Podcasts about eforall

Chris and Jenna are joined by Laura Guillen, Executive Director, and Julia Krasnow, Program Manager, of EforAll (Entrepreneurship for All). EforAll is a non-profit organization that changes lives by equipping underrepresented individuals with the skills and resources they need to become successful business owners.   In this episode, we delve into Laura and Julia's journeys to EforAll, fueled by a shared passion ignited during the pandemic. We explore the powerful impact EforAll has on the Rhode Island community, fostering a more vibrant and inclusive entrepreneurial landscape. The conversation also highlights EforAll's influence on the local food scene, empowering culinary dreams to flourish.   Stay connected with EFORALL Eforall.com/RhodeIsland | Instagram @eforall_rhodeisland    Stay connected on Instagram: @HeyRhody | PVDMonthly | So_RI | @thebay_mag Jenna: @jennnaaakap @littlecityco Chris: @letschatrevill  @letschatpodcasting   Interested in advertising with Hey Rhody Media Print or Digital offerings send us a message Mail@HeyRhody.com   This episode is sponsored by Rhode Island Energy. Schedule your no-cost home energy assessment today RIienergy.com/saveathome

SummaryCurious how the Walton Family Foundation is catalyzing inclusive economic growth and cultural enrichment in Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta? Tune in to this episode of The Bentonville Beacon, where host, James Bell, is joined by Robert Burns, Home Region Program Director at the Walton Family Foundation.The Walton Family Foundation represents several generations of family rooted in the places they work and in a family legacy of giving back. It brings together diverse perspectives to the same table, including caregivers and conservationists, educators and entrepreneurs, farmers and futurists, and doers and dreamers, to listen and learn, to reach a shared understanding, and to create innovative solutions that achieve true impact. The foundation works in three areas: strengthening the connections between K-12 education and lifelong opportunity; protecting rivers, oceans, and the communities they support; and advancing the Home Region of Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta.In the Home Region, the Walton Family Foundation supports communities in Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta, working to realize a vision where everyone has access to opportunity so that every person and community thrives. They strive to catalyze a more vibrant, inclusive economy in Northwest Arkansas, and to grow equity through education and financial security in the Delta.With its roots in Northwest Arkansas, the foundation is committed to making opportunity available to everyone who lives in the area by supporting entrepreneurs and innovators who strengthen the local economy; engaging teachers, parents and students to improve schools; and working to ensure residents in every neighborhood can access affordable housing, diverse transportation options and vibrant cultural spaces.Likewise, the foundation is committed to investing and engaging in the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta, where they are looking to the next generation of community leaders with innovative ideas to strengthen schools, support small businesses and create economic opportunities that help Delta residents build a brighter future for their region through bold, homegrown solutions to the unique challenges facing their people and communities.Throughout the episode, Robert shares how partnerships and collaborations facilitate meaningful transformation, the critical importance of storytelling in relating a powerful and clear understanding of people and the impact of their work, and how the Walton Family Foundation discovers and selects the game-changing initiatives it supports. Thanks for tuning in!Show NotesTimestamps in this blog are for the audio-only version of the podcast; video timing differs.(0:54) Introduction to Robert Burns(3:57) About the Walton Family Foundation (WFF) and Its Mission(6:42) The WFF's Objectives in Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta(12:30) Highlight the WWF's Home Region Initiatives(17:54) NWA's Contribution to Innovation across the Country(22:34) The WWF's Support for and Collaboration with EforAll(25:53) Local Organizations the WFF Supports(29:55) Robert's #BecauseBentonville Story(32:40) Future Initiatives of the WFF's Home Region Program(36:50) Starting a Sustainable Relationship with the WFF(40:01) How Storytelling Plays a Role in the WFF's Community Engagement(45:16) Closing Question ‍LinksRobert BurnsWalton Family FoundationWalton Family Foundation Home RegionJames Bell, MBA Bentonville Economic DevelopmentGreater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce

Investing in small businesses means strengthening the backbone of America! Meralis Hood, CEO of EforAll, shares her mission to serve entrepreneurs. Meralis has built EforAll to be entirely centered around helping individuals start and grow their businesses through training,  mentorship, information, access to capital, and an extended professional support network. Connect with Meralis on LinkedIn and find more information at EforAll.org! If you enjoyed today's episode, please take a moment to leave us a 5-star review and connect with Chris and Greg on LinkedIn! About  Since 2013, EforAll has partnered with communities to help under-represented individuals successfully start and grow their businesses through training, mentorship, and extended professional support network.  Timestamps: [00:00 - 01:07] Intro [01:08 - 07:34] About Meralis and EforAll    [07:35 - 10:05] Lightbulb Moments    [10:06 - 13:17] Biggest Challenges: Information, Access to Capital, Network           [13:18 - 20:44] When EforAll Started/ Process to Get Involved  [20:45 - 22:40] Mentor Vetting Process   [22:41 - 24:55] BHAG  [25:00 - 29:25] Lightning Round  [29:26 - 33:24] Chris & Greg Takeaways [33:25 - 34:48] Outro   Resources: Website:              https://eforall.org/                 https://www.linkedin.com/in/meralis-t-hood-101001aa/   AGH Website:      https://www.aggiegrowthhacks.com/ Connect with Greg and Chris! Apple: http://bit.ly/AGH-Apple Spotify: http://bit.ly/AggieGH Stitcher: http://bit.ly/AGH-Stitch Podbean: http://bit.ly/AGH-PB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCZx9NMwnBXs5RWC3Rwqkpw

Summary En este episodio número 8 de Startup Junkies en Español, nos sumergimos en el vibrante mundo de la gastronomía mexicana con nuestro invitado Rodrigo Salas. Rodrigo comparte su fascinante viaje como emprendedor en el negocio de las salsas mexicanas y cómo su mudanza al noroeste de Arkansas marcó un punto de inflexión en su vida, abriendo nuevas oportunidades y desafíos. Además, como director ejecutivo de 'E for all', Rodrigo comparte su pasión por impulsar el crecimiento empresarial y el espíritu emprendedor en comunidades diversas. Únete a nosotros para una conversación inspiradora sobre resiliencia, innovación y el poder de seguir tus sueños, sin importar los obstáculos que puedan surgir.   Show Notes (00:05) Welcome & Introductions (00:30) About Rodrigo Salas (02:18) Focusing on Your Business (02:53) Mentorship (03:43) About EforAll (07:11) EforAll's Selection Process (11:05) Entrepreneurial Transition (13:41) The Advantages of a Non-Profit (18:50) Major Differences (21:51) Initial Advice (27:11) EforAll's Impact (32:23) Advice to Younger Self   Links Claudia Scott Ana Ortiz Andres Balderrama Rodrigo Salas Entrepreneurship for All (EforAll)   Quotes “Mi negocio lo empecé hace 8 años, casi 9, y es de salsas mexicanas para poder preparar platillos fáciles para comer o salsas picantes.” - Rodrigo Salas (01:13) “Nosotros nos sabíamos que esperar de NW Arkansas como siempre la ignorancia pues te da miedo, pero nos ha encantado vivir aquí.” - Rodrigo Salas (01:13) “Lo más difícil para mí con mi negocio es que todo está en Texas, nuestra distribución, nuestra producción… En lo primero que me enfoque fue asegurarme que lo que teníamos allá lo podíamos seguir haciendo.” - Rodrigo Salas (02:28) “Algo que me ha ayudado mucho a mi como emprendedor ha sido gente que han sido mis mentores y que me han ayudado en cosas que yo no tenía ni idea de lo que tenía que hacer.”  - Rodrigo Salas (02:53) “Desde que empecé mi negocio yo empecé a regresar ese favor y hacer mentoría con otras personas.” - Rodrigo Salas (03:09) “Mi idea fue hacer eso, algo que fuera realmente autentico y que realmente reflejara esos sabores.” - Rodrigo Salas (05:37) “Por tres años yo produje las salsas en una cocina industrial.” - Rodrigo Salas (06:15) “Mi proceso era bastante simple, como quería recrear esos sabores de México, los ingredientes tenían que reflejar eso.” - Rodrigo Salas (07:22) “Yo busque los proveedores de ingredientes… Les pedí certificaciones del origen, de los pesticidas que usaban… Y así fue como escogí los ingredientes.” - Rodrigo Salas (08:30) “Fue una transición difícil, no te voy a decir que no, por qué yo nunca había trabajado para una non-profit, nunca había hecho este tipo de trabajo, entonces para mí fue algo nuevo.” - Rodrigo Salas (11:17) “Para mí la principal ventaja de trabajar en una non-profit es que no importa que tan mal sea tu día, no importa que tanto trabajo tienes, la satisfacción del trabajo que estás haciendo y el apoyo que le estas dando a la gente, para mi es lo que me motiva todos los días.” - Rodrigo Salas (13:52) “Ese sentimiento de que pudiste ayudar a una persona, olvídate de diez, veinte, una que veas que le pudiste tener un impacto, agregarle ese valor para mi es invaluable.” - Rodrigo Salas (14:40) “Para mí lo más importante es realmente que no se dejen llevar por la pasión... Creo que es importante tener una pasión por lo que estás haciendo y por lo que quieres lograr, pero al mismo tiempo detenerte, pensar y ver si hay una verdadera oportunidad en ese mercado.” - Rodrigo Salas (22:01) “Llegamos obligados y nos quedamos por gusto.” - Rodrigo Salas (24:45) “Si no te gusta, salte rápido y prueba otra cosa.” - Rodrigo Salas (35:40)

In this episode of The Founder Spirit, we talk to Desh Deshpande, a serial entrepreneur and philanthropist. An Indian emigrant best known for founding Cascade Communications and Sycamore Networks and a pioneering figure in the early days of the Internet, Desh emphasizes the importance of building a winning startup culture and reflects on the challenges and lessons learned along the way.Recognizing the wealth gap created by entrepreneurship, he co-founded the Deshpande Foundation with his wife to promote entrepreneurship and make a sustainable, scalable social and economic impact in both North America and India. Desh highlights the importance of relevance and innovation in creating solutions and changing the culture of impoverished communities. He also offers advice for aspiring entrepreneurs and emphasizes the significance of finding one's passion.Just how did an immigrant who arrived with only $8 in his pocket achieve the ultimate American Dream, and then channel his riches into social entrepreneurship? TUNE IN to this thoughtful conversation with Desh Deshpande! & make sure to read his book "On Entrepreneurship and Impact" (available for free on his website), a practical guide for founders at all stages.For detailed transcript and show notes, please visit TheFounderSpirit.com. Also follow us on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-founder-spirit-podcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefounderspirit_podcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheFounderSpiritPodcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheFounderSpiritTwitter: https://twitter.com/founder_spiritIf this podcast has been beneficial or valuable to you, feel free to become a patron and support us on Patreon.com, that is P-A-T-R-E-O-N.com/TheFounderSpirit.As always, you can find us on Apple, Google, Amazon and Spotify, as well as social media and our website at TheFounderSpirit.com.About This Podcast:Whether you are an entrepreneur, a mid-career professional or someone who's just starting out in life, The Founder Spirit podcast is for you!In this podcast series, we'll be interviewing exceptional individuals from all over the world with the founder spirit, ranging from social entrepreneurs, tech founders, to philanthropists, elite athletes, and more. Together, we'll uncover not only how they manage to succeed in face of multiple challenges, but also who they are as people and their human story.So TUNE IN & be inspired by stories from their life journey!

Time is money. Don't let perfect be the enemy of the good. These and other cliches, while true, all point to the 80/20 rule. My guest today coaches his clients on bringing 80/20 into their practices and shares some ideas in this episode. Bill Flynn is Principal at Catalyst Growth Advisors where he coaches leaders to get to the next level, and he coaches business owners on making growth more predictable. As a coach, in addition to being connected with MG 100, Women's Business Collaborative, MassMEP, Small Giants, and EforAll, Bill has earned certifications from ScalingUp, Gravitas Impact, Metronome United, Predictive Index, Stakeholder Centered Coaching, and The Neuroleadership Institute.  He has worked for and advised hundreds of companies, including startups, where he has a long track record of success spanning multiple industries.  Bill is the author of the best seller,  Further, Faster - The Vital Few Steps that Take the Guesswork out of Growth. Away from work, he is an avid reader, amateur musician, athlete, and enjoys volunteering locally. When he is not cheering on his collegiate-champion, musically-gifted daughter, Bill lives and works in greater Boston.  In this episode Carl White and Bill Flynn discuss:Where practice owners are most resistant to implementing 80/20 and whyCharacteristics a practice owner needs to have to be successful with 80/20A part of the practice that's a good place to start Want to be a guest on PracticeCare?Have an experience with a business issue you think others will benefit from? Come on PracticeCare and tell the world! Here's the link where you can get the process started. Affiliate PromotionWe're fans of Constant Contact for email campaigns, newsletters, and emails. We use it with our clients. What we like: Very easy to useVery flexibleEasy to find supportHIPAA compliant Get 30% off for the 1st 3 months if you sign up using our partner link. We do receive a commission when you use our link. Constant Contact offers additional prepayment discounts you can choose: 10% off per month for your first 6 months, or 15% off for the year. If you prepay, your discount stacks on top of the 30% discount for the 1st 3 months. Connect with Bill Flynn:www.catalystgrowthadvisors.comhttp://linkedin.com/in/billflynnpublic Connect with Carl WhiteWebsite: http://www.marketvisorygroup.comEmail:  whitec@marketvisorygroup.comFacebook:  https://www.facebook.com/marketvisorygroupYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD9BLCu_i2ezBj1ktUHVmigLinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/healthcaremktg 

Investories has been re-tooling to bring incredible guests and great content. Our mission is to add value and it starts now.  We need a favor. Can you share the show with one person who might find it valuable? And also write a five star review wherever you get your podcasts? There's a special prize for one listeners who does so.  Bill has worked for and advised hundreds of companies, including startups, where he has a long track record of success spanning multiple industries. Bill has been a VP of Sales eight times, twice a CMO and once a GM of a division of a $100MM IT services company before he pivoted to becoming a business growth coach in 2016. Prior to, he had five successful outcomes, two IPOs, and seven acquisitions, including a turnaround during the 2008 financial crisis. As a coach, in addition to being connected with MG 100, Women's Business Collaborative, MassMEP, Small Giants, and EforAll, Bill has earned certifications from ScalingUp, Gravitas Impact, Metronome United, Predictive Index, and The Neuroleadership Institute. Bill was also nominated for the 2021 Thinkers50 Radar Award.   Bill's experience:   Over 30 years, worked for/advised hundreds of companies including 20+ startups (10 operationally; 5 successful outcomes) 8-time startup VP, WW Sales – UK, Singapore 2-time CMO GM – Division of $120MM IT services company 2 IPOs and 7 acquisitions Coaching Experience 10+ years as a business advisor/coach MG100 Coach Board of Advisors – Women's Business Collaborative Certified 3HAG Growth coach Expertise in ScalingUp, EOS, 3×5 Coach, 5 Dysfunctions, and Neuroleadership methodologies Predictive Index Certified Partner International Speaker Certificate – Foundations of NeuroLeadership Mass Challenge Mentor Volunteer – Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Author – Further, Faster – 5-star rating Bill Flynn:  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billflynnpublic Medium: https://medium.com/authority-magazine/bill-flynn-of-catalyst-growth-advisors-how-to-take-your-company-from-good-to-great-fe3df2fdc61f  Website: https://catalystgrowthadvisors.com/ Investories: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investoriespodcast7744 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/investoriespod/ Email: investoriespodcast@gmail.com Kyle: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourmultifamilymentor Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/your_multifamily_mentor/?hl=en John:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hoopeezy/?hl=en Airbnb: https://airbnb.com/h/ponderosapinehaus  

