The Startup Junkies Podcast

Meet Steve Perry, president of Denovo Brands. Dedicated to innovative outdoor retail products, Steve, along with several other Denovo owners, stems from a career in mass market retail at Walmart. Denovo Brands includes Equip , which focuses on hammocks, and Kijaro , which produces premium sporting & outdoor chairs. Join us as we sit down with Steve and learn about the challenges of building a...

Introducing our very own, Ellen Brune! Holding a Ph. D. in chemical engineering, Ellen is our Senior Entrepreneur in Residence. Ellen serves as a liaison between Startup Junkie and the University of Arkansas. Her focus is helping scientists at the University commercialize their research. Ellen’s experience with her own company, Boston Mountain Biotech , is invaluable and tailored to science-based...

Ashton McCombs and Jeff are both Naval Academy graduates who took a successful plunge into entrepreneurship. In this episode, Ashton shares stories about the path that led he and two colleagues to leave corporate careers and start Phigenics, a smart water management company in 2004. It has been over a decade, and Ashton shares stories, lessons learned and advice to future entrepreneurs. In additio...

Rogelio Garcia Contreras is the Director of Social Innovation at the Sam Walton College of Business, and he’s planting the seeds of social entrepreneurship in NWA. Through bringing the Social Innovation Challenge to the University of Arkansas, Rogelio has created a collaborative environment for anyone who’s interested in solving pressing community problems with, you guessed it, innovation . By enc...

Being an entrepreneur comes with its fair share of hang-ups and frustrations, but it’s not often that you’re ejected from the driver’s seat of your own business venture. Omar Kasim, previous founder and owner of Con Quesos, experienced just that. From an operational upswing, to having a partner leverage financials to remove him from the company, Omar is on the come up with his latest venture, Juic...

From bubbles, to market crashes, to wise investment decisions – join us for a special episode where we bring back someone near and dear to our hearts, Jon Cadieux, the original co-host of the Startup Junkies Podcast! Jon is the CEO and founder of 455 Media Group, a company committed to helping small businesses get the most for their marketing budget.  Check out 455 Media Group at 455mediagroup.com...

Did you know that there are 54 countries on the African continent? That’s 54 opportunities to trade and foster communications with nations that are up-and-coming in the sphere of innovation! Toyin Umesiri, CEO and founder of Nazaru, talks with us about commercial interests in Africa, the Trade with Africa Business Summit, and how one person can have a major impact on such a global scale. She also...

Company executives don’t just grow on trees – your C-suite could come to you as a result of services that specialize in executive search and executive coaching. Join us as we learn from the best in the business (of business). Executive recruiter and Razorback football alum, Cary, explains the importance of culture and talent to a company, while career coach, Tanya, explains authenticity and succes...

From its humble beginnings as a food truck, Yeyo’s Mexican Grill is setting up shop in downtown Bentonville. With a seasonal food truck and a brick-and-mortar business to run downtown, you might wonder how founder Rafael Rios had time to sit with us for this podcast episode. We join him in his restaurant, just days before its public opening, to talk about the roots and foundation of Yeyo’s, as wel...

Ever wonder why entrepreneurs flock to coffee shops? Recently published author, Ancil Lea, explains the mindset of an entrepreneur, as well as our ingrained aversion to traditional office spaces. In his book, Common Grounds: An Entrepreneurial Guide to the Coffee Shop , Ancil explains the importance of community support through your local coffee shop. Listen as Ancil spills the beans on the coffee...

If you’re looking for a made-from-scratch breakfast, look no further than The Buttered Biscuit. With fresh-made breakfast foods sourced from clean ingredients, Anna and Sam Russell deliver a homemade spin on the most important meal of the day. The couple, hailing from Michigan, explains their brand-built restaurant that facilitates great memories and a consistent brand culture. Driven by a love of...

Arjun and Arthi Krishna are the recent winners of the Congressional App Challenge for the Arkansas 3rd District, and two of the most inspiring students we’ve met! Their winning app, BookGazers, is a marriage of paperback books and augmented reality, and is currently being displayed on Capital Hill, and they’ve  been invited to D.C. for the #HouseOfCode event. In this episode we discuss the Congres...

