Found In The Rockies

Summary:

In today’s episode, I talk with Ken Fichtler, the founder of Gaize. We discuss how the company is trying to solve the DUI testing for cannabis. Ken talks about his background and what let him to start Gaize. We talk about the current cannabis impairment testing and challenges that come with the current model. We discuss Ken’s solution and how he combined VR technology with machine learning to develop his product. We discuss Ken’s early vision, and the potential use cases beyond law enforcement. We dive into the questions around the cannabis testing in companies. We talk about the legalization politics and what’s next for the cannabis industry. 

We dive into the clinical research and the challenges around it. We discuss the future Gaze and Ken’s vision. 

Here’s a closer look at the episode:

• Solving cannabis DUIs 
• Ken’s background and his time with the state government 
• His last year as an appointed official during the pandemic 
• What led Ken to start Gaze and the idea behind the product 
• Cannabis impairment testing 
• Challenges with cannabis testing 
• Ken’s solution, the VR Headset and machine learning
• Ken’s early vision 
• Use cases beyond law enforcement 
• Questions around the cannabis testing in companies 
• From the consumer’s perspective 
• Legalization politics and what’s next 
• The future of Gaize 
• An inside look into clinical research 

Resources:

Website: https://www.gaize.ai/

Ken’s email: [email protected]

Summary:

In today’s episode, I talk with Nicole Montoya, the founder of Cheddar Up. We talk about what is Cheddar Up. We dive into Nicole’s background as a consultant and the problem she is trying to solve with Cheddar Up. We talk about her AHA moment and the early days of Cheddar Up. We talk about raising funds and joining the accelerator. We talk about the first year and the challenges she faced with raising funds and being compared to Venmo. We also talk about Nicole’s support system and the skills that helped her along the way. We talk how the audience of Cheddar Up grew from direct sellers, corporate to becoming a group organizer platform. We also talk about the future of Cheddar Up and Nicole’s vision.
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Here’s a closer look at the episode:‍

• What is Cheddar Up
• Nicole’s background and how she started Cheddar Up
• The issues Nicole saw and decided to solve 
• The AHA moment 
• Joining the Accelerator 
• The first year 
• The challenges with raising capital 
• The support system and skills that helped Nicole 
• The forks in the road of Cheddar Up 
• From direct sellers, corporate to a group organizer platform
• The future of Cheddar Up
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‍‍‍Resources:
Website: https://www.cheddarup.com/‍

Nicole's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholemontoya/‍

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cheddar-up/id1141129202‍

Google Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cheddarup.CheddarUp&hl=en&gl=U

Summary:

In today’s episode, I have the pleasure of talking with Erica Mackey. We talk about her company My Village. We discuss the country’s childcare system and Erica shares very interesting statistics about the system. We talk about the problem that Erica saw and what motivated her to start My Village. We discuss the challenges in the childcare system especially during the pandemic. She talks about her membership model. She tells the story of the co-founder and how they met. We dive into raising funds for her company and finding the right VCs. We discuss the future of My Village and Erica’s vision. 

Here’s a closer look at the episode:

• What is my village 
• What led Erica to start the company 
• The challenges and problems in the childcare  system 
• Scaling quality in home base environment 
• The challenges and opportunities during the pandemic 
• The membership model  
• The story of the co-founder 
• Finding the right VCs 
• The future of My Village

Resources:

Website: https://www.myvillage.com/

Vangst Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myvillagecommunity/

MyVillage’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/myvyllage/

MyVillage email: [email protected]

Summary:

In today’s episode, I have the pleasure of talking with Karson Humiston. We talk about the cannabis industry, and what her company Vangst does. We talk about how they went from a recruiting agency to a full on platform connecting the cannabis industry together. We discussed the early stages of her involvement in recruiting for the cannabis industry. We talk about how she started recruiting fresh grads and interns to what Vangst is today. We dive into what happened in the cannabis industry over the past few years. We discuss how she didn’t start with any funding, and did extremely well in her seed round, and becoming a Series A rapidly. We talk about what the future looks like for Vangst. 

Here’s a closer look at the episode:

• What is Vangst
• The cannabis industry in the early days 
• Challenges in hiring in the cannabis industry 
• How did the recruitment company start 
• From Graduana to Vangst 
• Raising outside capital 
• Raising Series A in 2019 
• The Cannasession  in 2020 

Resources:

Website: https://vangst.com/

Vangst Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vangsttalent/

Vangst Twitter:https://twitter.com/vangsttalent

Karson’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/khumiston

Karson’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karson-humiston-64572b97/

In today’s episode, I have the pleasure of talking with Keaton Brown. We talk about the farming industry and what their company does. We had a conversation about the selling process and differences within the farming industry. We also talk about the generational transition of the farming industry, the traditional ways and the tech infused ways. We discuss the roadmap of Farmstack. We talk about the different approaches in marketing when it comes to the farming industry. We circled back to when the founders met and the story of starting the company.

Here’s a closer look at the episode:

● Why did they found the company
● An insight on the selling process
● The generational transition of the farming industry
● The roadmap of Farmstack
● Different approaches in marketing
● The story how the founders met

Resources:

Website: https://farmstack.ag/

Keaton’s email: [email protected]

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/farmstack.ag/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/farmstack/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/farmstackag