Hello everyone and welcome to the Within Range Coaching podcast. I'm Ranger, certified holistic
success coach, and in this podcast, I'm bringing down the journey that entrepreneurs face as
they start their organization, find solutions to the roadblocks in their way, and create
an impact that lasts. So if you're an entrepreneur, nonprofit leader, or purpose driven community
member that wants to learn how to grow your impact and develop yourself as the person
behind the mission, then this podcast is for you. I know you're just as eager to get started
as I am. So let's jump right in. Good morning, good afternoon and good evening,
everyone. And welcome to today's episode of the Within Range Coaching podcast. I am currently
sitting on the outskirts of Arkansas near Oklahoma border. And one of the episodes that
we just recorded was with the Firehouse Hostel in Little Rock in Arkansas. And while I was
there, while I was chatting with different people, meeting with the different board members,
I was asking around for other nonprofits or other organizations that would be a good fit
for the podcast that I should, you know, go meet in person, shake hands with and just
kind of learn again, learn from highlight and work with people in the country that are
making a difference. And one of the groups that I was put in contact with is called the
Venture Center, which is and she'll correct me if I'm wrong in downtown Little Rock.
Okay, perfect. So yes, the Venture Center, it's essentially well, I'll let Ashley talk
about it. But I'll go ahead and introduce her now. I am sitting here on zoom with Miss
Ashley Jones. Ashley, how are you doing today? I'm great. And thanks for having me today.
Happy to share about the Venture Center and our sort of serendipitous meeting that took
place last week. So the Venture Center is a nonprofit entrepreneurial support organization.
We've been around for a little over 10 years. And our goal and mission is really simple.
It's to support entrepreneurs, whether you're someone with an idea on a napkin, all the
way to someone with a larger business looking for seed investment, and everyone in between
whether you're tech, small business, Main Street, we want to be supportive of that.
So that's really our mission is to help people find success in this in this entrepreneurial
space. Yeah, that's amazing. I really love the idea. I mean, the Wander Project, one
of the organizations that I'm working with for raising funds and collecting donations,
that it sounds very in line with that, because they're a nonprofit that supports other nonprofits.
And you guys are a nonprofit that supports entrepreneurship and getting these businesses.
I just love the idea of the back of napkin, all the way up to several million dollars
in revenue, like everyone and everyone, anyone and everyone is welcome at the Venture Center,
which I thought was really unique and interesting when I went to visit with you guys.
Yeah. And that's right. And entrepreneurs have various different needs. To your point,
the entrepreneur with an idea on a napkin has different needs than the, you know, five
years into it entrepreneur that's, you know, raising a series B. That sounds like a lot
of lofty jargon that people may not know about. But truly, we're here to support everyone
at those locations and in between. And so our programs and events are designed specifically
for those different types of entrepreneurs. And then everything is built on on mentorship
as well. That's a foundational piece of success when it comes to entrepreneurship. And so
everything is built off of mentorship. Yeah, I really love the collaboration aspect
that you guys have there. But let's let's back up for just one second. And let's hear
a little bit about you. How did you get involved with the Venture Center? Actually, let's talk
about your intention for today. I always I always jump past the intention. But what would
you say your intention for today's episode would be?
I think my intention is reflective of the organization, right? So going back to the
mission of the Venture Center, really intentional work that we do here at the Venture Center,
specific to startup tech innovators, those really revolutionary folks with ideas that
are disruptive to your to your main street business owner that's looking to support their
family, maybe bring on one or two employees, as well as corporate partners and sponsors
that are looking to support those entrepreneurs who are always seeking sponsors that have
missions in line with ours and want to support this entrepreneurial space. And so I think
that that would be my intention is to reach out to anybody that may be interested in this
space, they're an entrepreneur themselves, that they're interested in, in the work that
we do to to reach out to us. And there's various ways to get a hold of us. Our website is venturecenter.co.
And there are several other opportunities on social media as well. But we can get into
that a little bit later. But yeah, if you're curious about the startup world or entrepreneurship,
reach out.
