Jill Salzman, Founder of Founding Moms, didn't intend to create the organization.  She was managing bands and also running her baby jewelry business.  But she said she "freaked out" when she was pregnant with her second child, trying to figure out how to juggle everything.

She created a simple local Meetup group for moms who were also entrepreneurs.  The group kept growing, and she tells The Savvy Entrepreneur that about six months in, she realized she was onto something.  From there, she formally founded Founding Moms.

In time, it grew to chapters in 30 cities, and eventually incorporated an online platform with virtual events and on-demand training.  The Founding Moms has been featured in The New York Times, Entrepreneur Magazine, USA Today, Business Insider, and a host of others.

Jill is sassy, smart, and funny.  We laughed our way through the interview, and you will, too!

Click on the arrow to listen!

Heather Wentler, Co-Founder of The Doyenne Group, joins The Savvy Entrepreneur to talk about how the group was founded to help women entrepreneurs.

Based in Madison, Wisconsin, Heather and co-founder Amy Gannon, Doyenne was born when Amy and Heather’s husband organized a Startup Weekend.  And they notice that of the 130 attendees, only 10 were women.

Amy and Heather started on a quest to find a way to change that.  They organized a women’s business breakfast during Madison’s Annual Forward Fest, a 5-day event for entrepreneurs.  The breakfast sold out rapidly.  At the breakfast, they polled the attendees about what they were looking for and needed help with.

From there, Doyenne took off.  Today, it consists of workshops, online courses, mentoring, and connecting women entrepreneurs with all of the many groups and resources that already exist.  Plus, their signature Triple Threat Venture training, which is similar to an accelerator program.

Heather candidly shares how Doyenne has morphed over it’s 10+ year history, from changing its funding model to moving to online offerings.  Its members are enthusiastic champions (see my interviews, for example, with Richelle Martin and Karen Renee), and it boasts numerous success stories. And it’s creating a cadre of self-described “badass women entrepreneurs” who clearly love helping each other.

Click on the arrow to listen to this inspiring interview!  It’s a testament to what two women can do who are on a mission to create change.

Jordy & Jahna McNamara took a novel approach to starting their app company, Critter.  They decided to quit their jobs, pack up everything and take a cross-country road trip in a van.  Their road trip allowed them the focus and freedom to finally start the business they’d dreamed of.

Traveling for months out of a van isn’t the easiest way to start a business.  But it got them out of their old routine and into a new one. And they were disciplined enough to work hard almost every day on their new business.  It also had the unexpected benefit of getting lots of in-person customer feedback, with a geographic and demographic breadth that would be hard to do any other way.

Critter was born because Jordy & Jahna wished there was an easy way to summarize everything their dog Lucy needed for various caregivers.  They found themselves writing the same information over and over on scraps of paper.  They knew there must be something easier.

Creating a new app and a company around it was right up their alley – Jahna has a software background, and Jordy a consulting and business background.

The app launched in October 2022, and for now is free.  But they are exploring “freemium” tiers and other options to help monetize the business.  Their long-term goal is to create a suite of apps that would also include pet professionals as well, such as vets, groomers, and boarders.

It’s a fun story about how to navigate the hassles of living in close quarters and moving constantly while trying to start a business together.  It’s the ultimate challenge in being flexible.

But then, that’s what the couple says is one of the keys to a successful road trip, but also building and marketing an app from scratch – have an overall plan, but stay flexible!

Click on the arrow to listen to this fun interview!

Ed Dernulc. He is the Foundation Director of something called Nuts, Bolts and Thingamajigs (or "NBT," for short). It's the foundation arm of the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association (FMA).  He joined The Savvy Entrepreneur recently to talk about future manufacturing talent, including entrepreneurs.

NBT's mission is to connect that next generation of entrepreneurs and manufacturers to consider careers in the manufacturing industry.

Ed says that the number one thing that keeps him up at night, along with NBT's and FMA's members, is not supply chain, it's not the cost of raw materials, and it's not finding parts.  It's is human resources.

