Authentic Business Adventures Podcast

Stuart Faught, founder of Mini Horse, reveals how he builds tiny SaaS companies, hits $100K ARR in 90 days, and sells them for half?a?million, plus his playbook for first?time founders to acquire and scale software assets. He walks through the "mini?horse" concept, the power of reputation?software…

Terence Leclere, founder of Metaforyou, reveals how immersive experiences and human interactive touch points can dramatically boost guest engagement at live events. He walks us through his journey from actor to experiential consultant, explains the secret sauce behind "hits" – the organic moments…

Every business has a story, and Carolina Coops has a great one. Matthew DuBoise From childhood memories of hatching chicks to selling his first homemade coop on Craigslist in under half an hour, Matthew Duboise traces his wild entrepreneurial ride—through moments of personal struggle, lessons in…

Jason DeSouza - DeSouza Injury Lawyers

On the Good, Bad and Shady in the Injury Law World: "There are lots of very, very good, very aggressive injury lawyers that know how to treat clients properly. Unfortunately, there's a lot of mills that do everything they can do to just get as many clients as possible. Stick them through the apple press, get whatever juice they can, and move on to the next one."

We've all seen the billboards.  Every big city has the advertisements for injury attorneys plaguing the landscape.  But what is the business of injury law all about?

Jason DeSouza of DeSouza Injury Lawyers shares an unfiltered look at the business side of personal injury law. From his law school days and early work with a tough-as-nails tax attorney, to battling insurance companies and adapting to a world filled with AI and self-driving cars, Jason brings humor, candor, and real stories from the frontlines.

We dive deep into everything from the ethics (and sometimes antics) of industry marketing, to navigating medical malpractice cases in today’s harsh legal climate. Learn how lawyers use AI as a tool for high-level strategy, why most injury cases never see a courtroom, what it takes to hire (and keep) a great lawyer, and what you should always ask before signing on with an attorney.

Listen as Jason explains the role injury lawyers play to keep the world safe, and how you can protect yourself from frivolous lawsuits, as well as what to do if you are ever injured.

Enjoy!

Visit Jason at: https://jfdlawfirm.com/

Sponsors:

Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service, phone answering for small businesses: https://callsoncall.com

Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan

 

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Transitioning from law school to practice

07:04 Challenges in Collecting Judgments

10:54 Negotiating Insurance Settlements

19:44 Importance of Personal Insurance

26:27 Blaming tech, not the driver

31:20 The risks of tech innovation

32:26 Investor interest in Waymo's future

38:40 AI's impact on legal work

43:48 Optimizing Fable with Opus 5

50:38 Discussing medical malpractice cases

59:19 Choosing an Injury Lawyer

01:01:12 Evaluating Injury Lawyer Options

01:07:58 Handling lawsuits with insurance

01:14:16 Judges influencing case outcomes

Travis Spicer - Spotbookr

On Sneaky, and a Bit Creepy But Effective, Advertising: "And then now you're seeing it and you're like, oh, how convenient. And then we get to turn you into this zombie to go and buy something."

Where should you advertise your business?  You have a great product or service and you need to get the word out to the masses.  But how?  Where do you spend your marketing dollars to turn ad spend into a multiplier of revenue?

Spotbookr founder Travis took his marketing experience and started Spotbookr, a tool used to find where your competitors are advertising, so you can learn from them and either duplicate their success, or avoid their failures.

Listen as Travis explains how to learn from your competitors about what is working and what is not so you can spend your advertising dollars intelligently.

Enjoy!

Visit Travis at: https://spotbookr.com/

Sponsors:

Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service, phone answering for small businesses: https://callsoncall.com

Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan

 

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Analyzing consumer sentiment data

05:05 Helping international brands target youth

08:51 Choosing Brands Based on Ads

12:33 Understanding your brand's identity

15:21 Knowing Your Brand and Audience

18:03 Creating a unified ad platform during COVID

22:24 Challenges for small business marketing

26:05 Social media's influence on consumers

29:59 How online algorithms personalize ads

31:35 Understanding modern ad tracking

36:13 Understanding Digital Impressions

41:01 Brand recognition vs conversion goals

43:55 The importance of targeted advertising

46:23 Understanding your client's brand

51:59 Understanding Brand Identity Challenges

53:18 Trusting your team and vision

Mark Hartmann - Mergers and Acquisitions

On the Value of Purpose: "Either you'll exit it vertically, maybe on your own terms, or you'll exit horizontally, maybe not on your own terms. You will exit your business, right?"

