StitchCrew Change Makers Podcast

43% of women with children leave the workforce at some point in their careers and unfortunately, many of them face an uphill battle when attempting to return to work. And while we’ve come a long way, many employers still discriminate (often covertly) against new moms or moms who for one reason or another have stayed out of the workforce for a period of time. In fact, a 2018 study in Harvard Business Review found that women who tried to transition from being stay-at-home mothers were only half as likely to get a job interview than those who had been laid off, even if the absence from the workforce lasted about the same amount of time.

Parents who leave the workforce but later want to reenter it might be one of our greatest untapped resources. And with unemployment rates near historic lows and companies lamenting over labor shortages, it’s time to tap into this talent pool.

Luckily, moms like Ally Myers are taking matters into their own hands. While leading a non-profit organization providing financial aid to moms with children persevering serious illness, trauma and special needs, Ally experienced the problem first hand. After hearing the stories from several of the moms she served, Ally launched SUMA, a company connecting mothers with flexible work hours. Join us, as we talk to Ally about this missed opportunity and the challenges of running a startup. 

Two years ago, we partnered with the Oklahoma City Thunder to launch an accelerator and to help us build a more inclusive startup community in our region. 

Since our launch, we’ve helped 39 startups and we’ve built a community of 78 founders and over 100 mentors as well as an impressive database of in and out of state investors. 

Although we’ve been operating for a while, we still get asked questions about what it is that we do. So we decided to start the year with a new episode talking about our partnership with the best NBA team in the nation, and we asked Karlis Kezbers, Director of Business Intelligence and Strategy for the Oklahoma City Thunder to help us go over some of the most frequently asked questions we typically get about the accelerator program.

There are several companies transforming the way we interact with loved ones. Instagram for example, changed the way we capture and share moments about our daily lives. Venmo has altered how our friends can pay us back and Happily, a company located in the middle of the country, is making it easier for couples to have lasting relationships by making relationship health resources accessible to everyone.

Founded by Brett Kolomyjec and his wife Devon, Happily, helps couples have a deeper connection through planned date nights and access to expert relationship counseling. Formerly known as DateBox, Happily launched offering personalized subscription pre-planned dates. But Brett and Devon’s vision for the company goes well beyond date nights. Happily now offers conflict resolution classes and is using technology to eliminate the time, cost and stigma associated with traditional relationship counseling.

Join us as we talk to Brett about the origins of Happily, his journey moving from Seattle to the Midwest and his ultimate goal of helping couples achieve healthier relationships. 

Venture capital (VC) has been a highly visible part of the growth of many well-known companies like Google, Amazon, Facebook, Rent the Runway, 23 and Me, among many others. But, while VC has been very helpful for some entrepreneurs, the industry is focused on a small percentage of businesses with high growth potential: in fact, only 0.6 percent of businesses ever raise VC. Venture Capital is also very concentrated, out of all the venture capital spent, 78 percent is spent in three states New York, Massachusetts, and California. But as these areas become more and more saturated, venture capitalists are starting to pay attention to startups located outside traditional tech hubs.

Last week, we hosted a fireside chat with two of these venture capitalists who are traveling across the country to meet with entrepreneurs, investors and key stakeholders in the startup community. Join us as we talk startups and early-stage investing with Nitin Pachisia, Founding Partner of Unshackled Ventures, a Venture Firm that recently raised its second $20M fund and is investing exclusively in immigrant founders, and Ben Bayat, Managing Partner of NextGen Venture Partners, a network-driven venture capital fund whose latest fund is $60 million dollars.

Access to capital continues to be one of the main barriers to entry for entrepreneurs. With 80 percent of startups never accessing traditional loans and less than .6 percent of startups ever accessing venture capital funds, entrepreneurs are struggling to find financial resources to launch and scale their companies. This is particularly true for entrepreneurs of color and female entrepreneurs.

 In this new series of the StitchCrew Changemakers Podcast, we’ll be talking to early-stage investors who can help entrepreneurs navigate the challenges of accessing capital and fundraising.