Yeah, I think that's fantastic that there are because I know that a lot of people that
are either you know, that have that that napkin, they have no idea what to do with it. Like,
it's just this idea. It's this commitment that they're looking to make. But how do you
even go from idea to implementation? So it sounds like that's really your guys's wheelhouse.
And again, we'll get into that in just a second. But I'm curious, like, how did you get involved
with the venture center? Because I know we've talked about it before, but you aren't an
entrepreneur, you're not a business owner, but you still have, I guess, dedicated, like,
I don't know, at least eight hours a day, right? To supporting entrepreneurs and being
a resource and helping them. So how did that kind of fall into your lap?
Yeah, eight hours a day for the last over eight years, this has been my world. And so
really, I didn't know it. And I think I told you the story early on, I didn't know that
I was working for a startup prior to coming to the venture center. I was fresh out of
college and looking for to be gainfully employed, if you will. And so I took a job for a company
that was based here in Little Rock, that I later learned was a startup. They were in
the tech space, it was mobile ultrasound, x ray, echocardiogram, servicing home health
care, as well as nursing facilities. Working in that space, I learned a ton, you know,
I was very much behind the scenes in the operational space, understanding how an organization like
that runs and grows within five years of this organization being around, they were acquired.
And so that was my introduction to the adult world and being, you know, part of this space.
And so having that job, I was looking for something else after that, and learned about
the venture center through my husband who had done some work. He said, there's this
place that I think they help entrepreneurs, I'm not entirely sure what they do. But I
know they're looking for someone, I know you're looking for something. So check it out. And
that's really how it started. And so learned about the venture center, the role that they
played in the local space specific to economic development and entrepreneurship. And I was
extremely curious, I've always been a curious person, always looking to learn from other
people. And so this this really interested me. So the role at the time was community
champion. So I came on to the venture center, really overseeing driving membership and mentorship,
training new mentors, always looking for people that could fit as a mentor, telling people
about the venture center, almost being an evangelist of sorts for the venture center,
sharing all the good that we were doing, and really the the driver of membership at that
at that point. And that was really eye opening. I've met some fantastic people in that space,
a lot of the mentors that came on board are still mentors and familiar and friends with
the venture center. And it's just been a very fun, interesting whirlwind of a ride in this
entrepreneurial space that I never thought I would have a part in.
Yeah, well, I mean, just in the conversation that we had in person, and even right now,
your passion for it definitely shines through and I can hear it in your voice, like just
the way that you're interacting with it. Yeah. And that makes me care. Like what about working
in this space is so exciting for you? Yeah, I think I'm laughing to myself because
I'm thinking, you know, you're you're entrepreneurs, they're very, they're not afraid to take risks,
right. And so I think that's what's extremely inspiring about entrepreneurs. I'm very, you
know, risk averse, if you will. So I'm very inspired by people that are willing to just
throw it all into the wind and say, here goes nothing, you know. And while that's not my
personality or the way that I operate, it is inspiring to see people to do it. You see
you see all ends, you know, you see people quit their day job to pursue the hobby that's
really turned into the full time thing. You see people struggle, whether it's looking
for a brick and mortar to move into full time or whatever the case may be. It's just it's
just very inspiring. I think that's the word I like to use. It's a different type of person
that I enjoy being a part of their success. But that's that's again, it's not me, but
I can appreciate the drive. You know, I have heard that like a very similar sentiment from
other people that I feel like social media very much glorifies entrepreneurship. And
what is it like the E myth or something? There's some book about it that I should probably pick
up and actually read. But it's basically that not everybody needs to be an entrepreneur,
right? Like it's very much glorified. It's very much it's sold as something that it's
not necessarily actually is. You know what I mean? So I think what's so interesting is
that you found a way to still be involved in the entrepreneurship game, be involved
in that risk, be involved in that community without, I don't know, like doing something
you're not interested in. Right? Because there's nothing wrong with being risk adverse. It's
being aware of what your risk tolerance is. And you're right, like entrepreneurs definitely
have a higher one. Yeah. But that doesn't mean you need to have one or it's good or
it's bad. Yeah. And yeah, I mean, we see a lot of times that entrepreneur, the the sexy
side of it, you know, is making a lot of money, having freedom of time, being your own boss.
