Has being an entrepreneur and your own boss helped unlock new skills or uncover new parts of your personality? It definitely has for Arianne Foulks, founder of Aeolidia, a design studio specializing in designing and developing custom e-commerce websites using Shopify, as well as logo design, product packaging, product photography, content creation, and business naming. Before starting Aeolidia in 2004, Arianne was shy and avoided talking to clients over the phone. Today, after 15 years in busine...
Jul 30, 2019•36 min•Ep 114•Transcript available on Metacast Have you ever come home from a long day at your corporate job and realized like, “Okay, so my job is feeding my family, but definitely not my soul.” What do you do? Well, today's Proof to Product guest is telling us how she figured it out. By age 28, Nicole Walters was a highly-paid executive at a Fortune 500 company, managing multibillion dollar accounts, but something wasn’t right. So Nicole quit her corporate job, and she made waves when she quit in front of 10,000 people while live streaming...
Jul 23, 2019•29 min•Ep 113•Transcript available on Metacast Hey friends, have you heard of Raddish ? It’s a super cool monthly cooking club that empowers kids to build confidence in the kitchen and beyond. Today’s guest, Samantha Barnes the CEO and founder of Raddish, founded the company after working as a middle school teacher. A mom of two, Samantha realized the kitchen was the best place to connect with her kids in a meaningful way, and in true entrepreneurship fashion, she was inspired to start her own company. Samantha’s passion for family is visibl...
Jul 16, 2019•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast On today’s episode of Proof to Product I’m sitting down with a gal I greatly admire, who I have had the pleasure of working with for a few years now through Paper Camp and my Proof to Product Mastermind coaching program. Meet Kiwi Schloffel, the brains and brawn behind Craft Boner, a stationery gift brand with the sole focus of making people chuckle. That’s a common theme in greeting cards, Kiwi takes it seriously. Her goal, in her own words, “Is to make you laugh. Not in the ha-ha-I’m-being-pol...
Jul 09, 2019•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome! If you’re listening today that means you’re likely interested in applying for our Paper Camp scholarship! Giving back is one of our core values here at Proof to Product and we give back through our time, knowledge as well as financial scholarships. Since 2011, we’ve awarded over $250,000+ in scholarship funds to creative entrepreneurs who sell physical products to the wholesale market.These brands had big dreams of seeing their products on the shelves of their favorite stores and they h...
Jul 05, 2019•6 min•Transcript available on Metacast So many of us are solopreneurs, but have you ever met another small business bad-ass and totally clicked? That’s what happened for today’s guests, Minna Khounlo-Sithep and Jacqueline Snyder, voices behind The Product Boss Podcast. For some background, after Minna had her first child she was inspired to start Lil' Labels , write-on kids labels that are sold at retail giants like Amazon, Walmart and Jet. At the same time, Jacqueline was running her own product based business, Cuffs Couture, and gr...
Jul 02, 2019•34 min•Ep 110•Transcript available on Metacast Do you remember when you first started your business? How about your first card? Do you ever go back and look at work you were doing in those early stages and wonder, what was I thinking?! I know from experience it can be cringe-worthy or just hilarious, but that’s the beauty of the business journey! Today on Proof to Product we’re welcoming Paper Camp alum, Alicia Heater of Slightly Stati onery, to share her business beginning. When Alicia started Slightly Stationery, it was with the belief tha...
Jun 25, 2019•27 min•Ep 109•Transcript available on Metacast Hey friends, welcome back to Proof to Product! Today’s guest is Ginger Lyons, a serial entrepreneur who believes positive attitude, abundance mindset, and perseverance are the keys to a successful business model. A military veteran, Ginger is the creator behind Buffalo Girls Salvage , a jewelry design company that transforms salvaged copper, metal and bullet casings into beautiful, handmade pieces. Since 2012, Ginger’s company has been inspiring women and honoring law enforcement officials throu...
Jun 18, 2019•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome back to Proof to Product, all you small business hustlers, and creative entrepreneurs! Today we have a great episode in store for you with guest Jeanetta Gonzales , a Los Angeles-based graphic designer, and illustrator. Jeanetta began her career as a graphic designer working for corporate companies such as WedMD, Mattel and The Disney Store. She later parlayed her digital and fine art skills into surface design working as a textile designer and style guide designer for consumer products ...
Jun 11, 2019•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today on Proof to Product we’re welcoming Paper Camp Alum, and founder of Chez Gagne, Alex Gagne! Alex attended our Paper Camp Conference back in February of 2015 before debuting her wholesale line at the National Stationery Show. Since then, Alex has gone on to expand her product offering, add new team members, and achieve her vision for the Chez Gagne brand. Chez Gagne is a paper and gift brand that offers greeting cards, wine and spirit tags, mugs, wine glasses, candles, and rocks glasses. Al...
