by a great team and got out Book One about, of course, leadership. The books led to blogging, which he still does, more books, then speaking, then consulting. Companies need that leadership element desperately, and Rob's demand has grown considerably. His company is himself, his background and his inspiration, all in high demand right now. Veteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia Kao We record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster Theme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Olaseni Bello moved to the US from Nigeria at age 10. Calling his transition “challenging” to say the least, his assimilation into a radically different environment happened successfully over time. Enrolled in martial arts – Taekwondo specifically – by his mother, learning self-defense is evidence to the challenges Olaseni faced, but that which does no kill us… He went on to be a gold medal-winning Junior Olympian and found his second family with his martial arts community but it happened because he just missed a gold the year before. He was most unhappy, but his sensei (teacher) told him to just work harder. The time Olaseni spent training in the gym, visualizing winning the gold in his meditations, then having his vision come true taught him that anything is possible if you are willing to work hard enough. He then received an invitation to try out for the US Olympic team, but he was not a US citizen at the time and had to pass on what could have been a life-changing path. Undeterred, Olaseni started looking for his next move. He loved the outdoors and adventure, and he loved discipline, in particular how the military marketed that pillar of their foundation; the refinements of their process and continuing march for perfection. Only 18 years old, he went back and forth with his mother about joining. Olaseni appreciated so much about America and was so appreciative of the opportunity to live in it that he wanted to give back. So, college satisfied his mother, and his sense of adventure dictated he study abroad also for one year, putting off military service. Then it was on to law school, where he graduated and passed the New York State Bar exam and suddenly the concept of being a JAG officer (Judge Advocate General's Corp) became intensely intriguing. He got the military training and the opportunity to advise and direct in the field and stay on top of the law. The path was tough, as for all in the military, and “you don't know what you don't know” became his mantra. But Olaseni always remembered the people who had served before him and honored them by being the most polished version of himself possible. Transitioning out into civilian life, he decided a finance career would be exciting, even with no background. Again, his military training and background made him confident he could figure out anything he wanted badly enough, and wound up on Morgan Stanley's foreign exchange department. Then the entrepreneurial affliction hit. Curiously when he was still in the Army, he wanted to have a positive impact on the world and decided he and his fiancé (now wife) gathered up clothes donations and headed to a small village in Tanzania for some do-good. They were bitten by mosquitoes and the short story is they saw doctor after doctor who misdiagnosed his fiancé's condition (turned out to be Meningitis, a common virus for the area which all the doctors should have known) and rather than a week of therapy, she wound up taking two years to heal. So Olaseni set out to fix that with CarpeMed, an app that sets you up to deal with health issues in countries around the world, with connections to doctors, hospitals, even a “911” connection for an ambulance in the country in which you are located. Veteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia Kao We record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster Theme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Everyone loves ice cream and Katelyn Williams certainly had her share growing up. Her mother always had it in the house and would routinely send Katelyn to the grocery store to pick up a gallon of the family's favorite. And Katelyn was always instructed to buy on sale. Katelyn's craving continued even through college and ice cream was often a complete meal for her. It was a lifetime love affair. Katelyn realy just "fell" into being a food entrepreneur. Fresh out of college, she and her husband moved from Louisiana to Boston where Katelyn started making ice cream just for fun. She'd go around Cambridge and review the ice cream shops, started a blog and because she was so meticulous about the ingredients and taste of ice cream, her reputation as an expert started to flourish. At the same time, Katelyn became more conscious of her own health and began to research being gluten-free and dairy-free. Realizing how much milk went into her beloved ice cream, she took a big step back. Then on a visit home, she told the family she was making ice cream as her gift to everyone. Her youngest sister told it was a fabulous idea and to go ahead and do that for the rest of the family, but she unfortunately couldn't partake. Katelyn simply could not have the entire family sit down to homemade ice cream and have her sister left out! So she found a recipe for nutmeg ice cream in Bon Appetite magazine and started turning on the hand crank machine. It was awful! But these are the impetus moments for entrepreneurs and Katelyn began assiduously researching the ingredients available for plant-based ice cream flavors. The experiments were continuous and the ice creams turned out better and better until people began to try them and ask for more. Yup, a business was born because and entrepreneur was giving people what they wanted after being the one to “crack the code”. Plus, as she began to shop the competition in the stores, she realized nobody could touch her product in the gluten- and dairy-free segments, so she knew she on to something business wise. After a few years in Boston, Katelyn closed the business and upon moving to Portland, Oregon, she jumped back in with her new company, Kate's Ice Cream. Starting in a farmers' market her reputation grew fast and she moved into Kate's Kitchen to make larger batches to match burgeoning demand. Kate's Ice Cream is made using organic coconut and cashew milk and is 100% plant-based and gluten-free. The company collaborates with local, woman, and minority owned businesses and uses fresh seasonal produce from local Pacific Northwest farms. Their ice creams are available at pop-ups around the area and in select grocers. They also will be moving into a brand new ice cream shop on Portland's trendy Mississippi Avenue soon. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Navy Veteran Chelsea Mandello actually came from an Air Force family, of course making her the black sheep of the family. There were two main reasons for her “defection”. First, Navy bases were on the coast and Air Force bases tended to be in the middle of nowhere. Second, she was a photo journalist and got sent to the pretty places to shoot pictures that made the Navy look good. Solid reasons for her choice. Her first station was Navy Public Affairs where she would be deployed on a ship but only for a couple of months, then jump to a new ship. So she got to take photos of all the cool stuff, then leave. She didn't have to spend three years on the same ship. She made the phrase “see the world” come true, seeing 13 different countries and visiting nine different ships. She also got to work with Army, Marine and Air Force personnel and got to photograph their installations. The education was stimulating and fun, even though she had to take the occasional ribbing from the old guard as the newbie on the block. Chelsea's Ball State degree in advertising was as great background for getting into Mass Communications, or MassCom or even shorter, MC in the first place and her pension for doing creative projects certainly helped her produce the engaging films and photoshoots. But all things must end, including Chelsea's military service. Even though she was putting together her package for a second enlistment as a Public Affairs Officer and had tons of endorsements, she was playing around with an idea of a business. She has launched Toopster, her nonprofit company at the same time as putting in her packet, and Troopster was taking off. Troopster delivers unique care packages and messages of encouragement to deployed military, spouses and their families all over the world. The organization just hit their 30,000 mark, a phenomenal feat. Every morning they have a list of letters from military personnel having a tough time with their first deployment and parents concerned about their youngster in service. Spouses who have had a child and their military member is suddenly deployed also write their letters. So there is plenty of demand. However, there is a supply side to a nonprofit as well. Getting sponsors to fill the care packages was a tough task in the beginning. Chelsea had just started her command when she started Troopster, so she knew she had about a three year runway to get it off the ground if she wanted to have a career after transitioning to civilian life. It was rough. Even though she was able to find sponsors, she had no staff. So after a 24- and sometimes 48-hour watch, she would go home exhausted, sleep-deprived and still have to pack care packages. Dedication. Veteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia Kao We record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster Theme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Lindsay Strannigan's degree and background in public relations and marketing is a natural one for an entrepreneur. Afterall, people need to know about your company and have a positive impression, who better to lead that charge than the founder? Living in Portland, Oregon, Lindsay had desk job with great benefits but the boredom factor got to her. So she started a food blog that included recipes and “inserted” herself into the local food community by serving on the board of a farmer's market. Her blog turned out to be her self-marketing tool as she was approached by the owner of a sandwich shop asked her if she could help them out. The shop turned out to be an early adopter of Instagram and Lindsay guided them to very successful awareness and ultimate success. That led to additional clients as Lindsay's word-of-mouth spread throughout the business owner community. Because of the early start, Lindsay has become a social media guru in this fast moving and fast changing field. She has self-taught through the evolutions of the industry including teaching herself to do video and reels, staying on top of the latest trends to keep her clients current. And here is her current advice on social media platforms: Instagram is the best for food related companies, as it's visual and people can handle their own account. Tik Tok is a rising platform in popularity, but generally only big companies with their own video production facilities can really use it to an advantage. And you have to be watching every day for trends so you can jump on them quickly. Lindsay bills herself as a social media strategist and works with her clients to build a plan, budget and execution schedule. Sometimes, she creates content including overseeing the photography and copy. Her iPhone is her tool to create almost everything except when a professional photographer is needed. And she is often the spokesperson for the client, being on the frontline answering questions and de-escalating problems. COVID has been a big issue for Lindsay, as many of her clients are restaurant owners and have had to react to lockdowns and restrictions. But she has led them through the tough times, kept them afloat and served them well. Reputation is everything. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

