Episodes

Pitchin' is a short-run podcast from Missouri Business Alert, the same team that brings you Speaking Startup. Pitchin' goes behind the scenes with three student entrepreneurs who are juggling school and startups as they prepare for a pitch competition that could change their fortunes. In Episode 4, Pitch Day arrives. The student entrepreneurs navigate last-minute changes, perfect their pitch decks, fine-tune their presentations and take the stage with up to $30,000 on the line. Who walks away th...

Missouri Business Alert’s Speaking Startup podcast explores news and issues important to Missouri entrepreneurs. This week, we check in with Kevin McGinnis. A former Sprint executive, McGinnis is now working to build the Keystone Innovation District, a district he envisions as a central hub for entrepreneurship in Kansas City. We also chat with Kristen Williams, the CEO and creative director of a Columbia startup called Hempsley. Williams is part of a wave of entrepreneurs trying to build busine...

Pitchin' is a short-run podcast from Missouri Business Alert, the same team that brings you Speaking Startup. Pitchin' goes behind the scenes with three student entrepreneurs who are juggling school and startups as they prepare for a pitch competition that could change their fortunes. In Episode 3, we explore the struggle, looking at what these entrepreneurs give up because of their startups — and why they believe those sacrifices are worth it. (If you subscribe to Speaking Startup, you'll still...

Pitchin' is a short-run podcast from Missouri Business Alert, the same people that bring you Speaking Startup. Pitchin' goes behind the scenes with three student entrepreneurs who are juggling school and startups as they prepare for a pitch competition that could change their fortunes. In Episode 2, we talk about teams. All three of our entrepreneurs have different approaches to selecting the people with whom they will build their businesses. And those choices create unique dynamics — and challe...

Missouri Business Alert’s Speaking Startup podcast explores news and issues important to Missouri entrepreneurs. In this week's show: - 1:28 – Headlines from the past week in Missouri startup news - 2:52 – An excerpt from Pitchin', a new podcast about student startups - 6:47 – Talking capital with Kelly Sievers of the Women's Capital Connection in Kansas City - 13:20 – Noteworthy numbers from the week gone by and a quote to close Produced by Seth Bodine and Ralph Chapoco.

Pitchin' is a short-run podcast from Missouri Business Alert, the same team that brings you Speaking Startup. Pitchin' goes behind the scenes with three student entrepreneurs who are juggling school and startups as they prepare for a pitch competition that could change their fortunes. In Episode 1, we meet those three entrepreneurs and hear about their lightbulb moments, getting the stories behind the ideas that led them to become entrepreneurs. (Note: If you subscribe to Speaking Startup, you'l...

Missouri Business Alert’s Speaking Startup podcast explores news and issues important to Missouri entrepreneurs. In this week's episode, we travel to a prison in Vandalia, where the state piloted a new program designed to teach prisoners the skills necessary to start their own businesses once they're released. Then, we turn our attention to the future of transportation in an interview with Jy Maze, founder of Maze Freight Solutions, a 2-year-old freight and logistics company based in Kansas City...

Missouri Business Alert’s Speaking Startup podcast explores news and issues important to Missouri entrepreneurs. In our latest episode, we ask the question, "Your startup does what?" We talk with entrepreneurs behind some of the most unusual Missouri-based companies we've encountered to learn about where their ideas came from and how they turned them into viable businesses. The rundown: • 1:20 – We look at headlines from the past week in Missouri startup news. • 3:08 – Strange Donuts founder Jas...

Missouri Business Alert’s Speaking Startup podcast explores news and issues important to Missouri entrepreneurs. On today’s show we’re taking a look at the business of music festivals in Missouri. At their core, they all share one thing: ambitious entrepreneurs looking to harness their growing popularity and make money. But in their race to become the Coachella of the Midwest, overspending or under-planning can lead to catastrophe. The rundown: 1:47 – We take a look back at Missouri's Woodstock,...

Missouri Business Alert’s Speaking Startup podcast explores news and issues important to Missouri entrepreneurs. Today’s show is all about the future of the medical cannabis industry in Missouri. Voters approved a constitutional amendment that legalized marijuana for medical use in November, opening the door for entrepreneurs and investors from across the state to participate in an industry that has proved lucrative in states like Colorado and California. The rundown: • 1:11 - A roundup of this ...

Missouri Business Alert’s Speaking Startup podcast explores news and issues important to Missouri entrepreneurs. In this week’s episode, we look at the ad-tech industry. The web provides an unprecedented opportunity for advertisers to collect user data and more effectively advertise to them. But has this model grown old? The rundown: • A roundup of this week’s startup news from across the state • We check in on Invisibly, the ad tech startup founded by St. Louis entrepreneur Jim McKelvey, follow...

Missouri Business Alert’s Speaking Startup podcast explores news and issues important to Missouri entrepreneurs. In this week’s episode, we set out to answer a question: is the future of health care on your phone? We found that digital technology is not only the future, but a huge part of the present health care industry. The rundown: • 0:52 - A roundup of this week's startup news from across the state • 3:20 - Sickweather CEO Graham Dodge tells us how he leverages social media and public record...

