The Savvy Entrepreneur

mHub Chicago is an award-winning startup business ecosytem for manufacturing .  Its goal to help ensure that the manufacturing industry which has been so important in Illinois and the Midwest over the years continues to accelerate, grow and thrive.  Although it's a nonprofit, it probably best is described as a public-private partnership, funded with both public money and corporate sponsorships.

Melissa Lederer, Chief Experience Officer at mHub, joined The Savvy Entrepreneur show recently to talk about the mHub community and some of its programs and accomplishments.

The mHub community includes over 350 active and alumni startups, supported by a deep talent pool of product designers and developers, entrepreneurs, engineers and manufacturers and a host of other experts designed to help support commercialization of new manufacturing related businesses, resulting in intellectual property growth, along with revenue and job creation

Since launching in 2017, it has helped companies launch more than 1200 products new products, hired more than 2100 employees, and raised nearly 702 million in capital.  mHub's close partnerships with area manufacturing companies offers more rapid go-to-market opportunities, real-time mentoring and feedback, and expedited exit strategies to its member startup companies.

It has also recently branched out to create a formal accelerator program, offering startup seed funding to innovative manufacturing startups in exchange for equity.  The new offering has attracted startups not only from the Midwest, but from across the U.S. and internationally as well.

The mHub community is thriving and vibrant, and Melissa shares some of the ecosytem's successes.  Having seen lots of companies come through the program and drawing upon her past experience with 1871 and Matter in Chicago, she offers some advice to help startup businesses increase their chances of success.

It's a great listen -- Melissa's enthusiasm for mHub and what they are doing there shines through!  Click on the arrow to the left to listen.  Or, go here if you'd prefer to read a transcript of the show.

Franchising is an option that many people should consider if they want to own their own business -- especially if they are not sure how to get started.  And franchising & women are a particularly good combination.

Tamika Franklyn, Founder of Precision Franchise, joins The Savvy Entrepreneur show to talk about some of the many advantages of franchising. She also shares why franchising may be a particularly good option for women entrepreneurs. She dispels the notion that you need brick and mortar to build a successful franchise. Similarly, there are franchises that require far less than 20 hours a week, and can be built on your timeline.

It's a great listen, and chockful of great advice and insights! Click on the arrow to the left to listen.  Or, if you'd prefer to read a transcript of our chat, click here.

Dr. Asha Parekh, Co-Founder and CEO of Frontline Medical Technologies joined The Savvy Entrepreneur recently to chat about her company's journey and about how to encourage more women in STEM, entrepreneurship, and especially healthcare startups.

Asha is a first-time CEO -- no small feat in the medical device world.  She and her partner have also largely boostrapped their way through regulatory approval, and are nearly ready for commercialization.

The device they've invented and are bringing to market through Frontline Medical Technologies is the world's smallest REBOA device.  It's designed to stem traumatic bleeding to allow critically injured patients a better shot at getting to the operating room before they lose too much blood. Currently, 90% of trauma patients with significant internal bleeding never even make it to the OR.

Asha candidly shares some of the many challenges she and the company have faced.  She offers several pieces of advice that she's learned along the way.

She also is passionate and devotes time to helping girls and young women consider STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Medicine) careers.  She shares her thoughts on how to encourage more women -- not only in technology careers, but also to have the courage and vision to become entrepreneurs and leaders.  On average, only 19% of leadership roles in the MedTech industry are held by women. Similarly, only 10% of healthcare startups are owned and/or founded by women.

Click on the arrow to the left to take a listen!  Or, if you prefer, read a transcript of the interview.

Shaniqua Davis was tired of not landing jobs she felt qualified for.  So she woke up one day and decided to do something about it.  She founded Noirefy, a platform that helps match diverse tech talent with companies interested in finding those resources.  The platform is free for job seekers, and revenue for the company comes in the form of finders' fees.  Revenue also comes in the form of coaching and consulting with companies to foster more diverse and inclusive workplaces, so that they become a more attractive workplace to hire and retain that talent.

Shaniqua joins The Savvy Entrepreneur to share the story of how she founded the company, some of the challenges of mostly bootstrapping a startup, and dealing with the sensitive issues surrounding diversity and inclusion.  It's an inspiring story, showing how people like Shaniqua are helping our world change and improve, one step at a time.

Click on the arrow to the left to listen to Noirefy and Shaniqua's inspiring story!  Or, if you prefer, read the show transcript here.

Matrix4 was originally Patricia' Miller's grandfather's company. It made plastic parts. And when he turned over the business to Patricia, it was struggling.

She completely turned the company around.  In the process, she created what she calls the first product design and manufacturing "house."  The house combines all four key production phases:  design, engineering, tooling, and manufacturing.  The goal was to drive industry growth and innovation, and usher in a new era of culture, leadership and sophistication.

Patricia, the CEO of Matrix4, joins The Savvy Entrepreneur radio show to share her journey and how she rebuilt Matrix4, mixing the best of the old and the new.

The story of the "House of M4" is inspiring, full of great insights on taking on a turnaround situation, building a culture, and revitalizing American manufacturing!

Click on the arrow to listen in!  Or, if you prefer, you can read a transcript of the show here!

