StartupNation Radio

On today's episode of StartupNation Radio, Jeff interviews two entrepreneurs with Michigan-based businesses: Ali Rose VanOverbeke of Genusee and Zach Berg of Mongers’ Provisions.

First up is VanOverbeke, the founder of Genusee, an eyewear company that launched in 2018 out of Flint, Michigan, that creates its products from recycled, single-use plastic water bottles.

During the interview, VanOverbeke discusses:

• How the idea for Genusee formed
• Genusee's overall goals
• Why Genusee shoots to hire low-income, previously incarcerated and other often overlooked individuals
• Why she believes business can be a vehicle for social change
• How Genusee transformed from a side hustle to a full-fledged company

For more information, visit Genusee's official website, and follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Next up, Jeff chats with Berg, the founder, co-owner and head cheese monger at Mongers’ Provisions, a company founded in 2017 with locations in Detroit and Ferndale, Michigan, that specialize in cut-to-order cheese, craft chocolate and charcuterie. In its Detroit store, it also carries beer and wine and makes grilled cheese sandwiches.

During the segment, Berg talks about:

• How the business adapted to the challenges of the pandemic
• How passion and storytelling drive the business and where those ideals came from
• The secrets to how the business connects with its customers
• How he went from an aspiring chef to a retailer
• How the brick-and-mortar business expanded to include an e-commerce site

For more information, visit Mongers' Provisions' official website, and follow on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

If you're a startup company looking for capital, today's StartupNation Radio show is for you!

On this special edition of StartupNation Radio, Jeff shares a conversation with Ara Topouzian, executive director of the Michigan Venture Capital Association and RJ King, editor of DBusiness magazine, on the status of venture capital in Michigan today.

Jeff kicks off the show by discussing what venture capital is, why it's important and why entrepreneurs must know about it. During the discussion, Jeff, Ara and RJ discuss notable deals being made in the state of Michigan by venture capital firms today, the critical role follow-on funding plays and more.

On today's episode of StartupNation Radio, Jeff interviews four entrepreneurs who have started successful companies: Tania Shah, Erin Nobles and Lisa Sigman of In The Know Legal; and Kristen Denzer of Tierra Encantada.

First up are Tania Shah, Erin Nobles and Lisa Sigman, co-founders of In The Know Legal, a company that provides online, DIY legal templates. At launch, they're focused on providing legal documents for life coaches and business coaches but will be expanding to other industries soon.

During the interview, Shah, Nobles and Sigman discuss:

• Why the three saw a need for In The Know Legal after their years of experience as attorneys
• How In The Know Legal works
• The steps they took to get their business off the ground
• Why entrepreneurs shouldn't be scared of the legal aspects of business ownership
• The benefits of having proper business contracts and protection in place

For more information, visit In The Know Legal's official website and follow on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Next up, Jeff chats with Kristen Denzer, founder and CEO of Tierra Encantada, the leader in Spanish Immersion Early Education®, providing care for children ages 6 weeks through 6 years of age. In 2013, while searching for quality early education for her young child, Denzer founded Tierra Encantada’s first location in Eagan, Minnesota. In 2019, she launched Tierra Encantada’s franchising expansion to provide access to language immersion education to families across the country. 

During the segment, Denzer discusses:

• What inspired her to launch Tierra Encantada and what makes the business unique
• Her entrepreneurial background
• Building the Tierra Encantada franchise
• The successes and struggles she has experienced along the way
• Where she sees Tierra Encantada in the next five years

For more information, visit Tierra Encantada's official website.

On today's episode of StartupNation Radio, Jeff Sloan is joined by co-host, Matt Damman, owner and inventor of Walkie Chalk and CEO of Commando Lock. Damman is a lifelong entrepreneur and frequent StartupNation Radio show guest and co-host, who had the opportunity to pitch his product, Walkie Chalk, to the Sharks on "Shark Tank." Together, Jeff and Matt interview two entrepreneurs who have pitched their products on "Shark Tank" with great results.

First up is Selom Agbitor, co-founder of Mad Rabbit Tattoo, a natural tattoo aftercare solution created to help improve the healing process after seeing the lack of effective and all-natural products.

During the show, Agbitor discusses:

• His entrepreneurial background and experience
• How he and his co-founder, Oliver Zak, started Mad Rabbit Tattoo
• How they prepared for the "Shark Tank" pitch
• Which Shark they were targeting, their ask and the deal they accepted from Mark Cuban
• How the "Shark Tank" appearance impacted the business
• What's next for Mad Rabbit Tattoo

For more information, visit the Mad Rabbit Tattoo official website.

