Startup Renegades

Brooke Markevicius is the Founder & CEO of Allobee, an all-encompassing business solution for small businesses and startups. As a female technical founder she has a unique approach in supporting businesses and believes businesses should be able to sustainably grow on their own terms. 

Throughout her work, Brooke has been able to utilize her experience in the tech world and her skills in order to build a unique platform to support the 43% of women leaving the workforce when they have kids and other women that are being forced out of the workforce due to the pandemic. Along with this, she’s also been able to support the 75% of micro-businesses in the United States and small business owners that are trying to thrive and stay alive. 

In this episode, Brooke shares how her personal experience helped her to identify a big problem that wasn’t being addressed for working mothers. She shares the journey from ideation to funding and everything in between.

Check out this episode to hear more about:

• Creating a space for women and mothers in the workforce
• The importance of raising capital in order to help your targeted audience
• Taking big risks and the decision-making process behind it

Listen to the full episode here. 

Dana is the CEO and Co-Founder of Upfront, the first site dedicated to pricing transparency in daycares. She is the former Chief of Staff at VirtualHealth, a growth-stage health tech company that was named Deloitte’s 39th Fastest Growing Company, and spent years in various advertising agencies in NYC. Dana graduated with her MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business and BS from Boston University and currently lives in NYC with her husband and son.

Dana has been able to pivot her business from the wedding industry to daycares after seeing for herself how vague the daycare industry truly is. 

Dana Levin-Robinson shares her invaluable experience discussing the importance of pricing transparency and the effect it can have on an industry. She offers some great actionable advice on how to connect with investors and raise funds for your startup. Listen in to hear Dana discuss how her education worked against her when trying to get a job in the “real world” and how to overcome inevitable rejections to take your business to the next level.

Check out this episode to hear more about:

• How to develop a startup idea from your own personal experiences
• The effect that pricing transparency can have on an industry 
• How to make your business work when moving from one industry to another

Listen to the full episode here. 

Sara is the founder and CEO of Vin Social, a fast-growing company pioneering the virtual hospitality space through the lens of craft wine & spirits. Sara is also a Certified Sommelier & Certified Specialist of Wine with nearly a decade of experience in multiple facets of the wine industry. She has a deep-rooted mission to effect real change in making the industry more inclusive, accessible, and diverse.

Since July of 2020, Vin Social has been able to bring in more than $750K in revenue from top, well-known clients and is one of the first movers in the fast-growing virtual events industry.

Sara’s Vin Social is so innovative in how it takes something so well-known and intimidating as wine tasting and is able to bring it to more people in a way that is more inclusive, fun, and modern. This episode focuses on taking chances with your future, disruption in an industry predominantly owned by men, understanding other peoples’ successes, and much more.  

Check out this episode to hear more about:

• Taking a chance to figure out what you really want to do
• How a little disruption in the market can create really big changes
• Tips for scaling a digital experience brand

Listen to the full episode here.

In 2015, Ted Iobst and Christy MacGregor found out they were expecting twins. But as they searched for the right baby gear, the duo felt defeated and overwhelmed from options at the big box stores. 

In 2018, Ted officially launched Colugo, an affordable high quality brand, developing easy to use strollers and carriers with features parents actually need. Today, Colugo operates as a parent-owned, parent-run brand that prioritizes moms, dads and babies, as they offer a complete line of first year essentials for a new generation of parents. 

They describe their approach as “innovation through simplification” and share how they grew their business over the first three years creating a better product through customer feedback. 

Check out this episode for golden nuggets of wisdom about: 

• Using social platforms to create community
• Managing entrepreneurship with your partner 
• Breaking into an industry with big, established players

Listen to the full episode here.

Elizabeth is the founder of Chasing Paper, a company innovating the home space through wall coverings, flooring and art prints. Chasing Paper was born in New York, but has its roots in Elizabeth and her brother and co-founder, Mike’s, upbringing in the Heartland. The idea for Chasing Paper came from a need Elizabeth saw for removable wallpaper in office spaces, and it blossomed into a backdrop for first apartments and fresh starts. Chasing Paper started with Elizabeth’s ties to her family’s printing business and has grown into a company that works with artists to curate collections of one-of-a-kind patterns you can’t find anywhere else. Elizabeth takes us through how she transformed an older industry like wallpaper into something new that can resonate with a younger generation. Elizabeth explains how millennials like her are all about the “why” of a business as opposed to just the “what.” 

Check out this episode to hear more about:

• Transforming tired business concepts into a something new and exciting
• How your initial customers can shape your brand
• How the millennial generation is changing the way people make purchases
• Taking risks and following your instincts

Listen to the full episode here.