Investories has been re-tooling to bring incredible guests and great content. Our mission is to add value and it starts now.  We need a favor. Can you share the show with one person who might find it valuable? And also write a five star review wherever you get your podcasts? There's a special prize for one listeners who does so.  Bill has worked for and advised hundreds of companies, including startups, where he has a long track record of success spanning multiple industries. Bill has been a VP of Sales eight times, twice a CMO and once a GM of a division of a $100MM IT services company before he pivoted to becoming a business growth coach in 2016. Prior to, he had five successful outcomes, two IPOs, and seven acquisitions, including a turnaround during the 2008 financial crisis. As a coach, in addition to being connected with MG 100, Women's Business Collaborative, MassMEP, Small Giants, and EforAll, Bill has earned certifications from ScalingUp, Gravitas Impact, Metronome United, Predictive Index, and The Neuroleadership Institute. Bill was also nominated for the 2021 Thinkers50 Radar Award.   Bill's experience:   Over 30 years, worked for/advised hundreds of companies including 20+ startups (10 operationally; 5 successful outcomes) 8-time startup VP, WW Sales – UK, Singapore 2-time CMO GM – Division of $120MM IT services company 2 IPOs and 7 acquisitions Coaching Experience 10+ years as a business advisor/coach MG100 Coach Board of Advisors – Women's Business Collaborative Certified 3HAG Growth coach Expertise in ScalingUp, EOS, 3×5 Coach, 5 Dysfunctions, and Neuroleadership methodologies Predictive Index Certified Partner International Speaker Certificate – Foundations of NeuroLeadership Mass Challenge Mentor Volunteer – Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Author – Further, Faster – 5-star rating Bill Flynn:  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billflynnpublic Medium: https://medium.com/authority-magazine/bill-flynn-of-catalyst-growth-advisors-how-to-take-your-company-from-good-to-great-fe3df2fdc61f  Website: https://catalystgrowthadvisors.com/ Investories: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investoriespodcast7744 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/investoriespod/ Email: investoriespodcast@gmail.com Kyle: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourmultifamilymentor Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/your_multifamily_mentor/?hl=en John:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hoopeezy/?hl=en Airbnb: https://airbnb.com/h/ponderosapinehaus  

Investories has been re-tooling to bring incredible guests and great content. Our mission is to add value and it starts now.  We need a favor. Can you share the show with one person who might find it valuable? And also write a five star review wherever you get your podcasts? There's a special prize for one listeners who does so.  Bill has worked for and advised hundreds of companies, including startups, where he has a long track record of success spanning multiple industries. Bill has been a VP of Sales eight times, twice a CMO and once a GM of a division of a $100MM IT services company before he pivoted to becoming a business growth coach in 2016. Prior to, he had five successful outcomes, two IPOs, and seven acquisitions, including a turnaround during the 2008 financial crisis. As a coach, in addition to being connected with MG 100, Women's Business Collaborative, MassMEP, Small Giants, and EforAll, Bill has earned certifications from ScalingUp, Gravitas Impact, Metronome United, Predictive Index, and The Neuroleadership Institute. Bill was also nominated for the 2021 Thinkers50 Radar Award.   Bill's experience:   Over 30 years, worked for/advised hundreds of companies including 20+ startups (10 operationally; 5 successful outcomes) 8-time startup VP, WW Sales – UK, Singapore 2-time CMO GM – Division of $120MM IT services company 2 IPOs and 7 acquisitions Coaching Experience 10+ years as a business advisor/coach MG100 Coach Board of Advisors – Women's Business Collaborative Certified 3HAG Growth coach Expertise in ScalingUp, EOS, 3×5 Coach, 5 Dysfunctions, and Neuroleadership methodologies Predictive Index Certified Partner International Speaker Certificate – Foundations of NeuroLeadership Mass Challenge Mentor Volunteer – Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Author – Further, Faster – 5-star rating Bill Flynn:  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billflynnpublic Medium: https://medium.com/authority-magazine/bill-flynn-of-catalyst-growth-advisors-how-to-take-your-company-from-good-to-great-fe3df2fdc61f  Website: https://catalystgrowthadvisors.com/ Investories: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investoriespodcast7744 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/investoriespod/ Email: investoriespodcast@gmail.com Kyle: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourmultifamilymentor Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/your_multifamily_mentor/?hl=en John:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hoopeezy/?hl=en Airbnb: https://airbnb.com/h/ponderosapinehaus  

Investories has been re-tooling to bring incredible guests and great content. Our mission is to add value and it starts now.  We need a favor. Can you share the show with one person who might find it valuable? And also write a five star review wherever you get your podcasts? There's a special prize for one listeners who does so.  Bill has worked for and advised hundreds of companies, including startups, where he has a long track record of success spanning multiple industries. Bill has been a VP of Sales eight times, twice a CMO and once a GM of a division of a $100MM IT services company before he pivoted to becoming a business growth coach in 2016. Prior to, he had five successful outcomes, two IPOs, and seven acquisitions, including a turnaround during the 2008 financial crisis. As a coach, in addition to being connected with MG 100, Women's Business Collaborative, MassMEP, Small Giants, and EforAll, Bill has earned certifications from ScalingUp, Gravitas Impact, Metronome United, Predictive Index, and The Neuroleadership Institute. Bill was also nominated for the 2021 Thinkers50 Radar Award.   Bill's experience:   Over 30 years, worked for/advised hundreds of companies including 20+ startups (10 operationally; 5 successful outcomes) 8-time startup VP, WW Sales – UK, Singapore 2-time CMO GM – Division of $120MM IT services company 2 IPOs and 7 acquisitions Coaching Experience 10+ years as a business advisor/coach MG100 Coach Board of Advisors – Women's Business Collaborative Certified 3HAG Growth coach Expertise in ScalingUp, EOS, 3×5 Coach, 5 Dysfunctions, and Neuroleadership methodologies Predictive Index Certified Partner International Speaker Certificate – Foundations of NeuroLeadership Mass Challenge Mentor Volunteer – Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Author – Further, Faster – 5-star rating Bill Flynn:  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billflynnpublic Medium: https://medium.com/authority-magazine/bill-flynn-of-catalyst-growth-advisors-how-to-take-your-company-from-good-to-great-fe3df2fdc61f  Website: https://catalystgrowthadvisors.com/ Investories: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investoriespodcast7744 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/investoriespod/ Email: investoriespodcast@gmail.com Kyle: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourmultifamilymentor Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/your_multifamily_mentor/?hl=en John:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hoopeezy/?hl=en Airbnb: https://airbnb.com/h/ponderosapinehaus  

The impact of inequity in access to capital is a perpetuation of socioeconomic disparities, hindering the growth and success of marginalized individuals and communities. This systemic imbalance further widens the wealth gap, limiting opportunities for upward mobility and stifling overall economic progress. In today's episode, we engage in a thought-provoking conversation with Meralis Hood, the CEO of Entrepreneurship for All (EforAll), a non-profit organization with a mission to accelerate economic and social impact through inclusive entrepreneurship. Our exploration centers around how reshaping the execution of business investment can empower small businesses, creating a positive impact on communities. Topics include: Why an accelerator program is at the core of EforAll's efforts.  Why coachability and a dynamic mindset is so important for entrepreneurial success. Why EforAll's theory of change leads them to focus on small businesses. Why the EforAll's success metrics are so much better than the US average

It was the power of journaling, allowing a very young Elizabeth Heller to write about the "big feelings," that she says saved her own life. As a victim of trauma and abuse at the age of four, she found that the journaling allowed her to step outside and look at her emotions and find a level of peace - and it's a bit of magic that she is dedicating herself to sharing with the world. This is the case, particularly for kids, as she has developed the concept into a journal that offers a fun and guided path for children to begin their own journey of mindfulness. Elizabeth's own journey has brought to her to the Berkshires after decades in Boston. Like many others, the pandemic led to a pretty dramatic shift in her life, and has now become an active member of the community, hosting workshops in schools and more. Also in this episode we cover: the power of mindfulness, meditation, her young days as a ballerina, her 4 a.m. moment that led to a book proposal, starting her own business, EforAll, the rewards and challenges of being an entrepreneur, breathing, absorbing joy, the stress for kids in schools with high stakes testing and less and less recess time, gratitude, the Kids Super Journal Podcast, journaling in the morning and enjoying your personal time in the early hours. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Elizabeth Heller. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/john-krol/support

Margie Breault is a woman on a mission, a mother of three with her hands full and her heart even fuller. She is deeply committed to giving back to her community, with a strong passion for entrepreneurship, DEI&B, LGBTQ+, and women's rights. Margie actively volunteers and serves on the Fund Development Committee for Girls on the Run, Worcester County. She also holds a position on the board of the Central Massachusetts Conference for Women and dedicates her time as a mentor for entrepreneurs in EforAll programs. With a diverse background in various practices such as energy medicine, flow coaching, and crystal healing, Margie is a lifelong student, learning from respected instructors like Lisa Ishwari Murphy and receiving guidance from root teachers at Power and Grace Yoga, SvaHa Yoga, and Synergy of Sound Academy. Additionally, she has had the privilege of being mentored by Nicole Peppin from Light of One Hundred Thousand Suns. Margie is currently undergoing training to teach classes, adding to her extensive knowledge. She holds a bachelor's degree in human services with a minor in philosophy from Fitchburg State University, leadership training through WRCC, and certification in entrepreneurship and business life coaching from the CPD-accredited Transformational Academy. With over six years of experience working with businesses and teams, Margie possesses a deep understanding of both microcosmic and macrocosmic business systems. Rooted in mentorship and a spirit of exploration, Margie is dedicated to leadership through service, ensuring she meets her clients where they are. She utilizes her wisdom and practices to assist others in their growth through her business endeavors and as a cohost on the radio show "Now I Thrive with Armida and Margie" on Unity Radio. Margie strives to embody and exemplify her values in every space she occupies. Episode Highlights: Working in energy medicine. (1:23) The power of unification and harmony. (6:06) Shifting your awareness. (11:32) You can take it or leave it. (15:07) Natural law is like bonpo pre-religion. (20:38) Natural Law of vibration. (22:12) How to recenter yourself. (27:59) Connecting with the planet. (32:33) Resiliency is the recipe for continuous success. (37:04) "Self-care is crucial for effectively caring for others. If your cup is empty, you won't be able to show up and support others in the way you intend. Prioritize filling your cup first and ensure it's overflowing with energy and abundance." Resources: Facebook

How can we move from imposter syndrome to being fearless as a CEO?   For this Women of Color Rise episode, Analiza talks with Meralis Hood, CEO of EforAll, a nonprofit whose mission is to accelerate economic and social impact through inclusive entrepreneurship. Before EforAll, Meralis was the market president for City Year. Meralis was born and raised in Milwaukee after her mother was recruited from Puerto Rico to serve as a bilingual educator in the city. She holds a bachelor's degree from Marquette University, a master's degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and an Education Specialist degree in educational leadership and administration from National Louis University.   Meralis shares how her darkest moments struggling with mental health, self-harm, and losing her home were pivotal to how she shows up today as a CEO and mom. Meralis shares her path to being fearless: Know that these dark moments are a gift. As bad as they were, she survived and will survive anything else that comes her way. So whatever is in her path today, go for it. As a CEO for EforAll, she is leading her team to go from serving 500 entrepreneurs to 50,000. Instead of fearing this goal, Meralis is inspiring her team to be fearless. She shares with them, “What's the worst that can happen?” Invest in therapy, mindfulness, and meditation. These weekly and daily practices have helped Meralis notice her thoughts and to release those that don't serve her, such as not believing in herself. Meralis and her husband also invest in weekly therapy for their daughter. Unlearn myths taught to her by her mom such as needing to be perfect. Struggling with perfectionism led Meralis to not be vulnerable, which prevented her from connecting with others and developing relationships. Now, Meralis has learned to share and to do so with boundaries (knowing who to share with, when, and how much). This has helped Meralis to connect with people at work and in her life, ask for help, and build a strong community. Believe that she belongs. If she truly believes in social justice and belonging, she needs to model what it means to feel included. As a CEO, she has learned to overcome imposter syndrome, own her strengths, and believe that she deserves to be here.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://analizawolf.com/episode-51-be-fearless-with-meralis-hood  

Summary: Welcome to another great episode of Startup Junkies! On this episode, hosts Caleb Talley, Jeff Amerine, and Victoria Dickerson sit down with Rodrigo Salas, executive director of Entrepreneurship for All Northwest Arkansas, also known as EforAll. EforAll is a nonprofit entrepreneurial support organization that partners with communities to help under-represented NWA residents successfully start and grow businesses. It works to ensure all individuals are presented with the same opportunities, especially through its Spanish program, EparaTodos. Throughout the show, Rodrigo discusses his entrepreneurship background, his passion for NWA's entrepreneurial ecosystem, and how EforAll provides value to Hispanic entrepreneurs in the form of mentorships and programs.   Show Notes: (1:01) Introduction to Rodrigo (1:41) Rodrigo's Origin Story (8:26) About EforAll (13:03) The Importance of Bilingual Resources (18:33) Filling Bilingual Service Gaps (21:35) Building Bridges within the Community (24:54) About Chamoy (31:39) What's on the Horizon for NWA (37:18) Advice to Younger Self (38:43) Closing Questions   Links: Caleb Talley Jeff Amerine Victoria Dickerson Rodrigo Salas EforAll   Quotes: “It's between an incubator and an accelerator because what we do is get deep into business understanding because a lot of the people that come through our program are struggling with that part, like knowing how to structure the business or determine who is their customer segment.” - Rodrigo Salas, (10:36) “We all know that networks make a big difference for success…Every touchpoint they have with anybody from the community helps them expand their network. So that's the objective of the program as well.” - Rodrigo Salas, (17:10) “We're experiencing this tremendous growth from a population perspective, from an economic perspective, and from an entrepreneurial perspective…So looking at the size of the ecosystem that has been built here in Northwest Arkansas, it's amazing.” - Rodrigo Salas, (31:42)  

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SummaryOn this episode of The Bentonville Beacon, host James Bell is joined by Rodrigo Salas, Executive Director at Entrepreneurship for All Northwest Arkansas. EforAll is a non-profit organization that works to accelerate economic and social impact in NWA through inclusive entrepreneurship. With over twenty years of experience, Rodrigo is also the founder of Kualli Foods, a business that sells Hispanic cooking sauces and marinades, and a passionate community advocate who serves on multiple local boards and committees. Throughout the episode, James and Rodrigo discuss EforAll's mission and who can benefit from it, how the community can contribute to EforAll and why it's advantageous for EforAll to have a Northwest Arkansas location. Thanks for tuning in!Show Notes:(0:55) Introduction to Rodrigo(5:36) About EforAll(8:14) Why Rodrigo Joined EforAll(10:16) Businesses EforAll Has Served(19:32) How EforAll Works(31:22) How the Community Can Get Involved(36:24) Why Rodrigo Moved to Bentonville(41:43) Advice for Business Leaders(48:49) Businesses That Can Benefit from EforAll(50:40) The Development of Bentonville(52:22) Bentonville Favorites(58:25) #Bentonville Story(1:00:13) Closing Questions‍LinksJames BellBentonville Economic Development Rodrigo SalasEntrepreneurship for All (EforAll) Northwest ArkansasMolli SaucesAna OrtizWalton Family FoundationUniversity of ArkansasNorthwest Arkansas Community CollegeGreater Bentonville Area Chamber of CommerceSweet Freedom CheeseYeyo's El Alma de MexicoCrepes Paulette Oven & TapTusk & TrotterScotch & SodaThe Preacher's SonBentonville DiveTower Bar | The MomentaryColer Mountain Bike PreserveAirship Coffee at ColerThe Rise @ Coler Mountain Bike PreserveBeaver LakeCrystal Bridges Museum of American ArtDowntown Bentonville SquareMuseum of Native American HistoryQuotes“I think one of the major things the Walton Family Foundation, and all the major players in Northwest Arkansas, wants is to create an environment where everybody has an opportunity and a place to be because they belong in the community.” - Rodrigo Salas, (6:56)   “...all of them have been an inspiration to me. It's incredible the amount of energy, dedication and passion they have for their business and what they want to build. No one has disappointed us in any way. On the contrary, I think they've exceeded our expectations by far.” - Rodrigo Salas, (11:04)“One of the key elements of our program that's not a cookie cutter kind of thing is that it's customized to each one's experience. That's what we make sure each of our entrepreneurs and mentors understand.” - Rodrigo Salas, (21:40)“The new generations are thinking more about quality of life rather than building a career in a big corporation. They want to have a little bit of both. And [Northwest Arkansas] is the perfect place for that because you have all these outdoor activities and things you can do.” - Rodrigo Salas, (45:30)

