Founded Connect

Cee Cee Huffman and Mark Meyer, Cofounders of Wavestream Media, join us for a deep dive into all things podcasting (and some unrelated hot takes).  Learn more about when to start your podcast as a small business, what our podcast pet peeves are, the fictional characters we think would have the best podcasts, and our opinions on cream cheese in sushi.  Wavestream is a partner of Founded Communities...

David Baxter and Jesse Jones join us for an aptly spooky episode all about the scary (and silly) experiences of being an entrepreneur. Dive into their most ridiculous customer interactions, mistakes early-stage startups should avoid, how to (and how not to) employ AI as it relates to law, and SO many hot takes.  Fourscore is offering Founded Connect members an exclusive $500 discount on their Star...

Majela Fonseca and Gabriel González join special guest host Dayanna Gutierrez for an episode exploring Hispanic heritage, effective and genuine marketing towards historically marginalized communities, a hot take about the problem with extreme wellness, and more!  Connect with Majela | Learn more about Hutchison PLLC | Learn more about the Carolina Climate Founders Forum Connect with Gabe | Follow...

Maggie Kane and Jess Porta graciously allow us to eavesdrop on their conversation, covering everything from treating employees correctly to accountability within a community. Dive into their views on parenthood, leadership, humanitarian work, and more!  Connect with Jess | Learn more about International Focus | Learn more about Green Places Connect with Maggie | Learn more about  A Place at The Ta...

Guest host and Executive Director Lauren Romer is joined by her friends Homayoon and Brandon for an aptly-chosen podcast all about friendships and dating as an entrepreneur! Dive into what we think about relationships with non-entrepreneurs, opinions on working in corporate, and more!  Connect with Homayoon | Learn more about Jabin  Connect with Brandon | Learn more about TRAKID

Dive into B-Corp, what sustainability looks like for businesses of all sizes, corporate sustainability roles, and more with Rachel Haynes, Taylor Vandek Hoek, and Kaley Cross Warner!  Connect with Rachel | Connect with Taylor | Connect with Kaley   Shop with Glove Collaborative | Check out the B Local Triangle Events 

Guest host David Williams is joined by Sawyer Stone, Cody Vaughn, (and ally-guest Lauren Romer) for a deep dive into protests, drag kings, staying true to your values as a business, and everything queer in between!  Connect with Sawyer | Follow Unhinged Coffee Co. | Connect with David Shop Touchstone Essentials | Learn more about Unhinged Coffee Co.  

In this episode, we were joined by the co-founders of Monday Wellness , Merrill Wood and Ashley Emmons, for a deep dive into workplace culture, showing up as your 'favorite self' at work, the myths surrounding productivity, and more! Connect with Merrill | Connect with Ashley | Visit Monday Wellness! -- Founded Connect is a podcast where we bring together people immersed in the Triangle’s entrepre...

Welcome to Founded Connect, a podcast where we bring together people immersed in the Triangle’s entrepreneurial ecosystem to discuss their work and a hot take about their fields. This week, we’re joined by: Christina Marie Noel, Founder and CEO of better made easy, Founder & Principal of Noel & Co.  Lauren Romer, Executive Director of Founded Communities  We discussed FYSO and Raleigh-Durh...

Welcome to a special-edition episode of Founded Connect, where we paired two Founded entrepreneurs together to discuss the past, present and future of the Triangle’s ecosystem for our 2024 Innovators Guide. In this episode we’re joined by: Rachel Thompson, CEO & Strategic Director at Daring Studios  Brittaney Robinson, Founder of Our Backyard  Rachel and Brittaney dive into some nerdy facilita...

Welcome to a special-edition episode of Founded Connect, where we paired two Founded entrepreneurs together to discuss the past, present and future of the Triangle’s ecosystem for our 2024 Innovators Guide. In this episode we’re joined by: Mike Doyle, Owner of Drive 80 Studios Kenny Wical, Self Employed Visual Designer and Consultant Mike and Kenny got caught up in a winding and unfiltered convers...

Welcome to the first episode of our new series, Founder Conversations, a podcast where we bring together people immersed in the Triangle’s entrepreneurial ecosystem to discuss their work and a hot take about their fields. This week, we’re joined by: Dr. Nehemiah Mabry, Forensic Structural Engineer and CEO + Founder of STEMedia Dr. Valencia Hicks-Harris, Educator and Founder + CEO of Empower All We...

