The Startup Junkies Podcast

Startup Junkie
  • 5.0 (46)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Biweekly

The Startup Junkies podcast is hosted by Jeff Amerine and his team at Startup Junkie Consulting. We’ll cover topics ranging from getting started, planning, growing your business, proving your concept, leadership, marketing, exit strategies and so much more. We’ll interview business owners, entrepreneurs, experts and people we think will bring value to our audience. Subscribe and together we will move your business to the next level.

  1. 2d ago

    Why We Don't Let AI Predict Your Orders - with Foreko

    Everyone's racing to bolt AI onto everything, but Foreko co-founders Homero Ruiz and Alexis Rodas found the biggest opportunity in something almost boring: 76% of procurement teams are still running on spreadsheets.  In this episode, they break down why they deliberately avoided fully automating decisions with AI, how a food truck's stock-out problem turned into a company, and why they think the real Silicon Valley advantage is knowing which advice to ignore. ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:59 – Welcome & Meet the Founders 1:32 – What Is Foreko? The AI Operating System for Procurement 2:11 – The Founders' Journeys: From Red Bull and Pepsi to Foreko 4:11 – Turning Experience Into Expertise 5:49 – Starting With Restaurants: Seeing the Problem First 6:52 – The Pivot to CPG  and Why It Made Sense 8:29 – The Food Truck Story Behind It All 9:12 – Why They Said No to Full AI Automation 10:49 – Built at the University of Arkansas 13:59 – Growing Up in the Northwest Arkansas Startup Scene 16:05 – The Silicon Valley Reality Check 18:15 – From Idea to Paying Customers 19:58 – The AI Bubble, Patience, and the Tortoise-and-Hare Mindset 21:58 – The Five-Year Vision  and Where to Find Foreko — Foreko’s Website: https://www.foreko.app/enConnect with Homero: https://www.linkedin.com/in/homero-ruiz/Connect with Alexis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexisrodas/ 🎙️ New founder stories every week — subscribe so you don't miss one. 🔗 https://startupjunkie.org/

  2. Jul 21

    The Fundraising Mistakes That Kill Startups Before They Start with Jeff Amerine

    Less than 1% of U.S. businesses that ever raise outside money end up raising venture capital, and most founders chasing it don't actually need it. In this entrepreneur interview, Jeff Amerine — a venture capital investor and longtime advisor in the startup ecosystem — breaks down the real landscape of startup funding: when to bootstrap, when to raise, and why most companies burn time chasing the wrong kind of capital. He and co-hosts Daniel Koonce and Grace Gill also dig into what VCs actually look for, the most common fundraising mistakes founders make, and the difference between convertible notes and SAFEs. Whether you're bootstrapping your first idea or getting ready to pitch investors, this conversation will change how you think about who to raise from and when. What you'll learn: The three main ways founders fund a business and how to know which one fitsWhy raising venture capital has only gotten harder, and what VCs are really evaluatingThe most common fundraising mistakes founders make (and how to avoid them)Convertible notes vs. SAFEs, explained in plain EnglishWhat a strategic investor actually offers and when it's worth taking their money ⏱️Chapters 1:26 Welcome to the Startup Junkies Podcast 2:03 The Three Ways to Fund a Small Business 3:43 What Is Bootstrapping? 5:33 Does Venture Capital Only Fund Tech Companies? 6:46 The Truth: Less Than 1% of Businesses Raise VC 7:33 When Is a Founder Ready to Raise Money? 9:59 Why Raising Venture Capital Has Gotten Harder 11:15 Inside a VC Firm: From 1,000 Deals to 3 or 4 12:43 How to Actually Find Investors 14:19 Common Fundraising Mistakes Founders Make 16:43 Convertible Notes vs. SAFEs, Explained 21:27 Why Startups Actually Need Money 23:35 What Are Strategic Investors — And Are They Worth It? 27:16 The Deal Jeff Wishes He'd Invested In 🎙️ New founder stories every week — subscribe so you don't miss one. 🔗 startupjunkie.org

