01:23 Hey, welcome back to the show and today we're diving into a really interesting topic with our good friend Claudia. Claudia, will you please tell us who you are and what do you do?

01:33 Yes, I would love to. I'm so excited to be here. So glad you're having me on. My name is Claudia Scott. I'm actually located in Northwest Arkansas and I am the director of the Kiva Northwest Arkansas Hub and head of inclusive entrepreneurship at Startup Junkie.

01:46 Love it. Startup junkie. What in the world is that?

01:50 I know I actually just travel on had a big hoodie set startup junkie and so many people stopped me and they're like what what is that so? I have been around North of Arkansas a little over a decade. Our founder Jeff Amrain started doing, you know, he previously had multiple businesses, had some exits and started doing consulting in the area in North of Arkansas. Had nothing like it had been done before. And then eventually, like always in business, pivoted change into what became Serve Junkie. It's a nonprofit organization that serves North of Arkansas. We delve other areas of Arkansas too. And we do everything from, and every Everything is at free cost to our customers from one -on -one consulting, programs, workshops, webinars, we do capital, we do a fuel accelerator, you name it.

02:43  And to what audience? What stage of startup are you talking about? Who are you trying to help really with this program?

02:50 Yeah, we started doing key. Honestly, we see everything we see from the small, you know, cleaning services to the big companies, big apps, AI stuff, health tech. So honestly, just such a variety in every stage. And that's kind of what we like to work with. You know, we have people that are extremely experienced and seasoned in the area, so they can help you if you want to scale or if you already are a certain amount. And then us, we can do Kiva loans for five, 10 ,000. for those smaller businesses that may just need a little bit of operating capital.

03:25 Interesting, very cool. So I was not familiar with Kiva and I'm not familiar with Startup Junkie, but when we talked about it, I really felt this would be a really good fit for our audience because there are a lot of people who are very early stage, trying to figure out what to do after they launch when in actuality they need to be focusing on their launch to get off the ground. So tell us about what kind of things does all that mean? Because a lot of people feel like, I don't have good credit or I don't have a lot of relationships with people that I could raise money from. What are you doing to help them?

04:00 I Love that! So yes, Kiva, just all around us, Kiva headquarters has been around for a long time. The early 2000s, it started in Africa, a couple of Americans were there, they saw the need for a woman owned business to get like $200. And they're like, instead of just giving you these $200, we'll just loan it to you. We don't care about interest, we don't care about fees, just back to us in a term. That eventually evolved in having Kiva in almost every country in the world and in every corner of the even the smaller countries that also moved into stateside so we've had Kiva hubs Kiva hubs all over the US and then in 2019 Like North of Arkansas got its own Kiva hub and that was honestly very needed We've had the want family foundation as a part but we are able to just help people that want anywhere between a thousand and fifteen thousand dollars. The whole platform is crowdfunded so we get, you know, those people that are concerned about building a network or getting to know people, they're getting contributions from two through hundred people in our community.

05:17 Love it, love it. And so is it all community money that goes to the person that needs it or is it a global fund?

05:28 Yeah, so it's both. Our Kiva process is divided into two main stages. The first one is the private. So once the application gets approved, each customer gets a number of people that they're responsible of getting. So anywhere between five and 35 people. So that is the pledges that they're responsible of getting. So that's usually their immediate community, friends. We help with that. So people that are clients or friends of star junkie and then it into a public platform So anywhere in the world people lend to you, so it's both at the same time

06:01 Cool. Cool, very cool. Well, that's really helpful because a lot of people on this podcast, a lot of people listening to this podcast are people that are, I would say, in launch mode, trying to transition out of launch mode, but there's a lot of people that still are trying to get launched. I mean, there's a lot of people that are, let's face it, launching is not easy, and it's an exercise that most people aren't familiar with. Talk to us about the clinics and what you're doing to kind of advise and help them kind of make those first few steps that will help them get launched.

06:32 Yeah. Absolutely and one of the big things for not just Kiva but for Junkie is helping that historically underserved entrepreneur. So you know, you might have not had the same opportunities as the rest of them but you still want to be an entrepreneur, you still have an idea so we are do have the influence in that DEI and underserved populations. But we do everything like I mentioned. Sometimes what you need is a little bit of starting capital. You might not be ready to go and do a VC fund or any big campaigns but you need five ten thousand dollars to get you to the finish line so that's something that what we do we do have consultants that can get you you know to the right people especially in our area if you're trying to lunch you're not sure what your next step should be we have some of our topics for lunch and learns or panels are like a VC also they might not be ready to go actually talk to someone though we get a panel five of six VC experts just come in and like some pointers.

07:34  Give some Q &A as to what they're looking for, what's going to help them with their pitch and things like that. Very cool.

07:41 Yeah. So we love that. We always try to tell our clients, give us, you know, tell us what you need from us so that we can make programming tailored to them.

07:51 I love it. I love it. You know, we run an organization that runs a growth readiness workshop program, helps people who are launched kind of make that transition of growth. But in your case, what are some of the common things that you're seeing, their challenges in trying to launch? I mean, obviously the money is one thing, but what are the things are you seeing that are common just to give some peace of mind to those out there who are struggling with this launch part?