There's lots of things that you hear. But there's a lot of tears and blood and sweat
and all the stuff that goes along to it. It's behind the scenes that you often don't see.
I've seen firsthand. I I find myself sometimes being a therapist to entrepreneurs. You ask
how you're doing and the next thing you know, you know, you're crying with them because
they're talking about their kids and how they've missed games because they're staying up at
night working. And it's you know, there's a lot of empathy there. But yeah, there's
a lot of behind the scenes that people forget about or don't see as much. All they see is
the success stories, which is also why, you know, the venture center, even failure is
seen as success because hopefully you're failing forward. Right. And so the idea is every failure,
there's something to learn from it. And so you can either, you know, dust yourself off,
move forward with it, scrap it, start something new. But there's always that notion that there's
something to learn from failure. And that's in our eyes is still success because hopefully
you've you've learned something from it. Yeah. And that reminds me of a concept I kind of
heard of before. It's called like the the rocky cut scene. You know how they show like
the two minutes of the super, you know, getting knocked down, getting back up, getting strong
and this and that. And then they fight the bad guy and they win or whatever happens.
Right. Yeah. And I feel like that's something that is like, again, the sexy side of entrepreneurship
that's, you know, oh, look, despite all this, it happened. But in the movie, it only lasts
two minutes or in real life, it lasts years in some cases. And I've noticed, too, you
know, you talk to anybody because when you tell them you work for an entrepreneur support
organization, they might joke and you say, well, I've got an idea. Everybody has an idea.
You know, if you if you push and pry and think, you know, everybody's got an idea, but only
those that are willing to risk some things are those that pursue it. And some get halfway
down the road and realize, hey, this isn't for me. That's OK. At least you didn't spend
too much money or get too heavily involved before you realize that. And that's what places
like the venture center are there for. There are people in the space that have been there,
done that. We help make those connections. We provide the programs. We provide the events
to help make those connections, give you some mentorship along the way with the questions
you're not sure of how to answer or spaces you're not sure how to navigate and really,
you know, empower those that want to pursue entrepreneurship. Yeah. And it sounds like
even just being a resource for them to make that intentional decision of no. Yeah, because
I think that's the most powerful thing, right, because they could sit there for years and
years and sit on this idea, sit on this thing that they want to do. And then if they never
do anything with it, living with regret, not feeling fulfilled. But there's a different
like like you said, like even through empowering to make that decision to stop doing it. Right.
Yeah. And there's accountability in it, too. You know, at the end of the day, it's your
business. It's your idea. We're not trying to take it and run with it by any means. But
there is accountability. You know, you may meet with a mentor and mentor tells you, you
know, go out and you know, you need to do some, you know, customer discovery before
you know, really, before you put any money towards this. So go, go do some customer discovery,
talk to a few people, see what they might be willing to pay. Do they actually have this
problem? And so then there's an expectation that you should go ahead and talk to those
10 people or however many people. And, you know, the goal is to hold some some entrepreneurs
accountable. Right. So if you've been asked to do that, following through to make sure
you've done it, if not, hey, have you have you done this, you know, in order to meet
with the mentor, whoever again, they would like you to do this. Have you done that? No,
I haven't done it yet, but I will. It's on my list. And then, you know, it might take
them a few weeks. A lot of folks that we work with are gainfully employed. They've got full
time jobs. They're they're exploring something on the side or they fully jumped into it.
And it may take them some time to get there. And then so it's a matter of just following
up, keeping in touch, seeing if they've made the progress and then seeing where we can
help out and fill in some gaps.
