This week we catch up with Taylor Jacobs live on Twitter Spaces! Taylor shares her journey of being acquired, running two companies at once, and what's next for Dabble and VoiceStar. Take a listen! Reach out to Taylor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylorjacobs3/ Find out more about Dabble: https://www.dabblewithme.com/ Find out more about VoiceStar:…

This week we talk to Lisa Calder of Craving Space live on Twitter Spaces! Craving Space was born from Lisa's experience in high-end interior design and took shape into a product that is easy, modular, and obtainable to the masses. Lisa talks about how to build a trusted team, learning the engineering process, and some tips on getting started as a s…

This week we talk to Max Thalheimer of Fynd live on twitter spaces! Fynd is a state-of-the-art aggregation app for fun. Connecting restaurants and bars to people, adding value for both sides. It's a great listen about pivoting and finding product market fit. Take a listen. Reach out to Max: https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-thalheimer/ Find Fynd: get…

This week we talk to Jason Centeno, CEO of Trashmitter live on Twitter Spaces! Jason is hoping to solve the last-mile problem of trash with an “Uber-like” driver network with a crypto token incentive. Take a listen! Reach out to Jason: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncenteno/ Jason on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedadnextdoor_/ Learn mor…

Welcome to Founder's Forge Raw by Axon Collective! Every week we'll talk to a founder or thought leader live on Twitter Spaces! Join us Thursday's 5:00pm EST @founders_forge In this episode, we introduce RAW and Phil Reed who will be hosting alongside Owen Goode and Marcus Smith. This Podcast is a production of Axon Collective, LLC: axoncollective.…

Today Owen talk's to Hunter Baker, co-founder of Leanr - a sales messaging automation tool for small businesses. Owen and Hunter talk about what its like to found a business while your still in college, the need for a tool like this, some of the difficulties of founding a business in a developing tech hub like Houston, and how Hunter found and part…

We're re-releasing a nearly year-old episode where Marcus interviews Mari Ramirez, one of Austin's most prolific CPAs and founder of multiple small businesses in Central Texas. Learn how she got her start in accounting, why most CPAs only do taxes and neglect bookkeeping, and how being an accountant actually just means you're a therapist. And just …

This week, Marcus talks to Weston Woodward. Weston is a producer, connector, and community builder based in Austin, TX. They dive head-first into what it means to be a connector and ecosystem builder and just how helpful they can be to founders. They also unpack what the heck an entrepreneurial ecosystem even is and how it’s changed in recent histo…

This week, Owen and Marcus have the incredible privilege of chatting with Brian McCullough, founder, author, and host of one of our favorite podcasts Techmeme Ride Home. We talk about what it’s like to be an entrepreneur, how there’s almost a stigma there, how the entire industry is in a shift, what it means to be a nerd and why it matters, and Bri…

This week, Marcus talks to Jonny Price, VP of Fundraising at Wefunder, a regulation crowdfunding platform built to allow non-accredited and accredited investors alike to easily and seamlessly invest in startups and their founders. Marcus and Jonny get into what regulation crowdfunding actually is, why Wefunder is attempting to transition away from …

We're back with the second part honoring some amazing female founders in our network. In this episode, Owen, Kristin, and Mercedes dive a little more into Kristin’s story and learn how and why education, activism, and encouragement are all so vital for women and other minority founders. They also get into some fascinating data surrounding remote wo…

This week, in honor of Women's History Month, Owen sits down with Kristin Bonds and Mercedes Ballard of Heristic. We touch on what makes women uniquely qualified, prepared, and empowered to thrive in the start-up world.... the advantages of leaning into your perspective when it comes to growing your business.... and finally how to find and get invo…

This week Owen join's guest host Phill Reed in talking with Blake and Brandon Shirk, founders of SOVA Micro Room and Social Hotel. The Shirk twins are hoping to bring the hospitality and efficiency they experienced from their travels abroad to the US market. From tips on pitching and getting funded to finding design inspiration, you wont want to mi…

This week Owen and Marcus wrap up season 3 with Taylor Jacobs, founder of Dabble. Dabble offers exclusive memberships for complimentary food & drink items as well as access to events in the best spots all over Dallas. Some great learnings about being a solo founder, and being willing to pivot and experiment. Take a listen! Resources Mentioned in th…

This week Owen and Marcus sit down with Alison Gorman, founder of TruFaves. TruFaves is attempting to be a private, closed-circle version of something like Yelp where friend groups can share things they recommend. We got to chat with Ali about the woes of becoming a software founder without a technical background, pivoting from being a registered n…

This week Owen and Marcus sit down with FlexDesk CEO and Co-Founder Clark Jacobs. FlexDesk provides companies with a central tool to distribute access to on-demand workspaces, set spend and space access policies, uncover valuable engagement data, and reduce the burden of admins managing it all. This is the second time we've talked to Clark, and is …

