This Is Small Business

What happens when your business takes off but your customers only need you a few months a year? TrophySmack brought in around $800,000 in its first year selling over-the-top fantasy football trophies but co-founder Dax Holt knew there was more business to win. He just needed to find out who else wanted bragging rights. Dax joins host Andrea Marquez to share how he went from assembling trophies in...

A good product can still be a hard sell if people don’t know what to make of it. When Lori and Llance Kezner put broth in a tea bag, they had something customers loved once they tasted it – but finding the right way to explain the product and getting them to try it took some trial and error. The co-founders of Millie’s Sipping Broth join host Andrea Marquez to share how a fix for Lori’s break-room...

What if the idea for your next business is rooted in something you’ve known your whole life? Jake DeLeon grew up helping his mom and grandmother make Filipino food to sell to their neighbors. Years later, after his first business closed, those familiar flavors inspired a fresh start and a chance to bring Filipino cuisine to more grocery shelves. In this episode of This Is Small Business , Jake joi...

Sometimes, the best business ideas can spring from some of our deepest insecurities. Jessica Rosales and Carlos Torres grew up feeling like "no sabo kids" — not quite fluent enough, not quite connected enough to the culture they came from. But instead of burying that insecurity, they turned it into Yo Sabo , a popular bilingual card game designed to help families reconnect through language. In thi...

Running a business rarely goes exactly as planned. Sometimes the idea comes from an insecurity you cannot shake. Sometimes growth means questioning the habits that got you this far. And sometimes the best advice sounds completely ridiculous until it starts to work. In this latest season of This Is Small Business, host Andrea Marquez sits down with founders to unpack the moments that shaped their b...

Data can tell you who your customers are, what they’re searching for and what to test next – if you know what to look for. In this Small Business Byte on This Is Small Business , host Andrea Marquez explores how founders can use data to make smarter business decisions. You’ll hear from Alejandro Lopez, founder of Toma Beverage Company, on using customer demographics and purchasing patterns to shap...

Your culture may already be shaping your business – through the problem you noticed, the traditions that inspired you, or the story behind your product. Bringing those influences forward can help customers understand what makes your brand distinct and why it exists. In this Small Business Byte on This Is Small Business, host Andrea Marquez explores how founders can make culture a visible and authe...

When you’re building a business, it can be tempting to keep tweaking until everything feels perfect. But sometimes, the next step isn’t more polishing. It’s putting something real in front of people and learning from the feedback they give you. In this Small Business Byte on This is Small Business, host Andrea Marquez dives into what it means to build a brand before everything feels fully figured...

You don’t need to have it all figured out before you start. This latest season of This Is Small Business was full of founders who began with a problem they couldn’t ignore, made mistakes, changed direction, and learned as they went. Catch up on the stories, lessons, and advice from founders who figured it out the hard way. We’ll be back with more episodes soon! Until then, we’ll be sharing Small B...

What if the conversation you’re avoiding is the one your business needs most? A lot of founders start a business because they have an idea, a product, or a vision they believe in. But at some point, building the business also means learning how to lead people, give feedback, handle tension, and communicate when things feel uncertain. Ashli Carter , senior lecturer in management at Columbia Busines...

Your first business might not work out but it can show you how to build a better one. After years in hospitality and teaching cocktail classes to thousands of people, April Wachtel saw a gap: people wanted bar-quality drinks at home, but didn’t always have the time, tools, or ingredients to make them. So she launched Swig and Swallow – a cocktail batching and delivery business that didn’t quite wo...

What would you give up to build something bigger than yourself? After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Reubens Amedee left his successful finance career to build a school on his grandfather’s land. But keeping that dream alive meant finding a sustainable way to fund it. That’s how Papa Rozier Farms was born – a beauty brand built from Haitian grown castor and moringa, family legacy, and a mission to...

What if your biggest competitive advantage is your story?  When Akruti Babaria couldn’t find tools to help her son connect with his Indian heritage, she turned that gap into a business. What started as selling curated children’s books quickly evolved into Kulture Khazana – a brand built on storytelling, cultural connection, and community. In this episode, she breaks down how she validated dem...

What separates the businesses that get funded from the ones that don’t? Angela Lee, a professor at Columbia Business School and founder of 37 Angels, has helped evaluate over 20,000 startups and knows exactly what makes investors say yes. In this episode, Angela breaks down how to think like an investor, what metrics actually matter (hint: it’s not just revenue), and how to turn early traction int...

What happens when a simple craving turns into a nationally recognized brand? For Alejandro Lopez, it started with brunch. Frustrated by inconsistent Bloody Marys at restaurants, he began experimenting in his own kitchen – searching for the perfect mix. What began as a passion project quickly turned into Toma Beverage Company. In this episode, Alejandro shares how he tackled product development and...

What happens when you take a centuries-old tradition and introduce it to a modern audience? That’s the question Brenden Silverman set out to answer with Leilo, a wellness drink inspired by kava – a traditional beverage from the South Pacific known for its calming properties. What started as a college experiment (complete with questionable early recipes and brutally honest feedback at frat parties)...

What if design isn’t the finishing touch on your business but the foundation? Sally Chung thinks most founders have it backwards. They obsess over logos, colors, and aesthetics, while skipping the deeper work that actually determines whether a product succeeds: understanding the user. In this episode of This Is Small Business , Sally – founder of Designpreneurs & Co. and professor at Parsons S...

She didn’t mean to disrupt the gum industry. She just wanted gum that wasn’t made of plastic.  When Caron Proschan first found that out, she couldn’t ignore it. One piece of neon-blue gum after a healthy lunch sent her down a rabbit hole that ended with her hand-making natural gum in her apartment. In this episode of This Is Small Business, Caron shares how reading one ingredient label set of...

What if the biggest thing holding you back isn’t your idea… it’s the way you’ve been trained to think? Ashish Bhatia is basically a therapist for entrepreneurs and in this episode of This Is Small Business, he breaks down why “just be confident” is the worst advice ever, and what actually works instead. As a professor of Entrepreneurship at NYU Stern, Ashish has helped hundreds of founders go from...

What do you do when you realize the “safe” path isn’t actually your dream? Brandon Fuhrmann went to law school, passed the bar… and then walked away – because building Cooler Kitchen, a space-saving kitchen brand born in a tiny NYC apartment, sounded way more fun than billing hours forever. In this episode of This Is Small Business, Brandon breaks down how he actually built Cooler Kitchen – from c...

What if the thing everyone avoids talking about is actually your best business idea? When Katie Diasti realized how awkward and outdated period care still felt, she didn’t wait for someone else to fix it. She built Viv – a brand rooted in honesty, education, and actually listening to people. In this episode of This Is Small Business, Katie shares how a college class project turned into a real comp...

Running a business is more than strategy and numbers. It’s momentum, pressure, excitement, and responsibility–often all in the same day. It’s making decisions without perfect information, trusting your instincts, and living with the outcome. In This Is Small Business , host Andrea Marquez sits down with founders and creators to talk honestly about what it’s really like to run a business. The highs...

Building a business can often seem like a solo mission. But founders who thrive know that success doesn’t come from hard work alone — it comes from having the right people in your corner: those who understand your mission and are invested in your growth. In this Small Business Byte on This is Small Business, host Andrea Marquez dives into how to build, and lean on, a support squad that keeps your...

Every small business owner dreams of seeing their product go viral. It’s exciting to imagine your business blowing up out of the blue, but these moments aren’t as random as they seem. What looks like a sudden spike in attention is often months of preparation, small bets, and calculated risks coming together at just the right moment. In this Small Business Byte on This is Small Business, host Andre...

No one gets it right on the first try. But every great idea has a few misses behind it – because getting it wrong is how you finally get it right. In this Small Business Byte on This is Small Business, host Andrea Marquez explores why the secret to finding your winning idea often lies in what doesn’t work. From testing products that flop to pivoting when plans fall apart, embracing trial and error...