You always miss the food from your home, no matter where you go. That's exactly what has been the driver for Holly Ong and Patricia Lau, founders of Sibeiho. The Singapore natives who have known each other over 17 years always loved to cook for family and friends. Patricia's husband is an Oregon native, and when they made the move to Oregon seven years ago, they still cooked the same amazing South East Asia dishes for family and new friends. And they love their new home in Oregon. They particularly adore going to the farmers' markets and finding fresh produce and the unusual foods. A trip to the Oregon coast introduced them to the local crab and gave them the idea to make their Singapore dish, chili crabs, using the crab from their newly adopted home. This led to starting a supper club, which blossomed as their reputation for delicious dishes grew. People kept asking for their special home dishes and wondering if they could produce the sauces, or Sambals as they were called back in Singapore, commercially. They kept producing what they could in their kitchen and selling it to their group of friends and soon word of mouth made them popular with the public. COVID stopped their supper club sales but their delivery business kept them afloat. However some customers kept asking if they could buy the Sambals in a store and that led to a conversation with our host, Sarah Masoni and her team at the Food Innovation Center, Oregon State University, about how to stabilize the product for commercialization. Holly and Pat attended a class at the center on food processing and production. They got into the science of giving a food product shelf life while not losing the flavor that made it popular in the first place; every food entrepreneurs' challenge. They worked in the Center's kitchen with Mike Adams who is incredibly experience in working out the magic formulas for any food item. And so birth was given to their growing business of selling the enticing flavors from China, Malay, India and Peranakan that their line of Sambals give to every dish you cook. Of course they offer their own incredible recipes to prepare authentic South Asian dishes on their website. Currently, the company sells online and out of their retail store. There's only one way to experience it: Try it! When you do, you'll understand the Chinese word, Sibeiho (See-Bay-Ho) which in English roughly means something very, very good. And their company also is very, very good indeed. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Growing up a self-proclaimed “old school knucklehead” who loved the spectrum from cowboy John Wayne to the see-the-world “Stripes” movie, Keith Pape went into the military not really knowing what to expect. But he know all along he was not ready for more school after high school and wanted the military badly. He convinced his parents it would save them college tuition and whether they believed him or not, they signed the papers. He joined the Army delayed entry and served through the end of the cold war and one tour in Iraq during Desert Storm. Keith was a 19 Delta Cavalry Scout, a combination of armor and reconnaissance. Keith's takeaway from the Army? “Everybody should do a little of it”. The maturity and learning to operate on your own with a fair amount of autonomy were lessons Keith feels would do every young person a world of good. He is absolutely convinced he never would have gone to college and finished, never stayed straight and would not own a business today if not for the discipline and confidence instilled in him by the military. The rough patches and the deployment were events that convinced him he could handle anything. Upon completing his duty, Keith had no idea what to study in college but he got great advice from relatives: Go to junior college first. It gave him a chance to survey a lot of subjects and it was cheap compared to a four-year degree so it did not use up all his GI Bill benefits. He got great guidance from a couple of his professors who wound up being his mentors. One in particular turned on the light for Keith. She told him the future was the fusion of business and computers. She urged him to take the business route with as much technology as he could grab along the way. Tech came easy for Keith and he loved the business side, especially the human interaction. At a consulting job where his boss got fired during the dotcom meltdown, the entrepreneurial jet kicked in. He saw the problems that people created and how short sighted they were and he knew he could do a better job. So he kept the people he had worked with together and started his own shop. Luckily, he had a supportive spouse who asked all the tough questions and that helped get his first business off on the right foot. Another dotcom stock crash put Keith out on the hunt for his next business and along the way being an employee and an owner, the lessons of success and failure have really rounded out his skills. Now with Yellow Pike Media, Keith and team deliver multiple angles of public relations, influencer introductions and production. It's a dynamic team that reflects Keith's love for people and an energy to build. Veteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia Kao We record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster Theme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Lisa Nguyen got interested in baking in the Bay Area, California after the birth of her first child (she now has three) and went the traditional route with all the schooling and a degree and was set to enter the bakery world. The family moved overseas and she could not work, so plans got put on hold. At that point, she thought the dreams of a career were over but when the family moved to Portland, Oregon, she got that entrepreneurial “flash”. In the summer of 2019, just before COVID hit, she was sitting with her Mom eating some of the fabulous donuts they had just made. Donuts were a family tradition in Lisa's life. Her Mom and Dad and the whole family always celebrated happy moments baking, creating and enjoying their unusual donuts. While sitting at the kitchen table, Lisa's Mom remarked they could make the donuts even better, then Lisa's husband called at that exact moment. Lisa playfully remarked they could do donuts bigger and better – and her husband remarked, “Let's do it!”. And the journey of HeyDeyPDX began. (For those not of the area, PDX is the airport symbol for Portland and is used for short hand in a lot of communication) They planned to launch in March, 2020 then all the COVID restrictions hit. At first, Lisa thought it was a sign that this venture was not to be, but they had invested so much time and money into the business that they decided to give it a couple more months. Good decision. They launched in May of that year and haven't looked back yet. They've dealt with COVID by selling through pop-ups in what they call a partnership arrangement. Coffee shops, tea shops, restaurants and bakeries all have a scheduled day where HeyDayPDX Donuts are offered. From a business standpoint, they sell about 500 donuts at each pop-up. And they do that sometimes in 15-30 minutes! They originally thought they would sell their donuts at farmers' markets. But with Lisa being the entire production staff, they realized they could never have enough product to stay open for three or four hours at a market booth. Lisa has no plans to do the usual production ramp up and sell more donuts. Sure, they realize demand is huge and they could work longer and harder and probably make more money. However, they have a very comfortable life/balance right now. Lisa can pursue her passion, have a profitable business and be a Mom and wife. Life is good. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