This week Owen and Marcus sit down with self-labled ‘dadtrepreneur’ Carl Starkey, co-founder of AWSM Sauce Co. Carl and his co-founder have sky-rocketed to startup success over the course of just a few months with their zero-waste sauce concept. This is a great episode full of advice and fascinating stories of how they went from coaches to founders…

This week Owen and Marcus talk to Alicia Hawley, founder of Donally and subsequently Any Help Appreciated. She's a life long entrepreneur and deeply committed to helping her community. It's a great listen! Find Alicia on linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-murray-hawley-b240284/ Learn more about AHA: https://www.anyhelpappreciated.com/ Co…

This week Owen and Marcus have Peter Yeargin of Sage back on the show almost a year later to talk about his company's pivot and to have a deep dive conversation on the world of SEO. This episode is chock-full of useful information surrounding search engine optimization, pivots, funding, and more, you won't want to miss it! Where to find Sage: thesa…

This week Owen and Marcus sit down with Steve Pearson. Not only is Steve a founder himself, he’s also an intellectual property expert who’s been in the field for decades. In this episode, we get deep into the concepts and nuances of patents, trade marks, service marks, and more. When should you apply for a patent? What kind? What about those little…

Today Owen talks to Priyanka Juneja, founder of Hera. Hera is an online platform empowering female travelers find safe ways to visit awesome places all over the world. Owen and Priyanka dive into competition analysis, user-base growth, and MVP development, plus Priyanka shares some terrific tips and lessons on self-care and solo entrepreneurship. T…

This week Owen interviews Brian Fife of Local Links (formerly EasyAlfred). Brian is a lifelong entrepreneur and founder, and his latest endeavor is a B2B2C business in the travel industry. It's a great episode about the challenges of pivoting and growing a business in the height of the pandemic. Check out Local Links: locallinks.online Brian's Reco…

This week Owen interviews Zave Smith, co-founder and CEO of xBound. xBound is creating an easy-to-use platform that connects late-career and semi-retirees to companies and non-profits that can benefit from the wisdom of an experienced workforce. Find Zave on LinkedIn at: linkedin.com/in/zavesmith/ Check out xBound at: xbound.us Zave's Photography: …

This week Owen and Marcus kick of season 3 of the Founder's Forge by interviewing Chris Wink, co-founder of Technical.ly. Technical.ly is a Philadelphia-based, independent, tech-news organization focusing on reporting on work, economies in change, and how local companies fit into those changes. In addition to running a newsroom, Technical.ly also p…

This week Owen interviews Robert and Choi, founders of Bob's Containers - the traditional-sounding shipping container ecommerce and homebuilding company that's anything but traditional. Learn how Bob faked his way into a successful bid on a shipping container contract before delivering successfully, which turned into disrupting the entire industry.…

Marcus interview Eric Meyers-Tayne about his online pro fighter fitness platform. Learn about Eric's journey from dissatisfied corporate lackey to motivated entrepreneur, combining his love for MMA and UFC and his insights about the future of digital fitness to create FighterFitnessClub - a platform that lets real MMA fighters create and share thei…

This week Marcus and Adam interview Rachel Cox about Airapy, a concierge marketplace service for matching clients with experienced therapists. It is actually quite difficult to find a therapist who fits your needs - especially if you're a business owner - a need that Airapy meets with a convergence of smart technology and industry expertise. Learn …

This week Owen and Adam interview Michael Costantini, founder of This is Opportunity. TIO is dedicated to breaking through barriers in the job market and providing a way for underprivileged, homeless, or otherwise limited-opportunity individuals to create a resume (often using video and other unorthodox approaches) and then matching them to jobs. M…

We're back after a short break to round out the season, and this week Marcus interviewed Chris Kaspar, serial entrepreneur and founder of Techless. Techless is building top-tier phones for people that want or need a modern smartphone that only does the basics by design - an enormous underserved market segment. Learn how Chris steered his company do…

Owen interviews Sam LeFebre, an advertising expert and hobbyist cyclist who has created a gear bag that surpasses all other options on the market. Sam is a great example of how to successfully plan, test, and build a product business while never quitting your day job. Sam's advertising experience allowed him to build a large following online, which…

This week Owen and Adam interview Tucker Cowie about the important of design in software, from user experience to product validation to strategic management. Tucker has both design and software experience across a variety of industries, and bridges the gap between technical and non-technical experts. We cover a huge range of subjects, and this epis…

This week Owen and Marcus interview Colby Harvey about his company Rizse - an autonomous drone inspection platform that's in the process of revolutionizing aircraft inspections in the airline industry. Join us as we nerd out about planes and drones alike, and stay for the solid discussion about why there is always opportunity in the hardest spaces.…

Marcus goes on the mic with Nick Hughes of the Founders Live Podcast, where the two podcasters compare notes about how they started podcasting and how they landed on the model they use today. Get behind the scenes on where *this* podcast came from, and why we do what we do. Go check out the Founders Live website, and find their podcast on Apple Pod…