Taralinda and Dale Willis, the Co-Founders of Curate Solutions, prove once again that the opportunities for creative businesses are almost unlimited.  Curate Solutions is a Wisconsin-based startup that makes local government data more accessible through its AI platform.

Taralinda, the CEO, joins The Savvy Entrepreneur to share the story of how they came up with the idea, how they found their first clients, and how they basically bootstrapped their way to success.  She offers tips for creating and building a business, finding helpful resources (including a stint with Madison's famed Gener8tor accelerator program).  She also provides incites on pivoting to meet customer needs, scaling a startup business, and generally staying nimble.

Her candor is refreshing, and the story of Curate Solutions is a great listen!  Click on the arrow to hear the show, or click here if you'd prefer to read a transcript of our interview!

Franchising is a popular way to start a new business.  Scott Majeski, a franchising consultant who is the Managing Partner of FranNet for Chicago and NW Indiana, joins The Savvy Entrepreneur to talk about franchising basics. FranNet advises its clients on franchising, helping match them with the right franchising option.  Scott likens the business model to a real estate agent -- there is no charge to the buyer, and the franchising company pays FranNet for a successful match with a new franchisee.

Scott shares all the franchising basics: the pros and cons of franchising, as well as what makes franchisees successful.  He speaks from experience, having built and operated a successful PuriClean disaster recovery franchise himself.  He talks about some of the common misconceptions about franchising, the kind of people who are a good fit for franchising (and those who are not), the most common mistakes franchisors make, and some of the costs associated with franchising.

It's a good, practical overview of franchising for those considering this option.  Click on the arrow to listen, or click here if you'd prefer to read a transcript of the show!

Dr. Anthony Orsini, Founder of The Orsini Way, dedicated his career to helping people have difficult, compassionate conversations after an incident during his medical training.  His senior, whom he knew to be a very compassionate doctor, completely botched delivery of the news to a father that his baby had just died.  Dr. Orsini reasoned that, if someone this humane could still fail to deliver difficult news effectively, then there must be a need out there.

He spent the next 10 years researching the best ways to deliver bad news, and experimenting with how to teach others.  Since then, he has become increasingly known for The Orsini Way, which helps people -- both healthcare providers and business leaders -- to have difficult yet compassionate conversations.

He joins The Savvy Entrepreneur to share his story and research -- it's a fascinating listen.  He also offers tips to help everyone have better conversations  -- click on the arrow to hear more! Or, go here if you prefer to read a transcript of the show!

You can also read his book or catch his podcast, "Difficult Conversations," to learn even more.

Dr. Shashikant Gupta, or Shashi as he is called, co-founded Apex Co-Vantage with a radical idea:  that business should be a force for good.  What he means by that isn't really about sustainability or reducing our carbon footprint or donating to charity (although he established the Gupta Family Foundation to do that).

Shashi recently joined The Savvy Entrepreneur show to explain that, instead, the culture that his company lives and breathes is based on three simple core values:  (1) integrity (2) human dignity and (3) the relentless pursuit of excellence.

These might sound like typical big-company mission statements.  But the way he has implemented them has been described as "zen."  By integrity, he means that everybody in the company is always empowered to tell the truth and not avoid the facts.  People have been fired when they have told customers things that aren't true.  Employees at all levels of the company do not to "whitewash" information, and are empowered to speak to managers at any level about disagreements or things of concern.

By human dignity, he means that every employee conducts themselves in a way that enhances the other person's dignity.  And by that, he means that the stronger or more powerful you are in the company, the gentler you should become. And this applies not only to other employees, but to customers and to vendors.  For example, the company has no vacation policy -- you can take as much as you want, and no one keeps track.  And the employee handbook is a slim four pages.

He and his co-founder refused outside funding in order to build this culture and avoid the pressure to only make money.  And the result is a company culture that employees, customers, and vendors alike sense is palpably different.

But his company isn't a non-profit; nor is it struggling financially.  He is clearly and rightfully proud that his company lives these values, and yet is highly profitable.

Click on the arrow to listen to Apex Co-Vantage's fascinating story and how they have built a company that many people dream of working for! Or, if you prefer to read a transcript of the show, just click here.

Richelle Martin tells The Savvy Entrepreneur show that she founded the Winnow Fund and got into venture capital by chance.  She never planned to raise money for a venture capital fund.  But with the encouragement of one of the directors of Wisconsin's state Badger Fund of Funds, she became the first woman to create a venture capital fund in the state.

The Fund of Funds was looking for someone to help more professors and researchers within the state's university system to take the plunge and become entrepreneurs.  Wisconsin, like most states, has many people in academia creating new ideas.  But the challenge is to get those ideas out into startup companies.  Richelle's  background as a lawyer, her familiarity with the University of Wisconsin system, and her knowledge of intellectual property and technology transfer made her a great fit for the Winnow Fund.

The Winnow Fund provides seed money to companies (and even just ideas) in agriculture, medical devices, medical imaging, advanced manufacturing and engineering products.

Click on the arrow to the left to listen to Richelle's amazing story of how she founded the Winnow Fund and tips on  what seed investors look for.  Or, you can read a transcript of the interview here.