We're joined this episode by Miguelina Peralta.  She is Executive Director for EforAll Greater Worcester.  For a decade EforAll has been growing its program dedicated to providing the opportunity, relationships and resources that underserved citizens need to sustain successful businesses of their own.  EforAll provides long-term mentorship and connections often missing in our underprivileged neighborhoods.  We launched with the question, ‘Is economic renewal in Worcester a win if it doesn't include all of its citizens?' Worcester is the second largest city in the Northeast and is located in the center of Massachusetts.  Like many cities in the United States it is experiencing a resurgence through a local economy based on 21st century industries.  Its people are experiencing both the positive and negative effects of that growth.  A rapidly restrictive housing market.  Outside investment competing alongside citizens for local commercial opportunity.  The negative effects of gentrification at the expense of current community members.    EforAll works to reverse such effects by providing for its participants.  Since it began in Lowell, MA the program has grown throughout the Commonwealth and now boasts locations in Buffalo, Colorado, Arkansas and Rhode Island.  It provides programming in both English and Spanish.   Find out how you can become a mentor, a candidate or general inquiries by clicking here.   Full disclosure: host Scott M. Graves has participated in the summer 2022 cohort and can attest to the value EforAll provides.

Margie Breault is Business Development Manager for the Executive Office of Economic Development, City of Worcester, MA.   Her work is focused on the small business sector, in providing resources and programming intended to mentor and sustain small businesses.   Margie is rooted in mentorship.  She is dedicated to work that broadens the opportunities for our economically disadvantaged neighbors, neighbors of color, the LGBTQ community and others.   According to Margie part of Worcester's on-going climb up the economic ladder of New England communities has been its response to small business needs, informed by a robust and consistent effort to engage the public in steering their work.   Our discussion will be of interest to those working in the field and for those interested in small business development. You will find our discussion particularly interesting if you are a dedicated fan of the city, current or former resident.  We Love You, Woo-town!

On this episode, Ami Kassar interviews Bill Flynn, CEO of Catalyst Growth Advisors, on how to take the guesswork out of growth. Bill has accomplished much, failed often, and learned many useful lessons from thirty years of studying the science of success. He is best described as a pragmatic Simon Sinek; an optimist and an operator. Bill embodies his core purpose - simplified servanthood - by spending each working moment to help create a compassionately productive society by enabling enlightened leaders to focus on the few things that truly matter to their teams and key stakeholders. He has worked for and advised hundreds of companies, including startups, where he has a long track record of success spanning multiple industries. Bill has been a VP of Sales eight times, twice a CMO, and once a GM of a division of a $100MM IT services company before he pivoted to becoming a business growth coach in 2015. Prior to that, he had five successful outcomes, two IPOs, and seven acquisitions, including a turnaround during the 2008 financial crisis. As a coach, in addition to being connected with MG 100, Women's Business Collaborative, MassMEP, Small Giants, and EforAll, Bill has earned certifications from ScalingUp, Gravitas Impact, Metronome United, Predictive Index, and The Neuroleadership Institute. Recorded 10/07/2022.

Lowell-based Entrepreneurship for All, which is opening a Haverhill office, has already helped launch Haverhill startups.As only WHAV reported last week, the group plans to celebrate Thursday its receipt of a $242,779 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration for its Haverhill satellite. State Rep. Andy X. Vargas, a former employee of EforAll, told WHAV he had a front row seat to observe the group's successes.“I was fortunate enough out of college to have worked for them, for some time, as their marketing and communications lead, and saw all the amazing work that they did in getting entrepreneurs off the ground. There are several in Haverhill, actually, who have gone through the program already because they've gone to Lowell, or they've gone to Lawrence, where they have their offices and their programs,” he said.Vargas, appearing on WHAV's morning show last week, noted some Haverhill businesses launched with the help of EforAll.“When you think of, for example, Triana's Real Mexican Food, she's an EforAll entrepreneur that came through the accelerator program, got mentorship, got some grant funding and she was able to launch and scale her business and now she's got a storefront, she's got employees, she got her liquor license and things are going well for her business. When you think of another Haverhill entrepreneur, Goodie Krunch, for example, HamdAllah, which you guys are highlighting in your story, she also came through EforAll,” Vargas said.For entrepreneurs to be accepted, each must apply to get it, “pitch” their product and take part in the six-month accelerator program.“The accelerator is a program that, basically think of it as a condensed MBA. Students, entrepreneurs will learn everything from accounting basics to marketing to who's your customer and really drilling down into understanding what's your unique value proposition is for your product. So, it's really a condensed mini-MBA that gets entrepreneurs ready to hit the ground running,” he explained.   EforAll begins operating this fall at Coco Brown's incubator space at 293 Washington St., in Haverhill. Vargas and Congresswoman Lori Trahan will be on hand Thursday to celebrate the federal grant. The award will be supplemented with contributions from Pentucket Bank, Haverhill Bank, Haverhill Community Development Block Grant program and Essex County Community Foundation. The Haverhill operation is expected to generate 35 jobs and generate $1.1 million in private investment.Support the show

The entrepreneurial spirit often comes up in a “Buffalo, What's Next?” conversation. This episode leans in even more as Jay Moran examines challenges and opportunities for small business owners with Marlon Kerner, community leader and former Buffalo Bill. Kerner serves as the Community Director of Entrepreneurs Forever, an organization focused on harnessing the power of networking to build small business capacity. Joining them is Sonya Tareke, Program Manager of EforAll, Buffalo chapter, which aims to empower local entrepreneurs to grow their business through engagement with the community.

You have a great idea, and everyone you talk to thinks so, too- does this sound like you? How often have you talked yourself out of doing something because you thought it wasn't possible? Do you see a unique problem on Cape Cod that needs a solution and want to spearhead the initiative? If you said Yes to any or all of these questions, meet Kai. She is the program manager of EforAll Cape Cod, and they are about to start another session of the business accelerator program here on Cape. The program runs twice a year and lasts for a year and what you gain is not only insight and knowledge but a community of entrepreneurs with endless ideas and support. Listen to Stephanie and Kai talk about what EforAll has for you; oh, and one more thing- it's all free! Not only is it free- you can win money for your business. Learn more here #eforall #capecod #businessaccelerator #lemonadio #entrepreneur #makersmakingadifference --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stephanie7502/support

As we are celebrating female entrepreneurs for the month of May, I was so excited to sit down with Miguelina Peralta who is the executive director of EforAll for the greater Worcester area. Miguelina shares her wealth of knowledge about being a business leader, and she also shared valuable resources for entrepreneurs and how they can get involved with the free resource that is EforALL. She also put out a call for action to leaders in their industry. EforAll is seeking mentors who are willing to share their knowledge and expertise with new entrepreneurs! It is an amazing opportunity for everyone involved. To learn more about how you can either utilize their resources or become a mentor, please visit their website at eforall.org. You can also contact Miguelina at miguelina.peralta@eforall.org Support the show

Annie and Eric are without Brady (he's the funny one) this week so they resort to talking about lots of stuff -Rick Steves, travel, honey and gardening.  Thank goodness they are joined by Ethel Lazarte Gonzales who discusses her company, Peruvian Immersion.  Ethel tells us about how her father's values played an integral role in showing others her passion for Peru and its culture.  This Spanish immersion program not only helps those learn the language but is a bridge to understanding, compassion, and culture sharing. Peruvian Immersion received a top prize from EforAll at a recent pitch contest.MentionsPeruvian ImmersionUrban Field - Opening May 4thColorado Mountain Kava BarRosario's Peruvian RestaurantEntrepreneurship for AllRick StevesThanks to Andy Eppler for "Nothing but the Rain" as our IntroSend Off MusicThanks to David Cutter Music for "Float Away"

In this episode of the Road to Growth podcast, we are pleased to introduce you to Bill Flynn. Bill has collaborated with Alan Mulally, pitched Steve Jobs, accomplished much, failed often, and learned many useful lessons from thirty years of studying the science of success. He is best described as a pragmatic Simon Sinek; an optimist and an operator. Bill embodies his core purpose - simplified servanthood - by spending each working moment to help create a compassionately productive society by enabling enlightened leaders to focus on the few things that truly matter to their teams and key stakeholders. For having a great business is one way of making a better world. He has worked for and advised hundreds of companies, including startups, where he has a long track record of success spanning multiple industries.  Bill has been a VP of Sales eight times, twice a CMO and once a GM of a division of a $100MM IT services company before he pivoted to becoming a business growth coach in 2015. Prior to, he had five successful outcomes, two IPOs, and seven acquisitions, including a turnaround during the 2008 financial crisis. As a coach, in addition to being connected with MG 100, Women's Business Collaborative, MassMEP, Small Giants, and EforAll, Bill has earned certifications from ScalingUp, Gravitas Impact, Metronome United, Predictive Index, and The Neuroleadership Institute. Bill was also nominated for the 202 Thinkers50 Radar Award. Bill's best-selling book - Further, Faster - The Vital Few Steps that Take the Guesswork out of Growth continues to garner a nearly 5-Star rating generating demand for virtual and in-person national and international speaking opportunities. Away from his coaching, Bill is a father, learner, cultivator, entrepreneur, speaker, writer, athlete, brother, etiologist, iconoclast, Stoic, builder, giver, & musician ;and friend. When he is not cheering on his collegiate-champion, musically-gifted daughter, Bill lives and works in greater Boston.   Learn more and connect with Bill Flynn by visiting him on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billflynnpublic/ Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/bill.flynn.9022 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billflynn01776/ Website: https://catalystgrowthadvisors.com/     Be sure to follow us on Twitter: Twitter.com/to_growth on Facebook: facebook.com/Road2Growth   Subscribe to our podcast across the web: https://www.theenriquezgroup.com/blog Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2Cdmacc iTunes: https://apple.co/2F4zAcn Castbox: http://bit.ly/2F4NfQq Google Play: http://bit.ly/2TxUYQ2 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKnzMRkl-PurAb32mCLCMeA?view_as=subscriber   If you are looking to be a Guest on Podcasts please click below  https://kitcaster.com/rtg/  For any San Diego Real Estate Questions Please Follow Us at web: www.TheEnriquezGroup.com Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKnzMRkl-PurAb32mCLCMeA or Call : 858 -345 - 7829 Recently reduced properties in San Diego County * Click **** bit.ly/3cbT65C **** Here* ****************************************************************************

On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Bill Flynn, CEO, and Chief Catalyst at Catalyst Growth Advisors. Started in 2016, Catalyst Growth Advisors is based in Boston, MA, and serves leaders worldwide by predicting the future through deliberately creating it, leveraging, and teaching a growth framework largely influenced by the greatest thought leaders in management science - Drucker, Deming, Schein, Benis, Moesta, Edmondson, among many others. Bill has collaborated with Alan Mulally, pitched Steve Jobs, accomplished much, failed often, and learned many useful lessons from thirty years of studying the science of success. He is best described as a pragmatic Simon Sinek; an optimist and an operator. Bill embodies his core purpose - simplified servanthood - by spending each working moment to help create a compassionately productive society by enabling enlightened leaders to focus on the few things that truly matter to their teams and key stakeholders. For having a great business is one way of making a better world. He has worked for and advised hundreds of companies, including startups, where he has a long track record of success spanning multiple industries. Bill has been a VP of Sales eight times, twice a CMO, and once a GM of a division of a $100MM IT services company before he pivoted to becoming a business growth coach in 2015. Prior to that, he had five successful outcomes, two IPOs, and seven acquisitions, including a turnaround during the 2008 financial crisis. As a coach, in addition to being connected with MG 100, Women's Business Collaborative, MassMEP, Small Giants, and EforAll, Bill has earned certifications from ScalingUp, Gravitas Impact, Metronome United, Predictive Index, and The Neuroleadership Institute. Bill was also nominated for the 2021 Thinkers50 Radar Award. Bill's best-selling book, “Further, Faster - The Vital Few Steps that Take the Guesswork out of Growth”, continues to garner a nearly 5-star rating generating demand for virtual and in-person national and international speaking opportunities. Away from his coaching, Bill is a father, learner, cultivator, entrepreneur, speaker, writer, athlete, brother, etiologist, iconoclast, Stoic, upstream thinker, builder, giver, "musician", and friend. When he is not cheering on his collegiate-champion, musically-gifted daughter, Bill lives and works in greater Boston.Bill discusses why companies survive or flourish and why leaders fire themselves from the day-to-day running of their businesses. He speaks about a chapter in his book, “Create a Culture of Psychological Safety”, and which leader has inspired him the most in his journey. You can visit Catalyst Growth Advisors at . Bill can be contacted at , on LinkedIn at , and on Twitter at .   ____________________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at:    Check out our other podcasts here:   For Investors check out:   For Startups check out:   For eGuides check out:   For upcoming Events, check out    For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group    Please , share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of .