Next up, Jeff and Matt welcome Joe Altieri, founder and CEO of FlexScreen, the world's first and only flexible window screen, to StartupNation Radio.

During the show, Altieri shares:

• His industry background and how he came up with the product
• How the "Shark Tank" team reached out to him to be on the show
• What actually happens behind the scenes
• What he asked for and the deal he struck with Lori Greiner
• How the "Shark Tank" appearance impacted his business
• His advice to fellow entrepreneurs

For more information, visit FlexScreen's official website.

Welcome back to another brand new episode of StartupNation Radio! Today, Jeff is joined by frequent co-host, Norm Pappas, president and CEO of Pappas Financial. First up, the two welcome Justin Mast, founder and CEO of Bloomscape, to StartupNation Radio. Later in the show, Jeff chats with Phyllis Ellison about an upcoming event that will surely interest startups, entrepreneurs and investors in the Southeast Michigan region.

Bloomscape, which is the modern online garden center delivering the largest variety of quality houseplants directly from the greenhouse, was founded in 2017. The Detroit-based company is the only plant company that ships plants directly from the greenhouse to the consumer’s front door. Last fall, Bloomscape announced that it raised $15 million in series B funding.

During the interview, Mast discusses:

• How he carved out a niche for his business
• Why Bloomscape's authentic brand story connects with its millennial customer base
• His vision to reinvent the garden center and create a premium retail brand
• Steps he took to prepare for launching Bloomscape
• How Bloomscape positions itself against its biggest competitors
• How he plans to continue scaling his business over the next few years

For more information, visit Bloomscape's official website.

Next up, Jeff interviews Phyllis Ellison, Executive Director of InvestMidwest Forum and Vice President of Partnerships and Program Development of Cortex Innovation Community.

The Midwest Growth Capital Symposium and InvestMidwest are once again partnering to present the 2021 Midwest Venture Showcase through a virtual event on April 27 to 28, 2021.

During the discussion, Ellison talks about:

• The partnership between Midwest Growth Capital Symposium and InvestMidwest
• How the event helps promote startup companies based in the Midwest
• The different types of companies pitching during the event
• How the event fosters relationships between startups and investors
• Past startup success stories

To learn more about the Midwest Venture Showcase, visit the official website.

On today's episode of StartupNation Radio, Jeff catches up with former StartupNation Radio guests to see where they are now!

First up, Jeff welcomes back Chris McCuiston, co-founder of Goldfish Swim School, who was featured on StartupNation Radio in December of 2019. McCuiston co-owns the state-of-the-art swimming facility with his wife, Jenny.

Goldfish Swim School is the premier learn-to-swim facility for kids ages 4 months to 12 years, and this year, the company celebrates its 15th year in business!

During the interview, McCuiston discusses:

• Goldfish Swim School's franchise model
• The company's growth over the last year and a half
• How Goldfish Swim School has been weathering the pandemic-related challenges of the last year
• Where he sees Goldfish Swim School five years from now

For more information, visit the Goldfish Swim School official website.

Next up, Jeff welcomes back Laurel Orley and Diane Orley, co-founders of Daily Crunch Snacks, to StartupNation Radio. The business partners and aunt/niece duo were initially featured on StartupNation Radio in June of 2020. Since then, they've experienced incredible growth!

Daily Crunch Snacks is a sprouted nut company, and winner of the 2020 Good Housekeeping Healthy Snack Awards. The company is non-GMO certified, vegan, gluten free, gut healthy and women-owned certified.

During the show, Laurel and Diane share:

• How they pivoted their launch strategy early on in the pandemic
• Daily Crunch Snacks' launch in 150 Meijer stores
• The company's mental health initiatives and sustainability efforts
• Upcoming product launches in CVS and Urban Outfitters

Daily Crunch Snacks is offering an exclusive StartupNation discount code to listeners! Receive $10 off your first order on DailyCrunch Snacks.com with the discount code "StartupNation."

For more information, visit the Daily Crunch Snacks official website.

We’ll be back next weekend with another exciting episode of StartupNation Radio! Stay tuned.

Do you have a great entrepreneurial success story to share? Tell us your story here and you could be featured on an upcoming episode of StartupNation Radio.

On today's special edition of StartupNation Radio, we're talking to several local Main Street merchants about the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the opportunities ahead.