This week Owen interviews Itamar Gil, one of the founders (Arjun Vairavan is the other) of Kama, a dating website that sets up actual in-person dates for matches at partnering restaurants. Itamar shares his entrepreneurial beginnings as a middle-school loan shark, and explains how his background in software came from his service in the Israeli mili…

This week Owen and Marcus interview Ben Wolff, an entrepreneur innovating in the fashion space. Learn how Ben leveraged his education as an actor and his experience as the top salesperson at Hugo Boss to start not one, not two, but three successive companies. We talk about how do you know it's time to strike out on your own, how is sales more about…

Marcus and Owen interview Deena Shelton, PhD and Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC-S). Deena is a lifelong counselor, educator, and self-labeled nerd who has worked at a very high level across a variety of industries, including director positions at multiple non-profits (and a current seat on Axon Collective's Board of Directors). Together the t…

Marcus and Owen interview Michael Testa, a serial entrepreneur who just had his first exit with EatCheap, a food deal aggregation website that has done very, very well. Michael takes us through his background and how he stumbled into becoming an entrepreneur. We discuss the perils and joys of deciding when it's right to sell a company and how to go…

Marcus interviews Mari Ramirez, one of Austin's most prolific CPAs and founder of multiple small businesses in Central Texas. Learn how she got her start in accounting, why most CPAs only do taxes and neglect bookkeeping, and how being an accountant actually just means you're a therapist. Also, is Dave Ramsey actually terrible at giving business ad…

Marcus guest stars on Brad Flaugher's Remote Software Genius Podcast. Listen to Brad's show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Pocket Casts! Brad's Website: http://bradflaugher.com/ https://inoxoft.com/ Want to come on the show? Fill out a questionnaire, and learn more on our Medium page, or find us on Twitter, Instagram, and of course on Axon Pages. …

In our final episode of the season, Adam interviews Michael C. Bertoni, a serial entrepreneur who has founded multiple companies, including PhillyTech and UPROSPECT. UPROSPECT is redefining the way that lead generation works for businesses and jobseekers alike by creating digital business cards - listen as Mike energetically lays out his plan to be…

Marcus and Adam interview Marvin Barron, a fascinating entrepreneur who co-founded a database of American political investments. All of publicly-elected officials in the United States are required to disclose their investments, and most have a pretty good handle on the markets - FinePrintData aggregates that public data to allow anyone to construct…

Marcus interviews Mike Krupit, a seasoned veteran of the startup thunderdome who has worn hats from engineer to CEO (and everything in between). Mike is the founder of Trajectify, a business coaching and executive mentoring service helping give startup leaders the momentum needed to overcome the obstacles in front of them. Topics covered include ho…

Marcus interviews Matt and Chris Villanueva, a dynamic pair of brothers who operate a startup with one of the greatest names we've ever encountered - Let's Eat, Grandma! The bros talk about how they got into their industry (resume and business writing), how they learned to work together as siblings, and how to bootstrap a company without any outsid…

Join us for our inaugural Specialist Special with Landon Jordan talking about how Social Media fits into every business strategy. We talk about creative content creation, finding your audience, and how spending some cash to move your visibility forward may just be like your 401k - everyone knows the investment is good for them but no one wants to d…

Marcus interviews Clark Jacobs, an entrepreneur building "AirBnb for workspaces" in the form of FlexDesk, which allows businesses and homeowners alike to rent their space to workers seeking a new environment to be productive. They've seen a lot of growth during the pandemic, as work-from-home drives former office workers into new spaces other than …

Marcus and Adam interview Zack Pennington, an event-space entrepreneur attempting to break into brick-and-mortar entertainment in several cities in the Central US. The most important thing to consider when opening a new bar, karaoke spot, or casino? Uniqueness - what does your venue offer that no one else does? This applies as much to software as i…

Adam and Marcus interview Justin Slusarski and Derek Sheehan at Quarbon, which aims to assign businesses an easily-understood "Quarbon Score" that measures sustainability and responsibility across five key metrics. Also in the episode - how is starting a business a mix between surfing and starting a band, what the heck is "Greenwashing", and what h…

Marcus interviews Peter Yeargin, founder of Sage, a question-answering and advice marketplace aiming to find a superior (and monetizable) competitor to the like of Quora, providing users with a personal board of advisors. How did an immigrant from the Middle East go from the CIA to entrepreneur? How do you retrain your customers' brains when you di…

Marcus interviews Adam about SimplyRazor, his endeavor to help consumers everywhere have a better shaving experience. While shaving may not seem like the most relevant topic for tech entrepreneurs, Marcus and Adam prove that this is very much not the case. They explore disruption, spend a lot of time talking about design and how accessible good des…

Adam interviews Marcus about Axon Pages, his digital business card and link aggregation platform, and how he anticipates the future of digital business networking to evolve. Just because the product you've built doesn't work in the market you thought it would (or Covid-19 kills your market) doesn't mean you can't pivot to a new market and a new cus…