What happens when a psychotherapist, a negotiator, and a business dealmaker all walk into the same room—and they're all the same person?  Mark Hartmann of Hartmann Rhodes, a specialist in mergers and acquisitions offers stories, strategies, and the kind of hard-earned wisdom you only get from years in the trenches of small business sales.

You'll hear why Mark Hartmann warns entrepreneurs not to let “your cousin Vinny” handle their business sale, how blue-collar businesses like HVAC companies are suddenly sizzling hot investments (think tech-level multiples!), and the art of negotiating like a terrorist—but in a good way. We’ll dive into what really determines the value of your business, how to play the tricky game of deal terms, why clean books and owner independence are non-negotiable, and the emotional rollercoaster awaiting every founder ready to exit.

You'll get Mark’s top nuggets from his Amazon best-selling book, "Sweat Equity Payday," honest talk about seller’s and buyer’s remorse, and practical advice for buyers, sellers, and anyone thinking about their company’s future. Whether you want to sell, buy, or simply understand the market forces reshaping entrepreneurship, this episode delivers the real stories and insights you won’t get in a business school classroom.

Listen as Mark details how to prepare your business for sale and to execute the sale to make sure you get the best price and the best terms.

Enjoy!

Visit Mark at: https://www.hartmannrhodes.com/

Sponsors:

Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service, phone answering for small businesses: https://callsoncall.com

Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan

 

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA)

05:03 Valuing a Business for Sale

09:50 Generational shifts in DIY skills

10:50 Electricians' high demand and salaries

14:25 Explaining business market segments

18:36 Evaluating financials and dependencies

20:31 Evaluating business worth

24:08 Negotiating business exit strategies

29:08 Discussing buy-side engagements

31:49 Negotiation strategies with sellers

34:45 Challenges with inexperienced attorneys

39:32 Not the right dealmaker for the job

41:49 Being on the Inc. 5000 list

45:18 Preparing for Business Exit

47:39 Attending the Value Builder Summit

53:12 Advice for buyers and sellers

57:00 Show intro and sponsor shoutout

Felica Ray Diny - Felicia's Donation Closet

On the Value of Purpose: "We're not just bringing a kitchen table, we're bringing it so she can sit down with her children to have a meal together."

Sometimes people need a little help, and sometimes people need a lot.  Imagine being an abused woman, with children, trying to escape an abusive relationship with very little, if any, money, and the need to keep your children safe, fed and happy.  That can be a tall order, and the need for help is strong.

Felicia Ray Diny saw this need and is doing something about it.  She started Felicia's Donation Closet, a non-profit that collects houses, and distributes furniture and household products to victims of abuse.  Felicia and her amazing team work to collect things like beds, couches, dressers, pots and pans, and the things that most of us have and take for granted.  They then deliver, and often setup, this items for the families that need them most.

It is so great to hear about business, it is much greater to hear about people doing good and making the world a better place.

Listen as Felicia details her struggles and success in building Felicia's Donation Closet and how this idea has gained a lot of momentum in such a short time.  Truly an inspiring guest.

Enjoy!

Visit Felicia at: https://feliciasdonationcloset.org/

Sponsors:

Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service, phone answering for small businesses: https://callsoncall.com

Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan

 

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Helping Families Move to New Homes

03:27 Lessons from a food donation

08:25 Learning about a new industry

10:19 Donating furniture to a family in need

15:29 Application paperwork process

18:00 Selecting personalized gifts

22:30 Managing product turnover

25:47 Organizing move day logistics

29:13 Seeking sponsors and warehouse help

32:02 Dealing with public speaking anxiety

36:04 Meeting at the fundraiser event

39:05 Providing furniture and essentials

41:42 Inspiration and starting the company

44:16 Poker tournament at tasting room

46:59 Helping a mom with support

50:15 Business reality vs. student expectations

Mickie Kennedy - eReleases

On Good PR: "Every time you're getting ready to issue a press release that you feel is meaningful to you, think about how can I make it meaningful for that audience person, making them want to read it, make it easier for a journalist to say, yeah, I think my audience would love to hear that."

