The NXT Entrepreneur

We traveled to Los Angeles to talk to another entrepreneur, Bill Atchinson. Bill is the Founder and President of Growth Ventures. He has had the opportunity to help grow multiple top-notch companies: Healthy Choice, Ben & Jerry’s, KT Tape, Kodiak; just to name a few that he told stories about in this episode. If you are fascinated by branding, marketing, product development, innovation, and gr...

We traveled to Los Angeles to talk to the Actor, Jay Huguley. Jay is from New Jersey about 15 minutes from the Big Apple. From a young age he was fascinated with Broadway, museums, and anything related to the arts. Now he is an established Actor featured in 12 Years a Slave, True Detective, The Walking Dead, and more! We enjoyed talking with our friend Jay and were captivated by his home in Silver...

Deborah is the Founder and Chair of the Young Entrepreneurs Academy of Baton Rouge. YEA is a secondary school for high school students, grades 8 – 12, that are interested in launching their own business. Deborah has an incredible resume and a fascinating family history with entrepreneurship. Learn more about Young Entrepreneur Academy of Baton Rouge: Website: www.yeabr.org Facebook: https://www.fa...

Stephen is the Managing Partner of City Group Hospitality. This well known restaurant organization is dominating the Baton Rouge Area with 11 operations. Each restaurant has their own brand and specialties, making them unique. The newest concept to open is called Spoke & Hub, which is a new take on a diner themed restaurant. We can’t wait to check it out and also visit the speakeasy that is ad...

Anthony is a serial entrepreneur that is the owner of the shop Cards and Culture, the host of the podcast The Up and In Show, part owner of F45 Gym in Baton Rouge, and an LSU Baseball Alumni. Anthony is from New Jersey and first came into the spotlight by joining the LSU Baseball team and later furthering his career playing for the Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, and Chicago White Sox as a pitcher....

Scott is one of the Presidents of Lee Michaels Fine Jewelry. Lee Michaels was started in Baton Rouge by Scott’s father and with the help of his brothers, they have grown the business tremendously. This 45 year old company is the largest family owned jewelry business in the south with nine stores and nearly 200 employees. Learn more about Lee Michaels: Website: https://www.lmfj.com Facebook: https:...

Julio is the President and CEO of Melara Enterprises. This multi-media publishing company publishes The Business Report, 225 Magazine, InRegister magazine, The Daily Report, 1012 Industry Report and much more! Julio created a bridge between businesses to their communities, keeping everyone in Baton Rouge both local entertained and informed with what is going on in the city. Learn more about Melara...

Buddy is an Architect and Partner of Coleman Partners Architects LLC . This 70 year old firm has office locations in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Houston. Coleman Partners Architects designs buildings for all different business types with their main focus being Hospitality, Education, and Traditional Office Design. Buddy has been with the firm for nearly 40 years and still gets excited on every p...

John is the CEO of Valluzzo Companies. Valluzzo Companies is the management company for 80 McDonalds Franchise restaurants from South Louisiana to Alabama. They are the 2nd largest franchisees in the country with 3,200 employees.  Learn more about Valluzzo Companies: Website: https://valluzzocompanies.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ValluzzoCompanies/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/v...

Hattie Collins is the Owner and Creative Lead of Hattie Sparks Interiors. Hattie, after graduating with a degree in Art History and a minor in Business and then going on to complete her masters at Tulane University, soon realized that it was going to be harder to find a job in her niche than she thought. She quickly decided to join the world of retail, making connections and building lifelong rela...

Nick is the Founder and President of Emergent Method. In this episode we learned that Emergent Method is much more than a management consulting firm. We sat down with Nick and talked about his journey, graduating from LSU to starting his own business.  Learn more about Emergent Method: Website: https://emergentmethod.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emergentmethod Twitter: https://twitter.c...

Blasia is the CEO of Decision Critical. With the tagline “Healthcare for Your Lifestyle”, Decision Critical is a concierge nursing agency that will travel to you to provide you healthcare in the comfort of your own home.  Learn more about Decision Critical: Website: decisioncriticalbr.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/decisioncriticalbr/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/decisioncriticalbr...

Christel is the CEO of SSA Consultants. This company was founded by her husband, Bill Slaughter in 1970 with the same mission of creating practical solutions for a wide range of business types. They are successful through their leadership and consulting skills partnered with the ability to understand how a business works from the inside out. Learn more about SSA Consultants: Website: https://consu...