The U.S. today has about a 2-million-person manufacturing skills gap -- meaning there are 2 million jobs in manufacturing that employers can't fill. And it's only growing, so the need is definitely there.

Truly, Ed says, one of the biggest things that Nuts Bolts & Thingamajigs tries to tackle is to change perceptions about manufacturing.  Manufacturing has changed dramatically over the past few years.  It is no longer the dark and dangerous place people might envision.  There are also misperceptions about salary, and skills needed, as well as expected salaries and career paths (hint: the growing labor shortfall has driven up salaries, and by quite a lot for certain skillsets).

To help address those gaps, Nuts Bolts & Thingamajigs offers scholarships, education, and outreach.  But it's probably best known for the week-long camps that it hosts to expose 12-16 year-olds to the world of manufacturing.

In 2022, NBT has grown to 165 camps in 25 states and Canada.  The camps are structured building some kind of project, and also around local industry sponsors, who give students insights into what it's like to work in manufacturing.

NBT also offers Glow & Gadget camps for young women.  Today, women represent only about 12% of manufacturing employment.

The overall goal of both camps is to spark curiosity and open students' minds to the possibility of careers in manufacturing, including many different types of entrepreneurial opportunities.

Learn more about the important work of the Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs Foundation in fostering future manufacturing talent by clicking the arrow.  You can also read a transcript of the interview here.

Ashley Moy joins The Savvy Entrepreneur to share how Cast21 is making radical improvements on the traditional orthopedic cast for breaks & fractures.

The novel cast is lighter, waterproof and more comfortable than traditional plastic and fiberglass casts. It takes only three minutes to apply, and has a open lattice net-like design.  That design is hard for support, yet open so that the skin is accessible and air can circulate.  Plus it comes in several cool colors!

The idea came about when Ashley and her co-founder participated in an accelerator program at the University of Illinois.  Her co-founder, a gymnast with a birth defect, had been in 60 different casts, and knew first-hand how miserable they can be.

Their flagship product is a wrist or arm cast and sold in the U.S., but as you'll hear in Ashley's interview, the opportunities for new products and new markets are enormous.

That said, creating a novel new medical device -- especially in the U.S. -- is no easy task.  Designing, manufacturing, marketing, and dealing with a host of regulatory issues, Ashley and her co-founder have carefully but determinedly pushed on.

Cast21's story is inspirational and Ashley's interview is full of great tips.

Click on the arrow to listen, or go here if you'd prefer to read a transcript of the show!

SBA loans offer a number of advantages for small businesses.  Chris Hurn, the CEO and Founder of Fountainhead Commercial Capital, joins The Savvy Entrepreneur to talk about the ins and outs of both types of SBA loans:  7(a) loans, and 504 loans.

Fountainhead Capital is one of only 14 non-bank SBA lenders nationwide, and also one a small number of preferred SBA lenders.  As a specialist in SBA lending, Fountainhead Capital prides itself on providing great service and support to its customers.  He also says that it really helps to find a bank or non-bank lender that truly specializes in SBA loans to ensure you get the best experience.

Chris talks about the 3 key advantages of SBA loans over conventional lending:  (1) lower downpayments; (2) longer repayment terms, both resulting in typical lower monthly payments.  A third advantage is typcially the lack of loan covenants that commercial lenders include.

He talks about the differences between the two SBA loan programs, and also gives plenty of tips for pitching to lenders, as well as how to keep your relationship smooth with your lender.

Click on the arrow to listen to an insider talk about SBA loans, or go here to read a transcript of our interview.

Nikyra McCann is living proof that mental health issues are not well-understood -- not by employers, not by law enforcement, and not by society in general. She was detained and incarcerated several times when she should have received institutional care because of her mental health issues.

She's taken those painful, terrifying experiences and turned them into opportunities to help others. She's become a licensed rehabilitation worker, gives frequent seminars and workshops on mental health, and even has her own public-access TV show.

To try to amplify her voice, she's created Still Standing Enterprise to educate on mental health issues, as well as provide hope and inspiration.