Gotcha. Yeah, no, I love that. And I mean, just on your website, what mentorship, education,
collaboration like that, those are all things that are just I don't know, I've seen how
impactful all those things are. And like, you know, in my business, in my life, even
just on the personal level. And what I want to ask you is we're doing a lot of backing
up. Let's I'm curious, how do you go from the back of napkin to, I don't know, like
quitting your job? Like, what is the support you guys have there? And I guess like what
like that zero to one. Right. Right. And the hardest the hardest part is committing to
an idea that you have. And so the thing that we like to do, we start off with what we call
an origin session. So if if you're not sure, a lot of times you you have an idea, then
what? A lot of times people don't know that this whole ecosystem of entrepreneur support
exists. The venture center is one of many not only in central Arkansas, but the state
ESOs. If you Google entrepreneur support organizations, your brain may explode with the amount of
support that's out there from entrepreneurs, but people don't realize that. So the first
thing is truly just awareness and education, letting them know that places like the venture
center and several of our other cohorts, you know, exist and can be supported. And so what
we like to do is have an origin session. So there's a space on our website, or you can
reach out to us at founders, venture center dot co. Let us know that you you're interested
in being an entrepreneur, and we can set up some time with you. So our internal staff
will sit down with you for about 30 minutes or so get an understanding of you, your your
idea where you're at in the process, and your knowledge base as far as what is it to be
an entrepreneur? Do you understand the landscape? What different resources are available? And
it's it's truly just like I mentioned, the awareness piece of letting them know what's
what's available. Beyond that, we love to start with the lean canvas. And a lot of times
it's something that people have never heard of never seen. But the lean canvas was developed
by a guy named Ash Maria, you can get on YouTube and actually find a video. There's books about
it. But it's the lean canvas model. And it's the it's something that we subscribe to. It's
really, it's sort of the Cliff Notes version of a business plan, if you think about it.
So it's a one page document that helps you take what's in your brain and put it down
on a single sheet of paper. So it starts with what's the problem? What are you trying to
address? And then it gets into solution? Who's your target audience? What's your unique value
proposition? What key metrics? What you know, will you measure to identify if you're successful
or not? And so that really, that's the first thing that you know, we we tend to share with
an entrepreneur coming into the space for the first time, because like I mentioned,
that sometimes they've never seen it. So we give them some homework and say, look, here,
here's this document, we want to be helpful. Here's some videos, support, reach out. But
we want you to try to complete this for the most part as much as you can, because it does
ask about revenue models and structures and some of the numbers and financials behind
your endeavors. Well, and a lot of people may have not thought about that yet. So at
least help us understand what the problem is, what your potential solution, the target,
those sorts of things come back to us. And then we can have a deeper, further conversation
about about what that is. So I'd say that is that is really the first step is taking
what's in someone's head and getting it down on paper. And the Lean Canvas does a really
great job of that. Yeah, I just pulled up the Lean Canvas right now to check it out
for myself. And I mean, yeah, you just Google it and it's right there. So it's a wonderful
place that Google that Google. Yeah, you find anything and everything there we and we help
direct people to that information, too, because it's like I mentioned, it's a world that people
are not familiar with. But once you're exposed to know, you know, there are resources and
abundance of resources available for entrepreneurs. Yeah. And a lot of it is just even like you
don't know what you don't know. And if you don't even know to Google ESO or what in California,
I'm sure there are in other places, but small business development centers that the local
one for me helped me out a ton. Yeah. And I was you know, it's I'm not sure how you
guys do it exactly. I'm sure we'll get into that more so. But just like the access to
free information out there that isn't just this generic, you know, wiki how of how to
start a business, make a business plan, like register as a nonprofit or LLC or you know,
it's it's very generic and basic, but there's access to people like you guys for all different
budgets and this and that I'm sure so. Yes, absolutely. And that's that's the thing is,
you know, entrepreneurs support organizations, we we refer and we talk to each other to see
how we can best support the entrepreneur. And it's never the thought is never you can
only go to one ESO. Please go to all of them. Your head may be spinning. But and but it's
truly the exposure to the different ones. And then you can learn, you know, oh, this
place does this really, really well, you know, when we think of the SP or ASB TDC that's
here in Arkansas, it's at the university campus here in Little Rock. They are really great
at market research. They provide actually thousands of dollars of free market research
for free on the very front end. They have business consultants. And so that might be
a great place to start. The Venture Center is really good at mentorship and connectivity.
