Startup Savant

#15: Courtney Werner joins Annaka and Ethan to share her story founding KOYA, a platform that works to spread kindness from afar by letting customers send gifts and messages that arrive at the right place or the right time. Courtney shares her journey running a business with her family, leveraging digital communities to grow a client base, changing business models, and growing up surrounded by entrepreneurs.

#14: Frida Leibowitz and Rachel Lauren join Annaka and Ethan to discuss their startup Debbie, a company working to combat debt cycles by helping borrowers transition to wealth builders. Frida and Rachel walk us through their personal stories dealing with debt, the process of using current psychological research to model product designs, the transition from a side project to a full-time company, and how they leveraged their network to fundraise a $1.2 million pre-seed round.

#13: Evan Buist joins Annaka and Ethan to discuss his startup Melodie Music, a music licensing platform and publisher that partners with musicians to create high-quality, copyright-safe music. Evan walks us through the process of pivoting business strategies, fundraising, establishing business models, and the importance of establishing relationships.

#12: Greg Rozdeba joins Annaka and Ethan to share his story founding Dundas Life, a startup providing life insurance coverage that aims to make life insurance both accessible and affordable. Although it may not be the flashiest industry, Greg is working to disrupt the insurance industry, which has yet to see many technical innovations and can play an important role in our day-to-day lives.

#11: Christine de Wendel joins Annaka and Ethan to share her story of founding Sunday, a company looking to disrupt the restaurant industry by giving customers the ability to pay their bills with the touch of their phone.

#10: Kaylin Marcotte joins Annaka and Ethan to share her story founding JIGGY, a jigsaw puzzle company that collaborates with artists to transform a fun pastime into a decorative work of art. Kaylin touches on her experience creating a product from scratch, imposter syndrome, and leveraging media outlets to grow a community around her brand.

#9: Artem Semjanow joins Annaka and Ethan to share his story founding Neatsy, a startup that uses AR technology to help users find the perfect size shoe from their smartphone. Artem discusses the process of finding a business model, fundraising, building partnerships with numerous brands, and the importance of taking time for yourself.

#8: Joe Roets joins Annaka and Ethan to discuss blockchain and how his company, Dragonchain, plans to help other companies utilize this up and coming tech. Joe discusses the applications of blockchain technology and tells us about his own experience finding funding and working with Disney.

#7: Sonja Ebron joins Annaka and Ethan to share her experience creating Courtroom5, a legal-tech platform designed to help those representing themselves navigate the legal system. Sonja shares her insights on using AI to solve problems, building customer trust, and leveraging your personal story to organically grow your venture.

#6: Jamie McCroskery joins Annaka and Ethan to share his experience as the founder and CEO of Bluebird Climate, a public benefit corporation dedicated to improving sustainability by helping businesses identify best practices for reducing carbon emissions and waste. Bluebird Climate then uses its metrics system to quantify sustainable impact allowing both customers and businesses alike to see how products affect the environment.