When a woman starts a business and/ or becomes successful, often she does this with pain that has been quelling in her for years.  As an entrepreneur, we push through pain, but eventually it may be time to address

Advertising is expensive and doesn't always move the needle.  Marketing as a whole has many options, and PR is one of them.  You see, sharing a press release is taking the steps to get your business out of the paid world of eyeballs and into the world of eyeballs that pay to see you.  That is a much better place to be.

But how do you get in the news?  What are the rules of the game for writing and sending these press releases, and who do you send them to?

Mickie Kennedy has eReleases, a press release company that caters to the small business that wants to grow, knows the value of press releases, yet has no idea where to start and certainly doesn't have the connections in the journalism world to

Enjoy!

Visit Mickie at: https://www.ereleases.com/

Sponsors:

Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service, phone answering for small businesses: https://callsoncall.com

Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan

 

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Improving media strategy overnight

06:10 Basics of a Press Release

07:18 How journalists find stories

13:22 Exploiting AI with press releases

16:00 Challenges with AI in literary writing

18:50 Crafting impactful press quotes

23:43 Media consumption through newswires

27:26 Journalists adapting to digital changes

29:29 AI in Journalism: Current Challenges

32:26 Importance of trade publications

35:59 Choosing the right PR firm

39:40 Turning losses into profits

45:00 Media headlines and interpretations

47:02 Discussing marketing and clickbait headlines

51:12 Getting meaningful survey responses

54:15 Being the contrarian in your industry

Podcast Transcription:

Mickie Kennedy [00:00:00]:

We work with all different types of verticals. We work with authors, used to be mostly self-published authors, but over the past, I would say, 12 to 14 years, we work with a lot of traditionally published authors as well. You know, everything under the sun. We work with a lot of people who appear on Shark Tank, people doing side businesses, hoping that it'll turn into something. Everybody's out there trying to get a little attention and find a way in which they can make press releases work for them.

James Kademan [00:00:25]:

What is a press release? A press release?

Mickie Kennedy [00:00:27]:

Basically, it's an announcement to the media. I always tell people, if you are looking to work for— with a PR firm, you want to make sure that you choose one that is in your industry. The biggest mistake that I see and the most amount of money that I've seen people waste is working with a local PR firm thinking that that was the way to go when they should have chosen a PR firm that focused on their industry.

James Kademan [00:00:55]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found on the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, Calls on Call Extraordinary Answering Service, as well as the Bold Business Book. And today we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Mickey Kennedy of eReleases. Mickey, how is it going today?

Mickie Kennedy [00:01:23]:

Good, good.

James Kademan [00:01:25]:

Excellent. And tell me, we're talking about press releases for businesses, is that right?

Mickie Kennedy [00:01:31]:

That's correct, yes.

James Kademan [00:01:32]:

All right, tell me a story. What is eReleases?

Mickie Kennedy [00:01:36]:

So, uh, we are a press release distribution company. We send releases out over PR Newswire, which is the oldest and national press release newswire here in the United States. It's basically a duopoly, PR Newswire, then Business Wire. And we have been in business since 1998. We send out about a little over 10,000 press releases a year, giving mostly small businesses, entrepreneurs, startups access to the Wire at a huge discount because the Wire charges about $2,000 for a national press release going out of 600 words or so. And with us, it's about a third of that price. Wow.

James Kademan [00:02:17]:

All right. And how— tell me about the discount. How were you able to pull that off?

Mickie Kennedy [00:02:23]:

Because when they reached out to us years ago, they were really trying to promote like a city distribution. And I'm like, well, my clients are really looking for national media attention. And we kept communicating and I went and met their editorial team. And the one thing I noticed is They have an editorial team overnight, but they don't do much, they said. They said, we have to be there in case there's breaking news or, you know, something happens. And I was just like, well, what if I set up all my press releases for next business day so you could set them up overnight? Wouldn't cost you any additional labor. And they also looked at my customer profile, which is really small businesses, mostly people whose budgets are $2,000 or $3,000 a year. their salespeople would not reach out or want to recruit any customers like that.

Mickie Kennedy [00:03:13]:

They're going for Fortune 500 companies. They're looking for people who are spending $20,000 to $40,000 a year. So in that way, it was just found money for them. And doing 10,000+ releases a year, it's still a significant amount of money that we're sending them, but it is a huge discount. And, you know, some of our customers do graduate and become much larger, and then we just introduce them directly to PR Newswire and they can work directly with them.