Whether she is working in an international corporation or a startup team of one, Jerra Nalley has always had a knack for connecting people. She joins us on the show to share her story, and how she became the founder of Leisurlist, an all-encompassing platform to connect residents with their community in Northwest Arkansas. Eat. See. Do. Northwest Arkansas. Visit www.leisurlist.com and download the...

Skylar Wallace and Tyler Scantlan join the show from Arthur Dent’s, a new type of tea. They create a story and experience around one of the world’s favorite beverages, and are utilizing some of the best equipment in the world to craft your cup of tea. In this episode we learn about their inspiring story, which is a combination of determination, hard work, and an inclination to strike when an oppor...

Seth Kaffka dives into the (admittedly unsexy) topic of selling commodities, and brings more enthusiasm than some people take to a professional sporting event. He shares the story of what started in 2006 as Blackhive Corp buying and selling a truckload of sugar packets, that eventually grew into a diversified portfolio of activities that spans from canned asparagus to branding some of the most inn...

“Bucket the Change” might not be a part of your daily vocabulary today, but it will be soon! Bucket Technologies is an emerging company in Northwest Arkansas and in this episode we sit down with Francis Hwang, CEO to discuss their plans to remove coin change from cash retail transactions. You can learn more at www.buckettechnologies.com or say hello at @bucketthechange on twitter, instagram, and f...

Kyle Tabor is the founder of Blue Sail Coffee, with three Central Arkansas locations, and a thriving in-house coffee roastery. Kyle walks us through his journey of starting with a few thousand dollars and sleeping on a military cot in the back of his first location, to creating an omnichannel coffee company with an incredible culture and brand. Kyle recommends Common Grounds: An Entrepreneurial Gu...

This is Part Two of our conversation with Oscar winning digital artist, David Kersey. If you haven’t checked out Part One, then we would recommend starting there to learn about all of his experience in Hollywood. Part Two picks up with David’s move back to Arkansas in 2015. We discuss the New Design School, and all the efforts they are putting towards educating the next generation of creative prof...

David Kersey is an Oscar winning digital artist, now building the animation program at the New Design School in Northwest Arkansas. In Part One of our conversation with David, we learn about his early interest in the arts, how he fell in love with animation, and the stories of working with Sony and Disney on movies like Polar Express, Tangled, Ratatouille, and eventually winning an Oscar with Froz...

SCREEMO helps brick and mortar marketers to connect physical customers to the omnichannel using digital gamified experiences in-store to create a call to action on the consumer's mobile and enhance the customer experience. Shai Bargil , who leads operations for SCREEMO, and Adir Zimerman CEO, join us to share more on their innovative platform to bring advertising to life. The founder team started...

The Arkansas Fellowship is a 2-year program that is aimed at getting some of the top Arkansas graduates integrated into the most entrepreneurial companies in the state. This episode we meet some of the Fellows, learn about their experience with the host companies, and dive into the future of the Fellowship. Our guests this week are: Jackson Fitzgibbon & Anna McCorquodale – Collective Bias Chri...

Kevin and Aaron Higgins are cousins, business partners in four successful companies, and as their customers describe them, they're two "rigid, get-it-done dudes." With a wealth of international, cross-disciplinary experience, Kevin and Aaron share their story of teaming up to create four ventures over the last decade. Nu Fangled Images can digitize your VHS home movies. FTown Longboards is the num...

This episode is the countdown to the AR Startup Crawl which will be on Friday, September 29th in Downtown Fayetteville! Haley Allgood and Megan Frohardt join Jeff to talk about all of the music, bands, and startups that will be out showcasing the growing Arkansas startup and technology scene. Sign up here! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/startup-crawl-tickets-36490104886 If you have any questions vis...

This week we have a roundtable discussion in Conway with the AR Conductor team, and our friends at the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. Jeff Moore and Clark Cogbill are leading the marketing efforts for the AEDC, and have a long collective history working with some of the largest marketing firms in the state and in the region. Get in touch at http://www.arkansasedc.com/ Jeff Standridge an...

Two students from the University of Arkansas join the podcast to discuss their entrepreneurial journey and the resources that all students should know about! Andrew Miles is CEO of Grox Industries and has won numerous awards and challenges through university competitions. Laura Wasson won the Design Solution Challenge by solving a problem at a local non-profit called “Seeds That Feed”. Don’t miss...