And that's that's what it really what we we prize ourselves on. And so we can provide
those referrals as well. But we want to be part of that network because we have the exposure
we've got the connections we can help really expedite the process right of being an entrepreneur.
And so we have relationships with all the different ESOs here in the state. There's
a monthly entrepreneur support organization call that takes place where all the ESOs come
online. We learn about an entrepreneur that's up and coming. We share key information. And
so there's there's truly a connectivity here in the state, which I learned is not the case
in several other states. You don't have that level of sharing of information. We went to
an ESO conference and that was something that was shared. So Arkansas is a great place for
entrepreneurship and to be connected. The Venture Center is a great place to start.
Yeah, that's amazing. I didn't I didn't realize that that I guess I didn't realize that level
of collaboration between ESOs existed. And it makes sense. And then it's kind of interesting
to hear that in other places. It's not so much the case. Like is it what makes them
so hesitant to share? Is it just they are afraid of competition or what do you?
I'm not entirely sure. I know, you know, in some instances, it may be going after the
same funding dollars. Right. And so regardless of that, though, here in the state, it's a
very collaborative space. We're working with all different ESOs. Arkansas is very small.
It's connected. You've heard of, you know, six degrees of Kevin Bacon that is very much
representative in the state of Arkansas. You talk to four people in different corners of
Arkansas. They probably know each other for one. And if they don't, you can find six people
between all and they wind up being connected. So it's a small state. You know, everybody
is is connected. And so it's just the transfer of information is beautiful as an entrepreneur
here because you can you can find the person to help you if you're stuck on something anywhere.
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So an entrepreneur comes in with a napkin or the idea. They haven't even written it
down yet. You help them get it on paper, organize their thoughts, kind of explain what that
would really look like. What would that entail? And it sounds like helping a lot with the
business structure. Because I know that's something that people get scared about. You
know, is this an LLC? Is it a sole proprietorship? Is it this? Is it is this a nonprofit?
Yeah. And that's where our mentorship comes in. So assuming that the entrepreneur coming
in has completed the Lean Canvas or most of what they can complete, it honestly helps
our team understand what the gaps are for this entrepreneur. You know, they may complete
a startup self-assessment that lets us know where they where they think they are or where
they think their gaps are. And then through conversation, we can learn how to better help
and support that entrepreneur. And that's really where our mentorship comes in. And
so the Venture Center actually just launched our membership program. And so the thought
there is, you know, pre pandemic, there was a very robust community of entrepreneurs here
in central Arkansas, specifically because that's where we're located. And then obviously
there was there was zoom. There were these things during the pandemic, but you lose a
little bit of that connection. There are just some things that are better communicated in
person. And so what we've done is bring back membership and mentorship to reinvigorate
that that community of entrepreneurs and tech minded individuals and those that want to
work at a startup and just really create this space where different minded people can come
together and share information. And so the thought there is let's create a membership
and have mentorship be a part of that. And so the thought there is you can you can sit
down with a mentor. We have mentors with varying, you know, expertise. They've all gone through
a mentor training so they understand how to ask the questions. So if you're an entrepreneur
sitting on in on a session, it's very much if you've heard of the Socratic method, it
very much sounds like a three year old toddler asking why, why, why trying to get to the
root of what's going on because the mentors themselves are speaking from experience. Here's
what I've gone through. Here's something that may assist you. It's never do this, do that,
do that. It's not their business. And there's a little bit of accountability there to to
encourage the entrepreneur to seek solutions themselves. But you're also there to hear
from the knowledge of someone that's been there and done that. And so those entrepreneurs
or those mentors are able to help you navigate that space. So our mentors range, you know,
we've got intellectual property attorneys, we've got just general business, serial entrepreneurs
that have built, raised, sold businesses, the investment community is heavily involved.