Aisha Addo thrives on working to make the world a better place for women. Although she’s a graduate in Business Administration-Accounting, her true passion and dedication lie in ensuring girls around the world are provided with the guidance and resources that help them identify their true purpose and calling to reach their full potential. 

Aisha founded Power To Girls Foundation, a non-profit organization to offer young girls the mentors and role models that were absent during her own youth. As a facilitator and director of Power To Girls, she uses her personal experiences and knowledge to create safe and engaging spaces for the girls she works with. 

She is  the recipient of the Young Black and Gifted Award for Community Service and was also named a Black Diversity Group Role Model and One of 100 Black Women to Watch in Canada and among the 150 Black Women making history in Toronto. My Power App, a social connection platform created to connect girls to mentors and each other while enhancing their personal development is Aisha’s latest initiative in continuing to create safe spaces for girls and women. 

Check out this episode to hear more about:

• Aisha’s strategies for growing membership and monetizing her work
• Using customer experience to build your brand
• Using partnerships to gain access and reach

Listen to the full episode here.

• Turning an idea you see online into a business 
• Meeting your customers where they are online
• Balancing your desires for the business with customer demand
• Building a long term marketing strategy
• Keeping things simple to find success

Listen to the full episode here. 

Emily is the co-founder and CEO of The Hummingbirds. In 2018, she realized most of the decisions she was making in her own local community, Des Moines, Iowa were based on what her coworkers, friends, neighbors, and acquaintances were sharing on Facebook and Instagram. From new taco trucks to unique events hosted downtown, it was posts on social media from people she trusted that impacted her decisions. 

She brought together 20 of her closest friends and asked if they'd be willing to amplify different experiences in Des Moines on social media at the same time and from there, The Hummingbirds was born.

Emily has built a community of hundreds of everyday local voices, influencers, bloggers, and content creators who try a new brand and share it on social media. After 100 partnerships, they're expanding to new cities, as they introduce a new spin on influencer marketing in local markets.

Check out this episode to hear more about:

• How our habits are influenced by our friends on social media
• Using word of mouth and personal relationships to build brand awareness 
• Learning how to explain your brand to build buy-in

Listen to the full episode here.

Katya Libin is the CEO and co-founder of HeyMama, a private online community of entrepreneurial and working moms. Building on a background in partnerships and tech, Libin conceived of HeyMama based on the need for support and community she felt in her own life as a working mother. 

Alongside her ever-expanding HeyMama HQ team, Libin has since grown the business to reach over 3,200 members, located in 11 cities (and counting). 

As a voice for the experiences, challenges, and needs of working and entrepreneurial moms, Libin has been published in TODAY.com, SheKnows, and Thrive Global, and has been featured in Woman’s Day, Parents, Forbes, Inc., and more. Recently, she was named one of the Center for Women & Wealth’s 20 Most Inspiring Women to Watch Out For and as a Forbes Next 1000 recipient. 

Her biggest role is that of mom to her daughter, in whom she tries to instill the relentless work ethic and unflappable belief that anything is possible that she got from her own parents.

In this episode, Katya gets real about noticing a lack of representation for moms in business. She talks about building a community of moms, connecting virtually and in-person, and making personal connections to build a brand. Katya gives great advice on adapting social media strategies based on the times and remaining adaptable to help your business grow. Listen to this honest conversation with Katya as she talks about recognizing opportunities and creating space for others.

Hear the full episode and grab your special offer here: https://www.startuprenegades.com/episodes/building-a-startup-by-connecting-community-katya-libin-hey-mama

Check out this episode to hear more about:

• Using Instagram to growth hack community growth
• Adapting marketing strategies to current events
• Working with a co-founder who is also your best friend

Davina Kaonohi is the CEO and co-founder, Element Apothec, a company focused on making better CBD products from time-tested artisinal formulations that have found new life as they partner with integrative practitioners to infuse new products with high-quality organic CBD and bring them to the masses. As a strategic leader and brand creator, Davina is passionate about challenging the norm and making a difference with every company she has worked with. With Element Apothec, Davina brings to the table vast experience in team building, business strategy and operational management and a mission to create good in the world.

Check out this episode to gain valuable insight from Davina on:

• Finding the right manufacturer for your products and how helpful user testimonials can be in the process
• The benefits of utilizing a waitlist to build brand awareness before launching your business
• How to successfully crowdfund and the large role marketing has on the success of your campaign

Tune in to hear some specific, actionable advice from Davina based on her own startup journey to help you scale your own business. Listen to Davina'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.