James Kademan [00:03:40]:

Sure. I suppose if the PR actually works the way a business owner wants it to work, then we hope they graduate up.

Mickie Kennedy [00:03:46]:

Yeah, absolutely.

James Kademan [00:03:48]:

Right on. Is there a certain vertical of industry that you typically work with?

Mickie Kennedy [00:03:52]:

We work with all different types of verticals. We work with authors, used to be mostly self-published authors, but over the past, I would say, 12 to 14 years, we work with a lot of traditionally published authors as well. Seems like the publishers aren't doing marketing anymore, even for established presses and publishers that you've heard of. And so, you know, everything under the sun. We work with a lot of people who appear on Shark Tank. The producers recommend that they do a press release before their episode airs, and we get mentioned quite a bit as a good place for them to send their releases. And so, you know, I think that everything under the sun is who we work with. You know, people doing side businesses, hoping that it'll turn into something.

Mickie Kennedy [00:04:39]:

You know, people who have small businesses that might have 20 or 30 employees. Employees or even more mid-sized companies moving from there. But I would say it's a pretty mix across all different types of industries. We see everything from technology to, like, you know, waste management to, you know, really, you know, a local carpet company in New Jersey. So everybody's out there trying to, you know, get a little attention and find a way in which they can make press releases work for them.

James Kademan [00:05:09]:

Sure. How do people end up— or business owners, I should say— how do they end up finding you?

Mickie Kennedy [00:05:15]:

So a lot of it is either word of mouth or they're doing searches. And, you know, they'll come across us as maybe a blog post that we've written. We've been in business for a long time, so we have over 1,000 articles out there. We also advertise on Google and some other places. But I think You know, I would say probably half of all new customers are just direct referrals. And so someone has suggested they give us a try and, you know, they reach out to us. It's more consultative because a lot of people don't know how it works. So they'll either call and speak to one of our editors or chat or email with us.

Mickie Kennedy [00:05:56]:

And we walk people through their first press release and their first PR campaign on a a weekly basis.

James Kademan [00:06:03]:

Sure. Let's lay down the foundation of press releases just so that people understand. What is a press release?

Mickie Kennedy [00:06:10]:

Basically, it's an announcement to the media. It's usually written in the third person. If you're writing in the first person, it's usually a quote, a company quote, or someone being quoted in, in the press release. They're generally— you've probably seen they say for immediate release at the top. They might have a dateline with the city, state, and the date of distribution. And there's usually a media contact towards the bottom, someone that the media could contact if they have more questions or if they need something a little more specific, like, hey, I really like this, but I'd like to get a quote around this topic, you know, and do you feel like that would be a good fit? So, you know, that's what it is. It's a lot of these just go out on a regular basis. Publicly traded companies have to issue these types of things just to keep their public informed about it so that investors don't feel like they're, you know, something happens that's significant and they weren't notified or given some kind of,...

Morrighan Lynne - Her Sovereign Way

On the Learning to Break the Chains of No: "So there's this feeling of my value is tied to them liking me, and if I say no to them, they may not like me anymore."

When a woman starts a business and/ or becomes successful, often she does this with pain that has been quelling in her for years.  As an entrepreneur, we push through pain, but eventually it may be time to address the pain you are holding to be able to advance to the next level.

Morrighan Lynne of Her Sovereign Way helps women do exactly that.

The conversation focused on the powerful, often overlooked ways women are taught to prioritize others’ needs above their own.  The toll this takes on their health, happiness, and ambitions can be extreme and a silent killer. The ingrained habit of people pleasing, how it leads to burnout, and why so many choose predictable pain over the unknown risks of change are issues that Morrighan helps women address. A key theme that emerged was the journey to reclaiming sovereignty: empowering women to drop their masks, say no when it serves them, and cultivate a new sense of value rooted in self-awareness and boundaries.

Listen as Morrighan details the challenges women face in balancing nurturing roles, entrepreneurship, and self-care, diving into both the science of stress and the emotional roots of self-worth. Including real-life techniques for disrupting old patterns, the unique burnout cycle for women, and why true personal growth often means ruffling feathers in our closest relationships.