Although focused at the moment mostly in the Madison, Wisconsin area, Nikyra hopes to partner with more mental health agencies to grow across and U.S. and even become international.

The need is out there -- more than 1 in 5 Americans will struggle with mental health issues. The rate of teen suicide is growing. The pain is real, and Nikyra McCann is out there doing what she can to educate and inspire.

Click on the arrow to listen to her inspiring story, or go here if you'd prefer to read a transcript of the show & learn more about Nikyra and Still Standing Enterprise!

Maria Onesto Moran, founder & owner & self-proclaimed Queen Bee of Green Home Experts, knows a thing or two about successfully pivoting a business. She's successfully done it multiple times.

She joins The Savvy Entrepreneur to candidly share how her business, Green Home Experts, has morphed significantly over the years.

A lot of first-time entrepreneurs grapple with how to get started.

But what if your idea is successful at first, but then, at some point, becomes less so?  What do you do then?  Do you persist, hoping things will turn around again?  Or do you pivot?

Maria & I explore some of the questions many entrepreneurs & small businesspeople face when their original business idea tapers off or becomes a lot less profitable.

Green Home Experts started out as a small garden and whole foods supply store.  But then the internet, online retail, and big chains starting moving into their space.  Maria reluctantly pivoted into home energy audits and energy conservation consulting.

Then she had a chance to become a woman-owned supplier of energy conservation products for several local utilities.  And finally, after realizing the company's core strength had become warehousing and delivery, she started another company focused on that.

Maria shares the pain and joy she's experienced, and her sense of humor is infectious.  Listen to her sage advice, and be prepared for lots of laughs!

Click on the arrow to listen, or go here to read a transcript of our interview.

Amie Kesler shares her quest for the perfect plant-based cookie cracker and how she's grown her company, Carolyn's Krisps with The Savvy Entrepreneur.  She started with her favorite grandmother's recipe for a cookie-crisp.  All of her friends raved about it.  And then she experimented with how to replace all of the traditional ingredients with plant-based ones.

Plant-based food is becoming increasingly popular, as it is healthier.  It improves gut health, stabilizes blood sugar, helps lower cholesterol, and is higher in fiber.

She started making Carolyn's Krisps (Carolyn was her grandmother) in a shared kitchen at The Hatchery, a Chicago-based incubator focused on food & beverage startups.  Since then, she's expanded to selling online and through several large retailers.

If you've dreamed of starting a food product business, Amy shares lots of tips and helpful suggestions.

Click on the arrow to listen, or go here to read a transcript of the interview.

Neopenda’s mission is to improve healthcare in Africa and other developing areas.  Sona Shah, CEO and Co-Founder of Neopenda, spent time teaching English in Kenya after finishing her bachelor’s degree.

There, she was profoundly affected by the disparities in quality of life she saw.  And when she met her future Co-Founder at a Master’s degree class in Bioengineering, the idea for Neopenda was born.  They were able to get funding from Columbia University to travel to hospitals in Uganda.

There, they saw at every hospital a boneyard room – a place where well-intentioned first-world high-end medical equipment got junked.  Items that no one was qualified to use.  Items that they couldn’t get spare parts for.  Items that just couldn’t be used without more reliable, continuous power.  An item with instructions in German where no one spoke German.

The two left and set out on a quest to make medical devices more usable and more available for eastern Africa.  They started with Neoguard, a neonatal vital signs monitor.  It doesn’t require continuous power, and doesn’t need spare parts, but that works as well as the first-world alternative.

With a billion people on the continent of Africa alone needing better healthcare, Neopenda’s opportunities are nearly unlimited.

Sona shares with The Savvy Entrepreneur how she & her Co-Founder built the foundation for the company over a period of 6 years.  The design, regulatory, supply chain, and other foundational issues were daunting.  But the two persisted, believing the work needed to be done.

Today, the company is growing rapidly and has raised multiple rounds of outside capital.  It’s an inspiring story.  Sona is articulate, passionate, yet engaging and practical.

Click on the arrow to listen to the amazing story of Neopenda!  Or go here if you'd prefer to read a transcript of our interview.