As they say, in 2001 a piece of France landed in Portland, Oregon. Cheryl Wakerhauser, who had given up a career as an astronaut to train at the prestigious pâtisserie of MOF Philippe URRACA, started her authentic French dessert restaurant, Pix Pâtisserie. There she served up both innovative and traditional French desserts, chocolates and house made ice creams along side a plethora of top notch beverages. As her website says, “Some women buy shoes, Cheryl buys Champagne”. The walls held over 700 cuvées, including vintage and large format, with a focus on small grower producers. Cheryl wanted quality wine to be affordable while providing a relaxed, fun environment in which to enjoy it. People noticed. Her offering was awarded World's Best Champagne and Sparkling Wine List every year from 2014 - 2020 by London's World of Fine Wine Magazine. Her creativity didn't stop there. In the same space, Cheryl also housed a proper Spanish tapas bar named Bar Vivant. Amazing bar food with a quality selection of wine, beer, cider, Sherry and tasty cocktails. The atmosphere was pure fun and patrons were even encouraged to throw their napkins on the floor and not be afraid to “get a bit rowdy”. You may have noticed the use of past tense, because COVID came along and put the brakes on all of it. Hopefully those days will be back but that formula is out for now. However, Cheryl thinks outside the box. Out of necessity she developed a non-contact, incredible new vending machine with a wistful name typical of Cheryl, the Pix-O-Matic. It's a 24-hour vending machine holding Pix desserts, macarons, conservas from Bar Vivant and other random stuff to make you smile. The machine is thoroughly cleaned and restocked each day at 10AM. Selections can be purchased with the contactless credit card reader. At first, it was a Hail Mary experiment, but it made $100 the first day. Then $400. The $4,000! Before COVID, Cheryl had a staff of 20+, was trying to find employees and all the other headaches of a restaurant owner. Suddenly, she was making as much money as the restaurant would make on a busy Saturday, with one and half employees. Hmmmm, life suddenly got easier. She has now recreated the previous whimsical experience around a couple of vending machines and a superbly fun room in which to enjoy your food and beverage. In an almost Disco-like atmosphere, individuals and families can enjoy themselves all hours of the day. Her story was not missed by Business Bites podcast as a brilliant way to create a revenue stream in the lockdown era. Fall down seven times, get up eight. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Armed with a master's degree in engineering and a desire to be an astronaut, Elana Duffy's first job was sitting in front of a ton of blueprints figuring out the cost of renovating a large building. A far cry from the space program, Elana went into her boss' office and said she was going to call a military recruiter and possibly join the Reserves. After a huge laugh from her boss, that sealed it for Elana and she was ready to enlist. Since the Army was the only branch that allows you to choose your field if you enlist, it was Army all the way. Her boot camp experience was actually pretty fun compared to being frenetic and harassing. However, she did find that the women got rather cutthroat with other women, showing a “I'm tougher than you” attitude; it surprised her. And in fact, found working with other women in the military to be difficult especially if those women went into the military directly from high school. That seemed paradoxical to Elana, as it seemed obvious that as a minority in the military, women should naturally be supportive of each other. But she had to get on with her 10-year career in counterterrorism and counter-espionage. The combination of a vehicle accident and a roadside bomb that injured Elana sent her back to civilian life. She found she was not prepared at all to be tossed into that new theater and started networking all the veteran resources she could find. Realizing how byzantine the re-entry process was for all Vets, Elana made her new mission founding a company use AI to essentially make word-of-mouth referrals into a digital service to help guide Vets into a successful civilian career; Pathfinder.vet was born. Interestingly enough, the company is a “C” corp, not a non-profit organization. And that is to keep the mission pure, keep it accountable to itself and to keep from competing with other nonprofits. But the best explanation of the mission is from their website: The US Army began training military Pathfinders during WWII, building an elite force of airborne operators able to go behind enemy lines before missions in order to designate drop and landing zones Their motto -- "first in, last out" -- represents the dedication towards leading the way for the mission, and ensuring everyone who comes after them is taken care of. They are trailblazers and leaders, and above all they are helpers. Veteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia Kao We record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster Theme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Nostrana, is an Italian word, translated to English loosely means “ours”. And for the Nostrana restaurant, Portland, Oregon, “ours” means the food you are served is as fresh as can be because it has travelled the shortest distance possible. Hence it is Nostrana's “own” production. The food is local and from the patrons' own area, so authenticity is the restaurant's marque. In most of Europe, markets are required to say where the produce originated, and this is Nostrana's way of bringing that genuineness to their customers. Cathy Whims is founder and owner of Nostrana, a fixture in the community for 16 years now. And she has created not only a loyal following, she has created some dishes that have remained popular and on the menu since day one. One is the Grilled Beef Tagliata, a flat iron steak grilled and served on a bed of arugula with a garlic sauce (I think I'm getting hungry) an item always in demand. However for the rest of the menu, Cathy likes to keep things in flux so there is always something new to try and be delighted. Cathy started her culinary career as a chef because her mother was a great cook. Cathy was a vegetarian in high school and had to teach herself how to cook and share with the family. She simultaneously studied Latin in school and this gave her an affinity for the Italian language and cooking. So when she moved to Portland, she was lucky enough to get hired at Genoa, which at the time was an exclusive, special occasion, Northern Italian cuisine restaurant with a huge following. People were served a seven-course meal with a few choices and every item was premium. The experience of seven years as a cook culminated with Cathy becoming one of the owners and that evolved into a 20-year love affair with her dream job and dream business. She learned so much about Italian food and about local sourcing, especially the local wine. She became the buyer and began getting to know the Italian wine representatives, who urged her to come visit Italy as their guest. This gave her a great understanding of real Italian food and pure, simple Italian ingredients. Her knowledge base now greatly expanded, Cathy decided to follow her passion and create and serve real Italian food in a casual, relaxed atmosphere and that is exactly the Nostrana experience. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Mike Madrid and Donny Brazeal were shipmates on a Navy destroyer. Both of them were coffee aficionados and so were many of their friends on board. So they pooled their money, bought really good coffee from the top roasters of the world, and then shared each batch so everyone got to sample the best coffees and decide which ones they wanted to brew on a daily basis. Mike went to the Academy then served on destroyers and was statopned in Spain when he and Donny met. Following his move to the states he took a job at the Pentagon which allowed him to do some nonprofit work including Operation Code, a military project near and dear to our show hosts' hearts. The combination of his friendship with Donny, the experience of opening up the world of coffee and helping veterans build a life in the private sector led to founding Project Buna in 2019. Danny enlisted in the Navy to be an electronics technician and served on aircraft carriers before earning a commission in the Limited Duty Officers' program. He went to Japan and then to Spain where he met Mike. Danny is currently a surface electronics LDO. He is serving in the DC area. “Buna” is an English translation for the word “coffee” in the Semitic language Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia. They chose this word and its characters as their name and logo in order to reflect the ancient roots of this drink, while simultaneously looking ahead to coffee's future throughout the world. The two started their business very wisely. They knew there was always the possibility of one or both being deployed to some corner of the world and so put in their plan to give themselves two years. At that point, if the business was not doing well, they would close it and consider they had a great two-year education. If it was going well, they'd figure out how to keep it going. Luckily, it is going well and they have figured out all the selling, packaging and ordering to stand out in the very crowded field of coffee roasting. They sell online and have created unique marketing approaches, including “crowd crafted coffee”, where they bring together a group of people and over time, walk them through crafting their own custom coffee. It's thinking like that that will propel them to succeeding in a growing industry. Veteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia Kao We record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster Theme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

One more of Josh Carter's many friends, Fred Wellman of the Lincoln Project joins him today. Fred joined the Army partly because of a REALLY long family history. Going back to the 1640s to be exact with the French and Indian Wars - pre-revolutionary times! His father was a Marine in World War II and Fred wound up at West Point after looking closely at the Air Force Academy. He really liked the wide choice of majors offered and he was also a “sports guy” so West Point was a perfect fit. He always wanted to fly growing up and wound up flying Scout helicopters for the 22 years of service. There were surprises of course. At first, all the yelling offended him to the point of wanting to quit. Luckily, he wrote home first and the tough letter he got from his ex-Marine father telling him to stop whining and get his (!) together got him back on track. Flying Scout helicopters was most challenging but also the most fun and exciting. They're single pilot craft and the pilots sneak up on the enemy and see things most others do not. Fred flew in Korea for a while where he really honed his skills. Because of the mountains and the fast-changing weather, pilots learn quickly how to handle their craft. He then wound up fighting the last battle of Desert Storm and afterward moved around other parts of the world, which he cherishes because of his sense of wonder. He settled his family in Georgia and joined the reserves. While running for mayor of his town, 911 hit and he knew he would be called up, which he was. But after three combat tours and wrestling with the PTSD that accompanies most military after that, Fred opted for the private