In this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast, Jeff Amerine and Haley Allgood joined Luke and Natalie Freeman, the founders of the Freckled Hen Farmhouse, a curated retail shop of functional and sustainable home goods and gifts. The shop began as a social media account featuring products that Luke and Natalie used in renovating their home and has grown into a retail store on College Avenue and an online presence of more than 40,000 followers. In this episode, Luke and Natalie reflect on humble ...
Sep 03, 2019•26 min•Ep. 171
In this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast, Jeff Amerine and Chandler Abbott sit down with Michael Iseman, the former Chief Relationship Officer of Startup Junkie, now an Analyst and Investor Educator at AcreTrader. Michael reflects on four years of working at Startup Junkie, finding a wife, and working with thousands of entrepreneurs and startups. Jeff recalls highlights of Michael’s tenure, such as kicking off Arkansas’s first accelerator program, helping entrepreneurs run the startup race...
Aug 12, 2019•36 min•Ep. 170
In this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast, Haley Allgood and Martha Londagin sit down with Eric Howerton and Brooke McNeely of WhyteSpyder. WhyteSpyder has recently relocated to Emma Avenue and Startup Junkie has opened a new office in Springdale for events and consulting meetings in the Springdale area. Eric and Martha reflect on the history of Springdale while Haley details the resources available to entrepreneurs through Startup Junkie. Learn more about WhyteSpyder . Connect with Haley ,...
Jul 25, 2019•33 min•Ep. 169
In this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast, Jeff Amerine, Haley Allgood, and Chandler Abbott join Ryan Burton, the founder of Burton’s Creamery. Ryan started Burton’s Creamery as a food truck in 2014 and it has since expanded into catering service and a brick and mortar store in Uptown Fayetteville. Ryan tells the story of how a sweet hobby became a successful startup by establishing a MVP, going to ice cream school, and creating NWA’s only premium soft serve. Connect with Ryan Check out Bur...
Jul 15, 2019•38 min•Ep. 168
In this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast, Jeff Amerine, Haley Allgood, and Chandler Abbott sit down with Helena Gadison and Dr. Todd Jenkins to discuss how entrepreneurs should create an authentic brand for themselves and their business. Todd currently serves as the chair of the NWA Young Professionals Summit and Helena will be one of the guest speakers this year. During this podcast, Helena and Todd preview the themes of personal, professional, and philanthropic development for the 4th an...
Jul 08, 2019•39 min•Ep. 167
In this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast, Jeff Amerine, Haley Allgood, and Chandler Abbott sit down with Edwin Ortiz, the founder and CEO of Luncher. Luncher is a platform that enables customers to get lunch delivered for free in high density areas with supply chain efficiencies. Edwin views Luncher as a culmination of his experiences in supply chain that began when he took over his parents transportation business when he was just 12 years old. To Edwin, Luncher is not just an innovative d...
Jul 01, 2019•18 min•Ep. 166
In this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast, Jeff Amerine and Taylor Hasley sit down with Kent Wood, the founder and CEO of ReadtheLabl. Kent founded ReadtheLabl after recognizing a need in the marketplace for transparent packaged foods and researching at the University of Arkansas Food Innovation Center for a solution. Kent’s vision for ReadtheLabl began by creating three sauces that are organic, shelf stable without acids, and contain no added sugar or preservatives. Using his experience of...
Jun 24, 2019•13 min•Ep. 165
In this episode of the Startup Junkies podcast, Jeff Amerine and Michael Iseman sit down with James Farmer, the founder of startup grocery delivery service, Easybins. Easybins is a unique delivery service that offers free delivery in which a user places their order before midnight and it’s delivered while the customer sleeps at night. The mission of Easybins is not just to create a seamless delivery service, but to make eating at home easier. According to James, food for us is more than fuel. It...
Jun 17, 2019•49 min•Ep. 164
In this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast, Michael Iseman and Chandler Abbott sit down with Stephen Linn during his visit to Bentonville for the Power of Music Festival. Stephen founded AmpliFLY entertainment after two decades of broadcasting and marketing experience with major networks to help independent artists build a sustainable career and currently serves as an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center. Building and growing something new has been a defining charac...
Jun 03, 2019•51 min•Ep. 163
In this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast, Jeff Amerine and Michael Iseman sit down with David Baker, current Vice President of Product Strategy at RevUnit. RevUnit builds digital solutions and strategies that unlock productivity and drive employee engagement by leveraging human-centric design, strategic vision, and emerging tech. David discusses how collaborative design processes and opportunities to try new things foster employee ownership in their work. To David, working better means con...