Saraphina &Stephanie talk about meeting through EforAll and a new female driven summit coming to the Cape The first Cape Cod Women's Summit! It's not business as usual at this all-day event. This is the Cape Cod Women's Business Summit. We're bringing local and national experts to every session. Nine of them. Our champions will help you kick-start your start-up, put muscle into your side hustle, scale up your business or nonprofit or turn it 180-degrees around. They'll give you power skills. Power moves. Powerful results. They'll help you boost your brand, get fluent in financials, and put some geek in your speak. You'll learn how to break the ice, shatter glass ceilings and get a seat at the table. Any table you want. This is the place to be courageous. This is the place to up your game. At the Summit. Register: www.ccwbsummit.com #womeninbusiness #capecod #lemonadio #listenhappier #capecodwomenssummit #capecodentrepreneur #imagesbysaraphina #capecodwomensbusinesssummit #eforall #support #womenshistorymonth #powermoves #powerfulwomen --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stephanie7502/support

Annie, Brady and Eric discuss Pura Vida Moms with Christa Jimenez.  Pura Vida Moms is the recipient of recent EforAll award.  Christa tells the trio about Costa Rica travel, recipes and ingredients.   In other notes, Brady regales in linear bicycle and pedestrian routes and frozen midwestern beef.   The trio finishes out the pod discussing names of Longmont and an article that mentions Longmont as a suburb of Boulder.  What the H#$L?! Mentions includePuraVidaMomsLongmont Wing Chun AcademyEforAllUrban Field Pizza and MarketSwaylos TikiThanks to Andy Eppler for "Nothing but the Rain" as our IntroSend Off MusicThanks to David Cutter Music for "Float Away"

About this Episode:  We sat down with Rodrigo Salas and Ana Ortiz from https://eforall.org/ar/northwest-arkansas/ (Entrepreneurship For All NWA) - https://eforall.org/ (EForAll) - to talk about their new program launched recently here in Northwest Arkansas. Founded in Massachusetts, an Entrepreneur started EForAll to serve the underserved regarding business startup advice, guidance, and encouragement.   The program focuses on mentoring and developing the startup entrepreneur. EForAll will introduce you to mentors, and they will take you through Cohort training, where you will learn alongside other entrepreneurs that are just getting started. In addition, EForAll offers a pitch competition where you can develop your presentation skills and learn the best way to share your story with the world in a compelling manner.    All this and more on this episode of I am Northwest Arkansas. Important Links and Mentions on the Show*: Rodrigo Salas Email Ana Ortiz Email https://www.linkedin.com/company/entrepreneurship-for-all (EForAll on LinkedIn) https://eforall.org/ar/northwest-arkansas/ (EForAll NWA Website) https://www.instagram.com/eforallnorthwestar/ (EForAll on Instagram)   This episode is sponsored by*: https://www.signature.bank/ (Signature Bank of Arkansas) -   https://www.signature.bank/ (Signature Bank) was founded here in Northwest Arkansas in 2005. Their focus is personal and community banking. When you bank with a community bank, you're investing in local businesses, local entrepreneurs, local charities, and the causes close to home. Signature Bank has worked hard to earn its tagline, “Community Banking at its Best.” You may ask why bank at Signature?  Because they focus on the customer instead of having a branch on every corner, this means you can have your questions answered by a real person, whether you're reaching out to the call center or your banker's cell phone. You can access any ATM in the country without fear of a fee.  They will refund all of those fees at the end of every month. Finally, they are constantly improving their digital offerings to ensure you can access the best financial tools from your laptop, phone, or tablet 24 hours a day. Signature Bank of Arkansas is a full-service bank offering traditional checking and savings accounts, investment accounts, business and personal loans, and mortgages. Give the folks at Signature Bank a call (479-684-3700) or visit their websitehttps://www.signature.bank/ ( Signature.Bank) and let them know you heard about them on the I am Northwest Arkansas Podcast.  https://www.signature.bank/ (Signature Bank of Arkansas) is a Member of the FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender.   http://www.iamnorthwestarkansas.com/canva (Canva) -   Are you looking for ways to build a Digital Marketing Strategy from scratch? Whether you need to design things for your family or personal brand or need a versatile design tool to help you with your social media presence. Canva can help.   Need new Business Cards? Canva has you covered.  Need to create and post Social Media images quickly? Canva has you covered. Need to create videos for Social Media and beyond? Canva has you covered. Need to create a sharp-looking resume? Canva has you covered. Need access to more than 3-Million Royalty-Free Images?  Ok, you get the point! Canva covers just about anything you need from a design perspective, and it costs pennies a day to open a Canva Pro account.    Try Canva for FREE today athttp://www.iamnorthwestarkansas.com/canva ( IamNorthwestArkansas.com/canva)   Email info@iamnorthwestarkansas.com to learn more about sponsorship opportunities. *Note: some of the resources mentioned may be affiliate links. This means we get paid a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you use that link to make a purchase. Connect more with I am Northwest Arkansas: ● ...

What a difference 3 years and a global pandemic makes. Graduating from eForall some 4 years ago with a new product idea that few individuals would find success in, let alone on the South Coast, Kevin Rose is rapidly cementing a legacy. Running a business wasn't foreign to him. What would be the challenge? Running a trucking company when the world shut down while watching the success of his hemp infused product line fly off the shelves. Kevin joins us for his second time on the podcast to share his transformation plus how that lead to a recent deal with JC Penny. If you enjoy today's episode please say thanks to Kevin, check out his store, and share this podcast on social media.

BILL FLYNN has collaborated with Alan Mulally, pitched Steve Jobs, accomplished much, failed often, and learned many useful lessons from thirty years of studying the science of success. He is best described as a pragmatic Simon Sinek; an optimist and an operator. Bill embodies his core purpose - simplified servanthood - by spending each working moment to help create a compassionately productive society by enabling enlightened leaders to focus on the few things that truly matter to their teams and key stakeholders. For having a great business is one way of making a better world. He has worked for and advised hundreds of companies, including startups, where he has a long track record of success spanning multiple industries.  Bill has been a VP of Sales eight times, twice a CMO and once a GM of a division of a $100MM IT services company before he pivoted to becoming a business growth coach in 2015. Prior to, he had five successful outcomes, two IPOs, and seven acquisitions, including a turnaround during the 2008 financial crisis. As a coach, in addition to being connected with MG 100, Women's Business Collaborative, MassMEP, Small Giants, and EforAll, Bill has earned certifications from ScalingUp, Gravitas Impact, Metronome United, Predictive Index, and The Neuroleadership Institute.   Bill was also nominated for the 2021 Thinkers50 Radar Award. Bill's best-selling book - Further, Faster - The Vital Few Steps that Take the Guesswork out of Growth continues to garner a nearly 5-Star rating generating demand for virtual and in-person national and international speaking opportunities. Away from his coaching, Bill is a father, learner, cultivator, entrepreneur, speaker, writer, athlete, brother, etiologist, iconoclast, Stoic, builder, giver, "musician", and friend.  When he is not cheering on his collegiate-champion, musically-gifted daughter, Bill lives and works in greater Boston. “Bill's principles, framework, and methodologies align very closely to my own Working Together Principles that were applied to measurable success at Boeing and Ford. I was proud to nominate Bill as an MG100 member to help us advance systemic, extensive leadership development that increasingly creates healthy, thriving businesses, and enhances human flourishing. I look forward to our continued work.” - Alan Mulally, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ford Motor Company “Bill provides some of the highest ‘value per word' of any consultant (coach) I've ever met.” - Erik Waters, Co-Owner/CFO, Adtech Systems "Thank you Bill for such a clear, accurate and eye opening workshop!" - Gil Almog, Chief Product Officer, MindCET - Edtech Innovation Center

In this episode of PixlFeed Radio, I have the pleasure to interview BILL Flynn who has collaborated with Alan Mulally, pitched Steve Jobs, accomplished much, failed often, and learned many useful lessons from thirty years of studying the science of success.He is best described as a pragmatic Simon Sinek; an optimist and anoperator.Bill embodies his core purpose - simplified servanthood - by spending each working moment to help create a compassionately productive society by enabling enlightened leaders to focus on the few things that truly matter to their teams and key stakeholdersHe has worked for and advised hundreds of companies, including startups, where he has a long track record of success spanning multiple industries. Bill has been a VP of Sales eight times, twice a CMO and once a GM of adivision of a $100MM IT services company before he pivoted to becominga business growth coach in 2015. Prior to this, he had five successfuloutcomes, two IPOs, and seven acquisitions, including a turnaround during the 2008 financial crisis.As a coach, in addition to being connected with MG 100, Women'sBusiness Collaborative, MassMEP, Small Giants, and EforAll, Bill hasearned certifications from ScalingUp, Gravitas Impact, Metronome United,Predictive Index, and The Neuroleadership Institute.Bill's best-selling book - Further, Faster - The Vital Few Steps that Take theGuesswork out of Growth continues to garner a nearly 5-Star ratinggenerating demand for virtual and in-person national and internationalspeaking opportunities.Away from work, he is an avid reader, amateur musician, athlete, andenjoys volunteering locally. When he is not cheering on his collegiate-champion, musically-gifted daughter, Bill lives and works in greater Boston.