Jun 04, 2019•35 min•Ep 106•Transcript available on Metacast Katie Hunt walks us through how she swapped her Instagram handles during the Proof To Product rebrand and shares three lessons she learned in the process. Find us @prooftoproduct on Instagram and tell us what you thought of the episode! And check out our new site and resources at www.prooftoproduct.com
May 31, 2019•6 min•Transcript available on Metacast Our guest today is Allie Nute, the creative lady behind Verb House Creative. Allie provides content creation, digital marketing management and consulting services to incredible, creative businesses - businesses with personality, heart and dedication. Allie calls them her client-friends. On this episode, we are talking about misconceptions that creative entrepreneurs have around marketing and how Allie helped one of her customers increase their wholesale sales by 250%. We also find out why fewer ...
May 28, 2019•26 min•Ep 105•Transcript available on Metacast Hey Friends, have you had the chance to visit the famous Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Los Angeles? This mile long street located in Southern Venice is home to amazing creative galleries, internationally recognized brands and one-of-kind local shops like, Urbanic Paper Boutique. Audrey Woollen founded Urbanic thirteen years ago, and since then, her original lifestyle brand and retail shop has attracted a great deal of press, a large social media following, and has developed collaborative signature l...
May 21, 2019•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is Part 3 of our three-part series exploring Proof to Product’s exciting new rebrand. On Part 1, which was Episode 101, guest host Caroline Hull and I talked about why I decided to change my business name from Tradeshow Bootcamp to Proof to Product. On Part 2, we dove into the logistics, business formation, legal decisions, and building out the new website. If you missed those two episodes, I encourage you to head back and listen to 101 and 102 first! On today’s episode, Caroline and I are ...
May 16, 2019•21 min•Ep 103•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome to Part 2 of a three-part series exploring Proof to Product’s exciting new rebrand. On Part 1, which was Episode 101, guest host Caroline Hull and I talked about why I decided to change my business name from Tradeshow Bootcamp to Proof to Product, and all the fears I had going into the transition. So if you haven't caught that episode yet, I encourage you to go and start there! Today, on Episode 102, Caroline and I are diving into the logistics behind the rebrand, from the business forma...
May 15, 2019•27 min•Ep 102•Transcript available on Metacast Hey Friends, it’s so good to be back! Did you catch yesterday’s announcement? We have BIG news! Tradeshow Bootcamp is now Proof to Product, and we've launched a brand new website for the Proof to Product brand. To celebrate, we are doing things a little bit differently on the Podcast! We are turning the tables and I’ll be your guest for the next few days. TSBC Alum, Caroline Hull guest hosts and we go behind the scenes for three full episodes, unveiling the exciting shifts I made in my business....
May 14, 2019•21 min•Ep 101•Transcript available on Metacast Over the next few weeks, the podcast will be taking a Spring Break. No, we won’t be lounging on the beach, or having cocktails by a pool. Although we hope that all of you are able to build in some rest and relaxation into your days! Instead, the Proof to product team and I are busy cooking up something big that will enable us to serve all of you better and help you build your businesses faster. Our small but mighty team will be putting all of our time into this super secret project, so we won't ...
Apr 23, 2019•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hey friends, can you believe it?! This is Proof to Product’s 100th Episode! It’s been amazing to watch this podcast, which began as a creative way to connect with members of the stationery community, grow into so much more - a platform, resource, and launching point for stationery and creative entrepreneurs alike. Over the last year and a half, we’ve heard some incredible, inspiring startup stories from entrepreneurs making physical products, just like you. We have talked about successes and str...
Apr 16, 2019•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today on the 99th Episode of Proof to Product I’m joined by our friend and Tradeshow Bootcamp alumni, Emily Asher. Emily is an artist, calligrapher and the owner of Emily Rose Ink, a boutique wedding stationery studio based in Chicago. Emily started designing wedding stationery as a side hustle while working as a high school English teacher, but since taking the leap to make it her livelihood, her wedding stationery has been featured in countless publications and blogs, including Vogue, Martha S...
Apr 09, 2019•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Lately, I’ve had lots of feedback and questions from our audience regarding the struggles of marketing strategy. It can be so hard to know where to direct your time and energy with so many social and marketing channels available now, and that’s why I’m really excited for you to hear this week’s episode with Lindsey Morando, the Director of Marketing for Hello Bar . Lindsey has more than fifteen years of experience in business development and marketing that spans multiple industries including hea...