sector. It was 2010-ish and although the economy was coming back, he was impatient looking for a job. However, at one interview with another ex-military pilot, the interviewer was candid. He said they already had a candidate in mind and urged Fred to start his own company. When Fred told him he had no experience, didn't know how to start one and so forth, the interviewer looked him in the eye and said, “None of us knows what the (!!) we're doing”, which stuck with Fred. On his way home, he thought of the name Scout Coms, told his wife, she made an office out of the basement and away he went. Almost broke when he started, he just got on the phone and started dialing for dollars. Luckily, veteran training was in great demand and the big PR firms were ready. That was a 10-year experience, then Fred reached out to a friend who recruited him for the Lincoln Project and now Fred works the political side of advocating for those who have served our military. Veteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia Kao We record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster Theme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Marketing, PR/culinary consultant, advisor and all-around Food Guru Judiaann Woo joined Sarah Marshall on this show to help out the aspiring women food startup entrepreneurs of the world. Judiaann has her own podcast show called, Food People are the Best People, so it was very nice of her to do some cross pollinating with Meaningful Marketplace, as Sarah had just been on Judiaann's show recently. Judiaann is a Portland, Oregon home grown celebrity. Although she has lived other places, after children were born, Portland was where she wanted to be. And having been a food aficionado in the big foodie cities, she is an expert who can rightly claim that Portland is on par with any of them. But it isn't just Portland that ranks high on the food experience. Judiaann travels around the entire state to take in the differences in geography and food and shares the experience usually through Instagram, since she considers herself a “visual person”. As she says, part of what makes Portland a great food city is all the statewide agriculture that is grown, harvested, picked and caught and can be brought into the city to create the fantastic dishes that receive critical acclaim. And yet, the state is still small enough that when you go to visit the winemakers, cheesemakers, meat smokers and so forth, there's a good chance you'll be seeing or even sitting next to the owner. It's the close, hands on source-to-plate atmosphere she enjoys as a rare, if not unique, experience. At one time, Judiaann worked for the State of Oregon to help promote tourism and that really put her around almost every square mile of it to realize how incredibly diverse the geography, lifestyle and people are. And the quirky, one-off experiences are the best ones and she has shared those with her family to help them have lifetime memories. Especially during these lockdown times, that becomes very important. The pets go along too so not only is it the complete family experience, it's also a big treat for the other tourists they meet along the way. Judiaann has found a way to share true experiences with her audience so they, too can discover things in their life that makes living more enjoyable, fuller, richer and something more than punching in and punching out. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Sarah Pesout uses locally produced vegies in her fermented vegetable products. And she sells locally in the Portland, Oregon area farmers' markets from her booth and online. So far, her audience is extremely loyal and word of mouth coupled with Instagram has been her marketing effort. She seems to have no trouble selling everything her company can produce. The company name? Fermentista, of course. A natural for what Sarah is and does. A California native, Sarah grew up in the beautiful foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. From a small town, Sarah left right after high school and entered UC Santa Cruz, traveled a year, then accomplished an associate degree in culinary studies. She subsequently moved to Portland and that's been her home since. But it was in Santa Cruz she had “the best job ever” as she says. She was looking for a bakery serving farmers' markets and the amount of produce was absolutely overwhelming. With more produce than the local area could consume, Sarah began looking into canning, preserving and fermenting the excess production. So, when in Portland, she surveyed the farmers' markets and observed the amount of excess produce that usually wound up as compost. Sarah reasoned that if she could pay the farmers for what would become unsellable excess, ferment the produce and sell it to people who wanted fermented vegies, that could be a good and responsible business and everybody wins. Her company intensely produces her product line and she is currently at capacity. She began selling olives to restaurants and because of the bureaucracy of selling fermented products, has been able to let restauranteurs stay current with the health department. Of course, COVID lockdown has hurt that business line so it is currently on hold. Her crafted fermented veggies stand out with packaging that reflects an attitude of “from our hands to yours." "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

How do you feed the incredible growing population of the planet? Is big, corporate agriculture the only answer? Not if you're Richard Brion. Brion, Navy Vet started Revolution Agriculture to grow vegetables at the neighborhood level to feed the planet with fresh, local produce in an incredibly clever way. This Tacoma, Washington resident joined the Navy when his high school had an ROTC program. With family members in different branches of the military, Richard wanted off the peninsula he had always lived and see other parts of the world. He figured the Navy offered the most opportunity to see the “coolest stuff” and joined (our host, ex-Navy Vet Josh Carter wholeheartedly agrees). He began as in the cryptology program collecting intelligence and open-source material. He was stationed initially at Fort Gordon fresh out of high school and wound up putting in his four years before leaving. Richard actually was considering a longer career, but a big change in the Navy program post 911 put him in a difficult spot. He had to choose between becoming a linguist or leave. Since he discovered Navy linguists usually wind up in the windowless part of the ship wearing headphones and listening to radios, he opted for civilian life. After the Navy “curve ball”, Richard really had not prepared himself for the private sector. At first, he had a government contractor job that put him in Hawaii making more money, and three days before he was set to go, the program was cancelled. Kicking around with friends and family for awhile, he got a call from Blackwater for a counter-narcotics contract in Afghanistan and was doing the same Navy job but making much more money. He became the go-to guy who could source intelligence for most everything and moved up the ladder smoothly. He then became a consultant helping companies win government contracts is adept at contract trouble shooting. Tired of being a “hired gun”, Richard began exploring the premise of Revolution Agriculture. He saw from his past experience that farming, practices and food chain in Afghanistan was the prime root cause of problems there and decided that solving that problem was his life's mission. Making more products available year round would give farmers better options than growing opium, the crux of the country's violence. His ingenious methods only need minimal space and can utilize anyone's back yard or even a parking space. People offering the space for growing can participate or be passive and can even participate in the revenue share. The concept is soil-focused containerize farming systems that can be dropped in almost anywhere and the software that holds the system together is most sophisticated. But it's the determination and drive of Richard that holds everything together. Veteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia Kao We record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster Theme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Adeline Marshall, absolutely related our host Sarah Marshall (daughter), is founder, owner, CEO and everything else of Adeline's Bunny Puffs. Adeline's freeze-dried berries and candy are sure to be a big hit, as is this young, vivacious mature-beyond-her-years entrepreneur. The name? Well, Adeline loves bunnies and when the fruits are put in the freezer, they puff up. So naturally, puff up, bunnies…you get the picture. And the logo, which you really need to see, continues the puffed bunny theme as well. An aspiring seven-year-old second grader, Adeline is most dedicated to her startup company and right now the Skittle candies seem to be the current favorite. In fact, two of Adeline's best friends are “obsessed” with the Bunny Puff Skittles and ask for them every time they come over to Adeline's house. Adeline gives them free bags of the candy because they are her friends, plus it's marketing technique to get product trial as well. The brand building doesn't stop with product and packaging either. Adeline has built her own vending machine (OK, it's made out of cardboard, but heck, it's a vending machine) with a saran wrap front and toilet paper rolls for dispenser buttons. When the friends come over, they like to use the vending machine to get their Bunny Puffs. Probably the debit card slot is next