08:20 Yeah, I think like you say, usually the financial part of things can be hard. And then in an area like North of Arkansas, where it's still like small, that a lot of people know each other, but it's growing a lot, those connections and getting, you know, being able to get in the door with the right people. And that's part of, you know, we've been in most of the people that work at Star Junkie have been in North of Arkansas for over a decade or their whole lives. So being able to introduce you to the right person or being able to give you contact can be sometimes the difference maker. We do have an accelerator program where we have companies from all over the world come to North West Arkansas, I believe it's 12 weeks, and they get to, yeah, so they get to meet with like the right people and they get to meet, you know, might get some contracts, might get some financing. So we have something for almost everyone.

09:11 That's very cool. You know, a lot of people, well, I won't say a lot of people. I haven't ever heard of anyone thinking I'm going to Bentonville to go get training to be a startup. Usually they're going to get Walmart, right? But what you're doing is you're taking that kind of infrastructure of that community of people who are service providers, product providers, a lot of people in that area who are doing quite well in the Walmart ecosystem and their funds, their training, their network is accessible through Startup Junkie.

09:44 And even just in, I would say in the last less than a decade, North of Arkansas has become this hub for startup companies. So we see some of them sometimes move out of Silicon Valley into North of Arkansas and the Bell. And it's really interesting to also see just a cultural shock into, my God, there's cows and grass everywhere, but we're building the most impressive things here. So it's interesting to see that shift into just, you know, like what we're known for, Walmart country, into this really just plethora of like resources and information for, you know, entrepreneurs all over the world.

12:01 I love it, I love it. So speaking to people who are say not necessarily in need of being, you know, of startup help, but people who have made it, who have been successful, is there room for them to come in and assist from that perspective of being mentors, being, you know, providing some funds for some scholarship or whatever? What does that look like on the flip side of all this?

12:26 Because we do have had some really good success stories. And I know both of our founders worked with what is now Slim's Chicken, and it came from North of Arkansas. They worked with them, and now they're even seeing them just from afar. I wasn't there when that was happening, but being able to see just now a global chain of food is pretty impressive. I think there's definitely just even like I was I was mentioned off -camera we do have a start of junkies podcast and we've had that for a long time and we have now transitioned into get having a start of junkies podcast in English and one in Spanish because we do have a big population Hispanic entrepreneurs in North West Arkansas so being able you know as a successful entrepreneur or you know just someone that just has a lot of knowledge about the topics being able to come into our podcast for 30 minutes or do it online and just make that knowledge available. That's a big deal. So just like we're trying as much as we can to democratize access to all of those resources that might have only been, you know, accessible to a few 10 years ago. Now everyone can access top-notch consulting or services. We also, one of our newer things is we have a list of subject matter experts. So we can have consultants of every single type, but we can talk to the select few people that contract with Star Junkie and someone can, if you're in the music industry, I might not be able to help you, but we can still offer that no cost service and you meet with someone that's very, has knowledge of your area.

14:07 Very cool, I like it, I like it. So in your experience in working with startups, give us an example of someone that you've seen who was really kind of had a great idea, wasn't able to really make things happen, and they tapped into your community and were able to kind of get things going.

14:26 Yeah, I would love to. I actually, and I use her a lot as my success story, so I can always, I know, let me go public with her. But when I was recently had joined Startup Junkie, I met this client of us, her name's Chris, and she wanted a Kiva Lontot, I met with her first in person, and this was right after COVID, so we can just kind of go over over the worst times she had lost her job before COVID and she said okay what I you know and it was still that on certain times so she's like I've always wanted to do candy like my grandmother or my mother gave me these recipes and I just really believe that it would be really fun and profitable so she gets a brick and mortar and starts doing it people love it but it was COVID prices were iffy she was this is right at you know so there's a lot of things at play she couldn't keep the brick and mortar. She came to us a few months after and she's like you know I still want to do this I still believe in the product I make I still believe that it's a good idea but you know I've already had this fail what can I do so you know she needed some funds for different machines and to like, you know, make her operations much faster. And that's about a year and a half since then. And she just keeps skyrocketing and skyrocketing. Everyone loves her products. So it's, we love seeing her. She's just an amazing woman, an amazing woman, business owned.

15:57 What is the candy? I gotta know.

15:58 Honestly, she makes everything. We actually hired her as a contractor for it. We finally gave $1 million in loans. So we had a big party and she makes this, like snapping turtles, but with jalapeno. So like you eat and it's just like yummy chocolate and like, you know, fillings and then it just kicks. Like it was the talk of the party. They're like, what am I eating? Because it's the most two different flavors and somehow it's delicious. So, and I love that it is a different product. She believed in it from the start and knew that no matter what, you know, her losing her job at first was the perfect opportunity to get this done. Did it by herself, couldn't really keep the store, came to us and we've given her as much support as we can.