Enjoy!

Visit Morrighan at: https://www.morrighanlynne.com/

Sponsors:

Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service, phone answering for small businesses: https://callsoncall.com

Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan

 

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Discussing people-pleasing and burnout

09:39 Creating healthy boundaries

14:13 Learning to Say No

18:03 Building Self-Awareness and Boundaries

26:54 Choosing Predictable Pain Over Unknown

30:10 Going out for a night out

33:46 Breaking out of comfort zones

43:46 Support for Relationship Transitions

47:32 Understanding shadow work

53:27 Exploring the subconscious mind

57:32 Exploring Childhood Core Wounds

01:01:20 Confronting fear for my son

01:10:39 Reading energy through videos

01:13:09 Launching AI support for women

Podcast Transcription:

Melodie van der Baan - Max Retail

On the Success Secret: "You have to be so obsessed with the problem you're solving because it is going to be so freaking hard that you must have the wherewithal to continue going when it gets tough, when you hit dead ends."

Melodie van der Baan has seen some things.  As an experienced entrepreneur in the clothing and retail space, she has learned what to do, what not to do and what new thing should be done.

That new thing is Max Retail.  You see, clothing stores and retailers have products on their shelves.  those products need to move, from shelf, to customers arms, through the checkout and out the door.  If that doesn't happen, something has to give.  So if a product isn't moving, it has to go.

But where should that non-moving inventory go?  Melodie has united the masses of retailers to allow them to buy and sell excess inventory so they aren't losing money and they are gaining value.  This genius business came from the mind of someone that learned through first hand retail experience.

Listen as Melodie details how she brought Max Retail to life and how it has helped countless retailers.

Enjoy!

Visit Melodie at: https://maxretail.com/

Sponsors:

Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service, phone answering for small businesses: https://callsoncall.com

Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan

 

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Retail markdown strategies

04:38 Challenges of retail inventory turnover

07:27 Starting out with no funds

12:30 Adapting to Modern Retail Challenges

16:48 Discovering the art of inventory planning

18:44 How planners manage excess stock

24:03 How MAX Retail data matching works

27:01 Starting Swap Retail in 2016

30:32 Trying e-commerce partnerships

32:58 Rebranding to Max Retail

35:15 Navigating economic ups and downs

38:48 Challenges of starting a retail store

44:44 Sales as a team sport

46:27 Selling seasonal inventory efficiently

51:21 Managing sales team performance

55:16 Pizza Friday gatherings explained

Podcast Transcription:

Speaker B:

What I have learned is that there is nothing more powerful than being human. And when you are human and you treat people like they are people and not a transaction, you will always win. If you chase the American dream in air quotation marks, which says you have to live in a fancy house and you have to drive a fancy car, you will never live the life you want to live. You will be a prisoner to the comparison of others. And if you don't love your dream more than you desire the accolades of others, just don't even bother. There's always going to be someone with more than you. That would probably be my second piece of advice, is instead of keeping up with the Joneses, why don't you make everybody else desire to have the joy and the peace that you have?

Speaker B:

So instead of going for an object, You're going for a feeling.

Speaker A:

That's right.

Speaker B:

And a feeling of wholeness, completeness, happiness.

Speaker A:

Times are hard. Things will be challenging, but you will always be able to know who you are and, uh, and separate it.

Speaker B:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumph and successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service, as well as The Bold Business Book. And today we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Melody of Max Retail. And Melody, uh, let's just start with what is Max Retail?

Speaker A:

Max Retail is a retail tech platform that helps independent retailers get their cost back on that past season unsold inventory by easily selling it online. Love this.

Speaker B:

Now, I was so excited when you reached out because I was thinking, uh, so I'm in Wisconsin and Wisconsin stores are very seasonal, and it seems to be the season before the actual season. So if it's January and you want a winter coat, you're a month late. Or if it's, let's say, August and you want a swimsuit, you're a month late. So I always wonder, like, what did they do with all the winter coats? It's August, but they didn't just burn them. So what do retailers typically do with them versus what you offer them to do?

Speaker A:

Sure. Well, you know, most people assume that an independent retailer is going to just drop it off at TJ Maxx or Marshalls and liquidate it. But that's actually not true at all. Because For the independent retailer, first off, they don't know those guys. And secondly, the money that TJ Maxx or Marshalls would pay the retailer is pennies on the dollar. So for this particular dress that I'm wearing today, let's say it was, you know, $220 retail. Someone like TJ Maxx or Marshalls would probably give me about $7 to $10 for it at most, at most.

