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. 6d ago

    AI and Data Privacy for Growing Companies with Carl Maloney of FloX

    On this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast, hosts Daniel Koontz and Caleb Talley sit down with Carl Maloney, founder of FloX, a technology consulting firm helping mid-sized companies replace spreadsheet chaos with AI-driven systems.  Carl shares his journey from a decade-plus corporate career and burnout to a six-month sabbatical, and ultimately launching his own consulting business. Plus how he validates customer problems, runs marketing solo, and thinks about privacy and compliance when implementing AI for clients in regulated industries like healthcare. In This Episode:☑️ Warning signs a company has outgrown Excel-based operations☑️ AI implementation, data privacy, and HIPAA compliance☑️ A solo founder's marketing strategy☑️ Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs  ⏱️CHAPTERS00:00 – Welcome to the Startup Junkies Podcast00:59 – Meet Carl Maloney of FloX,01:17 – From Corporate Burnout to Launching His Own Business02:28 – Sabbatical Adventures: Road Trip & Mountain Biking03:06 – The Rebrand: Choosing the Name FloX,03:26 – What FloX, Does for Growing Companies04:15 – AI, Data Privacy & HIPAA Compliance05:17 – Warning Signs You've Outgrown Excel06:05 – Validating the Problem With Customer Discovery07:01 – Marketing & Running FloX, as a Solo Founder09:47 – Why Entrepreneurship Is Harder Than It Looks12:24 – Entrepreneurship as a Mountain Bike Trail13:41 – FloX,'s Growth Vision, Team & the NWA Startup Ecosystem16:52 – Defining Success & Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs21:21 – Advice to His Younger Self, Where to Find Carl & Closing —Connect with Carl🔗 https://flo-x.io/🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/carl-maloney-bab29b6/ —🎧 Follow the Startup Junkies Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, like, subscribe, and share it with a friend. The Startup Junkies Podcast is brought to you in part by RISE, helping Arkansas tech and tech-enabled startups grow with no-cost coaching, capital navigation, and expert connections.

  2. Sep 8

    Lawn Care Olympics in Fayetteville, Arkansas with Quinn Childress of Willow Street Lawns

    Quinn Childress, owner of Willow Street Lawns and founder of the digital lawn care marketplace Lawnly, joins the Startup Junkies Podcast to talk about the first-ever Lawn Care Olympics coming to Fayetteville, Arkansas on September 20th. Quinn shares how he went from experiencing homelessness as a teenager to building a lawn care business, and now a platform designed to funnel local dollars toward nonprofits and people experiencing homelessness in Northwest Arkansas. In This Episode Why Quinn started Willow Street Lawns after experiencing homelessness at 15What the Lawn Care Olympics is and why it's coming to FayettevilleHow Lawnly connects homeowners, lawn care pros, and nonprofitsWhy local dollars, not charity, are the key to breaking poverty cyclesHow Startup Junkie's ecosystem helped Quinn scale two venturesWhat advice Quinn would give his younger self today⏱️ Chapters 1:01 – Welcome to the Startup Junkies Podcast1:42 – Meet Quinn Childress: Willow Street Lawns & Lawnly2:09 – Announcing the First-Ever Lawn Care Olympics2:29 – The Vision: Turning Lawn Care into a Community Sport3:23 – Partnering with Nonprofits to Fight Homelessness4:45 – Quinn's Story: From Homelessness to Business Owner6:30 – Lawn Care Olympics Event Details (Sept 20 at New Beginnings)7:26 – Judges, Challenges, and Who Can Compete11:41 – Inside Lawnly: A Two-Sided Marketplace for Lawn Care14:06 – RISE Arkansas Sponsor Message14:34 – Quinn's Roots in the NWA Ecosystem & Building Lawnly19:18 – The Real Motivation: Helping the Local Economy Thrive22:22 – Time Machine Question: Advice to His Younger Self29:20 – How to Connect with Quinn & Support the Olympics — Connect with Quinn 🔗 https://www.willowstlawns.com/ 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/quinn-childress-9a2065155/ — 🎧 Follow the Startup Junkies Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, like, subscribe, and share it with a friend. The Startup Junkies Podcast is brought to you in part by RISE, helping Arkansas tech and tech-enabled startups grow with no-cost coaching, capital navigation, and expert connections.

  3. Sep 1

    Cutting Health Care Costs for Self-Funded Employers with Kirat Kharode of HealCo

    Employer health care costs have risen 70% over the last decade while wages have grown just 30%. Kirat Kharode, CEO and Founder of HealCo, joins the Startup Junkies Podcast's Fuel Accelerator health tech series to break down why self-funded employer health plans are becoming unsustainable, and how HealCo's governance layer helps route employees to lower-cost, high-quality care before costs spiral. In this episode: Why self-funded health plans are under more scrutiny than everThe site-of-entry problem driving up specialty care costsHow HealCo's governance and routing model worksWhat a real cost-savings diagnostic looks like for employersWhy Northwest Arkansas is fertile ground for this kind of infrastructureThis episode is part of our Fuel Accelerator series ⏱️ Chapters:  00:18 – Welcome & the Fuel Accelerator health tech cohort00:42 – Meet Kirat Kharode, CEO & Founder of HealCo01:00 – 20 years inside hospital C-suites 01:26 – Inside the self-funded health plan landscape 02:07 – Why costs are outpacing wages 03:06 – Site of entry: where health costs really start 04:02 – Specialty care and the $15K vs. $50K cost divide 05:33 – HealCo's origin story and validation lab 06:36 – Building the governance layer and how employees benefit 09:06 – Sponsor: RISE Arkansas 09:33 – Validating the model & where self-funded care is headed 11:48 – HealCo's 5-year vision, case studies & broker demand 15:49 – Why Northwest Arkansas, plus advice for CFOs 18:50 – Connect with Kirat + episode wrap-up — Connect with Kirat & HealCo 🔗https://www.healco.us/ 🔗https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirat-kharode/ — 🎧 Follow the Startup Junkies Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, like, subscribe, and share it with a friend. The Startup Junkies Podcast is brought to you in part by RISE, helping Arkansas tech and tech-enabled startups grow with no-cost coaching, capital navigation, and expert connections. Learn more at RiseArkansas.org.

  4. Aug 25

    How to Be a Great Startup Mentor with Permjot Valia & Ross Webb

    In this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast, host Caleb Talley sits down with Permjot Valia, founder of Mentor Camp, and Ross Webb, a longtime AI product manager and returning Mentor Camp mentor, to unpack the philosophy behind one of the most unusual mentorship models in the startup world. This is a masterclass for founders on how to actually get value out of mentorship, and for mentors on how to build relationships that last well beyond a single conversation. In this episode: ✅ The origin story of Mentor Camp ✅ How to build genuine trust and social capital as a mentor or founder ✅ The question that ruins a mentoring session  ✅ Advice Permjot and Ross would give their younger selves ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:24 – Welcome & Meet the Guests 1:09 – Permjot Valia's Sales Background  2:24 – Ross Webb: From Cape Town to AI Product Management  3:06 – Building an AI Product That Hit $50M in Revenue  4:18 – The Origin Story of Mentor Camp  5:19 – Why the Mentor Is the Client, Not the Startup  6:35 – Creating a White-Glove Mentor Experience (and Why Top Mentors Keep Coming Back) 10:25 – Real Relationships vs. One-Way Mentoring  13:29 – Fixing Transactional Mentorship in the Fuel Accelerator  13:52 – Social Capital: Why Mentors Shouldn't Hand Over Contacts Right Away  15:55 – Ross Webb's Charity "Gating System" for Mentoring Requests  19:19 – Spotting an Uncoachable Mentee (and the #1 Advice for Every Mentee)  22:10 – Asking for Insights, Not Opinions, in a Mentoring Session  24:29 – Advice to Their Younger Selves & the Shoelace Story That Changed Lives — Connect with Permjot Valia & Ross Webb 🔗 https://mentorcampnwa.com/ 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/permjotvalia/ 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosswebb/ — 🎧 Follow the Startup Junkies Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, like, subscribe, and share it with a friend. The Startup Junkies Podcast is brought to you in part by RISE, helping Arkansas tech and tech-enabled startups grow with no-cost coaching, capital navigation, and expert connections. Learn more at RiseArkansas.org.