We've got folks that know a lot about marketing and sales. And so it's it's really tactical
expertise that can be extremely beneficial to the entrepreneur that maybe doesn't have
those connections or isn't sure how to move the needle in their business. And so depending
on where you are, that's why the lean canvas and the self assessment are so important,
because that helps us identify who that entrepreneur should or could meet with next. Because our
idea of mentorship probably looks a little bit different. You're not meeting with the
same person over and over and over. We want to build community and give you exposure to
different folks with different knowledge bases. And so, you know, if you need marketing help,
you will obviously sit with someone with some marketing knowledge. But if you get beyond
that, you can meet with somebody over intellectual property or or financials, like review your
your pro forma or whatever the case may be. And so we've got lots of mentors with with
lots of knowledge that are there to help.
That's awesome. So when when these entrepreneurs come in and they felt these forms and get
connected, I guess, generally speaking, what are some of the most common or the most common
in the top two, the top whatever you want to take this question, I guess, issues or
extra help that they need that people listening should they think about start should they
are if they are thinking about starting a business should consider right now.
Yeah. I mean, a lot of times we know social media is a beast of its own. People come in
looking for marketing support. Maybe maybe they are a little bit older or less tech inclined
and don't understand. They keep hearing this word algorithm. They don't know what that
is, but they know they have to feed it. And so they just aren't sure how to go about social
media. And so that may be a topic that gets brought up a lot. And so then we'll put them
with someone that's got a marketing background, a mentor that can help in that space. That
way, it helps them take little bites at a time. You don't want to overwhelm the entrepreneur.
Well, you got to set up this account, you got to go do this. Then you have to make sure
that you post three times a day and do that. It's nothing like that. It's you know, let's
start with the basics and work our way through. I would say that's a big one. A lot of people
just needing help with marketing, how to amplify their message, which social media platforms
should they be spending the most time on? Should I go ahead and start that newsletter
or should I just focus on social media? Those different aspects and many more when it comes
to marketing. The other big one is money. And we talked about this too. We have several
people come in thinking we just, you know, they share an idea for 15 minutes and then
we hand over money. That's not how it works. It's really not Shark Tank. I think Shark
Tank is sort of glorified what this world looks like as well, that you can come in and
pitch and then be given thousands or millions of dollars. That's not how it works. So sometimes
it's shocking for those that realize that's not how it is. But that's where we're there
to show them and guide them through the process. And so, you know, we even host pitch events
and opportunities where an early stage entrepreneur can get a little bit of seed capital or pitch
money that they could use to in whatever way they need for marketing or paying a month's
rent, whatever the case may be. But yeah, I would say those are the two big ones that
we see a lot of. And the other thing is, and I appreciate this entrepreneur a lot, the
one that comes in to your point and says, I don't know, help me. And so then that's
where the lean canvas and the self-assessment comes into play because we can, they've clearly
got an understanding of their limits and what they know and what they don't. And they need
guidance on where to start before they, you know, go down a track that is incorrect or
costly and they just want to raise their hand and say, help me. I'm at this point. What
do I need to do next? And I can appreciate that entrepreneur asking for help and saying,
I don't know.
It sounds like the M&M is always the issue, the money, the marketing. And yeah, I think
we even talked about a little bit before is that typically when people say, I guess this
is more so like finance coaching experience, when they say they need more money, that's
usually the easy thing to point at, right? Like it's the easy problem to say, oh, well,
if I just had more money, all my problems would be solved. And it sounds like you guys
really dive in there and say, okay, well, what's the root of the issue? What's going
on here? Just like for a person, it could be their actual behavior. Like they're spending
more than they're making. Right. Let's see if we can fix things around here. Let's see
what's actually going on beneath the surface. And it sounds like you guys do take that holistic
approach to, okay, fill out this form. We're still going to go through the process. We're
not just going to let you throw more money at a problem because you might not even know
what the problem is.
Yeah, that's true. I think that's very fair. But yeah, those are the main ones that we
see. You covered those for sure.
