1d ago · Video

Why Most Canned Cocktails Taste Bad

Most canned cocktails don't taste like cocktails made at a bar. They rely on artificial flavors, excessive sweetness, carbonation and low-quality ingredients—but why is it so difficult to make a good cocktail in a can? After years working in restaurants, craft beer, alcohol distribution and beverage production, Will Boze explains what separates a legitimate ready-to-drink cocktail from flavored alcohol in a can. He joins Zack Miller and Tim Ryan to break down how canned cocktails are developed, why many brands use carbonation, how alcohol percentage is calculated and why recipes often change when they are scaled from a single drink to a 1,000-gallon production batch. They also discuss the difficult business of launching an alcohol brand, getting products into grocery stores, competing for shelf space, working with distributors, using AI to formulate recipes and building a premium product during a period when consumers are spending less. Can a canned cocktail ever taste as good as one made by a bartender—and which brands will survive the coming industry shakeout? Learn more about Seven Skies and find products near you at drink7skies.com. The Fervent Four Show is hosted by Zack Miller and Tim Ryan and produced by Innovate Hampton Roads. 00:00 Why most canned cocktails taste bad 01:48 The meaning behind Seven Skies 04:38 What is a ready-to-drink cocktail? 05:19 Why the canned cocktail industry will shrink 09:17 How alcohol laws shape what gets sold 10:49 How alcohol percentage actually works 12:37 From bartender to beverage founder 15:38 The canned cocktail that sparked the idea 18:17 What Seven Skies makes 20:57 Selling premium drinks in a discount economy 23:33 Why most canned margaritas miss the mark 26:37 Who creates the cocktail recipes? 27:03 Using AI to scale drink formulas 28:17 Why recipes change in large batches 30:31 How canned cocktails are produced 33:57 Building a brand that looks national 36:08 Choosing trusted business partners 38:16 The challenges of working with family 40:50 Why alcohol distribution is so difficult 44:49 Competing with hundreds of drinks on one shelf 45:18 The real economics of in-store sampling 48:30 Why single-serve cans matter 50:20 Where to find Seven Skies 53:00 A family history in the alcohol business 54:10 What canned cocktails should become 57:22 What food represents Hampton Roads? 59:41 Who really invented the Orange Crush? Subscribe to The Fervent Four: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Innovate757?sub_confirmation=1 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fervent-four/id1596516837 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7egTPUyiUEZF4QACNKBYI6?si=f9b82187dee54d12

Jul 14 · Video

He Built a Business Out of Trash

Most people see junk hauling and dumpster rentals as simple, dirty work. Johnny Bobby sees systems, turnaround time, customer acquisition, automation, and opportunity. In this episode of The Fervent Four Show, he explains how he built a junk removal and roll-off dumpster company by entering an overlooked industry and operating it differently. He shares how he used Uber to meet potential customers, how negative competitor reviews helped shape his service, and why many dumpsters sit in driveways far longer than customers actually need them. He also breaks down how faster equipment turnover can create more revenue with fewer assets, why employee training became a major focus, and how he uses automation and AI to modernize a traditionally old-school business. This is a conversation about finding opportunity in unglamorous industries, learning the numbers behind the business, and building systems that make growth possible. In this episode: Why overlooked businesses can create major opportunities How Uber helped him fund and market the business The real reason dumpsters sit for 14 days Turning equipment faster with better systems Using negative reviews as market research Training employees through video Automating a service business Building around efficiency instead of excess

Jul 7 · Video

Why Your Medical Bill Makes No Sense

Most bills are built for the person paying them. Medical bills often are not. That was one of the clearest points Michael Woodhead made on The Fervent Four. A normal bill usually tells you what happened, what it cost, and why. A medical bill can feel like it was built for hospitals, insurance companies, and billing departments before it was ever built for the patient. Codes. Adjustments. Denials. Insurance rules. Unclear charges. That gap is where Resolve Medical Bills is working. Not by pretending the system is simple. By helping people navigate it when the bill shows up and they do not know where to start. 0:00 Intro 1:05 Michael's Virginia Beach roots 3:00 From theater to hospitality 6:24 Why people underestimate Hampton Roads 10:28 What Resolve Medical Bills does 11:31 Medical bills and bankruptcy 15:09 "No one should go bankrupt from a bill they didn't choose" 16:09 Why medical bills are not built for patients 19:49 Cash rates, insurance rates, and confusing bills 21:00 The medical billing "death spiral" 26:00 Leading a remote team from Virginia Beach 30:17 Leaving FinFit to become CEO of Resolve 34:53 The weight of becoming CEO 39:00 Building a culture where people push back 43:27 Strategy, culture, and learning to listen 50:05 Does America actually want medical bills fixed? 52:47 How Resolve creates a win-win-win 53:56 The $270,000 bill that got wiped out 57:22 What patients should ask before care 58:53 How AI could change medical advocacy 1:01:00 The future of Resolve as a medical advocate 1:04:15 Virginia Beach food and local seafood Learn more about Resolve: https://www.resolvemedicalbills.com/

Jun 30 · Video

Making Waiting Rooms Suck Less

A coffee shop magazine wall was supposed to be the idea. Then COVID shut down the world, shared magazines became a non-starter, and Lauren and Scott Janney started asking a different question: what if people could still access magazines without touching the same physical copies as everyone else? That question eventually became CXperks, a platform built to improve the customer experience in places where people are waiting, stressed, or looking for something better to do with their time. Lauren Janney, Co-Founder of CXperks, joins The Fervent Four to talk about the early idea behind the company, how her background in healthcare and customer service shaped the business, why CXperks expanded beyond magazines into games, trivia and partner messaging, and what it takes to build a company with your spouse. The conversation also gets into raising capital, listening to repeated customer feedback, hiring for startup adaptability, having hard conversations with team members, and why customer experience matters most when people are already having a hard day. Timestamps: 0:00 How CXperks helps healthcare teams 1:59 Lauren's path from healthcare to business 3:00 What it means to buy a book of business 4:43 Splitting sales and customer service roles 6:46 Why claims are where insurance matters most 7:22 How customer care translated into CXperks 8:01 The coffee shop magazine wall idea 8:10 How COVID changed the plan 9:46 Balancing risk with a stable business 12:20 Building the company with Scott 13:22 Why Lauren sees business as taking care of people 14:32 Helping patients, families and staff during stressful waits 16:00 Adding games, trivia and Spanish content 16:55 Protecting privacy and avoiding personal data 17:42 How the CXperks customer journey works 19:32 Listening for repeated customer requests 20:22 Why CXperks needed to raise capital 21:30 What it is like working with your spouse 22:21 The monthly business breakfast 23:23 How Lauren and Scott use a hiring point system 24:09 Hiring people who can handle startup change 25:40 Having hard conversations with team members 28:16 Why founders cannot expect employees to work like owners 29:49 Teaching entrepreneurship to their kids 32:10 The business lessons inside collectibles https://www.cxperks.com/

Jun 23 · Video

The Business Model Was Hiding in Plain Sight

What happens when the business you built is not the business your customers actually want? PlayYourCourt started as a way to make tennis lessons easier to find and book. But as the company grew, the data told a different story. Customers were using the platform, getting what they needed, and leaving. That churn forced the company to look closer at what people were really paying attention to. In this episode of Fervent Four, PlayYourCourt founder Scott Baxter shares how the company evolved from a tennis lessons marketplace into a broader education platform after customer behavior revealed the real opportunity. We get into the grind of building a two-sided marketplace, what churn can teach a founder, how YouTube and content became a major part of the business, and why focus mattered more than chasing the pickleball boom. Scott also talks about raising money the hard way, learning from early fundraising mistakes, building in Virginia Beach, and the long path from side hustle to a business that can last. For more information on PlayYourCourt, visit: https://www.playyourcourt.com/ 00:00 The pitch that changed everything 00:29 What is PlayYourCourt? 03:12 Why tennis can feel expensive 05:01 From country club coach to founder 07:08 Why marketplaces are hard 09:01 Chasing professional tennis 14:02 How tennis prepared him for business 16:01 Why PlayYourCourse didn't work 17:27 Failure, coaching and business advisors 18:19 Growing up around work and entrepreneurship 21:07 Choosing tennis after college 24:24 The first big PlayYourCourt pivot 27:12 From lessons to practice partners 29:20 The problem with marketplace churn 30:23 How YouTube became the real business 36:40 Building the education platform 39:03 The funnel behind tennis content 40:04 Why PlayYourCourt said no to pickleball 43:26 Raising money the hard way 47:26 The accelerator pitch that changed the round 49:34 Why EO matters for CEOs 51:12 Shrinking the team and simplifying the model 53:18 The real-life impact of tennis community 55:07 What's next for PlayYourCourt 56:11 Local food, recovery and routines 57:02 Fundraising lessons founders should know

Jun 17 · Video

This Is Fervent Four

Big ideas. Real stories. Unfiltered conversations with the people building what's next. Fervent Four goes beyond the highlight reel with founders, leaders, operators and builders to talk about the work, the risks, the lessons and the moments that actually shape the journey.

Jun 16 · Video

What NASA Has to Build Before We Can Live on the Moon

NASA is known for rockets, astronauts and moonshots. But at NASA Langley, the work is also about what happens before and after the launch: the testing, partnerships, aeronautics, technology transfer and long-term thinking that turn impossible ideas into repeatable progress. Joseph Gasbarre, Director of the Strategic Partnerships Office at NASA Langley, talks through the next era of exploration — from Artemis and returning to the moon, to hypersonics, commercial space, regional air mobility and what it will take to build a lasting human presence beyond Earth. The conversation moves from Star Trek and roller coasters to heat shields, lunar infrastructure, AI, NASA's "front door" for innovators, and why Hampton Roads continues to play a major role in the future of flight and space. 0:00 Why going to the moon more often changes everything 2:44 NASA is more than rockets and shuttles 3:04 From Star Trek fan to aerospace engineer 4:14 Artemis, launch day and years of NASA work coming together 7:46 What NASA Langley may study from Artemis reentry 9:04 Testing heat shields, speed and reentry at 32,000 mph 11:15 G-force, roller coasters and Pennsylvania amusement parks 16:31 How NASA recruits the next generation of talent 19:21 Mars travel, moon launches and escape velocity 20:47 Could humans live on the moon or Mars? 23:21 What space movies get right and wrong 24:18 How NASA thinks decades into the future 25:18 NASA's view on AI as a tool 26:32 The rise of commercial space companies 27:08 How innovators can partner with NASA 29:59 Hypersonics and faster commercial flight 31:17 The sonic boom problem and NASA's X-59 32:32 How NASA Langley looks at strategic partnerships 35:13 Putting more things on the lunar surface 36:17 Why launch cadence matters for innovation 37:01 NASA's coming "front door" for partnerships 37:34 Risk, safety and lessons from NASA history 39:48 The infrastructure we don't yet have around the moon 42:23 Handling public criticism and NASA education 45:25 Competing for talent in the space economy 49:35 Why people stay at NASA: mission 50:28 What Joseph wants to see before retirement 51:51 The first "A" in NASA: aeronautics 52:36 The future of flight, eVTOLs and regional air taxis 54:44 What Hampton Roads food should go to the moon? 56:21 Why this is an exciting time to be at the forefront Subscribe to The Fervent Four: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Innovate757?sub_confirmation=1 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fervent-four/id1596516837 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7egTPUyiUEZF4QACNKBYI6?si=f9b82187dee54d12

Jun 9 · Video

The AI Opportunity Most Nonprofits Are Missing

Nonprofits are being asked to do more than ever with teams that are already stretched thin. But what happens when AI gives mission-driven organizations the capacity to move faster, understand donors better, and spend more time on the relationships that actually drive impact? Jim Funari, CEO of StratusLIVE, joins The Fervent Four to talk about how AI, software, and digital engagement are reshaping the nonprofit world. From donor relationships and fundraising to team capacity and national reach, this conversation explores why technology is no longer just back-office support. It is becoming central to how mission-driven organizations grow, serve, and survive. https://stratuslive.com/ The conversation also highlights a Hampton Roads company making serious waves well beyond the region. StratusLIVE was named to the initial tranche of the IHR200, Innovate Hampton Roads' list of the 200 most promising and important privately owned businesses in Hampton Roads — a reminder that major technology companies are being built right here in the 757. https://www.innovate757.org/ihr200/ 00:00 Mistakes Teach More Than Wins 02:11 Why Nonprofits Struggle to Market Themselves 04:20 What StratusLIVE Actually Does 05:36 Building a Nonprofit Tech Company 08:05 Staying Current in a Fast-Moving Tech World 11:13 How AI Can Help Nonprofits Do More With Less 13:02 Is There a First-Mover Advantage in Nonprofit AI? 14:01 Why Focus on Nonprofits? 15:51 The Next Generation of Nonprofit Fundraising Tools 17:29 Using AI Agents to Reduce Back-Office Work 18:53 Will AI Replace Jobs or Create More Capacity? 21:47 Bringing National Customers to Virginia Beach 24:21 Building a Business With Family 27:48 Local vs. Remote Talent in Hampton Roads 30:15 Hiring for Curiosity and Team Fit 34:03 Why Curiosity Matters in Leadership 36:02 Raising Capital in Hampton Roads 40:44 Why the Team Matters More Than the Idea 41:57 What Founders Overlook About Execution 43:43 Finding Your First Customers 46:15 Why Mistakes Are Better Teachers Than Wins 47:34 Adjusting Strategy as the Market Changes 51:17 National Impact Through Corporate Giving 53:44 A Hampton Roads Company Creating Big Impact 54:11 Why Nonprofits Need Technology at the Table 55:41 Where to Eat in Virginia Beach

Fervent Four

Why Most Canned Cocktails Taste Bad

He Built a Business Out of Trash

Why Your Medical Bill Makes No Sense

Making Waiting Rooms Suck Less

The Business Model Was Hiding in Plain Sight

This Is Fervent Four

What NASA Has to Build Before We Can Live on the Moon

The AI Opportunity Most Nonprofits Are Missing

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This Is Fervent Four

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Fervent Four

Episodes

Why Most Canned Cocktails Taste Bad

He Built a Business Out of Trash

Why Your Medical Bill Makes No Sense

Making Waiting Rooms Suck Less

The Business Model Was Hiding in Plain Sight

This Is Fervent Four

What NASA Has to Build Before We Can Live on the Moon

The AI Opportunity Most Nonprofits Are Missing

Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

About

Information