Veteran Apache pilot Jason Anderson chose the Army partly because of family heritage and partly for an early exposure to flying. His grandfather was a World War II veteran and his uncles were all in either the Marines or Army. And his father was a pilot, so he and his brother were riding in airplanes at an early age. His interest in military planes continued and when his brother found an ROTC track at the U of North Dakota that offered not only flying and helicopter training but a slot in the helicopter program of the Army, Jason jumped on it. He got his opportunity to fly the Apache and was thrilled with his career. He also was thrilled to find the opportunities in the military in general, where he found he had so many options to see where he fit best in America's defense forces. Also, he enjoyed the diverse culture backgrounds and experiences of his fellow soldiers and found it the most stimulating time of his life. With seven years of service, he was moved nine times and deployed in Korea and Afghanistan. He loved the leadership side of the military and obviously that love was easily transitioned to the business world. After being discharged, Jason took an internship that put him in IT sales, a terrific way to learn and that all happened in Colorado Springs, where he preferred to live. An entrepreneurial streak that started as a youngster, Jason had a strong interest in real estate and put the two together. Getting his real estate license during the pandemic lockdown, his desire to build something of his own led him to the natural business of helping military personnel deal with the trials and tribulations of constantly moving by building a real estate agent firm that specifically addressed their needs. Veteran PCS was born. With a tremendous amount of agents in Colorado Springs and many of them being veterans, standing out from the crowd was a definite challenge. So Jason remembered what it was like when he was discharged and thought about what he would have loved to have for a resource. The AH-HA moment was realizing that a website to go to with referrals to agents who were themselves veterans was the obvious solution. He set out building a network to cover the 50 states as thoroughly as possible. After getting validation from his broker/dealer, Jason jumped on learning how to build the robust site he needed and found a fellow vet to help build it. Still in its infancy, Veteran PCS is growing rapidly with agent/users who have caught the fire of Jason's mission and want their service to those who have served to keep growing. Veteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia Kao We record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster Theme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

It all started in the home kitchen; same song with a new verse. Holly Kurzhal's and her husband loved their father's homemade pickles and asked for jars so often that he finally suggested they start making their own. So they did. And after sharing with family and friends and getting requests for more and more jars, they decided to take some jars to the local Farmer's Market, where they sold fast. They took more jars the next time and still more the next time until it became obvious they were on to something. They originally marketed the Jalapeno, hot spicy pickles but kept getting requests for milder flavors. That's when the product laddering began and they branched out into other pickled vegetables and brines. After the birth of her second child, Holly decided to quit her job and take Kurzhal's Kickin' Pickles to the next level of production. They started in Holly's kitchen for the first five years or so, then moved to a home commercial kitchen where the cooking and warehousing now take place in the additions to their home. Holly's favorite recipe is Jalapeno Bread and Butter pickle, flavored in what Holly calls the bread and butter brine, a sweet brine with garlic, chiles and other spices. Most of the cucumbers are grown on the family's property. They are not certified organic at this point, but the company picks, puts on ice and process them within 24 hours to ensure freshness and nutrition. There's more to the family story as well. The original pickling formula comes from Holly's husband's mother, so it really is Gramma's old-fashioned formula. And the genuine touch of a hands-on crafted food comes through in the irregular, non-corporate sizes and shapes of the cucumbers themselves. The company pickles asparagus, beans, carrots and other vegetables in a wholesome but delicious variety of flavors. The product offering is quite extensive and impressive and is sold online and in multiple grocery stores currently in the western Oregon area. They can't keep up with demand either; everything they make is sold almost immediately. So with a home business working very well family all together in one place, they are livin' the life and definitely kickin' it. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Charles Read is a high profile guy, with TV segments in the financial news and more. And he's a big, big proponent of hiring military Vets, so he's a big favorite with us. A Marine veteran and also a Vietnam combat veteran, Charles is the founder president and CEO of GetPayroll, and online, fully-compliant payroll and payroll tax reporting service for businesses of any size. Military service was in the cards for Charles all along. His entire family has been “citizen soldiers” since the Revolutionary War. There's even a great-great-great grandfather who signed the Declaration of Independence; talk about heritage! With a father in the Navy and Charles being self-proclaimed “young and dumb”, he wanted a tough outfit and the Marines fit that bill. Interestingly enough, his sister was a Marine officer at the same time he was an enlisted man. Trained as a computer programmer and a systems engineer, he was sent to Okinawa where he subsequently requested a transfer to Vietnam and asked to be put in a combat unit. Since he was considered a smart guy with his computer background, he was made the radio carrier, which is like having “a target on your back” according to Charles. After six months of combat, Charles survived pretty much in tact but his experience of being part of a team doing whatever it took to accomplish the mission stayed with him forever. Mission, men and self was the Marine Corps way and is still Charles' way. After the Marines, getting into business also was a natural for Charles, with his family accomplished business leaders as well. Upon his discharge, Charles' computer skills were in high demand but didn't seem to count with employers because it was military training, not civilian. So he went back to school, passed the CPA exam and originally wanted to work for a big corporation and climb to the top. However, realizing he didn't have the “political skills” (read: he didn't stab people in the back), Charles decided to start his own company, just as his father had. Now, 30 years established, he has been quite successful and uses his success to promote the hiring of other military veterans who have also put their life on the line for freedom and liberty. Veteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia Kao We record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster Theme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

“My goal is to bring health and vitality to my community through plant medicine” – Annie Fisher. This quote from the video on her spectacular website sums up Annie Fisher's company, Wildfire Elixirs. However, the story behind the goal is most compelling. Mother of two youngsters ages one and three, Annie caught pneumonia, then got the double whammy of getting shingles on top of that. Absolutely drained of energy and stamina, she was inspired to regain her health naturally by herbalists like Rosemary Gladstar and began formulating a drink of herbs, fruits and vegies in a fire elixir to rebuild her immune system. She packed her immune boosters into a one gallon batch she called “fighter”, posted her concoction on social media and instantly had 100 comments, most asking for some of the drink. With that signal that she may be on to something, Annie subsequently made a five gallon batch. The process was about 4-6 weeks to brew and bottle and yielded a batch of 36 bottles that were all pre-sold. Of course, that lead to making three more batches with the same routine and a business pattern began to emerge. When one of the five gallon jars broke in her pantry, Annie knew it was time to step up to a commercial kitchen and begin to scale her home business into a bigger volume and that the demand was surely there to support her. A bartender for 16 years, she took the plunge and quit, throwing herself into the belief she was doing great things for others and that deed would reward her with an independent lifestyle. That was 10 years ago. She's learned much about the difference between homemade and commercial grade, including pH testing, and other compliance. From her home in Eugene, Oregon, Annie sells her products online (so far) and has broadened her product line impressively. Not only are there many varieties of elixir, she also sells seasoned salt and a coffee alternative, all which improve people's health. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Dan Regester is a third generation Air Force Vet. His deployment time was the Kosovo war where he flew on C-135s doing air refuelings. Originally “looking for adventure”, Dan had a childhood of the Air Force, visiting the air bases with his Dad, a Vietnam Vet, many times. And because many of his Dad's friends were military, Dan was immersed in the mindset of the military person and that was the main attraction for Dan. Dan's Grandfather was in the Army Air Corps during World War II before the branch was renamed Air Force. So Dan joined right out of high school, and in fact spent his 18th birthday in basic. He went to 22 different countries during his four years of deployments, starting in Turkey. The international exposure taught him that when you are in uniform, you are an ambassador for your country and everything you do reflects on the US. So he has taken that awareness into working with Vets and dogs, because the Vet and his/her dog are representatives as well. Dan's transition to civilian life was unfortunately similar to many Vets. He hated the VA, hated society, hated the military and wanted to just be in isolation. He realized that Vets needed some time after separation to reset and acclimatize and to replace the sense of camaraderie they had in the military and caused much of the depression and loss after leaving. But camaraderie comes with discipline and work to build it, and that's where the idea of matching Vet and dog – or occasionally cat – and going through a two-week training period together to build that camaraderie that was missing. Each dog is checked out to meet each individual Vet's needs. The program is very military like in its structure, and that also helps the Vet feel more comfortable with the familiarity. And as our host, Cyntia Kao says, it's too bad you can't see these gorgeous dogs on this podcast. They are