Trade Street Jam Co. is a minority and woman-certified small-batch jam company founded by Ashley Rouse. Ashley, who's been a chef for almost 15 years, created the name for the company in 2008 while living in an apartment on Trade Street in North Carolina. Now, some 10 years later, Ashley and her Brooklyn-based company create fruit-forward and clean tasting vegan jams that are low in sugar and high in flavor. 

In this episode, Ashley gets real about: 

• Knowing when to take the leap from side hustle to full time gig with your startup
• The importance of face-to-face interactions with your customers and how to build connections with them 
• Mentoring young entrepreneurs to help them learn and grow to start their own business someday as well as inspiring them through representation in the entrepreneurial field 

Listen in to this raw and honest conversation with Ashley as she talks about the difficulties startup founders will face along their entrepreneurial journey. Listen to Ashley's episode here.

Connect with your host on Instagram @shauna.armitage and visit www.startuprenegades.com/become-a-renegade to join the free Renegades Community.