  5. Aug 18

    How Northwest Arkansas Funds Its Startups with Chris Ehrhardt

    Most founders think you need a $250,000 VC check to get funded, but angel investors will write you a check for $5,000, actually get to know you, and stick around as a mentor long after the money lands. In this episode, Chris, the new director of 412 Angels, explains the real difference between angel investors and VCs, why founders should start building investor relationships long before they need the money, the most overrated (and underrated) traits he sees in early-stage founders, and what's next for 412 Angels — including plans to launch a fund and lead their own deals. In this episode:✅ The real difference between angel investors and venture capital✅ When founders should start reaching out to investors (hint: earlier than you think)✅ Where to actually meet investors in Northwest Arkansas✅ The most overrated trait in early-stage founders✅ Chris's advice to his younger, first-time-founder self ⏱️ CHAPTERS00:00 – Why 90% of a founder's job is networking 00:21 – Meet Chris Ehrhardt, back after 10 years01:24 – From Germany to Arkansas: Chris's origin story 02:23 – Building a startup and moving to Canada on a startup visa 05:22 – What is 412 Angels? 06:28 – Why keeping funding local matters for founders 08:20 – Angel investors vs. venture capitalists 10:24 – When founders should start talking to investors 11:51 – Where to actually meet investors in NWA 14:21 – The most overrated trait in early-stage founders 15:36 – The most underrated trait: coachability 18:09 – How 412 Angels pays it forward 19:50 – What's next for 412 Angels 22:53 – Advice to his younger self 25:26 – Where to find Chris and 412 Angels —Connect with Chris & 412 Angels🔗 https://412angels.com/🔗https://www.linkedin.com/in/chriserhardt/ —🎧 Follow the Startup Junkies Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, like, subscribe, and share it with a friend. The Startup Junkies Podcast is brought to you in part by RISE, helping Arkansas tech and tech-enabled startups grow with no-cost coaching, capital navigation, and expert connections. Learn more at RiseArkansas.org.

  6. Aug 11

    You're Not Thinking Big Enough with Congressman Steve Womack

    He slept on the floor of a radio station he couldn't afford to staff, got told by the local coffee shop crowd he'd be out of business in six months, and ran that station for 45 years. Before he was a U.S. Congressman, Steve Womack was a Startup Junkie: a broadcaster's son who talked his way into a shoestring AM station in Rogers, Arkansas, and built it into an institution. In this episode, he sits down with Daniel Koontz, Jeff Amerine, and Caleb Talley to trace the throughline from that station to the Rogers mayor's office to Congress, and the entrepreneurial instincts that never really left him along the way. ⏱️CHAPTERS 0:27 – Welcome, Congressman Steve Womack 1:06 – His "Marvel Origin Story" 4:13 – Building a Radio Station From Scratch 8:37 – Proving the Skeptics Wrong 11:07 – Lessons From Football, the Army & "Make Your Bed" 17:18 – Underwriting "Errors of Enthusiasm" as a Leader 23:09 – The Vision Behind Rogers' West Side 25:04 – "You're Not Thinking Big Enough": The Pinnacle Promenade Story 27:16 – Northwest Arkansas' Growth Challenges 32:06 – The Walmart Origin Story (and What Comes After It) 38:21 – The Case for a Skilled Trades Campus 41:27 – Government, Debt & a Coming Social Security Reckoning 47:40 – Advice for Entrepreneurs and His Younger Self 54:17 – A Tribute to Lt. Jason Hunt ---🎧 Follow the Startup Junkies Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, like, subscribe, and share it with a friend. Learn more about Congressman Womack: womack.house.gov The Startup Junkies Podcast is brought to you in part by ARISE, helping Arkansas tech and tech-enabled startups grow with no-cost coaching, capital navigation, and expert connections. Learn more at ARiseArkansas.org

  7. Aug 4

    This Restaurant Won 5 Awards in Its First Year with Maria Smith

    Most restaurants don't survive their first year. This one won five awards in it. Including back-to-back People's Choice titles and a top finish for Best Asian Business in the entire state of Arkansas. Maria Smith left a long corporate career (including years at Sam's Club) to open Lasang Pinoy with her brother, bringing Filipino cuisine, and Filipino karaoke culture, to Northwest Arkansas.  In this episode, she breaks down the history behind the cuisine, the real financial and emotional challenges of opening a restaurant, why one specific karaoke song is banned from the building, and her dream of franchising the concept nationwide. ⏱️ Chapters00:20 Welcome & Meet Maria Smith 01:46 Maria's Origin Story: From the Philippines to Arkansas 03:06 One Year In: Awards & Milestones 04:58 The Rich History Behind Filipino Cuisine 07:06 Why Northwest Arkansas Connects with Filipino Food 07:36 Karaoke Nights: Go Bananas & Go Coconuts 09:23 The Golden Mic Karaoke Championship 10:00 The One Song Banned From Filipino Karaoke 11:55 Running a Restaurant with Family 14:50 Building the Right Team 16:07 The Power of Small Details 18:11 Biggest Challenges: Cash Flow & Emotional Endurance 21:21 Giving Back to the Community 24:14 The Future: Franchising Filipino Food Nationwide ---Learn more about Lasang Pinoy: https://lasangpinoynwa.com/ 🎙️ New founder stories every week — subscribe so you don't miss one.🔗 https://startupjunkie.org/

  8. Jul 28

    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/

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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.

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  • Creator
    Startup Junkie
  • Years Active
    2015 - 2026
  • Episodes
    509
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright Startup Junkie
  • Show Website
    The Startup Junkies Podcast