Missouri Business Alert’s Speaking Startup podcast explores news and issues important to Missouri entrepreneurs. In this week’s episode, we take a look at three organizations that are turning trash into treasure, making environmental sustainability a focus by recycling resources to generate revenue. The rundown: • 0:45 - A roundup of this week's startup news from across the state • 3:12 - Avenue of Life CEO and Executive Director Desiree Monize explains the business of mattress recycling in Kans...

Missouri Business Alert’s Speaking Startup podcast explores news and issues important to Missouri entrepreneurs. In this week’s episode, we check in with representatives from the state's four biggest startup ecosystems to to get a sense of what 2019 holds in store for early-stage companies in Missouri. The rundown: • 0:42 - A roundup of this week's startup news from across the state • 2:58 - Startland News reporter Austin Barnes discusses Kansas City startups to watch in 2019 • 8:24 - Paige Oxen...

For decades, the A.P. Green brick factory was the economic backbone of the city of Mexico, Missouri. Then, in 2002, it closed. Today, like many cities in America, this mid-Missouri city is reimagining itself as a haven for new business. It’s no longer a one-industry town. This podcast is part of Outstate, a Missouri Business Alert project on entrepreneurship in small-town Missouri. For more from Outstate, visit http://www.missouribusinessalert.com/outstate Episode credits: Production and editing...

Missouri Business Alert’s Speaking Startup podcast explores news and issues important to Missouri entrepreneurs. In this week’s episode: • 0:57 - A rundown of startup news from across the state • 2:05 - Amanda Quick is the founder of the Hatchery, a coworking space in Columbia that offers childcare and maternity programs. Quick spoke about how she started the business, and what coworking means for female entrepreneurs. • 11:07 - A look at important numbers in coworking news Check out our website...

Missouri Business Alert’s Speaking Startup podcast explores news and issues important to Missouri entrepreneurs. In this week’s episode: • 1:14 - A rundown of startup news from across the state • 2:37 - Robin Ann Morris, founder of an Ohio-based staffing agency for the medical marijuana industry, tells her story and offers advice to Missouri entrepreneurs interested in the cannabis business. • 8:23 - Kristen Williams is the founder of a Columbia-based startup called Hempsley, which provides educ...

Missouri Business Alert’s Speaking Startup podcast explores news and issues important to Missouri entrepreneurs. In this week’s episode: • 0:50 - A rundown of startup news from across the state • 1:47 - Arlan Hamilton founded Backstage Capital, a venture capital fund that invests in underrepresented founders. We interviewed Hamilton after her keynote address at the Vision conference in St. Louis. • 5:30 - Ethan Gooch started harvesting and re-selling prairie seed as a high school student. We tal...

Missouri Business Alert’s Speaking Startup podcast explores news and issues important to Missouri entrepreneurs. In this week’s episode: • 1:22 - Sheyvette Dinkens, a business teacher at Wyandotte High School in the Kansas City area, is turning her classroom into a coworking space. We interview Dinkens about the experiment. • 11:33 - Trisha Scudder, a University of Missouri alumna and longtime executive coach, recently returned to MU to accept an award and share insights from a career spent guid...

Missouri Business Alert’s Speaking Startup podcast explores news and issues important to Missouri entrepreneurs. In this week’s episode: • 1:13 - Last week was Techweek Kansas City. Startland News reporter Austin Barnes was there for it all, and he shared an update from the event. • 8:16 - Ross Scanlan and Jake Eovaldi, two of the founders of the app SL.APP, joined us to talk about their idea for revolutionizing the subleasing process, which won Startup Weekend Columbia. • 18:05 - A look at impo...

Missouri Business Alert’s Speaking Startup podcast explores news and issues important to Missouri entrepreneurs. In this week’s episode: • 1:14 - Jack Schroeder, founder of the specialty sauce retailer Lost in the Sauce, talks with Elliot Bauman about running a business as a college senior. • 7:50 - Amy Martin, creator "Threshold" podcast, talks to Megan Liz Smith about what it's like making a living as a podcaster, and what it takes to get started. Check out our website for more: www.missouribu...

Missouri Business Alert’s Speaking Startup podcast explores news and issues important to Missouri entrepreneurs. In this week’s episode: • 0:48 - A look at how technology is changing the grocery industry • 3:44 - We break down a new University of Missouri System accelerator to help student startups • 5:46 - Annika Merrilees sits down with AI entrepreneur Dave Copps • 20:32 - A look at important numbers from the week in entrepreneurship news • 21:46 - Top headlines in startup and entrepreneurship...

Missouri Business Alert’s Speaking Startup podcast explores news and issues important to Missouri entrepreneurs. In this week’s episode: • 1:05 - LouFest, the St. Louis music festival, was unexpectedly cancelled three days before it was scheduled to begin. We talk about how it happened. • 4:07 - Missouri Gov. Mike Parson recently announced a special legislative session, and one of the priorities will be increasing access to computer science courses and building awareness of career opportunities ...

Missouri Business Alert’s Speaking Startup podcast explores news and issues important to Missouri entrepreneurs. In this week’s episode: • 0:44 - On Tuesday, Missouri enacted a new regulating how plant-based meat alternatives and lab-grown meats are labeled. We discuss what that means to young businesses that make those products. • 2:45 - Over the last decade, the number of craft breweries operating in the St. Louis area has more than quadrupled. What's behind this craft brewing boom? • 4:54 - R...