The Startup Junkies Podcast
by Startup Junkie
Why Warehouse Automation Fails Without the Workers with Tanner Green…
About this podcast
Candid conversations with the founders, operators, and investors building companies in Northwest Arkansas and beyond.
The Startup Junkies Podcast is hosted by Jeff Amerine, founder of Startup Junkie, a Northwest Arkansas organization that has provided no-cost consulting, programs, and events to entrepreneurs for more than 15 years. Each week Jeff and the Startup Junkie team sit down with people who have actually done it: first-time and serial founders, small business owners, investors, accelerator alumni, and the ecosystem builders working alongside them.
Expect real stories, not lectures. How they got started, how they found their first customers, how they raised money or chose not to, what nearly broke them, and what they would do differently. Topics range from validating an idea and finding capital to hiring, marketing, leadership, scaling, and selling the business.
With more than 450 episodes since 2015, the back catalog covers nearly every stage of building a company in Arkansas and the Mid-South. If you are starting something, growing something, or helping founders do either, this show is for you.
This feed also carries Querido Emprendedor, our Spanish-language founder series, and the Fuel Podcast, featuring companies from Startup Junkie's Fuel Accelerator.
New episodes weekly. Show notes, transcripts, and the full archive at startupjunkie.org/podcast.
Startup Junkie's mission: improving lives through innovation and entrepreneurship, from Northwest Arkansas around the globe.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 517 episodes
- Why Warehouse Automation Fails Without the Workers with Tanner Green of Ox · 37 min · Episode 473Billions are pouring into warehouse robotics. So why do so many automation projects fall short? The answer starts with the people working the floor. In this entrepreneur…
- From School Project to Financial Literacy App with Kanishk Sasikumar · 25 min · Episode 472Every business worth building starts with a problem you've felt yourself. This high school senior turned his into an app. In this entrepreneur interview, Kanishk Sasikumar, a…
- Using AI Medical Record Audits to Reduce Claim Denials with Dmitry Karpov of Adentris · 26 min · Episode 471Insurers have thousands of engineers building systems to deny claims. Most healthcare providers have no one on the other side of the table. In this entrepreneur interview, Dmitry…
- How a Dentist Grew a Telehealth Startup 1,200% with Dr. Maria Kunstadter · 24 min · Episode 470Toothaches are one of the top reasons people end up in the emergency room, where there’s no dentist to treat them. In this entrepreneur interview, Dr. Maria Kunstadter, dentist…
- How Cities Can Make Starting a Business Easier with Fayetteville Mayor Molly Rawn · 33 min · Episode 469Starting a small business is full of unknowns. Fayetteville's mayor says City Hall should be the one predictable part. In this entrepreneur interview, Molly Rawn, Mayor of…
- How Small Businesses Can Win Defense Contracts with Chip Laingen · 27 min · Episode 468Small businesses, not the big defense primes, are where the Department of Defense is looking for its next breakthrough. Here's how to get noticed, and how to be ready when you…
- How Korean Founders Break Into the US Market: Founder Interviews from Startup Crawl 2024 · 44 min · Episode 467What does it take for a startup from Korea to break into the US market? Four founders share how they're doing it. Recorded live at Startup Crawl in Fayetteville, Arkansas, this…
- How AI Agents Fix Denied Insurance Claims with Shahbaz Virk of Cair Health · 22 minDenied insurance claims cost clinics money, staff time, and patient care, and AI agents are starting to change that. In this entrepreneur interview, Shahbaz Virk (co-founder of…
- AI and Data Privacy for Growing Companies with Carl Maloney of FloX · 25 min · Episode 466On 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…
- Lawn Care Olympics in Fayetteville, Arkansas with Quinn Childress of Willow Street Lawns · 31 min · Episode 465Quinn 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…
- Cutting Health Care Costs for Self-Funded Employers with Kirat Kharode of HealCo · 19 minEmployer 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…
- How to Be a Great Startup Mentor with Permjot Valia & Ross Webb · 33 min · Episode 464In 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…
- How Northwest Arkansas Funds Its Startups with Chris Ehrhardt · 27 min · Episode 463Most 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…
- You're Not Thinking Big Enough with Congressman Steve Womack · 58 min · Episode 462He 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…
- This Restaurant Won 5 Awards in Its First Year with Maria Smith · 31 min · Episode 461Most 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…
- Why We Don't Let AI Predict Your Orders - with Foreko · 29 min · Episode 460Everyone'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…
- The Fundraising Mistakes That Kill Startups Before They Start with Jeff Amerine · 30 min · Episode 459Less than 1% of U.S. businesses that ever raise outside money end up raising venture capital, and most founders chasing it don't actually need it. In this entrepreneur…
- I Trust My Gut 70% of the Time - Here's Why with Dr. Joshua Upshaw · 30 min · Episode 458Insurance paperwork is delaying treatment for patients who don't have time to wait. One founder built a company to fix it. In this entrepreneur interview, Dr. Joshua Upshaw —…
- This Founder Can Read Your Vitals From a Phone Call with Nyamitse-Calvin Mihanda · 21 min · Episode 457Most founders obsess over their product. The real skill is knowing which problem to fall in love with instead. In this entrepreneur interview, Nyamitse-Calvin Mihanda — founder…
- Why Bentonville's Startup Ecosystem Is More Powerful Than You Think | Zak Morris · 11 min · Episode 456What happens when a mentor gets more out of an accelerator than the founders do? Zak Morris joined the Fuel accelerator as a subject matter expert in AI — but quickly realized he…