May 28, 2019•23 min•Ep. 162
In this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast, Jeff Amerine and Haley Allgood head to the first ever Shark Tank casting call in Arkansas. Presented by Startup Junkie, the casting call gave local entrepreneurs in the heartland the opportunity to give a one-minute pitch of their business, product or idea. If chosen, local contestants may be featured on “Shark Tank” for a chance to make their dreams a reality. Guests featured in this episode include Mindy Zemrack, casting coordinator for Shark Tan...
May 20, 2019•47 min•Ep. 161
In this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast, Jeff Amerine and Michael Iseman sit down with the creators of the Purlu App, Brad Cardwell and Caitlin Trickett. Purlu showcases food and drink specials for Northwest Arkansas in an app interface that is easy to use. Brad and Caitlin discuss the challenges of communicating with a development team on the other side of the world while sharing the excitement of gaining momentum by partnering with NWA restaurants. Download the Purlu app: https://www.pu...
May 13, 2019•32 min•Ep. 160
In this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast, Jeff Amerine and Michael Melfi reflect on investing in America’s heartland. This episode was recorded as a live simulcast for Michael Melfi’s Be Investable podcast. In Fayetteville and Detroit, Jeff and Michael are improving the odds of entrepreneurs by building sustainable startup ecosystems. As entrepreneurs turned investors, Jeff and Michael discuss how critical the importance of the team is in increasing the chances of raising money and becomin...
May 06, 2019•49 min•Ep. 159
This episode of the Startup Junkies Podcasts contains four mini episodes featuring mentors and participants of the 2019 Northwest Arkansas Startup Weekend. Hosts Jeff Amerine, Haley Allgood, and Chandler Abbott sit down with mentors Kent Watson of Metova, Jordan Carlisle of the Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce, and Aricka Lewis of RevUnit. Kent and Aricka talk about advising the Startup Weekend teams with customer discovery and validation while Jordan reflects on his experience of be...
May 02, 2019•44 min•Ep. 158
In this special edition of the Startup Junkies Podcast, Jeff Amerine and Chandler Abbott sit down with mentors and participants of the 2019 Northwest Arkansas Startup Weekend. Startup Weekend gives aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators a chance to develop a working concept in a weekend and get feedback from experienced mentors. Ryan Frazier and Chuong Nguyen, former co-founders of DataRank, returned to mentor teams at Startup Weekend and share updates on their careers during an on location inter...
Apr 18, 2019•32 min•Ep. 157
In this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast, the co-founders of MORE Technologies, Canon Reeves, Kaushik Ramini, and Peyton Smith, join Jeff Amerine and Michael Iseman to reflect on the first year of MORE Technologies and share their excitement from their recent launch on Kickstarter. MORE Technologies, an Edtech company that provides affordable robotics education, went from an idea to a full business in 54 hours with 75 pre orders after winning the 2018 Northwest Arkansas Startup Weekend. Ca...
Mar 21, 2019•37 min•Ep. 156
In this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast, Carter Malloy, Founder and CEO of AcreTrader, joins hosts Jeff Amerine and Michael Iseman to detail the recent launch of their farmland investment platform. AcreTrader pairs the high performing investment of farm land with a transparent and approachable platform which makes it easy for investors to add farmland to their portfolio without buying a whole farm. Carter grew up on a family farm, and has an impressive background as an entrepreneur, resea...
Mar 14, 2019•52 min•Ep. 155
In this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast, Will Gilbrech joins Jeff Amerine and Michael Iseman to reflect on his entrepreneurial journey that began when Will and Michael were taking Jeff’s New Venture Development course at the University of Arkansas. Since then, Will has led sales development for Arkansas’s first Y Combinator startup, DataRank, and now co-owns a fast growing HVAC company, Franklin Heating & Air. Tune in to learn more about Will’s journey as well as his philosophy on cost ef...
Feb 25, 2019•52 min•Ep. 154
February 18th, 2019 Michael Brown, CEO of Insight Leadership Group and Lead Minister of Thrive Christian Church, joins this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast to detail how an early morning epiphany began an entrepreneurial journey to become a business and spiritual counselor. Insight Leadership Group uses data driven strategies to work with CEOs and leadership teams to diagnose goals and then execute a plan for improving the workplace culture. In business and church, Michael’s mission is to...
Feb 18, 2019•38 min•Ep. 153
152: Celebration and Restoration at Markham & Fitz Chocolate In this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast, Lauren Blanco, CEO of Markham & Fitz Chocolate joins the team to discuss her passion behind creating a company and her spirit for bringing people together through chocolate. Lauren believes that businesses can be a driver towards making the earth a better place. In doing so, she ensures that Markham & Fitz leaves an environmentally friendly footprint, and takes a conscious effort towards ...