  3. Jul 13

    I Trust My Gut 70% of the Time - Here's Why with Dr. Joshua Upshaw

    Insurance paperwork is delaying treatment for patients who don't have time to wait. One founder built a company to fix it. In this entrepreneur interview, Dr. Joshua Upshaw — founder and CEO of Hidalgo Technologies and a PhD in cognitive neuroscience — shares how a family health crisis pushed him from academic research into healthcare entrepreneurship, why he trusts his gut more than any spreadsheet, and how he built his team around mission alignment instead of resumes. Whether you're still validating your first idea or figuring out who belongs on your founding team, this conversation will change how you think about intuition, feedback, and timing. Chapters: 0:00 Cold Open: Trust Your Gut 0:22 Welcome to the Startup Junkies Podcast 1:02 What Is Hidalgo Technologies? Fixing Insurance Prior Authorization 1:54 From Neuroscience to Health Tech: Josh's Origin Story 2:59 The Family Story That Sparked Hidalgo Tech 5:35 Why Josh Calls Himself a Problem Solver, Not a Scientist 8:57 Validating the Problem Through Customer Discovery 11:36 Building the Team: Finding the Right Technical Lead 14:55 Why Mission Alignment Matters More Than Skill 16:10 Handling Feedback, Ego, and Doubt as a Founder 19:00 Following Your Gut: Sifting Signal From Noise 21:09 Who Hidalgo Tech's Ideal Customer Is 21:56 Funding the Company: NSF Grants & Raising Capital 25:32 The Next Five Years for Hidalgo Tech 26:23 Advice to His Younger Self About Joshua Upshaw: Founder and CEO of Hidalgo Technologies, reducing administrative overhead in insurance prior authorization so patients get treatment sooner. PhD in cognitive neuroscience and an alum of the University of Arkansas's New Venture Development program and Health Tech Arkansas.  Connect with Joshua: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-upshaw-ph-d/Website: https://hidalgatech.com/ 🎙️ New founder stories every week — subscribe so you don't miss one. 🔗 https://startupjunkie.org/

  4. Jul 7

    This Founder Can Read Your Vitals From a Phone Call with Nyamitse-Calvin Mihanda

    Most founders obsess over their product. The real skill is knowing which problem to fall in love with instead. In this entrepreneur interview, Nyamitse-Calvin Mihanda — founder of Vital Audio and a Techstars and Fuel Accelerator alum — shares how his company extracts heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure from ordinary conversation, why he walked away from a "perfect" product mindset, and how his path from hospital billing collector to healthcare founder shaped the way he builds teams today. Whether you're building your first startup or trying to close the access-to-care gap in your own community, this conversation will change how you think about resilience, timing, and what it actually takes to launch. What you'll learn: How signal processing and machine learning pull vital signs straight from a voice recordingWhy clinical partnerships with NYU Langone and Mayo Clinic came before scale, not afterThe "fall in love with the problem, not the product" principle that keeps founders from chasing dead endsWhy soft skills — not technical skills — are the hardest thing to teach a teamHow rural and underserved communities stand to benefit most from voice-based vital tracking ⏱️ Chapters: 0:53 Welcome to the Startup Junkies Podcast1:16 How Vital Audio Reads Vitals From Your Voice2:21 The Science Behind Extracting Vitals From Speech3:09 Landing Clinical Partners: NYU Langone, Mayo Clinic & More4:16 From Hospital Billing to Healthcare Entrepreneur6:13 Techstars vs. The Fuel Accelerator: What's Different8:55 An Immigrant's Resilience: Lessons From Tanzania to NYC11:03 Why Soft Skills Matter More Than Technical Skills12:25 The Best Advice: Fall In Love With The Problem14:18 Overcoming Fear When You Start a Company14:47 What Nyamitse-Calvin Mihanda Loves About the Arkansas Ecosystem17:06 Closing the Rural Healthcare Access Gap19:47 Where to Find Nyamitse-Calvin & Vital Audio 🎙️ New founder stories every week — subscribe so you don't miss one. 🔗 https://startupjunkie.org/