spectacular. Veteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia Kao We record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster Theme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Author Larissa Zimberoff has a strong connection with our own host Sarah Masoni, Sarah's in her book! The book, “Technically Food: Inside Silicon Valley's Mission to Change What we Eat” is available both in book and audio format and is the story of Larissa's love of both technology from living in the San Francisco Bay Area and her love of food. Sarah Masoni sums it up perfectly with her quote, “The only thing more intimate that eating food is writing about it”, which Larissa has done masterfully. The details of the thought that goes into the planning, experimenting and creating food for the world then putting those details in the correct words is truly a challenge and Larissa's book is as much art as it is science. The route to becoming a successful writer (meaning you can make a living doing it) was of course the familiar route of necessity. After being laid off from two Bay Area high tech jobs and being accepted to grad school in between those jobs, Larissa packed it up and moved to New York to finish grad school. Two years later, she received her MFA in creating writing and began starting a career. Having type one diabetes and a need to know about the food she was consuming was part of her pursuit to write in the area. But it was also fueled by the questioning by family, friends even strangers on the street who wanted to know about the new foods: “Are these new foods healthy?' “What's in them?”. And with all the movements going on such as Farm-to-Table and Farmers' Markets, more and more transparency was coming to the food chain. The new movement has become the technology behind everything and that technology is complex and not easily understood. Partly to satisfy her need to know and partly to educate the world, Larissa began understanding, documenting and dissecting the situation in order to tell others. A thought leader in pulling back the curtain on food sourcing and processing, Larissa covers the topics from Algae as food to lab-produced whey to plant-based meats to give the real story on what people are putting into their bodies. She also talks about food marketing and takes a look at the future, asking select experts what they see food will be in 20 years. An incredible perspective from a brilliant and inquisitive mind. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Ali Ahmadi, Navy Vet, is a good friend of our host, Josh Carter. A Queens, New York native was celebrating his Mom's 50th birthday on September 9th, 2001 in the Top of the World restaurant on top of Tower Two. Of course, two days later was the attack and two days after that, Ali and his father joined the volunteer rescue teams to hunt for survivors. Two months later, Ali walked into the Navy recruiter's office and signed up. His first memories from boot camp were the youth of all the other recruits, the diverse geographical backgrounds and above all else – the smell! He served with some great people and scored highest in his class, giving him 42 choices of assignments. He ended up in Maryland flying autonomous drones. It put him close to home, where he could visit his mother who had been recently diagnosed with a serious condition. He received his aerospace engineering degree while in the Navy and was offered an internship with NavAir in Orlando where he could stay close to his girlfriend. That move must have worked, because the former girlfriend is now the current spouse! Feeling he had hit a ceiling in his corporate growth, he was intrigued with entrepreneurship but had to get past the security of the corporate paycheck. Once past that, Ali flourished, becoming the president of the Entrepreneur's Club at Washington University. He mentored and did some angel investing, including investing in a company that created a fitbit for dogs. After the acquisition of that company, he and a partner started another company and subsequently entered Patriot Bootcamp where our own Josh Carter became a mentor. Ali and his wife were caring or her mother in stage four cancer at their home. The stress was great and fellow boot camp attendee told Ali of research that was going on to develop IP to help caregivers cope with the stress of their job. That IP became the platform for TCare, a system to help family members care for their loved ones. TCare's software helps the family member avoid burnout and helps keep the infirmed out of nursing homes. So they help prevent or delay the elderly going into nursing homes and help keep the family together. Ali Ahmadi's current mission has certainly become his biggest. And for those trying to break the corporate leash, Ali asks you to consider that the cost of NOT seeking to do something greater with your life is much greater than that paycheck. Veteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia Kao We record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster Theme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Cydnie Smith-McCarthy came up with the name for her company from her Dad. A Barbados native, the number one fruit in the country is Mamey Sapote (mah may supp oh tay). It's used in many different dishes, the equivalent of avocados in the US. So the company name, Drink Mamey, is a legacy to Cydnie's Dad and his background. Cydnie calls herself a mixologist because she spends a huge chunk of her time mixing different juices and powders and supplements to get just the right taste in her premium cold pressed juices. You can visit her Portland, Oregon company by just walking right in. You'll see a wall full of plants and a huge section of her cold pressed juices in premium glass bottles. You also can order up a smoothie carton to take home or mix one up right there in her factory. And if you want extra supplements in your smoothie, you can get them right at the company. And there are build-in neighbors. The company houses seven black-owned businesses in the wellness industry and related industries. So she houses sections that emphasize feel good, look good and taste good – the trifecta of wellness. The rambling location that has worked out so well came about in a typical spider-web manner. A client of Cydnie's was hit by the COVID lockdown and had to close a location. When offered up to Cydnie, she took it and has never looked back. Cydnie has a background in design and communications and started out in photography and graphic design. She worked in public relations and event planning and has always loved creating aesthetically pleasing situations and products. Also a lifetime wellness advocate, she started juicing for her family and friends and the word got out. So, she decided to bottle her juice and put a logo on it and her explosive growth has been, forgive me, organic. The toughest part of the business was the commercialization and learning the regulations of selling a food product. But once she got into a commercial kitchen and into a store, she was past the big learning curve. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

A post-911 military joiner, Danique Masingill wanted law enforcement as a career, and only the Navy would promise that in a contract, so in 2002 she joined and went to boot camp. Her first command was Charlston, South Carolina. It was a tough assignment. Rampant sexual assault, high suicide rates and a terrible place to be for anyone, especially a woman. Danique was caught in a terrible trap; she was law enforcement and the high ranking officials in the LE were the perpetrators. So who do you call? There was no one. She was first assaulted in the barracks by a Marine and tried to report the assault and that's where she first learned the phrase, “mission over people”. “We need to make this go away” she was told, as the assaulter was necessary for the war that was going on and Danique slipped into self-medication to deal with the angst. She did manage to get reassigned to another command and then the same thing happened, only this time she was assaulted at the firing range and couldn't complete her weapons course. Then her mental health issues caught up with her physically and she had to leave the first good command sadly and eventually was discharged medically in 2007. Not even having any disability benefits, Danique went to cosmetology school but didn't really have the personality it took to be a hair dresser. However, in 2010 she found that she had GI benefits to go to Syracuse University while her spouse was deployed. She started coming unraveled from PTSD and was urged to go to the Veterans lounge and meet other college students from the military. She was introduced to a woman who told her about service dogs for retired military and threw herself into service dog policy in the Veteran space and got her degree. After working at a couple of organizations, she, her husband and friend decided to be hands on and start their own organization and founded Leashes of Valor. Their Virginia farm is where they train the rescued dogs, and the post-911 Vets who apply spend a two-week course on the farm learning to work with their new companion. Veteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia Kao We record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster Theme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

