Entrepreneurial Insights

Robert Shaw (S5E12)

Susan Stepherson (S5E11)

SweetBio (S5E9)

SweetBio is a great entrepreneurial story. Let’s meet Kayla Rodriguez Graff and Isaac Rodriguez, Co-Founders of SweetBio, who are revolutionizing wound care with collagen + honey products, starting in dermatology with skin cancer removal recovery. Kayla Rodriguez Graff, MBA, CEO, is a dynamic leader in healthcare and wound care industries, driving fundraising and advocating for women, diversity, and life sciences. She has been featured in Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and national TV commercials. Isaac...

Joshua D Poag (S5E7)

The Society of Entrepreneurs and Epicenter recently launched What’s Next, a series of lunches featuring new and exciting businesses in the Memphis area. This podcast was recorded during the founder of Avadain Brad Larschan’s, recent What’s Next presentation. Josh Poag serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer at Poag, a position he has held since its formation in 2014. He was previously President and CEO of Poag & McEwen Shopping Center from 2009 until 2014. With over 20 years of e...

Brad Larschan (S5E6)

The Society of Entrepreneurs and Epicenter recently launched What’s Next, a series of lunches featuring new and exciting businesses in the Memphis area. This podcast was recorded during the founder of Avadain Brad Larschan’s, recent What’s Next presentation. Avadain is at the forefront of nanotech, with the only known technology capable of manufacturing the world’s most highly sought-after advanced material – large, thin, and nearly defect-free (LTDF) graphene flakes. LTDF graphene flakes are th...

Bob McEniry (S5E5)

Robert G. McEniry is retired Chairman of nexAir, an 83-year multi-generational company with headquarters in Memphis, TN. nexAir, founded in 1940 as Standard Welders Supply, was purchased by his father in 1950. Bob worked summers at the company during high school and college. Graduating from Vanderbilt University, Bob formally joined the company in 1963. He became President of the company in July 1971 and Chairman/CEO in 1996. Under his leadership, Bob guided the company and growth, which include...

Leta Nutt (S5E4)

Meet the founder of Nutt Bio, a devoted dog mom and seasoned biomedical scientist with 25 years of expertise in unraveling the intricacies of cancer cell demise. She's on a mission to revolutionize the approach to addressing boar taint in piglets by replacing cumbersome procedures with a user-friendly single-injection sterilant. Drawing from her cancer cell research, she identified a delicate balance in metabolite concentrations influencing cell fate and strategically leveraged the external loca...

Johnny Pitts (S5E3)

Are you in the top 20% or the top 2%? Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance Managing Partner Johnny Pitts, a Higginbotham Partner and founder of CityCURRENT, explores how you can rise into the top 2% in all of your endeavors. As a born and raised Memphian, Johnny is very passionate about enriching, engaging, and impacting the community. We hope that you enjoy this conversation about Johnny’s entrepreneurial journey and passion for “powering the good”.

David Wedaman (S5E2)

David Wedaman is the Founder and Former CEO at Re Transportation. He attended The University of Memphis. In 2002, David Wedaman and a handful of employees started ReTrans. ReTrans is an intermodal marketing company that moves freight throughout the United States, with it’s primary focus on intermodal transportation. David’s charitable work includes, but is not limited to: Board of Directors of Lifeblood Foundation; Advisory Board for Catholic High; Past Chairman of the Intermodal Association of ...

Susan Stephenson (S5E1)

Susan Stephenson is a passionate Memphian, proud mom of four, and grandmother of 12 perfect grandchildren. This is her 44th year in banking—the last 25 years at independent bank (i-bank) the company her partner and she founded in 1998. She serves on several local boards, including the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis, and New Memphis Institute, and is the current President of the Society of Entrepreneurs.

A Panel Presentation On Protecting Your Brand (S4E8)

The Society of Entrepreneurs and Epicenter Memphis recently presented “Protecting Your Brand”, a panel on harnessing your skills to bring the best product to your customer while also knowing when to say no to protect the integrity of your brand. This panel features Susan Stephenson of Independent Bank, Shannon Briggs of Campfire Collective, Lisa Toro of City & State, Bartholomew Jones of Cxffeeblack, and our moderator Mike Bruns, retired Founder of Comtrak Logistics. We hope that you will en...