  5. Jun 29

    Why Bentonville's Startup Ecosystem Is More Powerful Than You Think | Zak Morris

    What happens when a mentor gets more out of an accelerator than the founders do? Zak Morris joined the Fuel accelerator as a subject matter expert in AI — but quickly realized he was learning just as much as the companies he was advising. In this episode, Zak breaks down how working with startups across cybersecurity, AML, and healthcare sharpened his own thinking, why Bentonville's density of world-class talent is an underrated advantage, and how one early conversation with a founder led to a permanent board seat. Whether you're a founder, a seasoned professional sitting on the sidelines, or someone who's never thought of themselves as a mentor — this one's for you. 🎙️ Startup Junkies is a podcast celebrating the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Northwest Arkansas and beyond. Subscribe for more!  --- 🔗 Connect with Zak Morris:https://www.linkedin.com/in/zakmorris/ 🔗 Connect with Startup Junkiehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-koonce-3a446a21b/https://www.linkedin.com/in/caleb-talley-25189211b/https://startupjunkie.org/ --- ⏱️ Chapters00:00 Introduction – AI in Healthcare Documentation00:18 What Brought Zak to the Fuel Accelerator01:10 Learning the Language of Startups01:55 The Two-Way Value of Mentorship02:33 Standout Moment: The Cybersecurity Cohort03:18 From Mentor to Board Member04:28 Why Bentonville Is a Rare Ecosystem05:20 Connecting Talent, Interns & Local Networks06:31 The Flywheel Effect: Keeping Talent in Arkansas07:40 A Call to Action for Potential Mentors08:45 What Mentors Get Out of It09:10 How to Get Involved with Fuel

  6. Jun 15

    How Stefanie Hammett Is Rewriting Consent Laws One State at a Time

    What does affirmative consent law reform, university sex education, and AI-powered law enforcement tools have in common? They're all part of Stefanie Hammett's ambitious startup, HMS. HMS (Have More Safety · Have More Sex · Have More Space) is a consent education company with a bold 2036 goal: insert affirmative consent into all 50 state criminal codes. But getting there means building a real business — with a direct-to-consumer product line, a university B2B pilot program, and a law enforcement tech partnership with Clipper AI. Stefanie breaks down: The "drip effect" strategy for getting consent education into university campusesWhy selling to law enforcement requires showing up 17 times before they trust youHow she balances a world-changing mission with the mechanics of actually building a startupHer advice to founders: presence, biohacking, and trusting your own clarityAnd more!🎙️ Startup Junkies is a podcast celebrating the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Northwest Arkansas and beyond. Subscribe for more!  🔗 CONNECT WITH STEFANIE HAMMETT & HMS: Website: https://www.havemore.space/ Book (Consent Codes): Available on Amazon https://www.instagram.com/havemore.sex/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefaniehammett/ 🔗 CONNECT WITH Startup Junkie https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-koonce-3a446a21b/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/caleb-talley-25189211b/ https://startupjunkie.org/ ⏱️Chapters00:00 — Intro: Selling to Law Enforcement Is a Relationship Game  00:21 — Welcome & Introducing Stefanie Hammett of HMS  01:06 — Steph's Origin Story 02:45 — A Decade in Fortune 500: Kellogg's & Smithfield Foods  04:30 — Moving to Bentonville & the Amazon Startup World  05:10 — Exiting Charge Card to Carbon Six 06:08 — What Is HMS? 07:11 — The Mission: Affirmative Consent in All 50 State Criminal Codes by 2036  07:47 — Why NJ & Colorado's Consent Laws Actually Worked  10:33 — Go-To-Market Strategy: DTC, Universities & Law Enforcement  14:21 — Prevention Over Reaction 17:25 — Lessons from Corporate to Startup 19:32 — Selling to Universities: Long Cycles, Warm Intros & Meeting Users Where They Are 26:33 — The Law Enforcement Arm: Partnering with Clipper AI  33:29 — "Asking Is Hot": What People Misunderstand About HMS  35:32 — Presence, Biohacking & Trusting Your Clarity