Yeah. And marketing is just a whole monster in and of itself.
It is. It's a moving target. It changes somewhat. Are you every day? It is its own beast. And
a lot of times people throw their hands up and say, I don't know how to do this. And
so that's where we're able to step in and support and say, have you considered or in
my experience we've seen, you know, because all of this is based on experts experience.
Yeah. And I know I asked you this when we were in person, but what has been, I guess,
the local impact on economic development for Little Rock from the work that you guys have
done?
We're actually pulling together information right now for a local impact study. So I don't
have the numbers right now. But I mean, if we look at economic development in Little
Rock and the amount of money spent here for those going through our programs and things
like that, we're talking millions of dollars in impact just in Little Rock. And that money
flows through back to small businesses, companies that are here, leads to more jobs. I mean,
it truly is sort of a circle of life. The world is built on entrepreneurship. You know,
those employed people, those people spend money, that money goes into your local economy
and supports additional jobs. And then the cycle continues. And so that's been something
that's extremely rewarding to see, you know, a company start off with maybe one or two
employees and then we hear that they've moved locations because the space that they were
in isn't large enough to host the 20 or 30 that they're about to hire. And so then it's
about scaling and they've got to bring in directors of operations and HR and salespeople.
And then the next thing you know, they're speaking at an event that we had from the
success. And that's really the beauty of it. We've had actually several employees of the
venture center go on to start companies and be extremely successful. And so those are
what we look at as a win as well. We're supporting not only people that work at the venture center,
but we're supporting the entrepreneurs as well. And so that's been a fun little thing
that we didn't expect to happen, but has.
Yeah, no, that's amazing. And I'm sure do you know when the report would be finished
or ready by or is it kind of just it's ready when it's ready?
Yeah, I'm not sure of the timeline. Like we're pulling together all the information right
now and it takes some time to go through all of that and contact everybody. But yeah, it's
used every two years. And so we're pretty excited about that information being collected.
I was going to say if it takes time to pull the information together, it sounds like it's
going to be a pretty solid report. So that's that's exciting. And I'll be on the lookout
for it and I'll be sure to share it on my socials for from those that listen to podcasts
and everything. Because yeah, that'll be so cool to see. And yeah, with the work that
you guys do, is it only for residents of Arkansas that can use your services or how does that
who can use you guys or work with you guys?
Yeah, honestly, it's it's open to to anyone we're willing to hear from anybody a lot of
a lot of our work that we do is focused within the state of Arkansas, given our stakeholders
and the folks we have to report to. And so it just depends some of our programs are very
specific to central Arkansas. And so a spark program, for example, is is central Arkansas,
there is a better known small business program is open to the state. And so that question's
come up quite a bit. But if anybody is looking for support, we've got connections and we
can obviously point people in the right direction. But most of our programs and events are focused
within the state of Arkansas.
Gotcha. So there's some room for outsiders, if that's what we believe I want to call them.
But it sounds like I mean, of course, like we were saying earlier, there's ESOs all over
the place. So I don't know if if you're looking for an ESO in in Arkansas, the venture center
is your go to and it sounds like if you're not Arkansas, do some googling, find one that
works for you. And I mean, worst case, it sounds like you guys would even be willing
to have a conversation.
Absolutely. Yes. And we've we've got connections with different ESOs around the country. We've
actually traveled to a few of them and check them out and have relationships with those
folks. And so if if you're looking for a place local to you, we're happy to help you find
that. But if you are in Arkansas, you're more than welcome to start at the venture center.
And then we can help connect you to folks that are even closer to you or whatever the
case may be. But we're a great place to help you get connected for sure.
Awesome. And kind of just going back to what your intention was of, I don't know, of just
reaching out to those that are interested in working with supporting or being a part
of the venture center. Is there anything else that you would want to say to someone that
might be on the fence or I guess on the fence of starting their business or working with
you guys or don't even know if they should reach out? Like, what would you say to them?