What is Kombucha Tea good for? Hannah Crum, or “Queen of Kombucha” as our own Sarah Masoni calls her, can tell you. Hannah's company, Kombucha Kamp is THE encyclopedia (or Wikipedia if you prefer) of Kombucha Tea. Her mission is to teach, inform, supply and tell the world about the good things Kombucha can do – and cannot do – for the body. Her journey began when she visited a friend in San Francisco in early 2000. The friend had a jar with floating “stuff” in it and was told it was Kombucha. It wasn't ready to drink, so when Hannah got back to Los Angeles she immediately went to Whole Foods where Kombucha was everywhere. It was the typical love at first sip and Hannah was hooked and had to learn to brew it. She checked out every book in the library and started making it for her own consumption. Eventually, friends tried some, liked it and wanted to make their own as well. Hannah saw this as passion turned into a side hustle and figured she could charge people to teach them not only how to brew their own, but it's usefulness as well. That's when she started Kombucha Kamp at her house. She began a blog around 2007 and then there came the Kombucha withdrawal around 2010 which saw commercial brewers get squashed by taxes and led to the formation of the Kombucha Brewers International to fight against the unfair tax. She has served as Master Brewer for several commercial operations and wanted to share her knowledge. For some reason, the Kombucha world is very secretive and don't want to share the golden nuggets, but she has changed that. Hannah wants people to avoid anecdotal stories about the so-called miracles of Kombucha Tea and look for scientific fact. For example, there are many stories of people whose joints suddenly stop hurting when they begin drinking Kombucha. There are even stories of Chernobyl residents who avoided cancer after the meltdown with daily consumption of Kombucha. But here are the facts: 1) Kombucha helps repair damage to the organs and 2) Kombucha reduces the absorption of dangerous gamma rays. Armed with these scientific facts and more, Hannah offers her free DIY Guide book so each person can make up there own mind about the benefits of Kombucha and brew their own if they choose. A teach, an author, a speaker and activist for health and wellness, Hannah Crum brews on. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

US Marine vet Kate Monroe, founder of VetCom joined the military in an unusual path. On a full ride scholarship to a Christian Bible College. A gifted student all through school, Kate was always told she would be someone great- the usual doctor, lawyer path – and she just plain burned out on it. After her freshman year, she looked into the Air Force originally. A chance meeting with a Marine recruiter on her way to take her qualifying tests resulted in being swept into the Marines at 19. Becoming an Intel analyst, she was not deployed but wound up being disable. During a softball game, she took a ball to the face and suffered a break that required 72 hours of surgery. That was it for the military. But she had an entrepreneurial father and so her transition to civilian life was easier than for most vets. She started with a sales job which is always a great base for any entrepreneur. And she has overcome some discrimination she has faced as a woman not only in the private sector but when she was in the Marines as well. Her personal mission has become her gift to others, being empowered, finding the courage to follow your dream. Kate credits the Marine Corps with her attitude that if something was hard, adapt and overcome and that “mantra” keeps her going every day. Having sold her car dealership (yes, she does what she sets her mind to), a veteran came to her asking her help get rated. She did, and that led to helping more people get rated. The idea for a platform to help vets get back into civilian life in almost every aspect of their life; buying a home, getting a job, getting deserved VA benefits was super exciting to Kate and VetCom was born. It will launch soon and Kate is ready, “It will be a hurricane ready to make landing”. So be ready all you vets. Veteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia Kao We record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster Theme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Air Force Veteran Brian Reese served in Afghanistan and received the Defense Meritorious Service Medal. He then earned his MBA as a National Honor Scholar from the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University, so he is no slacker. Nor does he wish any other Vet to be, so he started VA Claims Insider, a Coaching and Consulting company whose mission is to educate and empower veterans to get the VA disability benefits they've earned for their honorable service. But let's start at the beginning of his military service. Not from a military family, Brian loved ice hockey and dreamed of the NHL. But D-1 athletics was more doable, and when touring the Air Force Academy, fell in love with the Academy and Colorado Springs. He's always been an entrepreneur, even the “store” he had in his locker in grade school. Flying was not a passion at the Academy, so taking the business path was a natural. Brian has always sought to solve problems and add value to people and the business school was a fantastic experience. And coming from a small town, he thrived on the stimulation of different people, backgrounds and attitudes. But structure also was a new experience, he had never been bounded by guidelines so strongly before and though it pressured him at first, he grew to embrace the attributes of having rules. But the 2011 deployment to Afghanistan left him with traumatic stress that led to the predictable alcoholism and drug abuse and Brian knew it was time to move to civilian life. Coming to grips with his condition was the difficult part and breaking down in front of a friend who literally walked him to mental heath resources was the start. The next big step was to simply start writing down in a notebook who he was, to regain his sense of self. Then the desire to take this help to others was the “ah-ha” for the business. He realized with his knowledge of benefits and entrepreneurship, he could help other Veterans navigate the problems with VA bureaucracy, get the help and benefits they need, and lower the suicide and ruined lives rate that dominates the Veteran community. Be sure to check out his book - YOU DESERVE IT: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Veterans Benefits You've Earned Veteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia Kao We record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster Theme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Julie Davila likes tacos (and Manhattan cocktails too, evidently). And although she also likes fish, she hates those who phish. That's part of the impetus behind ZibaSec, software security. Here's her background: An Army vet, Julie applied to an ROTC scholarship which she received, but decided she did not want to be an officer, so she enlisted. Julie went into the infantry and learned very quickly that she could deal with the stress on her body because the military helped strengthen her mind. And that played very well in becoming an entrepreneur. Learning to push through on the training field translated very will into “having another Red Bull” and pushing through in the business security world. Seeing that her financial future would be better in civilian life, Julie exited and used her GI Bill in Mexico and went to school. Her money stretched a long way in Mexico and allowed her tacos every night (are you seeing the trend here?). For about two years, Julie was in a figure-it-out stage, coupled with a bartending career (see the Manhattan cocktail connection here?) and liked the idea of learning AWS, and it snowballed from there into a tech career. Working at the same software security company, Julie and her now co-founder found out their employer was going to lose a phishing platform contract due to some financial conflict. The client was the DOJ and since Julie had connections with the client, she and her partner approached them with the opportunist question, “If we build it, will you buy it?”, and the answer was “Yes”! Ah, the birth of new company. They even had the seed capital given to them as part of the package. Now, Julie and her partner are business veterans, too. And what is the name of one of their flagship product? Why, PhishTACO, of course! Veteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia Kao We record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster Theme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Our guest's chocolate candies were recently awarded best chocolate candy at the Oregon Chocolate Festival in Ashland Oregon, now that's something to celebrate! Michele Davis, President and CEO of Cocacao, (pronounced Ko' Kuh-Kow) runs a company that makes “twelve chocolaty bites of paradise”. They are confections but not chocolate, as the treats do not have the coco butter to meet the true defintion of chocoalate, that's why they are called chocolate candies. Their base is only three organic ingredients and the consumer enjoys a milk chocolate extravaganza without the dairy. The reason is a typical one: Jeff Davis, Co-Founder and husband of Michele, had severe dietary restrictionsu and loved sweets. Jeff experimented scientifically for years to find a chocolate treat he could eat. Upon meeting and marrying Michele, the couple both desired to start a company and sell the treasures Jeff had invented. Each piece is packaged individually in a twelve-piece box and that packaging strategy has been a five-year journey, according to Michele. With humble beginnings in a farmer's market, the company sold a plain white box of treats in individual baggies. They then moved up to a box that held twelve pieces, but in warm weather did not travel well (think melty mess by the time people got them home). Moving up the food chain (pardon the pun) they moved to a quarter pound bar that sold for ten dollars. The bar was retailed by our sponsor, Market of Choice and sold well. However at the farmers' markets, still a big source of revenue for the company, it didn't allow for sampling before buying the expensive bar which was a huge incentive, so it was back to the packaging drawing board. They completely re-branded and went to the pre-portioned treats of all their flavors in an attractive box and focused completely on retail locations and wholesale distribution. They also sell online, but retail is by far the bulk of the sales. The packaging is exquisite; check out their website. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Drew Bartkiewicz grew up close to West Point, had an older brother who went there and so it was a natural to attend there also. It wasn’t easy. He came up short in his initial application and spent what he calls, “the best year of my life”, attending a prep school to get over the bar. He studied aerospace engineering and learned that real creativity isn’t open-ended and willy-nilly, it’s a structured, disciplined path that leads to a revolutionary development. Graduating and sent to Northern Italy in the 82nd Airborne, Drew overcame his fear of heights, admittedly because he wanted to live in Italy! And it was a real life lesson in learning to live in the present, as the Italian people were expert at doing so. Drew served in the Gulf War and stayed after to set up a protective zone for the Kurds, another incredible life experience for him. He left in 1992 when he was accepted into the MBA program at Yale, graduating in 1994. This put him closer to family and home, and put him square in the middle of business. He joined United Technologies, which put him in business development in four locations around the world. He caught the software bug in 1999 and that has turned out to be his world. Calling himself in “perpetual adjustment”, Drew has stayed agile, moving and always looking to solve problems. His first company was Lettrs, seeking to authenticate mobile messages and by being both different and mobile, they attracted customers. Lettrs morphed into Patriapps really an incubator to start, grow and spin off software companies. One of the big takeaways from Drew’s experience? When taking investment money, the sense of honor to be successful and create a return for investors is higher in the Veterans community than all others. Veteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia Kao We record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster Theme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Her grandfather was called the “Pickle King”, but she’s the Queen of Hearts. Why? Well, Tonia just decided it was time for a Queen in the family legacy! And that legacy is a long one in the Pacific Northwest. The family company, Farman's Pickles, operated for decades in the State of Washington area and created a strong brand. Over time, the was sold to a larger food group, then again to a larger one and you know how that story goes. So a new chapter was opened by Tonia, who found that a specific grain of hemp grew well on the eastern side of the west coast mountain range, where wheat and barley also thrive. The plant also grows tall and dense, is male/female reproducing so there are seeds, and it's the seeds that Queen of Hearts process. The seeds are the super food of the plant, with an amazing amount of nutrients. Processing is to remove the outer shell of the seed and ship the heart of the seed to the company to process into its incredible food products. So, we have the "Queen" of the Farman family legacy, the "heart" of the seed and it just rolls right. The seed is so versatile it works in any number of food products so the company can offer a large line of nutritional items. Even the shell is put into animal food products as a nutritional fiber. The oil can be added to salad dressings, bread dip, a smoothy or as a great tasting supplement by the spoonful. The “cake” left over from the pressing is then ground into a protein powder, so there is literally no waste to their raw product. And they are pure and organic up and down their food chain. Only American farmers who grow organically are sourced because of the country’s higher standards, and the products are tested intensely for purity. You’ll love how Queen of Heart’s apologizes for not being cheap, but explains how you have to work hard at a quality product and that hard work has a cost. Go to their website and read the “…6 reasons why we think we’re different…” and that will explain it all. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Navy Man Bryce Reich of Harness wanted to join the military for the structure but also because of the family background. Originally wanting to be a rescue swimmer for the Coast Guard, he went through the process but was put on a year wait list. His brother in-law had just left the Navy and Bryce looked up to him, so the Navy seemed like the place to be. He began as a submariner but decided he didn’t care for that while in boot camp. He switched to sonar technician where he finished his career. It was the team building and camaraderie that inspired Bryce the most and got him past the high school years where he didn’t really try to be a good student or performer. But there came a point. Bryce was ready to get out when the bureaucracy finally got to him. Understaffed in the sonar division, he did not feel recognized for his accomplishments and turned to getting back to his education. His timing was disturbingly good; on the USS John McCain, he left only a few months before the collision which killed ten sailors. Bryce new some of the dead. The first person to go to college in his family, Bryce graduated in Business Management. He had a job when a friend with a tech company reached out and asked if Bryce could do some business development for a month. It went so well Bryce became a co-founder by being in on the ground floor. Harness is a white label solution for entrepreneur and innovation ecosystems to centralize collaboration, communication, knowledge sharing, resource sharing and hiring. It’s an Angelist and a LinkedIn for exclusive communities such as universities, governments or accelerators. Veteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia Kao We record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster Theme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Jana Jenkins wears a lot of hats. She is both Director of sales at Oregon Wild Rice and co-owner of Oregon-Ag. Oregon Wild Rice was started by two brothers in the mid-Willamette valley in Oregon. Fourth generation Oregon farmers on a farm about 120 years running, they went from grass seed growers to rice because the soil was heavy clay and did not drain water very well. So why fight it? They switched to rice crops which love the water five years ago and have been producing bumper crops of “wild” rice ever since. As crops go, rice is one of the easier products to cultivate. First you dam up some land, let the Oregon rain fill it with water and make a pond, sprinkle the seed in the pond and let it germinate. No plowing, discing or weeding, just wait until it grows to about six feet tall over a few months. The rice is then harvested with a combine, just like most other tall farm crops. Growing rice is not a huge industry in Oregon yet, but obviously with the ease of growing and the amount of rainfall available, it should increase. Oregon Ag came about with Jana being in stores talking to the store owners, who would refer her to other food producers, urging her to check out their products. These referrals led to a stable of clients that Jana and her business partner can take store-to-store and ask the owner what special Oregon products they need, such as a Hazelnut producer, or a wild rice producer or good pickles. Then they fill the need, acting as a built-in distributor for companies not large enough to have their own sales and distribution division. Only started last January, Oregon Ag has already built a great list and it is growing as they find more and more craft products. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Kelly Cox does what she wants. That’s a quote from Portland Magazine, and our hosts get Kelly to explain exactly what that means. For the past five years, Kelly has traveled the globe seeking the origin of the best food ingredients as the content of her award-winning series, The Original Fare on PBS. As her website says, she has done everything from plucking tea leaves in Sri Lanka to hunting seals on ice floats off Newfoundland, sharing the experiences with the public. The mission is to find where food comes from and understanding the work and culture that goes into producing food ingredients. The show is part travel, part food but mostly the people behind the food, showing our commonalities and our difference. There’s another reason for Kelly’s drive. She works with young women around the world with common initiatives, Girl Power and Gender Equality. In 2014, she made her debut as a film director with Big Dream, a show that follows seven ambitious young women around the world who stop at nothing to achieve their big dream. It’s available on Amazon. Portland, Oregon is Kelly’s home base and there is a strong connection and support, especially with our host Sarah Marshall. And when COVID lockdown hit, Kelly realized that an international program such as Original Fare was going to come to a halt when there was no international traveling! She then turned her focus locally for projects, which had mixed results, so she and her husband moved in with her parents in California. Now that odyssey has taken them with her parents to Idaho, where they are currently still treading the COVID waters. What’s next? There are a couple of wild acres on the property, so Kelly has taken to starting her own ambitious garden and also growing a chicken flock, for fresh eggs. Not surprisingly, Kelly’s life reflects her show. It’s Original. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Laney Sisun first started healing herself, then started building a company to heal others. A sufferer of Crohn’s Disease, an auto immune affliction of the gut, and it’s miserable. To manage it, she turned to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet which limits all sugar and fruit except honey and keeps the carbo count low. It worked. Then she began cooking and baking for herself because she was, as she confesses, a “junk food junkie” and giving up the donuts, cookies, etc. was not an option. But finding a recipe took lots of experimenting to come up with the desserts that were, as her Honey Palette company says, are exciting and decadent. Also a Registered Nurse and certified AIP Health Coach, Laney saw there were few products available to the public that would help them stay on the strict diet and manage afflictions like Laney was able to do. She wasn’t sure she wanted to start her own company at first, so she took a business course offered by the Oregon Entrepreneur Network, a comprehensive look at setting goals, planning strategy and of course, financing the endeavor. Also, the networking with other founders was invigorating and gave her the inspiration to give it a try. She entered pitch competitions which sharpened her vision and strategy, and built her confidence (check out her YouTube session), She won a competition that catapulted her from only selling at a local farmer’s market to getting shelf space as two Oregon grocery store chains and she was in business! Her products are especially a god send for those with diabetes, who think they can’t have the sweet things in life ever again without harming themselves, and Laney’s absolutely gorgeous looking desserts can fill that void. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes