Episode: Building a Business And The Power Of Stories

Guests: Hust Williamson, Mary Scott Jameson and Hodges Markwalter

Welcome to another episode of What’s Your Story where we host in depth conversations with business leaders to explore how they use storytelling to engage their audiences.

Taking on the journey of entrepreneurship is not an easy feat and it’s not for the faint of heart. It takes passion behind your product or service and quite a bit of gusto on how you deliver your messages to investors and potential customers.

And today, we have two entrepreneurs joining us: Mary Scot Jameson and Hodges Markwalter.

Here’s a little about each of them:

00:01:55- MARY SCOTT JAMESON, CEO AND CO-FOUNDER OF SITANO- An Atlanta native, Mary Scott Jameson, is Sitano’s co-founder and CEO/Creative Director. Mary Scott attended the University of Georgia with a B.A. in Art History and minor in Spanish. She began her career in fashion almost 10 years ago in the Neiman Marcus buying program in Dallas, TX as an assistant buyer. Since then, she has pursued various positions in HR, conference and event planning, and business development in the multi-family real estate and alternative asset management industries. She enjoys sketching, running, playing tennis, hanging with friends and interviewing female founders on her podcast, She Had A Vision. She resides in New York with her husband, Walter. 

·       https://www.shopsitano.com/

·       Instagram: @sitano_official

·       [email protected]

00:06:27-HODGES MARLKWATER, CRO AND CO-FOUNDER OF VIVA FINANCE- Hodges Markwalter is the Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Office of Atlanta-based VIVA Finance, a fintech upstart that provides working Americans access to fair and affordable credit. His responsibilities include overseeing VIVA’s growth initiatives, including digital marketing, partnerships, and revenue operations. Hodges also assists with operations and personnel matters at VIVA. Prior to co-founding VIVA, Hodges worked at Truist Securities as an analyst in their Equity Capital Markets group. Under Hodges and his brother Jack’s leadership, VIVA has originated over $180,000,000 in consumer loans and improved the financial health of 30,000+ customers. Hodges earned a BA in Finance from the University of Notre Dame, graduating with Cum Laude honors.

·       https://www.viva-finance.com/

·       https://www.linkedin.com/company/viva-finance/

·       https://www.linkedin.com/in/hodges-markwalter-b46421102/

 

LAUNCHING A COMPANY:

00:11:50- How do you get your first audience for your business? How do you get started into changing it from an idea to a business?

00:15:00- Mary Scott takes us down a different path from VIVA Finance.

GET BUY IN:

00:17:30- Fundraising with investors and getting buy in into the next phase.

00:18:29- Mary Scott describes her story of finding different spaces to include her brand and her product.

00:19:49- Hodges talks about the early days of pounding the pavement and tells us how he created his pitch.

FEEDBACK AND BUILDING A BRAND:

00:21:47- When a company’s story or brand is really compelling, when thinking about your company what was the feedback that was helpful in the early stages when building your story?

00:22:33- Hodges talks about being nimble.

00:24:00- Mary Scott shares the feedback she received in the early stages of building her company and the feedback she continues to receive.

INVESTORS:

00:25:52- What does it take to get an investor to back you? One key takeaway.

STORIES:

00:28:12- Stories shared by Mary Scott and Hodges about the early days of launching their businesses.

·       Mary Scott shares a story about when losing sleep became a best seller and solidified her commitment to her company.

·       Hodges tells us a story about how doing something so small was the make or break moment of his company’s success.