At last week’s Xerocon event I had the pleasure of meeting Steven Carse, who cofounded King of Pops with his brother. And what start as a natural ingredients popsicle company with a single cart in 2010 has turned into a company employing upwards of 250 people spread across eight cities in five states.

Steven shared with me how being laid off from his corporate job led to him discovering his business opportunity, the importance of being involved in the community is key to understanding customers, and how an employee who brings his ukulele to work with him is a good fit for the company.