 Join us as we talk to Kevin Moore, Partner at Spur Capital, a venture capital funds of funds and author of How to Start Your Own Venture Investment Fund. 

Since the world’s population is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, there is renewed focus on how to create a food supply that can sustain this amount of people. Given the scrutiny that industrialized agriculture is responsible for a significant portion of greenhouse emissions, several food innovation startups are working on solutions that will enable the industry to meet future demand without destroying our planet.

In fact, growing food in labs is now a thing. This process is often referred to as cellular agriculture, where researchers take stem cells from an animal and place it in a growing medium in a bioreactor to produce "cultured meat." While the science can't yet create the texture of a fine steak, processed meat such as burgers, chicken nuggets and meatballs are expected to be available on supermarket shelves in five years.

But are consumers ready for this change? And how will the existing industry react? Given that the United States is the world's largest producer of beef and has the largest fed-cattle industry in the world.

Regardless of where the industry goes, there is no question that what we eat and where our foods come from has changed a lot over the last two decades and as a result, people are demanding more transparency from food and livestock producers. And while some startups are working on creating meat without using an animal, others are working to enable livestock producers to become more efficient when breeding animals.

 In this episode, we spoke to Sean Akadiri about how his startup is helping cattle producers make better breeding decisions through genetics and health data analytics. Join us as we learn more about how he came up with the concept, what motivated him and what barriers he had to overcome as a multicultural founder going into a very traditional industry.

Christmas is a big deal for retailers around the world as people and corporations purchase gifts, decorations, and supplies to celebrate. In the U.S. alone, the Holiday shopping season accounts for more than $1 Trillion dollars and more than a quarter of annual retail sales.

 Even companies completely dependent on Christmas, benefit from big industry, Christmas trees companies for example sell more than 40 million trees in the US every year. But for an industry selling trees, does it promote sustainability? Is cutting live trees or shipping fake trees from across the country good for our environment?

 In this episode we talk to Sam Walker, the Founder of Green Tree Project, a social good company promoting sustainability by renting and delivering living, potted Christmas trees. Join us as we discuss how she came up with the idea of Green Tree Project, her passion for sustainability and the struggles of launching a company that's challenging the way we celebrate family traditions. 

In 2018, we saw more women launch innovative companies accounting for 40% of new entrepreneurs in the U.S. We also experienced an increase of women investors and fund managers as well as a record number of women run for office and get elected to Congress. Today, we have more women than ever running to become President of the United States in 2020.

What is behind the drive of these women to build the businesses they want to see in the world and run for office to enact the change they want to see in their communities?

 In today’s episode we talked to Congresswoman Kendra Horn, who in 2018 flipped the 5th congressional district in Oklahoma, a seat held by the opposing party since 1975, making her the first Democratic woman to be elected to Congress from Oklahoma. Many attributed Kendra’s success to the changing demographics in the district, others to the ongoing frustration of politics as usual in Washington. What captured our attention is Kendra’s similarities with female entrepreneurs. She outhustled her opponent, circumvented bias and figured out how to be resourceful, particularly in the early days of launching her campaign. Join us as we talk to Kendra about what drove her to run in the first place, the challenges of running and serving in office, what she considers to be the most critical problems facing our country and her views on the value of startups to our economy. 

Hip hop emerged in the mid-1970s from neighborhood block parties. Like any style of music, it has deep roots, and its evolution was shaped by many different artists. The Music Industry has also made a giant evolution. It is now easier than ever for an artist to publish and stream their music online thanks to social media and music-streaming platforms like Spotify which has made record labels a lot of money and music fans very happy. But what about the actual musicians?

 Platforms like Spotify, have been a savior for record labels like Universal Music Group, which has tripled its value since 2013. Meanwhile, just 28 percent of artists earned money from streaming in 2018. Join us as we talk to Jabee, an Emmy-winning rapper, entrepreneur, and community activist about the evolution of the music industry, the struggles of being a black entrepreneur, and his drive for equity.