Aileen Gemma Smith recognized opportunity as she watched her community recover in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  She believed in her business idea so strongly that she sold her house in order to fund it. Smith is cofounder and CEO of Vizalytics, and creator of Mind My Business, an app now helping over 3,000 local business owners get critical data specific to their geo-location. Host Kelly Hoey and Smith discuss the unique challenges of developing product for SMBs, the important role trust plays in building a strong team, and how she got her first 100 customers.

Show Notes

Vizalytics

Leaving a Six-Figure Salary to Start a Company Instead by Aileen Gemma Smith, Huffington Post

Aileen Gemma Smith of Vizalytics Technology Inc.: Helping Small Businesses Stay Up to Date on Their Markets and Their Communities

Connecting Small Businesses and Closing the Digital Divide Face-to-Face by Dave Nyczepir, The Atlantic

500 Startups’ Dave McClure on portfolio diversification and the return opportunities of “spray and pray” Harry Stabbings, TechCrunch

13 things tech founders should look for in an incubator or accelerator by Scott Gerber, Mashable

Are You Ready to Seek Funding? This 10-Point Checklist Will Decide. by Jayson Demers, Entrepreneur

The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz, iBooks

Staten Island Makerspace

Guest bios & transcripts are available on www.broadmic.com.