Bill Flynn returns to discuss what simplified servanthood means and what it means to walk the line of giving and thriving. BILL FLYNN has accomplished much, failed often, and learned many useful lessons from thirty years of studying the science of success. As a coach, in addition to being connected with MG 100, Women's Business Collaborative, MassMEP, Small Giants, and EforAll, Bill has earned certifications from ScalingUp, Gravitas Impact, Metronome United, Predictive Index, and The Neuroleadership Institute. You can learn more about Bill at https://catalystgrowthadvisors.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bill Flynn shares his best strategies for approaching business risk and crisis through mindset strategy. BILL FLYNN has accomplished much, failed often, and learned many useful lessons from thirty years of studying the science of success. As a coach, in addition to being connected with MG 100, Women's Business Collaborative, MassMEP, Small Giants, and EforAll, Bill has earned certifications from ScalingUp, Gravitas Impact, Metronome United, Predictive Index, and The Neuroleadership Institute. You can learn more about Bill at https://catalystgrowthadvisors.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's episode of Inside Outside Innovation, we sit down with Seth Levine and Elizabeth Macbride, authors of the new book, The New Builders: Face to Face with the True Future of Business. We talk about the current and future state of entrepreneurship and hear some stories about new builders making an impact in their local communities. Let's get started.Inside Outside Innovation is the podcast to help you rethink, reset, and remix yourself and your organization. Each week, we'll bring the latest innovators, entrepreneurs, and pioneering businesses, as well as the tools, tactics, and trends you'll need to thrive as a new innovator.Interview Transcript with Seth Levine and Elizabeth Macbride, Authors of The New BuildersBrian Ardinger: Welcome to another episode of Inside Outside Innovation. I'm your host, Brian Ardinger. And as always, we have some amazing guests. Today, we have Seth Levine and Elizabeth Macbride, authors of the new book, The New Builders: Face to Face with the True Future of Business. Welcome to the show. Elizabeth Macbride: Thank you very much.Brian Ardinger: I'm excited to have you on. Let me start out with a little background and bios for our audience. Among other things, Seth, you are the co-founder of the venture capital firm Foundry Group and Pledge 1%, which is a global network of companies that have pledged equity and time and product back to local communities.And Elizabeth, you are an award-winning business journalist, and founder of Times of Entrepreneurship, which is a new publication covering entrepreneurs beyond Silicon Valley, which is a topic near and dear to our heart. So welcome to the show. The first question I want to start with is what's the current state of entrepreneurship and what led you to write this book?Elizabeth Macbride: So, the current state of entrepreneurship in the United States is not nearly as good as people think it is. We concluded after our two years of working on the book, that entrepreneurship in the US is in this, in a state of profound decline. It's been declining over the past 40 years for a whole host of reasons. And I know we'll get into that some more. But I'll just answer the question as well about how we came to write the book, which is that I'm the original, like overlooked, not the original one, but an overlooked founder myself. Right. So I got a divorce seven years ago and had to reinvent my career pretty fast as a business journalist to feed my two kids. In doing that, I ended up founding this publication times of entrepreneurship. And along that journey met Seth, who has, a side specialty to being a venture capitalist, which is really supporting overlooked entrepreneurs. And so, we bonded over that and decided to write a book two years ago. That's how it came about.Seth Levine: Brian, I guess I'd add to that. We knew that there were really interesting stories, right? You tell many of them on your podcast of people building businesses that were for starters outside of Silicon Valley, and the big tech hubs. But also, really interesting businesses, but that weren't necessarily these sort of high growth tech focused businesses.And we wanted to tell their stories. Frankly, we thought it'd be kind of a lighthearted book. Interesting look at some founders that maybe were a little bit different than what people think of when they think of founders. But as we did all the research, we realized for starters, what Elizabeth just described, which is that entrepreneurship in the US is actually dying.And then we also learned that the types of people that are starting new businesses are very different than those people realize. Specifically, that the majority of new business owners are black, brown, female, and also quite a bit older than most people realize. And that, we realized as we came across these data, that these stories really need to be told. That it sort of went from a lighthearted, Hey, this will be fun. And we'll tell some interesting stories of people doing things out of the mainstream media eye. To, oh wow, there are some critical stories that we need to be telling here because we have a window here to change the trajectory of entrepreneurship in the us, and we'd act on it. Brian Ardinger: You know, and I think that's one of the things that we obviously talk about, you know, Tech Crunch and you hear the stories of the unicorns and things along those lines. And obviously that's important and that. But can you define, like, what is entrepreneurship to you? It's not just the tech giants that we're hearing about. How do you define a new builder? And what's the difference that you saw out there? Elizabeth Macbride: The way entrepreneurship traditionally has been defined is broader than the way it's currently defined. And so, when we looked at it and really, there's no reason why we should think of entrepreneurship as only the tech founders of Silicon Valley. They're part of the universe. They're not really the center of the universe. And definitely not the entire universe right. They're maybe 1% of all businesses in the US get venture capital funding.So, the fact that we're so consumed by that is sort of crazy. Because the other 99% are in fact, the drivers of a lot of jobs, they're actually drivers of innovation, we would argue as well. And they support and are part of our communities in just a host of important, different ways. And as the economy transitions, I think they're going to be even more important. So we define entrepreneurs as a very fundamental basic thing, right. They're  people starting businesses. Seth Levine: And that's always been the case in the US. And really, if you look back, I mean, certainly the US was founded by entrepreneurs. I mean, in some cases, quite literally, right? The Massachusetts Bay Companies, you know, all of these initial settlers that came over were essentially entrepreneurs, right? Who are in business ventures to go and settle new land and send raw goods and other materials back to Europe? And still, we have this long history of entrepreneurship and something changed in the last maybe 30 years or so, where the concept of entrepreneurship, use to be very broadly defined a shopkeeper is an entrepreneur, a local business owner was an entrepreneur.It got eaten up by the tech narrative, right? And this idea that the only entrepreneurs that were worth talking about were technology, business founders, and frankly, the only businesses that were worth talking about in the entrepreneurship context are businesses that are, have this aspiration for growth. Right? You referenced unicorns. And we think that that's incredibly dangerous to the overall dinosaur and frankly just the health of the US economy, because it really only describes such a small number of businesses. And frankly, and I say this from inside the world of venture capital, I'm not convinced that venture is a very good model for creating. Certainly, it's not a good model for creating broad-based economic development. Right. I mean, we know it can create some really big companies. And by the way, those companies are incredibly important. And other businesses end up being built on those companies. So Shopify or Google, like those are incredible innovations that help other small businesses, but it's just, it's not the only thing. And I think we've sort of lost sight of that. So it's, we don't argue in the book that, you know, that big is bad, for example, and small is good. We argue that there should be a balance just like we don't argue that venture capital should go away or anything crazy like that venture is great. But we talk about needing to create not just unicorns, but camels. So much more party actually real and not mythical, you know, animals that, you know, businesses that are sustainable and, and, you know, really are the drivers of our economy.Brian Ardinger: So you mentioned in the book, the research and that, around entrepreneurship and that it's going down and there's challenges around that. What is hindering the rise of new builders? Elizabeth Macbride: There's a lot, that's hindering a rise of new builders. You know, what we focused on in the book is really finance and that's the world that Seth and I both come from. So, we felt like we had a lot to say about it. And it's probably, I think it's deeply woven with the question of networks, but right, businesses need capital to grow. They just do. Like, we've also gotten consumed by this myth that what you need is grit, or perseverance in that, yes, that's all true. But we found so much grit and so much perseverance in the new builders that we interviewed. What they were missing was access to capital. And that is happening for a whole bunch of reasons.But maybe the clearest thing to say is that our system of community banking is really broken down. And I think that's the most direct tie. The other kind of pervasive issue is that the new builders reflect the increasing diversity of our country. So, they're women and people of color, immigrants, as they always have been, and older people. And they're really disconnected from the networks that also lead to that access to capital Brian Ardinger: in the book, you talk about something that really resonated this idea of a ghost startup or these companies that will never be created because of the lack of access to capital and things like that. Can you talk and explain a little bit more about that topic and the impact of that? Seth Levine: Hard for us to understand sometimes as Americans. Or really it's just humans, the thing that doesn't exist, right. We can look at the company that's true and see it was successful or it failed. Right. But what we struggle with is understanding businesses that just never got off the ground. And there's actually been some research that has studied this. And it sounds so simplistic.  But it's not right. I mean, Elizabeth describes capital is a key asset for starting businesses. And there have been some studies that looked at businesses that had more or less access to capital. And what they found is that there was no real difference in the innate qualities, right? The talent, the grit, those things that, that will make someone successful for people who had access to capital. And who didn't have access to capital in their businesses. But of course, there was a huge gap in terms of the success of those businesses. Companies that have access to capital, are more likely to be successful. And I think that's something that we really need to address.  And then Elizabeth talked about 1% of businesses receiving money from formalized institutional capital, like venture, which surprises most people.I think most people in our world think that it's a much larger, I mean, it's a big dollar amount, but it's a small number of companies. Which just goes to show you just how many more mainstream companies are actually being started out there. But only about 17% of businesses take money from banks. And so Elizabeth talked about a community banking system. We clearly need to bolster that system and increase the 17%. But we also need to recognize that a large number of businesses never take any formalized capital. They raise money from friends, family, you know, aunts, uncles, or they use a home equity line. And what's happening is that unfortunately people who don't have access to capital and don't have wealth built up over generations are struggling to start businesses. And this is diametrically opposed now to the people who are starting businesses, because the wealth gap in the United States, as many listeners may realize is 10 X between, the average white family, the average black family. That's true across every income level. That's true across every educational level as well.And the wealth gap as well for people from Hispanic origin is not quite as bad, but it's seven to one. So, at the same time that we're really relying on people's own capital sources to get them going, we're also the type of person who starting a business is shifting to the group of people that are less likely to have those personal capital resources.We need to address that. And we talk about in the book about a number of ways that we might, adapt, change, augment, help, better support our existing systems of finance to do a better job of supporting these new builders. Brian Ardinger: Are you seeing particular communities or particular areas of the US doing better when it comes to this fostering, this new builder?Elizabeth Macbride: That's a good and interesting question, actually. So, we did focus in the book on one particular community. We just ended up telling some woven stories about Stanton, Virginia. Which in a holistic way, I think did a ton to rejuvenate their community by entrepreneurship. So they started a community loan fund.  They have an angel network for that is like wealthy people in the community investing small sums in companies aren't necessarily tech businesses, but it could be like a pie company or whatever. They have both of those things going on. And then there's like, just a bunch of other community support. There's a maker-space there that I went down and visited. And it turned itself around that way. Right. On the foundation of some revitalization efforts that started in the eighties where some visionary business leaders downtown said, Whoa, we are not going to like destroy our historic downtown. Instead, we're going to, push really hard to preserve it. And on that foundation, the community was really able to rebuild itself economically.And its population is rising, which is kind of like the most basic measure, of community's health. Right. And actually, like super inspiring things during the pandemic. I mean, it ended up, of course it was suffering along with small, with communities everywhere, where small businesses were hurt so badly. And it also had a terrible flood in August that had like a storm cell just park over it and dump like eight inches.So enormous amount of rain washed out the downtown. You know, there were like cars floating around and as we reported it, we wrote about it for CNBC as well. And it's in the book as well. The community really came together. And there were people like digging out mud from storefronts to get their small businesses back up and running. It's inspiring what is happening in communities across the country that are pulling together. Seth Levine: So that's a story that sort of a physical, like a geographic community coming together. And it's a really good example of one. They took a long-term view. Lots of people got involved. There was a lot of buy-in.And, you know, a lot of what, like my partner, Brad Feld wrote the book, Startup Communities, a lot of what Brad and Ian his coauthor talk about in Startup Communities, I think was true in Stanton, but the other types of communities that we talk about a lot in the book are these sort of communities of like-minded people, right? And especially in this day and age, those don't need to be bounded by geography. Certainly the book is a hopeful book, Brian, and we talk about ways in which we believe that entrepreneurship can be revitalized. But we talk about some of these communities systibiz  in Denver or Ohub or digital and divided. EforAll we talk a ton about them. That, you know, these are all various communities of people that come together to help support new builder businesses. Some of them are place-based E for all works in certain locations. We talk about some of those, cause we, one of the entrepreneurs we highlight went through their program in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Others are a little bit more virtual, right? Where they might help people all over the place or bring people in together. But Silicon Valley has always been great at that. Right. And you know, there's so many stories of, I mean, how many accelerators are there in the world? Right? The Foundry, my venture firm, my day job, is the biggest investor in Techstars, which is one of the larger ones.And that's a great model, but how do we bring that. The network and the help that comes from being surrounded by a community of people that want to see you be successful? How do we bring that to new builders? And I think one of the things that we learned that scared us is that many people starting businesses feel like they're out on an Island and they're alone and they don't have resources to help them out. And that's why the community banking system that Elizabeth alluded to earlier is so important. We, it turned out, we were not seeking out community banking stories, but it turned out a number of the new builders that we talked to, their business trajectories were totally changed by, you know, what's in many cases, seemed like a chance meeting with a community banker who really spent some time to understand the business and then help them figure out how to finance it.Brian Ardinger: Well, and it comes back to capital is more than just the cash and the actual dollars that you put into it. It's capital of that network. Like you said, the ability to actually even find a, a banker in your backyard that you can form a relationship with and build that trust. And, you know, eventually leads to the, the capital capital you need to build a business. Seth Levine: Here's a statistic that should scare everyone. 25 years ago, there were 14,000 banks in the United States. Today there are 4,800. Most of that consolidation has happened in the smaller end of the scale, as we've created, essentially these utilities out of banks, by the regulations that we put on top of the banking system.And so obviously some of those regulations were warranted. There were banks that were, you know, engaging in predatory lending behavior or behaviors and you know, needed to be curbed. But, it perhaps went a little bit too far. And the result of that is what we're seeing in terms of the consolidation of banking, which is not good for anyone.Brian Ardinger: So, you mentioned the pandemic and obviously that's had an effect, but some of those trends were happening before the pandemic. How do you see the pandemic affecting entrepreneurship, both good and bad?Elizabeth Macbride: Well, traditionally, there's a surge in entrepreneurship after a big economic downturn, right. Because people lose their jobs. And so, they like to start businesses because they're trying to pay the bills. And we've seen evidence that that's happening right. There was a huge surge in new business applications in the fall. So September, October. I think, you know, that's on one hand, a hopeful sign. On the other hand, we think those people will have a harder time starting businesses than say they would have 20 or 30 years ago, because of all the changes that we described in the book. There's a huge number of people that are entrepreneurial in the United States and want to be entrepreneurial as evidenced by the participation in the gig economy, which is 60 million people in 2019. But making the leap from that to becoming a business owner and a small business owner, and there are so many benefits to making that leap.That's what's become much more difficult, right? Is formalizing yourself into a business. And I just want to add here, because I think your listeners might be really interested to think about exactly how that word entrepreneurship was co-opted because when we looked into the research and of course I'm a wordsmith and Seth is a word lover, too. We discovered that it was Ronald Reagan. Right. Who figured out that he could sort of marry the ideas that were coming out of Silicon Valley, this vision of the aggressive sort of free thinking, innovative entrepreneur from the tech world. And he used the word entrepreneur to describe only those people and use that as sort of like a push for global democracy and capitalism.You know, he just synthesized all these ideas into that word. Silicon Valley, the marketing genius's  took it and ran with it. And an important thread in that was this libertarian idea. That I think is really holding back some of the things that we could do to support the broader world of entrepreneurship.Because if you buy into that myth, that entrepreneurs grew up, that they're libertarians. That it is a concept. It's the free market. Then you don't invest in some of the social safety net programs or the government support. You don't pay that much attention to government regulation. I mean, so many CEOs in Silicon Valley have said to me, government's always behind, right? We don't need to worry about it. Like we'll just succeed despite them. And that is really not reflecting the true history of Silicon Valley at all. Brian Ardinger: Yeah, it's quite ironic because a lot of obviously Silicon Valley came from the rise of government dollars going into defense and other things that were, that provided that R and D and original push to start some of this amazing stuff. Elizabeth Macbride: Yeah, exactly. Right. And it's just disturbing the extent to which that piece of the story is left out. Right. And it looks like a very convenient retelling of the history. Seth Levine: And I think it's also important to note that, you know, the government, we've talked about this a little bit, not a lot in the book. But government spending is not bad right on research and development. And in fact, there's some quite a bit of evidence that companies are not always great at spending on R and D, especially as they get larger, right. A lot of innovation comes smaller companies, but then when companies get larger than they don't necessarily invest in R and D.And a great example of just that inaction was the, the tax cuts that were enacted a couple of years ago, where, you know, the deal was that we were going to give companies a trillion-dollar tax cut, and they would then invest in their businesses. Right in R and D. And the exact opposite happened. They didn't. And they instead really bought their stock back. Which for any individual business that was looking to increase its share value, that might've been the right thing to do.But it suggests that the people running those businesses certainly felt like investing in buying their stock back was a better bet than invest in R & D because they just simply didn't know where to put it. Brian Ardinger: So, let's talk a bit about some of your favorite stories in the book. Who are some of the entrepreneurs you met and what are some of the positive, hopeful things that you found through the journey?Seth Levine: There are amazing stories in the book, and I certainly hope that your, that the listeners will go and pick up a copy and really read it. Because I think we really tried to write a book that was balanced in terms of storytelling, but also facts. And hopefully that's coming through on this podcast as well.You know, punctuating the facts with real stories. So, you can get a sense for those facts and action. You know, we think is a really good way for people to understand what's really going on the ground. So one thing that I would probably point out is Isaac Collin, who owns series of Yogurtini businesses in Kansas City.And he's just an incredibly compelling guy. And it's a story of someone who really, you know, with both, persevered and had a lot of grit, but also was helped by others. So he got into business because he won a business plan competition. And by winning that business plan competition, he actually won both the monetary help as well as business helped by this very successful relatively well-known in that area, businessman. And he got to start a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory with this guy. And, and ultimately that was a successful business because he's just a good business person. And he was able to sell that business, use the money, the proceeds from that sale, then to buy his first Yogurtini  business.What I really love about Isaac and this is true of really all the new builders we talked to is his connection to community. And just how important it was for him. He now has three, I think the fourth was not quite open, he's about to open a fourth location of his Yogurtini   businesses around the KC area.And, you know, community for him, isn't even just KC, it's like the individual neighborhoods where those businesses are located. And he has that deep sense of community. And, and it comes through in his business in the way that, you know, people who work at the businesses, open the door for their customers. So, they welcome them in and kids are welcomed to come in and do their book club and, and earn free yogurt. And he's just a great example of a quintessential new builder who is hardworking and has reached out and figured out how to build a network around himself. And has other things going on. He and, and two other women started a yoga series that goes into inner city schools and helps teach kids how to calm and center themselves through yoga. Just as one example, I mean, he's just someone who's constantly giving back. So he really stands out for me as just the quintessential rebuilder. Elizabeth Macbride: I'm so glad you talked about Isaac, because we haven't, we haven't actually talked about him in our interviews so far. I would highlight the entrepreneur who is sort of the center of the book. Her story is woven throughout and that's Danaris Mazara who started her bakery in Lawrence, Massachusetts, literally with $37 in food stamps. You know, she just has this amazing story of lying on her couch. Her husband had lost a job. This was in the great recession. She had a newborn baby. She was like, I don't have enough money to feed my family here. With that $37 in food stamps, she bought the ingredients to make blond sold it at the break table at the Samsung factory where she was working. And it went from there and she was lucky enough in the process of developing her company. So she did those early couple of years with, by herself and with the help of her friends in the community, and then happened on  EforAll which Seth referenced earlier.And I love the EforAll story. And we tell Danaris's story in the context of the founder of EforAll which is Desh Deshpande who was a telecom entrepreneur in the 1990s and made loads and loads of money and gives it back to the world in many different ways. But one of the things he did was found EforAll and he really has some interesting insights that we report in the book about the differences between encouraging entrepreneurs in the main street world and encouraging them in like an MIT or Stanford. Because at MIT or Stanford, there's all these smart people in search of a problem to solve. On the main streets of America and elsewhere, there are million problems in search of a solver. And he really talks in a compelling way about how you encourage both of those communities. And we end the book with Dinaris's as well, and her optimism looking toward the recovery post pandemic. And so, she's incredibly inspiring. For More InformationBrian Ardinger: Well, it's definitely exciting to hear those stories and it'll be exciting to see how this plays out as the world changes in front of us. Elizabeth and Seth, if people want to find out more about the book and more about yourselves, what's the best way to do that? Seth Levine: We set up a book website. We'll put it in the show notes, but it's www.thenewbuilders.com. And that's a great place to find out a little bit more about the book. You can read a little bit about us, and most importantly, you can buy the book there. We have links to a number of local booksellers. We're certainly encourage people to consider buying from local independent bookstores, whether it's the handful that we have listed on the site or their own independent bookstore. We do have links to Amazon, to Barnes & Noble of course they're bigger platforms. And those are also great ways to buy the book. There's a Kindle version that will be released. It'll be out by the time this show airs and there will also be an audio book that should be out right around the same time that the show airs as well.Brian Ardinger: Well, Elizabeth and Seth, thank you again for being on Inside Outside Innovation, sharing these stories very much like to continue the conversation and have you back on in the years to come as, as the world evolves. So, appreciate your time. Seth Levine: Thank you, Brian.Brian Ardinger: That's it for another episode of Inside Outside Innovation. If you want to learn more about our team, our content, our services, check out InsideOutside.io or follow us on Twitter @theIOpodcast or @Ardinger. Until next time, go out and innovate.FREE INNOVATION NEWSLETTER & TOOLSGet the latest episodes of the Inside Outside Innovation podcast, in addition to thought leadership in the form of blogs, innovation resources, videos, and invitations to exclusive events. 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On this week's episode of Inside Outside Innovation, we sit down with Seth Levine and Elizabeth Macbride, authors of the new book, The New Builders: Face to Face with the True Future of Business. We talk about the current and future state of entrepreneurship and hear some stories about new builders making an impact in their local communities. Let's get started.Inside Outside Innovation is the podcast to help you rethink, reset, and remix yourself and your organization. Each week, we'll bring the latest innovators, entrepreneurs, and pioneering businesses, as well as the tools, tactics, and trends you'll need to thrive as a new innovator.Interview Transcript with Seth Levine and Elizabeth Macbride, Authors of The New BuildersBrian Ardinger: Welcome to another episode of Inside Outside Innovation. I'm your host, Brian Ardinger. And as always, we have some amazing guests. Today, we have Seth Levine and Elizabeth Macbride, authors of the new book, The New Builders: Face to Face with the True Future of Business. Welcome to the show. Elizabeth Macbride: Thank you very much.Brian Ardinger: I'm excited to have you on. Let me start out with a little background and bios for our audience. Among other things, Seth, you are the co-founder of the venture capital firm Foundry Group and Pledge 1%, which is a global network of companies that have pledged equity and time and product back to local communities.And Elizabeth, you are an award-winning business journalist, and founder of Times of Entrepreneurship, which is a new publication covering entrepreneurs beyond Silicon Valley, which is a topic near and dear to our heart. So welcome to the show. The first question I want to start with is what's the current state of entrepreneurship and what led you to write this book?Elizabeth Macbride: So, the current state of entrepreneurship in the United States is not nearly as good as people think it is. We concluded after our two years of working on the book, that entrepreneurship in the US is in this, in a state of profound decline. It's been declining over the past 40 years for a whole host of reasons. And I know we'll get into that some more. But I'll just answer the question as well about how we came to write the book, which is that I'm the original, like overlooked, not the original one, but an overlooked founder myself. Right. So I got a divorce seven years ago and had to reinvent my career pretty fast as a business journalist to feed my two kids. In doing that, I ended up founding this publication times of entrepreneurship. And along that journey met Seth, who has, a side specialty to being a venture capitalist, which is really supporting overlooked entrepreneurs. And so, we bonded over that and decided to write a book two years ago. That's how it came about.Seth Levine: Brian, I guess I'd add to that. We knew that there were really interesting stories, right? You tell many of them on your podcast of people building businesses that were for starters outside of Silicon Valley, and the big tech hubs. But also, really interesting businesses, but that weren't necessarily these sort of high growth tech focused businesses.And we wanted to tell their stories. Frankly, we thought it'd be kind of a lighthearted book. Interesting look at some founders that maybe were a little bit different than what people think of when they think of founders. But as we did all the research, we realized for starters, what Elizabeth just described, which is that entrepreneurship in the US is actually dying.And then we also learned that the types of people that are starting new businesses are very different than those people realize. Specifically, that the majority of new business owners are black, brown, female, and also quite a bit older than most people realize. And that, we realized as we came across these data, that these stories really need to be told. That it sort of went from a lighthearted, Hey, this will be fun. And we'll tell some interesting stories of people doing things out of the mainstream media eye. To, oh wow, there are some critical stories that we need to be telling here because we have a window here to change the trajectory of entrepreneurship in the us, and we'd act on it. Brian Ardinger: You know, and I think that's one of the things that we obviously talk about, you know, Tech Crunch and you hear the stories of the unicorns and things along those lines. And obviously that's important and that. But can you define, like, what is entrepreneurship to you? It's not just the tech giants that we're hearing about. How do you define a new builder? And what's the difference that you saw out there? Elizabeth Macbride: The way entrepreneurship traditionally has been defined is broader than the way it's currently defined. And so, when we looked at it and really, there's no reason why we should think of entrepreneurship as only the tech founders of Silicon Valley. They're part of the universe. They're not really the center of the universe. And definitely not the entire universe right. They're maybe 1% of all businesses in the US get venture capital funding.So, the fact that we're so consumed by that is sort of crazy. Because the other 99% are in fact, the drivers of a lot of jobs, they're actually drivers of innovation, we would argue as well. And they support and are part of our communities in just a host of important, different ways. And as the economy transitions, I think they're going to be even more important. So we define entrepreneurs as a very fundamental basic thing, right. They're  people starting businesses. Seth Levine: And that's always been the case in the US. And really, if you look back, I mean, certainly the US was founded by entrepreneurs. I mean, in some cases, quite literally, right? The Massachusetts Bay Companies, you know, all of these initial settlers that came over were essentially entrepreneurs, right? Who are in business ventures to go and settle new land and send raw goods and other materials back to Europe? And still, we have this long history of entrepreneurship and something changed in the last maybe 30 years or so, where the concept of entrepreneurship, use to be very broadly defined a shopkeeper is an entrepreneur, a local business owner was an entrepreneur.It got eaten up by the tech narrative, right? And this idea that the only entrepreneurs that were worth talking about were technology, business founders, and frankly, the only businesses that were worth talking about in the entrepreneurship context are businesses that are, have this aspiration for growth. Right? You referenced unicorns. And we think that that's incredibly dangerous to the overall dinosaur and frankly just the health of the US economy, because it really only describes such a small number of businesses. And frankly, and I say this from inside the world of venture capital, I'm not convinced that venture is a very good model for creating. Certainly, it's not a good model for creating broad-based economic development. Right. I mean, we know it can create some really big companies. And by the way, those companies are incredibly important. And other businesses end up being built on those companies. So Shopify or Google, like those are incredible innovations that help other small businesses, but it's just, it's not the only thing. And I think we've sort of lost sight of that. So it's, we don't argue in the book that, you know, that big is bad, for example, and small is good. We argue that there should be a balance just like we don't argue that venture capital should go away or anything crazy like that venture is great. But we talk about needing to create not just unicorns, but camels. So much more party actually real and not mythical, you know, animals that, you know, businesses that are sustainable and, and, you know, really are the drivers of our economy.Brian Ardinger: So you mentioned in the book, the research and that, around entrepreneurship and that it's going down and there's challenges around that. What is hindering the rise of new builders? Elizabeth Macbride: There's a lot, that's hindering a rise of new builders. You know, what we focused on in the book is really finance and that's the world that Seth and I both come from. So, we felt like we had a lot to say about it. And it's probably, I think it's deeply woven with the question of networks, but right, businesses need capital to grow. They just do. Like, we've also gotten consumed by this myth that what you need is grit, or perseverance in that, yes, that's all true. But we found so much grit and so much perseverance in the new builders that we interviewed. What they were missing was access to capital. And that is happening for a whole bunch of reasons.But maybe the clearest thing to say is that our system of community banking is really broken down. And I think that's the most direct tie. The other kind of pervasive issue is that the new builders reflect the increasing diversity of our country. So, they're women and people of color, immigrants, as they always have been, and older people. And they're really disconnected from the networks that also lead to that access to capital Brian Ardinger: in the book, you talk about something that really resonated this idea of a ghost startup or these companies that will never be created because of the lack of access to capital and things like that. Can you talk and explain a little bit more about that topic and the impact of that? Seth Levine: Hard for us to understand sometimes as Americans. Or really it's just humans, the thing that doesn't exist, right. We can look at the company that's true and see it was successful or it failed. Right. But what we struggle with is understanding businesses that just never got off the ground. And there's actually been some research that has studied this. And it sounds so simplistic.  But it's not right. I mean, Elizabeth describes capital is a key asset for starting businesses. And there have been some studies that looked at businesses that had more or less access to capital. And what they found is that there was no real difference in the innate qualities, right? The talent, the grit, those things that, that will make someone successful for people who had access to capital. And who didn't have access to capital in their businesses. But of course, there was a huge gap in terms of the success of those businesses. Companies that have access to capital, are more likely to be successful. And I think that's something that we really need to address.  And then Elizabeth talked about 1% of businesses receiving money from formalized institutional capital, like venture, which surprises most people.I think most people in our world think that it's a much larger, I mean, it's a big dollar amount, but it's a small number of companies. Which just goes to show you just how many more mainstream companies are actually being started out there. But only about 17% of businesses take money from banks. And so Elizabeth talked about a community banking system. We clearly need to bolster that system and increase the 17%. But we also need to recognize that a large number of businesses never take any formalized capital. They raise money from friends, family, you know, aunts, uncles, or they use a home equity line. And what's happening is that unfortunately people who don't have access to capital and don't have wealth built up over generations are struggling to start businesses. And this is diametrically opposed now to the people who are starting businesses, because the wealth gap in the United States, as many listeners may realize is 10 X between, the average white family, the average black family. That's true across every income level. That's true across every educational level as well.And the wealth gap as well for people from Hispanic origin is not quite as bad, but it's seven to one. So, at the same time that we're really relying on people's own capital sources to get them going, we're also the type of person who starting a business is shifting to the group of people that are less likely to have those personal capital resources.We need to address that. And we talk about in the book about a number of ways that we might, adapt, change, augment, help, better support our existing systems of finance to do a better job of supporting these new builders. Brian Ardinger: Are you seeing particular communities or particular areas of the US doing better when it comes to this fostering, this new builder?Elizabeth Macbride: That's a good and interesting question, actually. So, we did focus in the book on one particular community. We just ended up telling some woven stories about Stanton, Virginia. Which in a holistic way, I think did a ton to rejuvenate their community by entrepreneurship. So they started a community loan fund.  They have an angel network for that is like wealthy people in the community investing small sums in companies aren't necessarily tech businesses, but it could be like a pie company or whatever. They have both of those things going on. And then there's like, just a bunch of other community support. There's a maker-space there that I went down and visited. And it turned itself around that way. Right. On the foundation of some revitalization efforts that started in the eighties where some visionary business leaders downtown said, Whoa, we are not going to like destroy our historic downtown. Instead, we're going to, push really hard to preserve it. And on that foundation, the community was really able to rebuild itself economically.And its population is rising, which is kind of like the most basic measure, of community's health. Right. And actually, like super inspiring things during the pandemic. I mean, it ended up, of course it was suffering along with small, with communities everywhere, where small businesses were hurt so badly. And it also had a terrible flood in August that had like a storm cell just park over it and dump like eight inches.So enormous amount of rain washed out the downtown. You know, there were like cars floating around and as we reported it, we wrote about it for CNBC as well. And it's in the book as well. The community really came together. And there were people like digging out mud from storefronts to get their small businesses back up and running. It's inspiring what is happening in communities across the country that are pulling together. Seth Levine: So that's a story that sort of a physical, like a geographic community coming together. And it's a really good example of one. They took a long-term view. Lots of people got involved. There was a lot of buy-in.And, you know, a lot of what, like my partner, Brad Feld wrote the book, Startup Communities, a lot of what Brad and Ian his coauthor talk about in Startup Communities, I think was true in Stanton, but the other types of communities that we talk about a lot in the book are these sort of communities of like-minded people, right? And especially in this day and age, those don't need to be bounded by geography. Certainly the book is a hopeful book, Brian, and we talk about ways in which we believe that entrepreneurship can be revitalized. But we talk about some of these communities systibiz  in Denver or Ohub or digital and divided. EforAll we talk a ton about them. That, you know, these are all various communities of people that come together to help support new builder businesses. Some of them are place-based E for all works in certain locations. We talk about some of those, cause we, one of the entrepreneurs we highlight went through their program in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Others are a little bit more virtual, right? Where they might help people all over the place or bring people in together. But Silicon Valley has always been great at that. Right. And you know, there's so many stories of, I mean, how many accelerators are there in the world? Right? The Foundry, my venture firm, my day job, is the biggest investor in Techstars, which is one of the larger ones.And that's a great model, but how do we bring that. The network and the help that comes from being surrounded by a community of people that want to see you be successful? How do we bring that to new builders? And I think one of the things that we learned that scared us is that many people starting businesses feel like they're out on an Island and they're alone and they don't have resources to help them out. And that's why the community banking system that Elizabeth alluded to earlier is so important. We, it turned out, we were not seeking out community banking stories, but it turned out a number of the new builders that we talked to, their business trajectories were totally changed by, you know, what's in many cases, seemed like a chance meeting with a community banker who really spent some time to understand the business and then help them figure out how to finance it.Brian Ardinger: Well, and it comes back to capital is more than just the cash and the actual dollars that you put into it. It's capital of that network. Like you said, the ability to actually even find a, a banker in your backyard that you can form a relationship with and build that trust. And, you know, eventually leads to the, the capital capital you need to build a business. Seth Levine: Here's a statistic that should scare everyone. 25 years ago, there were 14,000 banks in the United States. Today there are 4,800. Most of that consolidation has happened in the smaller end of the scale, as we've created, essentially these utilities out of banks, by the regulations that we put on top of the banking system.And so obviously some of those regulations were warranted. There were banks that were, you know, engaging in predatory lending behavior or behaviors and you know, needed to be curbed. But, it perhaps went a little bit too far. And the result of that is what we're seeing in terms of the consolidation of banking, which is not good for anyone.Brian Ardinger: So, you mentioned the pandemic and obviously that's had an effect, but some of those trends were happening before the pandemic. How do you see the pandemic affecting entrepreneurship, both good and bad?Elizabeth Macbride: Well, traditionally, there's a surge in entrepreneurship after a big economic downturn, right. Because people lose their jobs. And so, they like to start businesses because they're trying to pay the bills. And we've seen evidence that that's happening right. There was a huge surge in new business applications in the fall. So September, October. I think, you know, that's on one hand, a hopeful sign. On the other hand, we think those people will have a harder time starting businesses than say they would have 20 or 30 years ago, because of all the changes that we described in the book. There's a huge number of people that are entrepreneurial in the United States and want to be entrepreneurial as evidenced by the participation in the gig economy, which is 60 million people in 2019. But making the leap from that to becoming a business owner and a small business owner, and there are so many benefits to making that leap.That's what's become much more difficult, right? Is formalizing yourself into a business. And I just want to add here, because I think your listeners might be really interested to think about exactly how that word entrepreneurship was co-opted because when we looked into the research and of course I'm a wordsmith and Seth is a word lover, too. We discovered that it was Ronald Reagan. Right. Who figured out that he could sort of marry the ideas that were coming out of Silicon Valley, this vision of the aggressive sort of free thinking, innovative entrepreneur from the tech world. And he used the word entrepreneur to describe only those people and use that as sort of like a push for global democracy and capitalism.You know, he just synthesized all these ideas into that word. Silicon Valley, the marketing genius's  took it and ran with it. And an important thread in that was this libertarian idea. That I think is really holding back some of the things that we could do to support the broader world of entrepreneurship.Because if you buy into that myth, that entrepreneurs grew up, that they're libertarians. That it is a concept. It's the free market. Then you don't invest in some of the social safety net programs or the government support. You don't pay that much attention to government regulation. I mean, so many CEOs in Silicon Valley have said to me, government's always behind, right? We don't need to worry about it. Like we'll just succeed despite them. And that is really not reflecting the true history of Silicon Valley at all. Brian Ardinger: Yeah, it's quite ironic because a lot of obviously Silicon Valley came from the rise of government dollars going into defense and other things that were, that provided that R and D and original push to start some of this amazing stuff. Elizabeth Macbride: Yeah, exactly. Right. And it's just disturbing the extent to which that piece of the story is left out. Right. And it looks like a very convenient retelling of the history. Seth Levine: And I think it's also important to note that, you know, the government, we've talked about this a little bit, not a lot in the book. But government spending is not bad right on research and development. And in fact, there's some quite a bit of evidence that companies are not always great at spending on R and D, especially as they get larger, right. A lot of innovation comes smaller companies, but then when companies get larger than they don't necessarily invest in R and D.And a great example of just that inaction was the, the tax cuts that were enacted a couple of years ago, where, you know, the deal was that we were going to give companies a trillion-dollar tax cut, and they would then invest in their businesses. Right in R and D. And the exact opposite happened. They didn't. And they instead really bought their stock back. Which for any individual business that was looking to increase its share value, that might've been the right thing to do.But it suggests that the people running those businesses certainly felt like investing in buying their stock back was a better bet than invest in R & D because they just simply didn't know where to put it. Brian Ardinger: So, let's talk a bit about some of your favorite stories in the book. Who are some of the entrepreneurs you met and what are some of the positive, hopeful things that you found through the journey?Seth Levine: There are amazing stories in the book, and I certainly hope that your, that the listeners will go and pick up a copy and really read it. Because I think we really tried to write a book that was balanced in terms of storytelling, but also facts. And hopefully that's coming through on this podcast as well.You know, punctuating the facts with real stories. So, you can get a sense for those facts and action. You know, we think is a really good way for people to understand what's really going on the ground. So one thing that I would probably point out is Isaac Collin, who owns series of Yogurtini businesses in Kansas City.And he's just an incredibly compelling guy. And it's a story of someone who really, you know, with both, persevered and had a lot of grit, but also was helped by others. So he got into business because he won a business plan competition. And by winning that business plan competition, he actually won both the monetary help as well as business helped by this very successful relatively well-known in that area, businessman. And he got to start a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory with this guy. And, and ultimately that was a successful business because he's just a good business person. And he was able to sell that business, use the money, the proceeds from that sale, then to buy his first Yogurtini  business.What I really love about Isaac and this is true of really all the new builders we talked to is his connection to community. And just how important it was for him. He now has three, I think the fourth was not quite open, he's about to open a fourth location of his Yogurtini   businesses around the KC area.And, you know, community for him, isn't even just KC, it's like the individual neighborhoods where those businesses are located. And he has that deep sense of community. And, and it comes through in his business in the way that, you know, people who work at the businesses, open the door for their customers. So, they welcome them in and kids are welcomed to come in and do their book club and, and earn free yogurt. And he's just a great example of a quintessential new builder who is hardworking and has reached out and figured out how to build a network around himself. And has other things going on. He and, and two other women started a yoga series that goes into inner city schools and helps teach kids how to calm and center themselves through yoga. Just as one example, I mean, he's just someone who's constantly giving back. So he really stands out for me as just the quintessential rebuilder. Elizabeth Macbride: I'm so glad you talked about Isaac, because we haven't, we haven't actually talked about him in our interviews so far. I would highlight the entrepreneur who is sort of the center of the book. Her story is woven throughout and that's Danaris Mazara who started her bakery in Lawrence, Massachusetts, literally with $37 in food stamps. You know, she just has this amazing story of lying on her couch. Her husband had lost a job. This was in the great recession. She had a newborn baby. She was like, I don't have enough money to feed my family here. With that $37 in food stamps, she bought the ingredients to make blond sold it at the break table at the Samsung factory where she was working. And it went from there and she was lucky enough in the process of developing her company. So she did those early couple of years with, by herself and with the help of her friends in the community, and then happened on  EforAll which Seth referenced earlier.And I love the EforAll story. And we tell Danaris's story in the context of the founder of EforAll which is Desh Deshpande who was a telecom entrepreneur in the 1990s and made loads and loads of money and gives it back to the world in many different ways. But one of the things he did was found EforAll and he really has some interesting insights that we report in the book about the differences between encouraging entrepreneurs in the main street world and encouraging them in like an MIT or Stanford. Because at MIT or Stanford, there's all these smart people in search of a problem to solve. On the main streets of America and elsewhere, there are million problems in search of a solver. And he really talks in a compelling way about how you encourage both of those communities. And we end the book with Dinaris's as well, and her optimism looking toward the recovery post pandemic. And so, she's incredibly inspiring. For More InformationBrian Ardinger: Well, it's definitely exciting to hear those stories and it'll be exciting to see how this plays out as the world changes in front of us. Elizabeth and Seth, if people want to find out more about the book and more about yourselves, what's the best way to do that? Seth Levine: We set up a book website. We'll put it in the show notes, but it's www.thenewbuilders.com. And that's a great place to find out a little bit more about the book. You can read a little bit about us, and most importantly, you can buy the book there. We have links to a number of local booksellers. We're certainly encourage people to consider buying from local independent bookstores, whether it's the handful that we have listed on the site or their own independent bookstore. We do have links to Amazon, to Barnes & Noble of course they're bigger platforms. And those are also great ways to buy the book. There's a Kindle version that will be released. It'll be out by the time this show airs and there will also be an audio book that should be out right around the same time that the show airs as well.Brian Ardinger: Well, Elizabeth and Seth, thank you again for being on Inside Outside Innovation, sharing these stories very much like to continue the conversation and have you back on in the years to come as, as the world evolves. So, appreciate your time. Seth Levine: Thank you, Brian.Brian Ardinger: That's it for another episode of Inside Outside Innovation. If you want to learn more about our team, our content, our services, check out InsideOutside.io or follow us on Twitter @theIOpodcast or @Ardinger. Until next time, go out and innovate.FREE INNOVATION NEWSLETTER & TOOLSGet the latest episodes of the Inside Outside Innovation podcast, in addition to thought leadership in the form of blogs, innovation resources, videos, and invitations to exclusive events. SUBSCRIBE HEREYou can also search every Inside Outside Innovation Podcast by Topic and Company.  For more innovations resources, check out IO's Innovation Article Database, Innovation Tools Database, Innovation Book Database, and Innovation Video Database.  