Welcome to Venture Voices, where we take you on the journey of entrepreneurs in our community, and the lessons they learned along the way. Today's guest Isabella Dearr is a muralist and artist, Founder of YV Customs, and the Events Coordinator at Raleigh Founded. In this episode, Isabella dives into her creative process, the importance of routine, navigating rejection, and her three pieces of advi...

Welcome to the first episode of our new series Venture Voices where we take you on the journey of Entrepreneurs in our community, and the lessons they learned along the way. Our first guest Christopher Gergen, is a serial entrepreneur and one of the founders of Raleigh Founded. He is also the founder of Forward Impact an investment fund that works with philanthropists and policymakers to address s...

Join us on Founded Connect as we dive into the incredible journey of Sora Union. Co-Founder Sophia Wajnert shares how their professional services company is reshaping remote work by sourcing talent from at-risk communities due to conflict or climate change. Discover how Sora Union is making a positive social and environmental impact while revolutionizing the way we work.

Joining us in the studio are three legal virtuosos from Smith Anderson: Merrill Mason, Mike Saber, and Josh Diver. These seasoned experts have dedicated their careers to assisting startups, venture capital initiatives, and navigating the intricate realm of mergers and acquisitions. Today, they're sharing their wealth of experience to help founders steer clear of the legal traps that often catch th...

In this Founded Connect episode, HR expert Dave Roscoe from Acclaim HR and former Founder and CEO of CarePaths, Sarah Jansen, shed light on the rising risks for small and mid-sized businesses that ignore Human Resources. The Department of Labor's proactive audits are on the rise, with over 2000 new full-time hires and a budget increase of over $5 billion since 2019. Despite this, many business...

In this episode of the Founded Connect podcast, our host had the privilege of hosting Kurt Merriweather, CDE®, co-founder of The Diversity Movement. Together, they embark on a deep dive into the often-misunderstood realm of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the workplace. Kurt brings his extensive knowledge and experience to the table, challenging misconceptions and uncovering valuable ins...

Join Traci Phillips, renowned coach and author of "Looking In", and Brandon Kashani, Founder and CEO of Trakid, in an insightful conversation about the innate qualities necessary to thrive as a leader in the dynamic world of startups. In this episode of Founded Connect, Traci and Brandon delve deep into the essential traits that set successful startup leaders apart. Drawing from their combined exp...

Raleigh Founded's recent partner, Right to Start, is fighting for your right to pursue your dreams, build a business, earn a living. We dive into their efforts to unleash entrepreneurial opportunity for everyone Founded Connect is hosted by JP Maloney, produced by  Earfluence , and recorded in-studio at Raleigh Founded.

With everyone working from home, Billy Dickinson saw a problem that he could solve - homes simply didn't have enough privacy for office space.   On episode 3 of the NC State Entrepreneurship Series, Billy shares how he got Home Office Solutions off the ground, the impact from pandemic life, and what's ahead for the new company. Founded Connect is hosted by Danielle Mayber, produced by Earflue...

When Ritika Shamdasani and her sister Niki were in high school, they had a problem - they were going to a traditional Indian wedding, and they couldn't find the right clothing. It wasn't available online, and they had to travel to major south Asian hubs to look for options.  So they decided to start a business, kind of a side hustle and resume booster for college.  Except that side hustl...

You may have seen the recent announcements about 321 Coffee setting up shop at the new Pendo building , or how they're about to open up their first standalone location at 615 Hillsborough Street in Raleigh. They are all over the place and expanding rapidly. But did you know that it all started in co-founder Lindsay Wrege's dorm room?  As part of episode 1 of the NC State Entrepreneurship Seri...

When Astral Consulting Group founders Chris Andrassay and Alfonso Alburquerque made the move from New York to Raleigh, they had a lot of things on their minds - Will we get business in the Triangle? How do we connect with the local entrepreneurial community? Should we find office space and where? And then of course, they also needed to think about, How do we legally move our company to another sta...

When Karly Pavlinac founded WAAM in 2017, she had the hustle, determination, and survival instincts that so many entrepreneurs need to get their companies off the ground. She scrapped and clawed, even sleeping on her parents’ couch while getting started. And in 2021, her faith paid off, with a successful exit. On today's Spotlight Series is presented by Wyrick Robbins . In addition to Karly, we we...