To mark the ending of this season of The Tidbit, the hotline is open once again and answering the most commonly asked question among aspiring entrepreneurs: I think I have a good idea for a food business, where do I start? On today’s episode, we have FIVE Cureate Facilitators, Kim Bryden, Tessa Velazquez, Julia Raymond, Walton Smith and Candy Schibli, who are sharing their expertise on how to approach this big question by taking into consideration factors like vision and mission, unique value proposition and driving brand awareness in sales. These specialized coaches are also directly involved in Cureate Courses, a free 10-week food and beverage entrepreneurship program designed to help entrepreneurs navigate the industry, grow their businesses and join a community of like minded business owners. Applications are open for the Fall 2024 Maryland cohort until July 27th. To learn more visit: https://www.cureate.co/courses-md. If you are tuning in after the Maryland deadline or are interested in a Cureate Courses program near you, fill out our evergreen application at http://cureate.co/courses. 

Show notes:

Host: Kim Bryden, Tessa Velazquez

Producer: Gabriela Saldivia

Guests: 

Cureate Coaches and Facilitators

Walton Smith, Founder of Black Woman Owned, https://blackwomanowned.co/

Candy Schibli, Founder of Southeastern Roastery, https://southeasternroastery.com/

Julia Raymond, Mid-Atlantic Director, Cureate, 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliarraymond/

Entrepreneurs of all types deal with a myriad of concerns about legal issues, like risk mitigation, trademark law and intellectual property, to name a few. These topics are especially prominent in the competitive food and beverage industry because legal rules about label and marketing claims are strict. On today’s episode of The Tidbit, host Kim Bryden speaks with Lauren Handel, principal attorney of Handel Food Law, a law firm dedicated to food businesses. Lauren shares tidbits of knowledge for entrepreneurs who are starting and growing business and uncertain what to keep in mind when it comes to legal topics.

Show notes:

Host: Kim Bryden

Producer: Gabriela Saldivia

Guests: Lauren Handel, Handel Food Law

https://www.handelfoodlaw.com/lauren-handel/

The Tidbit Hotline is open once again! On today’s episode, hosts Kim Bryden and Tessa Velazquez are teaming up with guest Vance Reavie of Junction AI to continue the conversation from last week’s episode about how AI can help small businesses. Small business owner Jon Henry of Jon Henry General Store in Virginia, called in wondering how to best add new specialty beverages to his existing line of traditional soft drinks. Kim, Tessa and Vance brainstorm ideas for Jon’s challenge, including predictive retail analytics and in-person data collection strategies.

 

Show notes:

Host: Kim Bryden, Tessa Velazquez

Producer: Gabriela Saldivia

Guests: Vance Reavie, Junction.ai, [email protected]

Jon Henry, Jon Henry General Store, https://jonhenrygeneralstore.com/

Artificial Intelligence or AI has been hyper prominent in the news for the last few years because it is changing the way we work. On today’s episode of The Tidbit, we are diving into all things AI, including how small business owners can use it to their advantage. Host Kim Bryden speaks with Matt Scharpnick, Associate Director at BCG X, the tech build and design unit of the Boston Consulting Group. He previously co-founded Elefint, a design studio aimed at advancing the storytelling capabilities of social sector organizations. He shares tidbits of knowledge about how entrepreneurs can harness the power of AI to benefit them and their business.

Show notes:

Host: Kim Bryden

Producer: Gabriela Saldivia

Guests: Matt Scharpnick, Associate Director BCG X, the digital build unit of the Boston Consulting Group

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewscharpnick

The Tidbit Hotline is back! Hosts Kim Bryden and Tessa Velazquez are answering entrepreneurs' questions about everyday challenges they are facing. On today’s episode, a Northwest Arkansas chocolatier is looking for advice about how to grow her small business — especially when scaling a labor-intensive product! To help answer her question, two scratch-made bakers who successfully scaled their once small operations into iconic D.C. area businesses share their advice and insights. Tune into learn invaluable insights from Founders, Jenna Huntsberger of Whisked! By Jenna and Caroline Yi of Sunday Morning Bakehouse.