  7. Jun 1

    454: Why Aha Moments Are Less Instantaneous Than You Think

    Summary Innovation isn’t a lightning bolt, it's a process. That’s the message threaded throughout the latest episode of the Startup Junkies podcast, where Eva Fast, director of the University of Arkansas MSPI program, joined hosts Daniel Koonce and Caleb Talley for a deep dive into product innovation, entrepreneurial mindsets, and the realities behind those famed “aha” moments. Drawing from her upbringing in Kenya and extensive academic career, Eva breaks the myth that innovation is a singular, sudden event. Instead, she describes it as a gradual journey shaped by diverse perspectives and continuous exposure to new ideas. Her research, inspired by Steven Johnson’s "Where Good Ideas Come From," reveals that creativity blossoms over time and thrives within vibrant networks. Listeners will hear how the MSPI program acts as a bridge, connecting technical, business, and human elements to equip students for both startup ventures and corporate innovation roles. Whether you’re a hands-on entrepreneur or an aspiring intrapreneur, the program's structure, mentorship, and hands-on challenges offer room for all innovation styles. Eva also spotlights the rising influence of AI, sharing how tools are accelerating everything from MVP launches to capstone projects. The conversation closes with practical advice: be curious, take action, and never underestimate the value of diverse experiences. For those craving real perspectives on what it takes to move from idea to impact, this episode is a must-listen. Tune in today! Show Notes (00:00) Eva’s Childhood in Kenya (05:12) Building Student Confidence and Skills (08:16) Misconceptions About Innovation Process (13:05) Discussing MVP Deployment Strategies (15:37) Mentorship and Networking Benefits (19:30) Innovative Teaching Methods (25:36) Taking Action Through Entrepreneurship Links Daniel Koonce Caleb Talley Startup Junkie Startup Junkie YouTube Eva Fast Master of Science in Product Innovation (MSPI) at University of Arkansas

  8. May 25

    453: The Power of Print in a Digital World

    Summary What happens when passion for storytelling meets the entrepreneurial spirit? In this episode of the Startup Junkies podcast, Danielle Keller, media entrepreneur, award-winning podcaster, and editor-in-chief of Northwest Arkansas’s beloved Peekaboo magazine, joins Daniel Koonce, Caleb Talley, and Ty Steele for a conversation packed with inspiration, nostalgia, and the realities of building community through storytelling. Danielle shares her fascinating career journey, from her beginnings in California writing for school papers, through a detour in higher education, to diving fearlessly into documentary film, video production, and ultimately acquiring and revitalizing Peekaboo magazine. She details how Peekaboo, once a crucial parental resource before the rise of social media, became a passion project resurrected through grit, research, and community demand. The print magazine’s unique sensory experience illustrates the hunger for tangible connections in a digital age. Listeners will delight in anecdotes about local mascot Ozzy the Ozark Fox, created by Danielle's daughter, and how family, authenticity, and real community voices shape every issue. The episode highlights the importance of collaboration, adaptability, and embracing both print and digital platforms as Peekaboo grows and evolves. With future visions of podcasts, dynamic web offerings, and newsletters, Danielle reminds us that it’s never too late to pursue fresh dreams, amplify others’ voices, and savor the present. This episode is a must-listen for entrepreneurs, storytellers, and anyone who believes in the lasting power of local stories! Show Notes (00:00) Danielle’s Career Path in Media (04:06) Starting Peekaboo for Parents (09:48) Evaluating Print Magazine Revival (18:10) Creating a Themed Editorial Calendar (20:37) Seasonal Advertising Opportunities (23:07) Expanding Digital Content (33:21) Closing Thoughts Links Daniel Koonce Caleb Talley Ty Steele Startup Junkie Startup Junkie YouTube Danielle Keller Peekaboo Magazine

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About

The Startup Junkies podcast is hosted by Jeff Amerine and his team at Startup Junkie Consulting. We’ll cover topics ranging from getting started, planning, growing your business, proving your concept, leadership, marketing, exit strategies and so much more. We’ll interview business owners, entrepreneurs, experts and people we think will bring value to our audience. Subscribe and together we will move your business to the next level.

Information

  • Creator
    Startup Junkie
  • Years Active
    2015 - 2026
  • Episodes
    502
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright Startup Junkie
  • Show Website
    The Startup Junkies Podcast