Joining StartupNation's Jeff Sloan in the co-host seat is Julie Sloan of MainStreet Nation (a subset of StartupNation), who is a subject matter expert on the business of Main Street. Jeff and Julie kick off the show with Julie's observations of the current state of Main Street, including the passion small business owners possess for not only their businesses, but their communities, as well.

John Bry, Supervisor of Local Business Development of Oakland County, joins the discussion to talk about what he's observed of Main Street businesses during the pandemic. He also offers his expertise on best practices that merchants can implement to continue to sustain their small businesses moving forward. 

Then, Jeff and Julie talk with three local Main Street merchants about what they're doing to position themselves for success coming out of the pandemic.

Featured guests include:

• Holly Anselmi, owner of The Italian Dish
• Marlene Mansour, owner of Urban Wick Candle Bar
• Sommer Poquette, founder and CEO of Keep it Real Social

Resources mentioned during the show:

• National Main Street Center
• National Chamber of Commerce
• U.S. Small Business Administration
• Oakland County Main Street Program
• MainStreet Nation
• ShopLoyal
• ShopMainstreet

We’ll be back next weekend with another exciting episode of StartupNation Radio! Stay tuned.

On this episode of StartupNation Radio, we're featuring a new installment in our “Ask the Expert” series with SCORE of Southeast Michigan. This series is designed to help answer the burning questions of our community’s small business owners. Joining Jeff are Armando Ojeda, southeast Michigan chapter chair of SCORE, and today’s expert guest, Lisa O’Connell.

Lisa is a SCORE sales expert and founder and CEO of Sales Account Ability, a company that helps management to coach sales people, define performance goals and implement easy to use tools to measure and monitor the performance of sales people. Lisa is a six-year active member of SCORE and is a certified mentor, subject matter expert, workshop leader and membership chair.

During the show, Jeff, Armando and Lisa discuss customer acquisition for early-stage startups and take calls from listeners. Topics covered include:

• The difference between marketing and sales, and which to focus on when
• How much to allocate for marketing spend when creating a business plan
• How to measure success when it comes to marketing spend

If you’re in need of some advice or next steps in your decision-making process, feel free to reach out to a SCORE mentor at semichigan.score.org or call (800) 634-0425.

On today’s episode of StartupNation Radio, Jeff chats with three entrepreneurs working to make a huge difference in the business of music.

First up, Jeff chats with Jonathan Hayman and Cassie Alexe, co-founders of the Michigan Music Business Club. Hayman and Alexe are both are juniors in college at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

When they noticed a gap in student organizations, they created the Michigan Music Business Club to give members an exclusive, educational experience through hands-on speaking events, social events and internship recruitment events.

During the interview, Hayman and Alexe discuss:

• How and why they created the organization to serve the university’s music business community
• The different types of events Michigan Music Business Club hosts, including some of the biggest names in the music industry virtually and in person throughout its 16-month inception
• The current excitement and disruption of the music industry as it relates to business
• Current trends in music, such as NFTs

For more information, visit the Michigan Music Business Club official website.

Next up, Jeff chats with Erik Nelson, co-owner of FanFlex, a music-tech platform for artists and venues that efficiently and profitably allows for the scheduling and booking of shows, tours and premium fan experiences.

As venues reopen their doors in a post-COVID world, never before has the need been so necessary to maximize a venue’s hours of operation and capacity, and FanFlex’s traction throughout the pandemic is a testament to this need. 

During the interview, Nelson shares:

• How he took his great idea and built it into a business
• How FanFlex works for both independent venues and local, independent artists
• How FanFlex has pivoted its revenue model during the pandemic
• The future of FanFlex

To learn more, visit the FanFlex official website.

Welcome to another edition of StarutpNation Radio! On today's show, Jeff welcomes Tom Berman, president and CEO of Nano Magic.

Welcome to another edition of StarutpNation Radio! On today's show, Jeff welcomes Tom Berman, president and CEO of Nano Magic.

A merger of two formerly two different companies, today, Nano Magic is a leader in creating and bringing to market cutting-edge nanotechnology powered applications made in the U.S. with special expertise in liquid products to apply to surfaces such as glass, porcelain and ceramic.

During the show, Berman discusses:

• His family's background in the Detroit business scene
• How he pivoted from law to business ownership
• How he reinvented and rebranded the business that is now Nano Magic
• How aspiring entrepreneurs can recognize unique opportunities