Month: August 2022

Neopenda’s mission is to improve healthcare in Africa and other developing areas.  Sona Shah, CEO and Co-Founder of Neopenda, spent time teaching English in Kenya after finishing her bachelor’s degree.

There, she was profoundly affected by the disparities in quality of life she saw.  And when she met her future Co-Founder at a Master’s degree class in Bioengineering, the idea for Neopenda was born.  They were able to get funding from Columbia University to travel to hospitals in Uganda.

There, they saw at every hospital a boneyard room – a place where well-intentioned first-world high-end medical equipment got junked.  Items that no one was qualified to use.  Items that they couldn’t get spare parts for.  Items that just couldn’t be used without more reliable, continuous power.  An item with instructions in German where no one spoke German.

The two left and set out on a quest to make medical devices more usable and more available for eastern Africa.  They started with Neoguard, a neonatal vital signs monitor.  It doesn’t require continuous power, and doesn’t need spare parts, but that works as well as the first-world alternative.

With a billion people on the continent of Africa alone needing better healthcare, Neopenda’s opportunities are nearly unlimited.

Sona shares with The Savvy Entrepreneur how she & her Co-Founder built the foundation for the company over a period of 6 years.  The design, regulatory, supply chain, and other foundational issues were daunting.  But the two persisted, believing the work needed to be done.

Today, the company is growing rapidly and has raised multiple rounds of outside capital.  It’s an inspiring story.  Sona is articulate, passionate, yet engaging and practical.

Click on the arrow to listen to the amazing story of Neopenda!  Or go here if you'd prefer to read a transcript of our interview.

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The Savvy Entrepreneur features The Hatchery, Chicago's incubator focused on food & beverage startups, and how they help their members.

Nathalie Shmulik is The Hatchery's Chief Strategy & Incubation Officer.  She's a go-to resource for launching a successful food and beverage business.  She has owned & operated her own restaurant, and worked as a consumer experience consultant for one of Ontario's largest supermarket chains.  She also worked as a brand strategist for the first cold brew tea company.  She's a regular contributor to Food Business News, and was featured as one of the Chicago Tribune's 10 Business People to Watch in 2020, and received the Specialty Food Association's award for leadership in vision.

She shares how and why The Hatchery was founded.  She talks about how Chicago has long been a hub for new food and beverage businesses.

She also explains the services offered by The Hatchery, including shared kitchens, 54 private kitchens, classes, co-working spaces, mentoring, and access to funding and subject matter experts, as well as The Sprout accelerator program.

The Hatchery currently houses about 100 companies producing onsite, but supports in other ways another 100 food & beverage companies.  Although The Hatchery is relatively new on the Chicago entrepreneur scene, it has already helped launch several successful businesses.

And along the way, they have created an amazing sense of community.  That shines through in interviews with past guests on the show, including DoWell Brands, Lus Oasis, Amie's Krisps, and Kavnia Coffee.  And, The Hatchery remains committed to being an integral part of the diverse neighborhood where they are located.

Click on the arrow to listen to our interview, or go here to read a transcript of our chat.

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Kevin Finke, Founder & CEO of Experience Willow, shares with The Savvy Entrepreneur how more acceptance of our differences and more openness to gender inclusion can spark more creativity, make organizations more adaptable, and help people contribute their best.

Kevin Finke, CEO of Experience Willow, talks about his journey from a small town in central Illinois through several pivots.  He’s had successful stints in major public relations and marketing companies, has been a cutting edge Latinx marketer, and a big-time events organizer.

Today, Experience Willow helps companies change their corporate culture and implement diversity and inclusion programs.  He says it’s fitting that a small-town Illinois kid who never fit in is now helping lots of other people fit in better

It also makes sense that Kevin, a member of the LBTQ community and owner of a certified minority-owned business is leading the charge for more inclusive and diverse work environments.  He helps businesses both small and large change their narratives and stories and rituals to be more welcoming to America’s evolving demographics.

Kevin’s story is sure to open your eyes a bit, and his style is very relatable.  Even though he’s had an insanely successful career, you can tell his small-town Midwest background is still very much a part of him.

Click on the arrow to listen to this uplifting interview, or go here for a transcript of the interview.

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Jackie Comacho Ruiz is the self-professed “Make It Happen Director” at JJR Marketing, her marketing and PR firm. Jackie not only helps entrepreneurs, but she is an entrepreneur herself, several times over. So when she gives advice, she knows what she is talking about!

She joins me on The Savvy Entrepreneur Radio Show to share marketing tips, and specifically, her “5 Types of Marketing” framework, which is the topic of her upcoming book.

The 5 Types of Marketing are:  (1) Foundational Marketing (2) Executional Marketing (3) Time-Bound Marketing (4) Innovative Marketing and (5) Cause Marketing. She talks about why each type is important and gives examples.

She also talks about common marketing mistakes small businesses make, and offers some suggestions on how to balance each of the types. Our interview is chock-full of free, practical marketing tips — there's something in her interview for everyone!

Click on the arrow to listen to our interview, filled with marketing tips for small businesses.  Or go here if you'd prefer to read a transcript.

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Ever thought about having an independent record label as your business or side job?  Rob Sarwark, Co-founder of Tiki Core Records, shares with The Savvy Entrepreneur some insights about how to go about doing that.  He talks first about  the label typically does and doesn't do, and the decisions made by the label vs. those made by the artist.  He shares tips for finding artists to sign to your label, and ways to help artists monetize their work, including merchandise, tours, and recordings.  He also explains some of the key considerations related to music royalties.

It's an interesting glimpse into a world most people never see.  For now, it's Rob's side gig, so he also talks about some of the challenges of building the business while holding down a full-time, more traditional job.

Click on the arrow to take a listen to this interesting corner of the business world.

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