Bill has collaborated with Alan Mulally, pitched Steve Jobs, accomplished much, failed often, and learned many useful lessons from thirty years of studying the science of success. He is best described as a pragmatic Simon Sinek; an optimist and an operator. Bill embodies his core purpose - simplified servanthood - by spending each working moment to help create a compassionately productive society by enabling enlightened leaders to focus on the few things that truly matter to their teams and key stakeholders. He has worked for and advised hundreds of companies, including startups, where he has a long track record of success spanning multiple industries. Bill has been a VP of Sales eight times, twice a CMO, and once a GM of a division of a $100MM IT services company before he pivoted to becoming a business growth coach in 2015. Prior to this, he had five successful outcomes, two IPOs, and seven acquisitions, including a turnaround during the 2008 financial crisis. As a coach, in addition to being connected with MG 100, Women's Business Collaborative, MassMEP, Small Giants, and EforAll, Bill has earned certifications from ScalingUp, Gravitas Impact, Metronome United, Predictive Index, and The Neuroleadership Institute. Bill's best-selling book - Further, Faster - The Vital Few Steps that Take the Guesswork out of Growth continues to garner a nearly 5-Star rating generating demand for virtual and in-person national and international speaking opportunities. Away from work, he is an avid reader, amateur musician, athlete, and enjoys volunteering locally. When he is not cheering on his collegiate champion, musically-gifted daughter, Bill lives and works in greater Boston. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