Speaker B:

Wow. All right.

Speaker A:

So for an independent retailer, we have to pay our vendors, we have to bring in new shipment, we have rent and payroll. So to get rid of a sale rack for pennies on the dollar doesn't make you whole in any way, shape, or form to where you can actually bring in new shipment or run your business. So instead, what retailers do is they mark down that inventory. So this is going to go from $220 to, you know, maybe $180, Then down to $150 and $120 and, you know, $100. And, you know, if it still doesn't go by then, maybe they're going to take it to the sidewalk sale and maybe sell it for like $50 or $80. Still better than, you know, $7 or $10, but still not great. And if it doesn't sell at that warehouse sale, they're going to put it in a box and they're going to put it in the basement. And then next season, When it's warm again, they're going to pull this dress out again and they're going to try to sell it again.

Speaker A:

But the problem with markdowns that take a long time, or even boxing and bringing out next season, is that you lose time. So in retail, we make money by how many times we can buy and sell inventory in a given time period. So let's say I buy this dress today and I'm a retailer. I buy it today for $100. I sell it tomorrow for $200. Okay, great. What am I gonna do? I'm gonna pocket $100 profit and I'm gonna reinvest the next $100. Now let's say the next day goes by and I'm gonna do it again.

Speaker A:

I'm gonna buy another one, sell another one, buy it, sell it, buy it, sell it. 10 days goes by. I've made $900 profit off of my $100 investment. But if I buy this dress today for $100 and I don't sell it tomorrow or the next day or the next day or the next day or the next day, and I get to day 10, and on day 10 I sell it for $100, well, did I really win? I got my cost back, but I made no money and I lost time, which is why it is so important. that if something isn't performing well in a store, that retailers have a way to have more distribution, more eyeballs on those amazing products. Because James, the truth is there's nothing wrong with this merchandise. It just needs more people to see it.

Speaker B:

So how did you get into this? I guess we'd call it, would it be a reseller market or what would you call a market like this?

Speaker A:

You know, it's interesting. I mean, I call us an excess inventory solution. It's probably like the easiest way to, to describe it. And I, and I speak about this problem because I was a retailer for 9 years.

Speaker B:

All right.

Speaker A:

So I had my independent retail store in South Florida. I carried apparel and footwear. And before that, I was a distributor. And a distributor is just a nice word for a young girl in her 20s who had a Sprinter van full of clothes. And I drove from South Florida up to Boston, over to Chicago, down to San Antonio, and everywhere in between, selling to the independent retailers like the one I would become.

Speaker B:

How did you get into that?

Speaker A:

Just, I was just really passionate about, about fashion. And funny enough, it all started, if I had to go back to the very beginning, is, uh, I spent 6 months in Israel.

Speaker B:

Okay.

Speaker A:

And while I was walking down a street called Bugra Shov, they had boutiques. And I walked into these boutiques and the fashion was amazing. I must— James, I must have been 19 years old at the time, 20 at most. And I looked around and I was so blown away and I said, where can I buy this in the US? And they said, well, we're not sold in the US. How would we get there? And I was so naive. Obviously, I didn't have any fashion background. James, I didn't even go to college. But I had this naive thought and I said, gosh, if only I could help designers get to the United States so that they could be discovered.

Speaker A:

So I said to myself, I'm going to make an e-commerce site and I'm going to make a place where people can discover this inventory and buy it. And this is at the time of Net-a-Porter and ASOS. And I came up with this whole business plan and I spent about 6 months on it. And then I said, oh geez, you know what? I don't have any money. How would I ever pull this off? So then I said, well, maybe I can place them in stores for a commission. So I went to the local art institute and I found some graduate designers who had nothing to lose. And I said, hey, listen, why don't you let me try to get your collections in store? And they said, oh, sure, why not? I'll pay you based on what you can sell. And so, I just started by sitting at my kitchen table and I picked up the phone and I said, hi, it's Melody calling from JuJu Costa.

Speaker A:

Can I show you the collection? And the person on the other side of the phone would say, what are the price points? And I'd say, I'll call you right back....