16:47 Awesome, awesome. You know, a lot of people feel like, you know, if I just hang on for another year, if I just hang on for another few months, the tables will turn and things will start to work. What was it about her that you saw that actually gave you the hope that it could work and that it would? Yeah, there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

17:08 Yeah, and I think a lot of it is sometimes and it happened to me I started also a business right in the middle of COVID. So that was just such an uncertain time. And I've been in the Northwest Arkansas area for a few years, but I actually wasn't involved in the ecosystem and in the resources. I remember feeling first of all, super alienated. I'm like, my God, I'm the only one that struggles, who do I, that clearly this is only happening to me when there's millions of people. So like finally being able to like take that step and join the ecosystem. We've seen just how important the, you know, the recommendation of one person can be. So that's what we always heard, you know, once they're ready to leave the comfort zone of like, I really, you know, I don't want to network. I don't like going to these things. And then we see the step in you know out of their comfort zone and into those resources their businesses go from like day to night so like you know being able to you'd only taste the right person that's sitting right next to you or it's the right person to shake your hand and then they give you a big contract so we I guess what I always urge you and I urge our customers and that's what I've seen on her too is just like being able to go from Yeah, perceive like the cover. I don't have to network. I, you know, make candy. I can stay at home and to let me be in everything that you have and get my word out there.

18:36 I love it, I love it. That's a really great story. And for those of you listening, there's a lot to be learned here. There's a lot of lessons to learn. Startup is not easy. Startup is lonely. Startup is hard to figure out on your own. The community aspect is something that I totally believe in. I have a lot of people joining our Captain's Council, which is a community for, it's a peer advisory board community. What are you guys doing with Startup Junkie to kind of help that pure network grow and kind of help them gain some traction with each other and helping kind of be there to advise through these challenges that they're facing alone?

19:18 That I've had almost a program for everything that you've said. So we actually have on Wednesday mornings, we have 1 million cups, which is not a program from startup junk originally, but we did in North of Arkansas. And so this is, you know, any entrepreneur coming in talking for 10, 15 minutes, and you get a room full of people that, you know, it's diverse in itself, you know, directors of companies, CEOs, Walmart, Walmart entrepreneurs, you know, Walmart people, entrepreneurs, you get like, All this diverse people with so much knowledge once a week, you know You present it for 10 minutes and then not only do they ask questions or they give you suggestions on your pitch or they ask you things that you might have not thought about But they all the last question that we always ask is so what do you need from the community? How can the community of people that are here help you? So it becomes more than just like a coffee and in a pitch, you know and in a power but it really is actionable for both the person who was presenting and the community gets a sense of accountability too. Like, I'm being here and it means I am going to pledge to help you if there is a way I can do that. So those are really big and I think they're very, very helpful. And like I said, we have this new list of, we call them subject matter experts of all kinds. They're all people from the community. Most of them startup junkie, either former clients or success stories that are now using their time to help the next generation of entrepreneurs.

20:49 Very cool, very cool, I love it. You know, there's so much value of what you guys are doing and how you're helping people. For those of you listening who aren't in Northwestern Arkansas, keep your eyes out because there are a lot of great communities that you can be a part of. One Million Cups is also here in Utah. I used to be very involved with the One Million Cups here in Utah and it's very interesting, very fun place to network and get to hear other people's stories because...You're not alone. You're not the only person who is trying to launch a business. You're not the only one struggling with payroll. You're not the only one struggling with employees who rip you off. You're not the, yeah, I mean, we could go through a list of problems that startup owners face. You're not alone. And when you feel like you're alone, it feels very hopeless and you can't move forward. But communities like Startup Junkie, communities like One Million Cups, communities like Captain's Council, these are all there to help provide that support, so that you can maintain your momentum and hopefully increase through expanding your network. Is that fair?

21:53 Yeah, no, absolutely. And even if you're not in North of Arkansas, like I mentioned, our accelerator program is all over the US, like for companies all over the US and the world. And we'd love to get everyone on the podcast. So that's also something that we can do virtually. So if you got, if someone listening is interested in the Star Junkie mission and service, still feel free to reach out. We'd love to find a way to plug you in.

22:17 Love it, love it. my gosh. Well, Claudia, I got to thank you for your time today. This has been really, really helpful and it's definitely hitting a piece of our audience that we don't normally address and that is the startup. You know, there is a significant amount of effort that goes into every startup and you are rock stars. Keep on moving, get yourself out of startup into transitioning into growth mode and now you're really on a path to you know, the end result that you were hoping for probably when you started the business. But Claudia, thank you so much for taking the time and so much for, thanks so much for being part of the organization that's helping these people. Anything else you want to add to that at the end?

22:57  No, I appreciate you Todd for having me and for giving the space. I think that along is very important, just having the space to be able to talk about this. And then, you know, you're one of those resources that people can tap into and I think that's phenomenal.

23:11 Awesome, awesome. Well, thank you so much, Claudia. And for the rest of you, don't hesitate to check out what she's got going on. Her links are down in the bio below, and we can't wait to catch up with you on the next episode. Thanks, Claudia.

23:24 Thanks.