Jan 14, 2019•36 min•Ep. 152
151: Ecosystem Building with the AEDC In this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast, Michael Iseman and Jeff Standridge sit down with Clark Cogbill and Jeff Moore of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission to discuss business retention and expansion in the State of Arkansas. This episode is actually a simulcast airing here on the Startup Junkies Podcast, and also on the Arkansas Inc. Podcast run by the AEDC. Be sure to subscribe to both for more stories of entrepreneurs and innovators from...
Jan 07, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 151
Greg Tehven is an entrepreneurial ecosystem builder in Fargo, North Dakota, and Executive Director for Emerging Prairie. Emerging Prairie works as a similar concept to Startup Junkie, connecting and building their entrepreneurial community - and they do it in some big ways, like organizing the world's largest 1 Million Cups chapter, hosting a TEDx event with over 2,000 attendees, and bringing people together for brunch at midnight. In this episode, Michael and Greg discuss the value of hard sell...
Dec 17, 2018•45 min•Ep. 150
David Tominsky is the Chief Relationship Officer at The New Bohemian Innovation Collaborative in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He's also an active Facilitator and Organizer at Startup Weekends across the country, and he joins Michael & Jeff on the Startup Junkies Podcast while he was in Northwest Arkansas facilitating the firs Maker Edition of Startup Weekend. David and the team discuss how the catalytic work ethic combined with the resources and network at Startup Weekend lead to endless possibilities. C...
Dec 10, 2018•24 min•Ep. 149
Dr. Mary Lacity and Dr. Zach Steelman, join this episode of The Startup Junkies Podcast to discuss practical business applications of blockchain, and the different paths that led them to work together. Mary shares her story of missing out early on Microsoft, a near miss on the boom of the world wide web - and her internal declaration that she would not let this third major opportunity pass her by once she learned about blockchain technology. Zach's experience has been more of a practitioner with...
Nov 19, 2018•50 min•Ep. 148
In this episode Michael sits down with Jeff & Phyl Amerine to discuss the early beginnings of what grew to become Startup Junkie, and the journey that led to today. Jeff takes us back, almost 10 years to the day, to when Tom Dalton and Jeff began Innovate Arkansas in NWA. This is what began the non-traditional business model that Startup Junkie still operates under - High-quality consulting at no cost to the entrepreneurs. Jeff shares stories of different triumphs and plenty of hurdles the team'...
Nov 12, 2018•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 147
Chief Strategy Officer of RevUnit, Seth Waite, joins this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast where we dive into the details of Fuel, the future of supply chain management, and the values that Seth has formed to guide his career. He is a futurist, philanthropist, and one of the facilitators for Fuel, a program led by RevUnit and Startup Junkie to help supply chain startups become enterprise-ready. Participants will receive mentoring, coaching, and connections with Walmart's Supply Chain Innov...
Nov 05, 2018•45 min•Ep. 146
Daniel Schroeder and Matthew Young of Listing Village, a real-estate marketing solutions company based out of Little Rock, Arkansas, join this episode of The Startup Junkies Podcast. Listing Village is focused on connecting suburban realtors with clients by removing the middleman, and creating a personalized real estate experience for all homebuyers that lead them back to the real estate agent. Recently, Listing Village, was accepted into the Y Combinator Startup School, based out of Mountain Vi...
Oct 29, 2018•53 min•Ep. 145
Marilyn Miles, owner of Electronic Manufacturing Solutions (EMS, Inc.), along with Clayton Hornsby VP of Manufacturing join this episode of The Startup Junkies Podcast to discuss their entrepreneurial journey. What began as a side hustle while balancing a full-time job, EMS, has now grown to 77 employees located in rural Lincoln, Arkansas. EMS is an electronic contract manufacturer company, specializing in the production of circuit boards, wire processing, and cable-data distribution. Marilyn de...
Oct 22, 2018•27 min•Ep. 144
Karen Ahuja, a local freelance artist, joins this episode of The Startup Junkies Podcasts to discuss her upbringing as a graphic designer turned painter in the Northwest Arkansas region. Karen shares her story, explaining how she went from a hobbyist to a business woman who now has prints of her paintings sold in stores such as; HomeGoods, TJ Maxx, and many more! As an artist, she describes the cultural pressure she felt towards trying to make a profit. However, her ability to leverage social me...
Oct 15, 2018•34 min•Ep. 143
Tom Chapman, Founder of Chapman and Company, joins this episode of The Startup Junkies Podcast recorded in Denver in the middle of the Startup Champions Network Fall Summit. Startup Champions Network is a group of Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Builders similar to the Startup Junkies that meets twice a year to share best practices and stories. Tom, one of the original members of the network, gives us his take on the entrepreneurial ecosystem; and the importance of like-minded communities to come toge...
Oct 08, 2018•48 min•Ep. 142