Apr 02, 2019•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome back to another episode of Proof to Product! Today’s guest is Ilana Griffo, an illustrator, designer, author, and Tradeshow Bootcamp alumni! Like so many of you fellow entrepreneurs, Ilana built her business from the ground up. She began by launching her own stationery line, moved into designing her own product lines, signed major licensing deals with nationally recognized brands like Pier 1, Homegoods, and Michaels, and just published her first book, Mind Your Business . The key to Ilan...
Mar 26, 2019•30 min•Ep 97•Transcript available on Metacast Hey Friends, it’s Tuesday! Which means we’re back with another episode of Proof to Product, and this week I’m sitting down for a very fun interview with former PTP guest, Julie Richardson. You may remember Julie from Episode 20 , where she shared her startup story and told us how she built her Etsy shop, Julie Ann Art, into a successful wholesale enterprise. If you haven’t heard her story, it’s definitely worth heading back for a listen! For some background- Julie founded Julie Ann Art shop in 2...
Mar 19, 2019•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hey friends! This week on Proof to Product I’m sitting down with Amy Tan, founder of the creative lifestyle company, Amy Tangerine . I’m really excited to have Amy on the show, because not only is she a creative entrepreneur that designs online content as well as fun, tangible products like t-shirts and craft supplies, she also teaches workshops around the world, makes YouTube videos, consults with awesome brands and wrote the book, Craft a Life You Love. Amy believes everyone has a story to tel...
Mar 12, 2019•50 min•Ep 95•Transcript available on Metacast This week we have a great episode in store for you - one that will definitely resonate with any of you who are hustling through a day job to fund your dream job. Emily Marks, once a forensic accountant, took the leap and left a stable job to pursue her passion. She is now the businesswoman behind Carina Paper Co. , a stationery company inspired by her Italian heritage and from her heart as a new mom, wife, daughter, and friend. On today's episode, Emily gives us all the details on how she turned...
Mar 05, 2019•31 min•Ep 94•Transcript available on Metacast Hey Friends! I can’t wait for you to hear this week’s episode with entrepreneur extraordinaire, Mary Phan. Mary owns a multi-faceted business which includes — Very Mary Inspired and The Sketchbook Series , illustration courses for designers and event planners. Mary is also a TSBC Alumni and just recently published her first book, The Artful Sketch , a gorgeous how-to sketchbook for beginners and experts alike. Mary has always been drawn to the arts. After beginning her career as an interior desi...
Feb 26, 2019•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast My guest today is Paul Jarvis, entrepreneur and author of the book Company of One: Why Staying small is the next big thing for business . I read this book over the winter break and so much of what Paul talks about resonated with me. We live in a world where we’re conditioned as entrepreneurs to strive for more — more revenue, more products, more customers, more followers, more visibility and notoriety. While it’s true striving for bigger isn’t always better, I know many of us still struggle with...
Feb 19, 2019•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today we’re back with Part 2 of our NY Now and National Stationery Show recap! As you may have heard, NSS which was previously held in May, moved to February this year to co-locate with NY Now. 39 of our Tradeshow Bootcamp alumni were exhibiting at the two shows and one of the main questions I had for them was -- how have the shows merging affected you? It was interesting to see the different responses. If you listen to Part 1 of this series, you’ll hear the that the NSS exhibitors mentioned spe...
Feb 14, 2019•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hey Friends! I just got back from NY Now and the National Stationery Show in New York where more than 39 Tradeshow Bootcamp alumni and speakers exhibited this year. It was an incredible trip, for everyone from first timers to seasoned pros, and I’m so excited to share the highlights with you on the Podcast this week! This year is the first time that these two shows have run at the same time. The National Stationery Show has typically been held in May, but moved for February to co-locate with NY ...
Feb 12, 2019•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast My guest this week is Viola Sutanto and she’s here to tell us how she made the leap from solopreneur to serial creative entrepreneur, and how she successfully runs multiple product-based businesses. I first met Viola in 2008 or 2009 when she owned the brand Chewing the Cud, a letterpress greeting card company that also sold reusable fabric gift wrap, which distributed to more than 1000 stores nationwide. Since then Viola has founded MAIKA, a stylish and sustainable soft goods brand inspired by d...
Feb 05, 2019•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today is Part 2 of a two-part interview with Rachael Hetzel of Pistachio Press, and Briana Feola of Brainstorm . On Part 1, which was Episode 89, we talked about freedom versus stability, keeping up with the Joneses and overcoming FOMO. If you missed it, I’d recommend heading back to listen to that one first because today we dive into the details of communication, team dynamics, and client and customer relationships, and much more! On Part 2, Rachael and Briana share their thoughts on why bigger...
Jan 31, 2019•34 min•Ep 90•Transcript available on Metacast 
