359: Startup Crawl 2023

Summary On this special episode of Startup Junkies, hosts Jeff Amerine, Caleb Talley, and Victoria Dickerson head to Startup Crawl, where they interview several entrepreneurs participating in this year’s event. The night celebrated entrepreneurship in the Heartland with food trucks, local craft beer, live music, and entrepreneurial connection. Jeff, Caleb, and Victoria sat down with Joshua Carnes of Sights & Sounds NWA, Brody Maxwell of TrueRep, Orson Weems of the Music Education Initiative, Bryan Fittin of Go Rogue X, and Bridgett Skeirik of Montay Coffee to discuss their entrepreneurial endeavors and Startup Crawl’s impact on the community.     Show Notes (0:32) Joshua Carnes and Sights & Sounds NWA (3:33) Brody Maxwell and TrueRep (7:02) Orson Weems and the Music Education Initiative (13:34) Bryan Fittin and Go Rogue X (22:03) Bridgett Skeirik and Montay Coffee   Links Jeff Amerine  Caleb Talley Victoria Dickerson Joshua Carnes Sights & Sounds NWA Brody Maxwell TrueRep Orson Weems The Music Education Initiative Bryan Fittin Go Rogue X Montay Coffee            Quotes “The reactions we’ve been seeing tonight [at Startup Crawl] have been really cool. People have been…enjoying learning about the ecosystem of small businesses and startups here in Northwest Arkansas. It’s just been cool how engaged people want to be.” - Joshua Carnes, (2:39)   “With the way we’ve structured our pricing and also the affordability of using a product and a hardware device that most people carry around every day, and then just our magnet we sell at cost, you’re able to utilize velocity-based training whether you’re a strength coach at the university level and you want to outfit your athletes with the latest programming that professional athletes are using, or if you’re just an everyday gym-goer that wants to utilize programming that D1 athletes are utilizing, we’re able to provide that.” - Brody Maxwell, (5:39)   “What we’re doing is exposing careers and opportunities in music, entertainment, and live events. Because, as you said, that ecosystem, that’s a sector of industry that people don’t think about, that nighttime economy where most people go out.” - Orson Weems, (9:03)   “[Startup Crawl] is like a big family reunion for entrepreneurs because you get to see people that you only see online or haven’t seen in a couple of years or whatever else…And so it’s so encouraging to see so many people doing well [and] thriving here.” - Bryan Fittin, (19:25) “[Startup Crawl] was incredible. There were so many people here. The vibe was really cool, just with all the music and everything, and getting to interact with so many people who are interested in our story and entrepreneurs and wanting to support. It was just great connections for us.” - Bridgett Skeirik, (25:21)