David Parker is a Harvard College grad and has an MBA with honors from Harvard Business School. He has founded and successfully exited two companies since college. In 2012, he started Entrepreneurship for All. The program is an intensive community supporting budding entrepreneurs within under-resourced communities. To date, they have helped create over 500 businesses. Learn More

David Parker is a Harvard College grad and has an MBA with honors from Harvard Business School. He has founded and successfully exited two companies since college. In 2012, he started Entrepreneurship for All. The program is an intensive community supporting budding entrepreneurs within under-resourced communities. To date, they have helped create over 500 businesses. Learn More

Jeff's solo once again. This time talking about the value of being in an entrepreneurship & mentorship program, and especially the value of working with people who have widely different viewpoints to your own. Learn more about EforAll here. The business accelerator programs are well-established in Massachusetts. There are also chapters in Colorado and Arkansas, and they have expansion plans through 2021 and 2022. Here's where you can find your local SCORE chapter and learn more about them. GOOD LUCK!! As always: Like, Comment, Subscribe, Review - those are super helpful for others. And please reach out to us to continue the conversation. Bori is on Instagram at: @bori_suranyi_lmt Jeff is on Instagram at: @justbreathemanualtherapy

In This episode, Jason Cooper speaks with BILL FLYNN. He is best described as a pragmatic Simon Sinek, an optimist and an operator. Bill embodies his core purpose - simplified servanthood - by spending each working moment to help create a compassionately productive society by enabling enlightened leaders to focus on the few things that truly matter to their teams and key stakeholders. He has worked for and advised hundreds of companies, including startups, where he has a long track record of success spanning multiple industries. Bill has been a VP of Sales eight times, twice a CMO and once a GM of a division of a $100MM IT services company before he pivoted to becoming a business growth coach in 2015. Before this, he had five successful outcomes, two IPOs, and seven acquisitions, including a turnaround during the 2008 financial crisis. As a coach, in addition to being connected with MG 100, Women's Business Collaborative, MassMEP, Small Giants, and EforAll, Bill has earned certifications from ScalingUp, Gravitas Impact, Metronome United, Predictive Index, and The Neuroleadership Institute. Additionally, bill's best-selling book - Further, Faster - The Vital Few Steps that Take the Guesswork out of Growth continues to garner a nearly 5-Star rating, generating demand for virtual and in-person national and international speaking opportunities. Away from work, he is an avid reader, amateur musician, athlete and enjoys volunteering locally. Bill lives and works in greater Boston when he is not cheering on his collegiate-champion, musically-gifted daughter. Top 60 Sales Leadership Podcasts You Must Follow in 2021https://blog.feedspot.com/sales_leadership_podcasts/

It was June of 2020 when I interviewed Brandan Burke, co-founder number 1 of 3 of what’s known today as SRVHUB. Brandan & team were not only knee-deep in finding a new brand name for the company, going through the intense EforAll accelerator, trying to build a mobile app, and make sense of the greatest thing on all of our minds — a global pandemic. How do you go from a whirlwind scenario when all of these elements are swirling around you and you don’t even know if getting in-home hair and beauty services will even cease to exist after we come out of the other side?! Luckily for our South Coast community Brandan, Devaughn, and Grantham weathered the storm, launching their mobile offering this March 2021. While we’re not clear of the pandemic yet, for better or for worse, it did bring some opportunity to the team seeking to empower the beauty professional through their support and mobile application. In today’s episode, Devaughn and Grantham join us to provide an update on where they were almost a year ago, to what comes next for the South Coast’s latest on-demand mobile app service. If you like today’s episode, please share it on social media and subscribe to the show at SouthCoast.fm/subscribe

Have a business idea or looking to grow your current business? You are in luck! In this episode we mixed things up a little and invited a special guest, Margie Breault of Entrepreneurship For All. EforAll recently opened their doors in the Great Worcester area and are ready to provide business training, mentorship, an extended professional networks... and cash prizes to program winners! Listen as Margie shares all the resourceful programs available to anyone with a dream to start or grow their business. 

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Dave's Tool of the WeekCleanMyMac XHarry's Tool of the WeekBaronfig Mosaic Desk OrganizerEntrepreneurs Month Episodes#250 - Nicole Perullo of Nolia Mabel#251 - Amanda Kaiser of EforAll#252 - Joey Cofone of BaronfigLinksNotionDay OneAugust Bradley Notion Tutorials on YouTubeThe Shadow Land by Elizabeth KostovaTabletop HeroJoin Our Discord Server!Home Work Podcast DiscordYour HostsDaveHarry

Dave's Tool of the WeekBullet Journal AppHarry's Tool of the WeekHow to back up your Mac with Time MachineAmanda's LinksEforAllEforAll Cape CodLinksAtomic Habits by James ClearFabulous AppFreakonomics RadioTabletop HeroJoin Our Discord Server!Home Work Podcast DiscordYour HostsDaveHarry

Dave's Tool of the WeekBullet Journal AppHarry's Tool of the WeekHow to back up your Mac with Time MachineAmanda's LinksEforAllEforAll Cape CodLinksAtomic Habits by James ClearFabulous AppFreakonomics RadioTabletop HeroJoin Our Discord Server!Home Work Podcast DiscordYour HostsDaveHarry

Harry and Dave talk to Amanda Kaiser about eForAll Business Accelerator, starting a business during COVID, and collaborating with entrepreneurs from the comfort of home.

Harry and Dave talk to Amanda Kaiser about eForAll Business Accelerator, starting a business during COVID, and collaborating with entrepreneurs from the comfort of home.

Harry and Dave talk to Amanda Kaiser about eForAll Business Accelerator, starting a business during COVID, and collaborating with entrepreneurs from the comfort of home.

I'm excited to interview my former mentee from the EforAll program, Samantha Garlington, to explore her journey as an entrepreneur on the South Coast. We're diving deep into the mind of a creative business owner and how we handle selling value for our respective crafts. It was a fun episode, I hope you learn a lot from Samantha's experience. If you do, please say thanks and share the episode with others!

Thom Fox interviews Tessa Murphy-Romboletti, Executive Director of EforAll in Holyoke. EforAll [Entrepreneurship for All] accelerates economic and social impact in communities through inclusive entrepreneurship. Tessa discusses the organization's Business Accelerator program, Pitch Contests, and how EforAll is supporting local entrepreneurs through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Episode 24: Sept. 2, 2020 Thom Fox interviews Tessa Murphy-Romboletti, Executive Director of EforAll in Holyoke Thom Fox interviews Tessa Murphy-Romboletti, Executive Director of EforAll in Holyoke.  EforAll [Entrepreneurship for All] accelerates economic and social impact in communities through inclusive entrepreneurship. Tessa discusses the organization's Business Accelerator program, Pitch Contests, and how EforAll is supporting local entrepreneurs through the COVID-19 pandemic. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brandan Burke is the CEO of B.B. Cuts, a company aimed at creating an on-demand app for beauty & barber services. Think of GotChew (or Lyft) for your hair needs, delivered to your work or home. Enrolled in the Summer cohort of EforAll, Brandan and his team are looking forward to the all of exciting milestones ahead. For a We Are Here first, we’ll have Brandan come back in 90-days after the program ends. One of the most valuable areas of the EforAll program is the story arc young entrepreneurs create for themselves. Coming into the program thinking their business will launch the way they envision it, to seeing how much they change during the accelerator. I’m looking forward to having Brandan back to see the difference. If you liked this episode, consider subscribing to the email list or leaving us a review on iTunes and sharing this post on social media!

Today we’re joined by Suzanne Ramos, Business Technology Instructor at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School. I met Suzanne through the SouthCoast Emerging Leaders ceremony last year as one of the award recipients. Aside from the many job titles she holds around the Fall River area, I was really excited to talk to her about her efforts connecting students with local businesses. A few years ago I won a EforAll pitch contest with an idea that bridged the connection of would-be website developers with local businesses & non-profits. I still think the idea has traction today, a reason why I was excited to interview Suzanne. You can also find & support her efforts at many other Fall River organizations: https://gfrrec.org/ http://gfrpartners.com/ https://unfr.org/ Thanks for listening today, if you like the show, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to subscribe to stay connected!

