Jenna of Turbans for Tots built a top 100 Esty Store and sells 1000's of baby bows. She manufactures them with a team of seamstresses in Redding, CA. After 5 years she is willing to acknowledge the obvious, she is an entrepreneur. Why has it been hard for her to see when it's obvious to her team? What could happen if she took this role seriously? W…

Nathan Slafter, President of Rentevate (www.rente.io) explores how his love of riding bulls as a young man revealed his inner entrepreneur. And, how bull riding is both a great and dangerous way to approach building a startup. Yes, it's a full-throttle ride that requires determination and courage, but sometimes you "break your face." as Nathan did …

Lot's of people want to start a business. The upsides are clear: Be your own boss, unlimited earning potential, reap the fruit of your own labor, flexibility...this list goes on and on. But, it's also a scary project and the fear of failure is often what prevents people from taking the leap. In this episode, Josh Miller and Kirk Wayman explore some…

Dave Charlson started a company in a space he has succeeded in before. But, this time he was the CEO, in charge of everything. It's a wonderful opportunity and filled with new experiences and challenges. In this episode we begin to tell Dave's story as he works to scale his company. As this story unfolds we will share the ongoing journey of Dave, h…

There are lots of reasons to pitch your startup. 10K in free money might be the best. On this episode, Eric Hiatt, Executive Director of the Shasta Angels, describes how to pitch your business to investors. He has raised millions of dollars for his own companies and heard hundreds of pitches. Now he is leading a team to bring investment, startup pi…

Everything did not go as planned when Joy Monster received funding from the Shasta Angels two years ago. They learned, pivoted and reorganized. Now Joy Monster finds themselves with a new focus and in their second round of fundraising. In this episode we meet Mark Soderwall, Joy Monsters new CEO and hear the story, the struggle and the dreams to fi…

Rachel Hatch might have the coolest job in the world. She is a community vitality officer for the McConnell Foundation. The foundation has made a 10-year commitment to supporting the revitalization of Redding's downtown. With much of Startup Redding's focus being concentrated in downtown, we thought it was the perfect time to bring Rachael into the…

Kirk is joined by Lauren Jerome for a conversation about the current state of innovation and how it impacts the new economy. Startup enthusiasts consistently look to thought leaders like Lauren for perspective on where the economy is going and how to build companies that move with it. We hope you enjoy these nuggets of wisdom. Lauren is the Entrepr…

Women make up a significant part of Redding Startup ecosystem and help define what it means to be an entrepreneur in Redding. We celebrate this with the Women in Entrepreneurship Award. It was shared by Jenna Zint of turbansfortots.com , Anne Ballard of TheCrowningJewel.com and Christine Sullivan of TwinSparrow.com. They join Kirk to share about th…

Sam Larobardiere and Joel Taylor share a behind the scenes look at what it took to create the partnership that fuels Theory Coffee. It was not easy to build a powerful relationship but it was worth it as they are now award-winning coffee roasters operating one of Redding's preeminent coffee companies. It's not often that two business partners will …

The 2018 Startup Weekend was another huge success. In this episode, Todd Jones the winning team's founder shares his experience and perspective on Startup, entrepreneurship and leading a team to victory. Todd opens up about the team's valley of sorrows and what it took to break-through and make it to the big pitch.…

In this light-hearted episode, JDM and Kirk try to talk you out of becoming an entrepreneur by exploring the hardships of the journey. If you stick with them to the end you may have what it takes to be an entrepreneur or at least be a glutton for punishment. We hope you enjoy the journey. Theme music by Starving Architects End Music: Death by Low T…

It's amazing how hard failing is. If we are not careful it can take us out. In this episode, Kirk is joined by Josh Johnson, Co-founder and President of Mindbox Studios on this episode. He tells the story of his first startup called College Piggy which failed. Pay attention and you will discover that in the midst of this failure he found the dream …

This episode could save you tons of money! Luke Miner joins us to share his thoughts about customer validation as presented in a recent Pub Talk. Listen in as he explores ways to find out what your customers think of your idea or product long before you have invested tons of money and time creating a product that no one wants to buy. Customer valid…

We continue our conversation with Dan Morrow, CEO of SOF-TEK Integrators and longtime Redding entrepreneur. The conversation remains focused on entrepreneurship: What it is, how to do it and what's it is for. Dan also gives us his perspective on what we need next to keep expanding the Startup Redding Ecosystem.…

Dan Morrow, CEO of SOF-TEK Integrators, Inc. holds the unofficial "record" (because who is really keeping track) for founding Redding's longest startup. Dan is one of Redding longtime Entrepreneur and we were excited he stopped by the studio to share his thoughts about entrepreneurship. What it is, how to do it and, what it is for. Join Eric Casequ…

If you are a designer or developer, interested in becoming one or trying to hire one this episode is for you. Eric Casequin is the co-founder of Redding Area Designers and Developers (R.A.D.D.) and he shares their 6-year journey of gathering the design and tech community in Redding.

Jack, JDM, Eric, Luke, and Kirk are back to continue the discussion they started in Ep 7. This time they are asking two questions. First, what do we mean when we say ecosystem and, given what we know about startups and ecosystems... What is the purpose of the Startup Redding Ecosystem?By Kirk Wayman

We use the word Startup all the time, but what do we mean when we say startup? In some ways it probably obvious but Eric Hiatt, Luke Miner, Josh Miller, Kirk Wayman and Jack Burgess discover that the definition is more elusive than they thought. Join their experience as they look for this unicorn definition. Special thanks to twentyfoursound.com fo…

In 2014 Garrett, Alan, Jason, and Michael set out to reimagine how the insurance industry quotes benefits. This is their story of starting Limelight Health told by Garrett Viggers. Garrett unfolds the journey as they conceive of a product and it features, validate them with real customers, raise millions of dollars and travel through the inevitable…

Meet Eric Hiatt - Lifetime entrepreneur, CEO of Reverse Focus and Executive Director of Shasta Angels. In this episode, Eric shares the purpose of our local Angels and how to get the chance to pitch your company to them. If you are looking to raise money to fund your startup this is the guy you need to meet. You can find the Shasta Angles at www.sh…

This episode gives you a front row seat and a VIP pass behind the scenes at the July 21st Pub Talk held at Maxwell's in Downtown Redding. 30-40 people gathered to engage the question "How do you have a good idea." It was facilitated by Joshua David Miller, CEO of Mindbox Studio (www.mindboxstudio.com) and sponsored by Ikon School of Entrepreneurshi…

Hope, Josh, and Luke continue telling their story of what it took to get Startup Redding off the ground. They explore the resources it took, their roles, and the impact of Tech Star's program Startup Weekend. They conclude by sharing their hopes for the future of Startup Redding as it prepares to enter the next era of development. Music provided by…

Joshua David Miller, CEO of Mindbox Studios shares his thought on ideation as he prepares to facilitate the upcoming Pub Talk. What is a good idea? How do you create them? How do you know when they are good enough are some of the questions Josh will address as he helps entrepreneurs find ideas worthy of execution. Special thanks to Starving Archite…

Hope Seth, Joshua Johnson, and Luke Miner tell the story of how they meet and began working on Startup Redding. This episode focuses on how they came to Redding, CA and with the help of the Shasta Economic Development Council found a way to gather entrepreneurs, build community and hold their first Startup Weekend. Special thanks to Starving Archit…