Chris Bird (S4E7)

From his earliest recollections Chris Bird was always interested in business, commerce and sales-from operating drink stands by the neighborhood tennis court to advertising his lawn mowing business on white match book cases with a rubber stamp with his contact information. In college, Chris even started 1520 Enterprises Unlimited to loan money to friends who were short on funds pending payday or mom and dad’s deposit. Although unincorporated and unlicensed that business was very similar to today...

Frank Cianciola (S4E6)

Frank J. Cianciola serves as Founder, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Banc3 Holdings, Inc. He began his financial services career at Union Planters in 1973 and from 1984-1992 he held a variety of executive positions with Commerce Union Bank (C&S Sovran). From 1992-1995, Cianciola served as CFO of The Memphis Group, Inc., a $60 million aerospace company. In 1995, he became CEO of Victory Bank and Trust, followed by his role as Founder, CEO and Chairman of Renasant Bank. F...

Phil Coop (S4E5)

Phillip G. Coop is the co-founder and Chairman of Memphis, Tennessee based EnSafe Inc., one of the nation’s largest environmental and safety consulting firms. The original founders, Phil Coop, Wendell Knight, and James Speakman were motivated by their strong desire to pursue careers (then unavailable in the commercial sector) that intersected business, science and public policy related to environmental protection and safety. EnSafe manages environmental and safety risk issues for companies throu...

Denise Higdon, James Kelley, Dr. Mary McDonald (S4E4)

This podcast is a little different than our others because we noticed a theme in many of our interviews on the importance of mentoring. We invited Denise Higdon, CEO of Work Site Consultants and James Kelley, Partner-Operations and Business Development at the KGR Group to join us and mentor Extraordinaire, Dr. Mary McDonald to share their thoughts on mentoring. Both Denise and James participate in the Society of Entrepreneurs mentoring group, the Insights group. We hope that you will enjoy heari...

Doug Marchant (S4E3)

Doug Marchant is a serial entrepreneur that was honored as the 2023 Master Entrepreneur by The Society of Entrepreneurs and Junior Achievement for his impact as an entrepreneur and in the community. Doug Marchant is the President/CEO of Unified Health Services (www.uhsweb.com). In 1997, he was one of the original founders of Unified Health Services. Under his leadership UHS has become a leading provider of worker’s compensation claim processing services nationally, handling over 400,000 patient ...

Jay Myers (S4E2)

Jay B. Myers is founder and CEO of Interactive Solutions Inc. (ISI), a Memphis-based firm that specializes in video conferencing, distance learning, telemedicine, and audio-visual sales and support. Jay started ISI in 1996 and has built it into a $25-million company with 55 employees & offices in Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, as well as Oxford, MS, & Little Rock, AR. ISI has received numerous corporate awards and recognition in the past several years. The company was named to INC. magaz...

Going to Market (S4E1)

The Entrepreneurial Insights podcast kicked off season 4 with a live taping of a presentation on “Going to Market”. The podcast features Kiamesha Wilson (Kaye's Pints & Scoops), Randy Stepherson (Superlo Foods - Stepherson's) and Art Seessel, formerly of Seessel’s Supermarket. These veteran entrepreneurs shared some excellent insight on the ins and outs of "going to market" with products successfully. We hope that you enjoy the show. Links to items mentioned in the interview: Kaye’s Pints an...

John Wilcox (S3BONUS)

On his ninth birthday, John Wilcox was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. These days, he’s looking to help others with the same health condition. Wilcox is the CEO and cofounder of Diatech Diabetes , a local medical device startup that’s developing a software platform to help people with diabetes obtain proper amounts of insulin. There are about 600,000 diabetes patients who use insulin pumps in the U.S. They regularly inject insulin into their body, ideally ensuring that they receive the correct a...

Ron Coleman (S3E10)

Ron Coleman is the President of Competition Cams, a world leader in valve train technology, and under his management the company has acquired several other businesses, including TCI Automotive, LLC and Quarter Master Industries. Coleman founded the National Muscle Car Association, which is recognized as the largest national sanctioning group dedicated to street-legal vehicles. He is also the Founder, President and Chairman of Xceleration Media, LLC, which was acquired by Power Automedia. Coleman...

Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman (S3E9)

Natives of Memphis, Andy and Michael began cooking as children. Their extended Italian families would gather for jovial Sunday suppers, where everyone would help make homemade meatballs and ravioli. When Andy and Michael met at Christian Brothers High School, they immediately connected over their similar ancestral backstories. After graduating from the University of Mississippi and Auburn University, respectively, Andy and Michael attended Johnson and Wales University in Charleston, SC and the I...