That's the hardest part is is reaching out, you know, that zero to one. Is it something
I don't know? I've heard some people say, I don't want to waste anyone's time. You're
not wasting anyone's time. That's what we're here for. And so I think the biggest thing
is just start making an attempt. Some of our some of my favorite entrepreneurs that we've
worked with just they literally showed up and never went away. And so many opportunities
have presented themselves because they just keep tending to show up. One entrepreneur
that comes to mind is Chris Wright. He's actually in the building of the Tech Park. He would
laugh if he if he saw this. But I remember meeting him probably six or seven years ago.
He came into the Venture Center in our old space on Markham. And he said, I pass by here
all the time. It looks interesting. What do you guys do? And that has led to a six year
relationship with the Venture Center where he is now a mentor. He volunteers for one of
the programs that we run is Jolt, which is a cybersecurity fund competition that takes
place in October. He's one of the volunteers that puts that on. He's a fantastic resource.
He mentors different different folks in the cyberspace and is really just an awesome friend
of the Venture Center. It's just because he showed up one day and said, how can I help
or where can I plug in? And so there's I hope that's what people know and learn about the
Venture Center. It's a great place for you. If you're a startup curious, if you're an
entrepreneur, business leader, business owner, whatever the case, it's a great place to plug
in, get connected because you really never know who's going to be at the next event or
pitch and pint or whatever program we're going to put on. We do have a two days to start
up that we're about to be planning for. And it's anyone that's ever been curious about
the world of startups. So whether you're the person with the idea or you're the designer
that could use your skills to build out a website or you're an intellectual property
attorney that may be able to provide some insight, it doesn't matter if you've ever
been curious about startups, the Venture Center, there's a program or an event for you.
I love it. I think that's also such great advice is if for some reason you're having
a hard time going from zero to one, maybe even just asking where the starting line is
can be the first step for you. Yeah. So I think that's the greatest part that there's
people out there that want to support, that want to be a part of it and want to be a part
of your story and your success. So if there are people in Arkansas or want to ask where
the starting line is, what would be the best way for them to get in contact with you?
The Venture Center, we've got our website, venturecenter.co. There's a contact page there
or you can reach out directly to us at founders at venturecenter.co. No M on any of those.
It can be a little confusing, but reach out. Our team member will connect and get an understanding
of where you are and be able to plug you in. Perfect. Social media channels as well. We're
on all the socials. Oh, perfect. So website, socials, all that's going to be down in the
show notes. People will be able to find you down below on all the Facebooks and the Twitters
and the Instas and whatever you guys are on. I'll figure it out and I'll put it down there.
Awesome. Ashley, thank you so much for spending some time with us today. I appreciate it and
yeah, wish you guys the best of luck and good luck with your community and member program.
Absolutely. And thank you so much for enjoying good luck on on your travels as well. Yep.
I appreciate it. Thank you. And once again, thank you everybody for taking time out of
your day to listen to today's episode. I had a great time talking with Ashley and learning
a little bit more about the Venture Center and the amazing work they do. Once again,
all their information is going to be down in the show notes, the website, social media
and information about their new membership program that they just rolled out. The day
that I met with her in person was the day that they really started doing the membership
program. So I got to hear firsthand about the great impact, possibility to connect,
collaborate, elevate and innovate with people in the community that are really just making
things happen and adding their own brand of magic to the world. So again, if you're interested
in learning more about the Venture Center, please go ahead and give them a follow on
social media, check out their website, reach out if you want to go from zero to one or
if you want to go from one to 100 everywhere in between. The Venture Center has something
for you. As always, please be sure to like, subscribe, rate and review the podcast. The
more that we have in terms of I guess that social proof, the more it's going to push
out our message to those that really need to hear it, those that this message and these
episodes would really serve. So if you could just take a few seconds, leave a rating and
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need it. Share it with your feed, with your audience, with the people that are close to
you because again, you never really know who needs to hear what message and exactly when
they need to hear it. So be a champion for change, share the show and as always, have
fun, stay safe, be yourself, let's get out there and make something happen. See you guys
next time.