Show notes:

Host: Kim Bryden and Tessa Velazquez

Producer: Gabriela Saldivia

Guests:

Jenna Huntsberger: Whisked! By Jenna

https://www.instagram.com/whiskeddc/

Caroline Yi, Sunday Morning Bakehouse 

https://www.sundaymorningbakehouse.store/

https://www.instagram.com/sundaymorningbakehouse/

Stephanie Danielle Martinez, Musa Chocolatier

https://www.instagram.com/musachocolatier/

To be successful in business, entrepreneurs need to be able to adapt to change, communicate clearly, build trust, and handle any unexpected challenges that come their way. On this episode of The Tidbit, Kim speaks with Mary Lemmer about how improv can help entrepreneurs navigate difficult situations, reduce stress and teach us important life lessons along the way. Mary’s company Improve offers training for companies around the world on the techniques of improv so organizations can thrive amidst uncertainty and change.

Show notes:

Host: Kim Bryden

Producer: Gabriela Saldivia

Guests: Mary Lemmer

https://www.marylemmer.com/

Kim on Mary’s podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/improved-podcast/episodes/Kim-Bryden-on-Food-Entrepreneurship--Growing-Teams--and-Holiday-Dance-Videos-e2c352r

The Tidbit Hotline is officially open! In this new format of The Tidbit, entrepreneurs send in challenges they are facing and hosts Kim Bryden and Tessa Velazquez brainstorm solutions and suggest actionable ideas along with special guest experts. On today’s episode, a mushroom farmer new to Northwest Arkansas is struggling to find a permanent place to grow their mushrooms. Kim, Tessa and Cory Babb, the owner of The Firelight Farm, offer creative strategies to get around having access to land.

Hosts: Kim Bryden and Tessa Velazquez

Producer: Gabriela Saldivia

Guests: 

Cory Babb, The Firelight Farm 

https://www.thefirelightfarm.com/

Lucy and Rodrigo Menocal, Blooming Hope Mushrooms 

https://www.instagram.com/bhmushrooms/

Cureate is celebrating 10 years this Fall! To honor the occasion, for the first time on The Tidbit podcast, our founder Kim Bryden is sharing her story. Tessa Velazquez, Cureate Facilitator + Coach, takes over the host mic to interview Kim about how Cureate got its start and the ups and downs of entrepreneurship! Tessa and Kim reflect on a decade of growth and what the future holds for Cureate.

Show notes:

Host: Tessa Velazquez

Producer: Gabriela Saldivia

Guest: Kim Bryden

This is the 100th EPISODE of The Tidbit —and our season finale! In this special live episode, Tessa Velazquez, Cureate Facilitator + Coach, spoke with Randy Wilburn, a communication strategist, entrepreneur, host of the “I am Northwest Arkansas” podcast, and founder of ONBoardNWA, a hyper-local jobs board. Randy shares strategies on how to stand out in a way that is authentic to your voice, tips for implementing guerilla marketing tactics, and attracting the right talent that aligns with your vision. Stay tuned until the end of the episode for two audience #tidbits! If you have a story to tell about your product or business, this episode is for you.

Host: Kim Bryden, Tessa Velazquez

Producer: Gabriela Saldivia

Guest: 

Randy Wilburn: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/randywilburn/

https://www.instagram.com/iamnorthwestarkansas/

The two final episodes on this season of The Tidbit are focusing on goal setting and the future of your business using your unique positioning. On today's episode, we explore how to position your business in a B2B (business-to-business) context —specifically with institutional buyers. We address sustainability in the workplace, specifically when it comes to food systems and health, and overall core values that determine the “why” behind what institutions may want to buy. Kim talks to Sara Hoverter, a senior fellow, attorney and adjunct professor at Georgetown Law specializing in health and food policy, and Kai Abelkis, sustainability manager at University of Maryland Medical Center.

Host: Kim Bryden

Producer: Gabriela Saldivia

Guests:

Sara Hoverter: https://www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/sara-p-hoverter/

Kai Abelkis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kai-abelkis/