Harry Smith (S3EP08)

Harry Smith's years in public accounting prepared him for his life-changing career move to the Schilling Companies, Inc. as he assumed the role of Chairman and CEO of the 1,000-person company. This is the holding company for the real estate and automotive divisions. He also owned, in partnership with Boyle Investment Company, Schilling Farms, a 448-acre planned business development in Collierville, TN. Over the past 35 years, Smith has been involved in a number of businesses which include automo...

Gary Dodson (S3EP7)

When Tommy Earl and Gary Dodson purchased four of Barloworld Truck Center’s dealerships in the summer of 2007, they say their $25 million bought the best Barloworld had to offer in the Freightliner business in terms of employees and customers. The service center and dealership locations are in Jackson, Tennessee; Jonesboro, Arkansas; and Tupelo, Mississippi; with headquarters in Memphis. With the purchases, Earl and Dodson formed TAG (an acronym for Tommy and Gary) Truck Enterprises LLC. Perhaps...

Denise Stewart (S3EP6)

In 1988, Denise Burnett Stewart, RN, BSN joined her friend Carol Paterson, who had an idea to start a specialized nurse staffing company. During the first year, they worked to build their client base and nurse base, but were taken off course when Carol was diagnosed with cancer. In 1990, Carol passed away and Denise became president and owner. Known today as OR Nurses Nationwide/Travel Nurses, Inc., the company has expanded to staffing all nurse specialties and allied professionals nationwide. I...

Karen Blockman Carrier (S3EP5)

From art student to artist, designer to chef to restaurateur, Karen Blockman Carrier has been creating in different mediums for more than 25 years. Her first love was painting and glasswork and that, in a roundabout way, is where she got her start in the culinary world. Apprenticing and studying under the brilliant artist, Dorothy Sturm, Carrier spent her early years at The Memphis Academy of Art gaining as much knowledge as Ms. Sturm would bestow. After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts f...

Fred Jones (S3EP4)

Growing up in the Cleaborne Homes housing community in the Memphis area, Fred Jones worked during the day and went to school at night to earn his BBA degree from then Memphis State University in 1971. He recognized that the support of his family and friends was vital to that achievement, and he wanted others to have that same support and opportunity. Having discovered a knack for putting together entertainers with large audiences in the most attractive venues, he blended that talent with his lov...

John Malmo (S3EP3)

A founding member of the Society of Entrepreneurs, John Malmo has spent more than 60 years in advertising and marketing. He founded John Malmo Advertising in 1967 and built it into the largest agency in the Mid-South. He sold the agency to Ward Archer & Associates in 1991 and became a full-time marketing consultant in 1994. He currently serves as chairman emeritus of Archer Malmo, Inc. Malmo is a past president of the Memphis Advertising Federation, recipient of the American Advertising Fede...

Art Gilliam (S3EP2)

In 1977, he launched Gilliam Communications, Inc. and bought the WLOK radio station. In doing so, WLOK became the first African American-owned Memphis radio station and the city's first locally owned station. As president and CEO of Gilliam Communications, Inc., Gilliam has also operated radio stations in New Orleans, Louisiana, Jacksonville, Florida, and Savannah, Georgia. He also sponsors the annual WLOK Stone Soul Picnic, which draws thousands of attendees. Gilliam’s WLOK has earned the title...

Daphne Large (S3EP1)

Daphne Large, founding CEO of Data Facts got her start in the Consumer Reporting industry at the young age of 16 at Equifax Services while still attending Briarcrest High School. She stayed with Equifax while attending the University of Memphis and rose to the position of Assistant Regional Manager. She recognized a competitive advantage and started Data Facts in 1989 at the age of 27. She saw an opportunity to start a company that was both employee and customer focused. Today, she serves as CEO...

Jay Martin (S2EP12)

Jay Martin graduated from the University of Georgia in 1968 and moved to Memphis in 1969. Jay founded National Safety Associates (Juice Plus Co.) with $500 and has served as President and CEO since its inception. Juice Plus+ has 75,000 independent distributors in all 50 states and 25 foreign countries, with system-wide sales of $425 million annually and has sales since inception of more than $12 billion. Juice Plus+ has 450 employees, primarily housed at corporate headquarters in Collierville, a...