Stephen is the President of Vivid Ink Graphics. He is also the majority owner of both Vivid Ink Graphics and Vivid Imprint. Vivid Ink Graphics is a large print shop that focuses on large and small format printing services. Vivid Imprint focuses on apparel and promotional products. Having both companies under his belt, Stephen is minimizing his competition with the ability to cut costs by having th...

Kenny is the CEO of ThreeSixtyEight. He co-founded this business with the idea to create an agency to help underdogs succeed. ThreeSixtyEight transforms marketing and branding into an interactive experience. One of their goals is to put Baton Rouge on the map for being a go to city for creativity! Learn more about ThreeSixtyEight: Website: https://threesixtyeight.com/ Facebook: https://www.faceboo...

Shelly is the CEO of Crawfish Aquatics. She also oversees a development in Prairieville, housing the businesses: Crawfish Swim School, Mudbug Academy and PJs Coffee shop. It was inspiring to meet Shelly and to hear about her life as an incredible record breaking swimmer. Athleticism is apart of the family's DNA and we are thrilled to hear of the next generation carrying on with that legacy. L...

Chris Ferrara is the President and CEO of US Fire Pump . He originally started his entrepreneurial career as a volunteer firefighter, sparking the idea for his first business, Ferrara Fire Apparatus. US Fire Pump is a company that manufactures equipment for fire trucks and also fights large industrial fires. Learn more about US Fire Pump: Website: http://www.usfirepump.com/ Facebook: https://www.f...

Laurel Hess is the Founder and CEO of Hampr. Hampr is an on-demand laundry service app! You can now enjoy more time out of your day by having someone else perform all of your laundry needs. This app is growing at a rapid rate; within the first 22 months of launch it has expanded to 14 cities! WOW. Learn more about Hampr: Website: https://www.tryhampr.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tryhampr...

Jay Ducote is the President of Jay Ducote Hospitality Group. When asked what Jay does for a living, his response was "I eat and drink for a living". In actuality, Jay Ducote is known for being an owner, author, food & beverage writer, blogger, radio & tv host, speaker, video producer, culinary personality, traveler, eater, drinker, hugger, listener, teacher, and student.  Learn m...

Matt Saurage is the Chairman of Community Coffee. This Louisiana Loyal, Louisiana Proud company has been around for over 100 years and owned and operated by four generations! Community Coffee is a well known brand that is forever growing with the philosophy of family first. Learn more about Community Coffee: Website: https://www.communitycoffee.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/communitycoff...

Collin is the Founder and Owner of Ounce of Hope Aquaponic Cannabis Co. This Aquaponic Farm and Medical Cannabis Dispensary was inspired by his mother's diagnoses of both Polio and Multiple Sclerosis and fueled by the desire to help ease the pain of others in similar situations. Collin's road to success was not an easy one. He faced his own challenges and we appreciate how raw/open he wa...

Robb is the Co-Owner and COO of UpTown Climbing. Who would have thought he would connect with a stranger (Lee Guilbeau) at a conference in Colorado, that ended up being from Baton Rouge and attended the same high school as him. This connection turned into the strong partnership that created Baton Rouge's first and only indoor rock climbing gym! Learn more about Uptown Climbing: Website: https...

Lauren is the Co-Founder and CEO of Something Borrowed Blooms. Along with her cousin, Laken Swan, these powerful women realized they were called to start their own business, doing something different then anyone has done before. Something Borrowed Blooms is a company that allows you to rent silk flowers and decor for your wedding at a fraction of the price. This company has already seen an insane...

Beverly is a Managing Director at Carter Global. She has four degrees from LSU, is a wife and mother of four and has one of the strongest philanthropic approaches in the area. One of her personal philosophies is "I'm not a fundraiser. I'm a problem solver". Learn more about Carter Global: Website: https://carter.global/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/BCphilanthropy LinkedIn: http...

Jenni is the Owner of Varsity Sports. She started her journey at 25 in a bar with friends deciding whether to sign up for a 5k race. Later in life she qualified three different times for the U.S. Olympic Trials, including the first Women's Marathon at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Learn more about Varsity Sports: Website: https://www.varsityrunning.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/varsitys...