The guys discuss the proposed development (the Spoke) across from The Hub on Coffman Street, parking around town, the cost of automated litter boxes, and gardening. We're joined by our special guest, Harris Rollinger from Entrepreneurship for All (EforAll), who discusses the small business scene and EforAll's programs that support business development.Reach out to the guys at info@sidedishlongmont.orgBusiness mentions In this episodeEforAll LongmontMoray Inca ProductsCrummies Meatless CrumbleMini Money ManagementDEFY WearEventsBikes and Beers Virtual RidesVirtual Cheesemaking with the Art of CheeseMusicMusic of the week "Ghost Chair" by Taylor Shae Find more about Taylor on the following sites and SocialsSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2Sam8KoIWaj3ZuJCsOvH4cBandcamp: taylorshae.bandcamp.comYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC3d7CDCXZaPK8F2kz4oCvAsocials:Facebook: facebook.com/taylorshaemusic/Instagram: instagram.com/taylorshaemusicTwitter: twitter.com/taylorshaemusicThanks to Andy Eppler for "Nothing but the Rain" as our Intro

Scott Dubois is the Co-Founder of Pidalia, a digital consultancy of senior-level strategists, creatives, and technologists that wrestle with their clients' messy business problems. Scott is also a Partner at Gingham Ventures an early stage investment firm that also advises businesses on strategy and execution. Scott's superpower is creatively combining technology with communications, and integrating them into how a company grows their business. Scott is an internationally recognized speaker on the topics of technology, marketing strategy, user engagement, and cross-media communications as well as a mentor for the MassChallenge and EforAll startup accelerators. “just always be willing to adapt. We know the market is going to change, the business might look different in three, five years and that's okay as long as it aligns with your vision for what it is that you want to be to do for those that you are serving”…[Listen for More] Click Here for Show Notes To Listen or to Get the Show Notes go to https://wp.me/p6Tf4b-7p5

This week on Gateways, we give you Tracy Corley’s live conversation with entrepreneur Luis Gonsalves during the October 2nd Entrepreneurship For All Leadership Summit in Lowell. Luis is an alum of New Bedford High, the US military, and EforAll, which gave him the tools to thrive in the competitive restaurant industry. A health food aficionado with a passion for barbering, Luis, alongside his wife Stacy, run multiple operations. Three Shear Genius barbershops and a Ms. Shear Genius salon dot the Fall River landscape, and his restaurant featuring nutritious options, Juice’d Café, has expanded to three locations: its flagship in Fall River, plus a storefront in both New Bedford and Newport, Rhode Island. The two discuss Luis’ entrepreneurial journey, running businesses in the community he’s a member of, as well as what the future holds for his businesses, especially considering the imminent arrival of South Coast Rail. Give us your feedback! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BFZDY26

Our guest, Hunter Foote, is a serial and an altruistic entrepreneur. With a strong background in private equity and real estate investment, Hunter is the Founder & Executive Director of the Vanderburgh House, a certified B-corporation with a mission to build recovery focused, peer supported, sober living communities. Vanderburgh is passionate about ending the stigma of addiction and giving those in recovery a safe place to continue their journey of sobriety.Hunter is also the Managing Director of Honeybee Financial, an innovator in real estate and business lending.Hunter and I both mentor at EforAll… my favorite non-profit accelerator program, and I’m so excited for you to meet this extraordinary entrepreneur.You'll hear Hunter share:* the benefits of filing as a B Corporation* the very expensive lesson he learned when he launched the business * how he figured out the best duplicatable business model for scaling* hiring missteps and solutions* why providing 100% financial transparency leaves employees feeling empowered * his profound love, passion and purpose for his work in the worldIf you're feeling called to run a Vanderburgh House in your community, please reach out to Hunter (info@VanderburghHouse.com). They'll give you the model on a licensing fee basis, and they will purchase the house and lease it back to you to keep your capital expenditures low.Website: https://www.vanderburghhouse.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hunter-foote-36babb28/Here's the scoop on filing a B Corporation: https://bcorporation.net/certificationIf you’d like to receive an alert whenever I post a new episode, please follow the Startup Life Show wherever you listen to podcasts, including: Stitcher, Spotify or Apple/Google Podcasts… and let’s connect on social media! You'll always find me hanging out at my favorite social media bar - Twitter! https://twitter.com/AndeLyonsDo you have a startup story you’d like to share on the Startup Life Show podcast? Please reach out to me via email – ande@andelyons.com. You'll find tons of curated DIY startup advice on my YouTube Channel Andelicious Advice: https://www.youtube.com/user/AndeliciousAdvice and please subscribe to my bi-monthly newsletter, Let’s Stick Together -> http://bit.ly/AndeliciousNewsletterDo you need a pitch deck reviewed? I've raised millions from VC and thousands from Angels... and I'm a co-host of a monthly pitch event in Boston. I can make sure your deck is ready for investors and a pitch event. Click this link to learn more: http://bit.ly/PitchDeckAuditDo you need an “Urgent Care for Startup Founders” coaching session? You can schedule me by the minute here: https://andelyons.as.me/Listeners - thank you so much for tuning in - I am genuinely grateful for your time and presence. Stay strong, stay focused – and please remember – you’ve got this – Cheers!Ande ♥

Our guest, Andreina Viera, is an administrative professional and business aficionado committed to creating solutions for businesses and enabling growth in professional settings. As founder of The Vieras, an organization providing outsourced administrative, financial, HR and marketing solutions to growing businesses, Andreina works with startups and seasoned entrepreneurs. She's an experienced leader and active member in her community, serving as a mentor to organizations like Junior Achievement, and a board member for organizations like Entrepreneurship for All. Andreina's personal passion is to create opportunities for women of color and empower growth within her community. I've known Andreina for three years now and have watched her blossom from a newbie business owner into a phenomenal female founder. Andreina shares:* step-by-step how she launched, branded and built her administrative business* how she addressed her insecurities around owning and operating a business* her best advice for founders to let go and outsource tasks* how she manages raising children and raising a businessIt is such an honor for me to introduce you to this wonderful woman and share her remarkable startup story with you!Please connect and follow Andreina here:https://www.facebook.com/GetaViera/https://www.instagram.com/getaviera/https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreina-viera-admin-solutions/https://getaviera.com/Learn more about EforAll here: http://eforall.orgIf you’d like to receive an alert whenever I post a new episode, please follow the Startup Life Show wherever you listen to podcasts, including: Stitcher, Spotify or Apple/Google Podcasts… and let’s connect on social media!Do you have a startup story you’d like to share on the Startup Life Show podcast? Please reach out to me via email – ande@andelyons.com. You'll find tons of curated DIY startup advice on:Website http://andelyons.comYouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/AndeliciousAdvice Pinterest Boards: https://www.pinterest.com/andelyons/boards/DIY Products: https://andelyons.com/diy-products-for-startup-founders/Grab my FREE 12-Month Cash Flow Projection Template here: https://selz.co/VJb2t-NbvAre you ready for 1 on 1 founder coaching? Please schedule a free convo with me here: https://andelyons.as.me/Listeners - thank you so much for tuning in - I am genuinely grateful for your time and presence. Stay strong, stay focused – and please remember – you’ve got this – Cheers!Ande ♥

In this episode of Gateways, Tracy is once again in the Merrimack Valley, this time exploring how small business development programs are shaping transit-oriented development. She starts in Lowell, where the UMass Lowell Innovation Hub has served as an incubator for budding tech companies. Andrew Shapiro of the City of Lowell discusses how Caide Systems and Peroxygen, two startups, have found permanent homes near the Gallagher Transportation Center. Also, Tracy speaks with Lianna Kushi of EforAll, a business accelerator program. They discuss how technical assistance and mentorship can bring vibrant businesses to vacant storefronts in downtowns and transit-oriented districts. We then hear from four of the 14 entrepreneurs in the 2019 Lowell-Lawrence Summer Accelerator: Sing Thanousith of Hop Sing in Town, Virgilio Velazco of Foodega (formerly known as Spoon and Pork), Jennifer Flores of Jennifer the Traveling Stylist, Karen Vasso of Neighbor's Acre Farm, and Tim Crowley of OurCards.

In the first hour, Chris welcomes Lauren Barker, CEO of CCYP & Craig Orse-BOD member to share information on the 4th Annual Shape Your Cape Summit! They discuss focus areas including "family policy", housing, well paying job opportunities, quality of life & their partnership with EforAll. Join them at the Summit, April 4th at the Sea Crest hotel in N. Falmouth. www.capecodyoungprofessionals.org.  Chris closes the hour with a preview into the next hour, including a discussion on the yield curve, a recap of the quarter, & a reminder that tax returns are due on 4/17/19 this year!  Listen in. #CCYP #ShapeYourCape, #EforAll #taxseason #yieldcurve

In the second hour, Chris and Lisa welcome Christin Marshall, Executive Director of EforALL.  She shares her work history and what inspired her and how she "got the Entrepreneurial-ship bug." They help individuals that are in their early stages of their business idea.  They offer a 12 week one-year program. Their next "shark tank" style event is the Fresh Ideas Pitch Contest on March 21 6-8:30 pm! www.eforall.org. She also founded Camp Time Out, which is an adult summer camp!  www.Camptimeout.org. It's National Consumer Week, Chris & Lisa close the show talking credit scores & identity theft & more!  Lisa quizzes Chris on his knowledge of financial basics!  Great show! #sharktank #EforALL #creditscores #identitytheft 

Are you thinking about hitting the streets and serving up some tasty treats? It's an excellent decision given the food truck industry has a huge 7.9% annual growth rate for the past 5 years, has a low start-up cost of approximately $50,000 to $100,000, with expected annual revenue of $250,000 to $500,000!Bob Cuesta, Founder of the Empanada Dada Cuban Food Truck, shares his best advice to help you launch, brand and build a successful food truck business.In May of 2017 Bob left Corporate America and launched the Empanada Dada food truck. It’s based out of Lowell, MA and can be found at local farmer's markets, fairs, corporate venues, and festivals around Eastern MA and Southern NH. Bob goes deep into every aspect of the food truck business - from build out to customer experience - he covers all the nitty gritty details from his own food truck founder journey.If you’d like to learn how to provide an outstanding social media customer experience, please follow Bob on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn – the way he brands his business and keeps the customer connection happening on all 3 platforms is amazing. Links to his social media accounts are below.Bob shared two pieces of advice that are significant for ALL startup founders. “You can have a great product, the best product in the world. Your food could be so tasty, but how do those customers leave you after their purchase? What was that interaction like? For me, I really believe 40% of it might be the food, but 60% is really about how you represent to your community and how customers feel when they do business with you.” Bob said he always makes sure his customers are satisfied, they're getting a top-notch product, but he also makes sure he has made a meaningful connection with them. We all need to remember that with our customers and clients right?Bob also shared an important aspect about the entrepreneurial journey.He came from 20 years being in a call center surrounded by people ten hours a day. Now, he’s a little bit lonely. That's how it is. Being an entrepreneur, you're wearing 15 different hats, so while he may service 200 customers, the conversation is usually "What would you like?" and "Here's your change." You're not really talking about your day, so having a support structure is so important. Bob says at home, if you don't have the support of your spouse, your kids, it's going to be really, really difficult for this startup experience to be successful. You need to have that backbone support and that really starts with home.And yes, he said having a mentor is equally important. :-DI met Bob at EforAll, a 12-month, non-profit accelerator program in the Greater Boston area. I was his mentor/coach, and it was my sincere pleasure and honor to watch this founder launch, brand and build his successful food truck business.If you have any questions for Bob and me or would like to continue the conversation … please leave a comment below … we’d love to hear from you!If you need startup mentoring – please visit my website, andelyons.com where you’ll find all the ways I can add value to your startup journey – strategy calls, pitch deck and one page business snapshot coaching, WBENC application support for women business owners - I’d be honored to mentor you– so please don’t hesitate to reach out.If you’d like to receive an alert whenever I post a new episode, please follow me on Spreaker, Stitcher and Google Play… and let’s connect on social media, too!Until next time, stay strong, stay focused – and please remember – you’ve got this – Cheers!Ande ♥Empanada Dada's Social Media Links and Website Link:https://www.facebook.com/EmpanadaDada/https://www.instagram.com/empanadadada/https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-cuesta/https://www.empanadadada.com/Please visit EforAll here: http://eforall.org

I'm excited to sit down with my good friend Jeremiah Hernandez of EforAll to chat about his new role at the organization and how he got started as an entrepreneur in downtown New Bedford. If you like the show, please share with others to help get the word out and don't forget to subscribe to never miss an episode!

We're back with the new Fall 2018 of the We Are Here podcast! Today I'm excited to sit down with Kevin Rose Jr. of UnpluggedFloatEssentials.com. I first met Kevin during an eForAll cohort nearly 2 years ago. I remember his pitch of floatation "capsules" for restorative health and mindfulness thinking he was from the future. I'm happy to see Kevin's business is still thriving and his insight into pivoting to online product sales to bootstrap the retail space is very valuable. Don't forget to share this episode with your friends and family, and please leave us a five-star review on iTunes!

Tessa Murphy-Romboletti shares with us the news about the changes happening at the local entrepreneurship program Spark, now named Spark EforAll Holyoke. With this new model, local businesses and entrepreneurs will have more resources and support to start, to continue growing and to become successful.

Andreina Viera is the Founder and CEO of Viera Admin Solutions, LLC. an Executive Assistant Outsourcing firm that helps small businesses with their back-office support. VAS' mission is to make business simpler by freeing up work overload and allow clients to spend more time on revenue generating activities. Andreina has over 15 years of experience in the administrative world and has multiple Executive Assistants working in her firm. Andreina is a past participant of the EforAll 2016 winter accelerator program, where she won the top prize for her business. She was also featured in the Eagle Tribune as the up and coming, hardworking entrepreneur and in Boston Voyager Magazine.  She has worked for DKNY, Nestle U.S.A., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and The Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In her different administrative roles she's managed several departments and assisted many Directors, Presidents and Department Heads. She's also written successful business plans and has managed two small businesses off the ground. In this episode Andreina, discusses What being an employer who can offer her team work-life balance personally means to her Her passion for being a role-model to young, single mothers of color Why she believes that immigrants are statistically more entrepreneurial than native-born Americans 

Andreina Viera is the Founder and CEO of Viera Admin Solutions, LLC. an Executive Assistant Outsourcing firm that helps small businesses with their back-office support. VAS' mission is to make business simpler by freeing up work overload and allow clients to spend more time on revenue generating activities. Andreina has over 15 years of experience in the administrative world and has multiple Executive Assistants working in her firm. Andreina is a past participant of the EforAll 2016 winter accelerator program, where she won the top prize for her business. She was also featured in the Eagle Tribune as the up and coming, hardworking entrepreneur and in Boston Voyager Magazine.  She has worked for DKNY, Nestle U.S.A., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and The Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In her different administrative roles she's managed several departments and assisted many Directors, Presidents and Department Heads. She's also written successful business plans and has managed two small businesses off the ground. In this episode Andreina, discusses Becoming a mom at 15-years-old and how she managed to complete school and a career as a mother of two by age 21 How her work in administrative services, project management, and operations lead her to supporting an accelerator program at MIT prior to joining one herself The impact that E-For-All, a non-profit that support economic development in mid-size cities through entrepreneurship, got VAS off the ground and changed her life

CEO Rajia Aziz & CTO Ray Hamilton are former classmates turned co-founders when they realized a class project had the potential to help save some of the 10,000 lives lost every year to ineffective policing technology. Prior to graduating from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, they started Invisawear, a smart jewelry company that uses the technology they've developed on their own to alert law enforcement or loved ones of your exact location in an emergency or life-threatening situation. Unable to attain investors at first, the first capital they raised was through a pitch contest where they won first place and a $500 cash prize. Since then, they have gone on to participate and graduate from the EForAll accelerator program as well as world-renown MassChallenege accelerator and have been featured as Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2017. In this episode, Rajia and Ray discuss: How even a little bit of work experience can set your business up for success. “The Chicken or the Egg” issue in receiving funding for a product. Where their love for engineering developed and how you can introduce your child to technology. What makes them great co-founders and what qualities to look for in your team as you scale your business. With Invisawear pre-orders are now available HERE. Please make sure you also check them out at: www.invisawear.com FB: @invisawear Twitter: @InvisaWear Instagram: @InvisaWear

CEO Rajia Aziz & CTO Ray Hamilton are former classmates turned co-founders when they realized a class project had the potential to help save some of the 10,000 lives lost every year to ineffective policing technology. Prior to graduating from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, they started Invisawear, a smart jewelry company that uses the technology they've developed on their own to alert law enforcement or loved ones of your exact location in an emergency or life-threatening situation. Unable to attain investors at first, the first capital they raised was through a pitch contest where they won first place and a $500 cash prize. Since then, they have gone on to participate and graduate from the EForAll accelerator program as well as world-renown MassChallenege accerlator and have been featured as Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2017. In this episode, Rajia and Ray discuss: The origins of how this product that is now getting attention from investors globally started off from an assignment inspired by a major concern on the college campus. The importance of men in supporting the fight to protect women against sexual assault. How the technology two college students developed is more effective than dialing 911.

Welcome to the first episode of the We Are Here podcast! Today's guest is Shelley Cardoos from eForAll and Hippo. There's lots of great insight in this episode for entrepreneurs new and old. Enter your chance to win a $25 giftcard to Shelley's Hippo store!