Startupcamp Stories

How you can use an all-or-nothing approach in your business When Hovhannes “Hov” Zirekyants arrived in the States at fifteen, he couldn’t speak English. But he was a pro at saving money. Knowing he wanted to start a business, he worked as a private client banker until an unshakeable idea overtook him: what if he […]

How one woman uses her interior design talents to give distressed families hope for the future Deidra Livingood knows tragedy. She lost her father at age seven. Whenever she heard stories of children losing family members, she kept asking herself, “What can I do to bring relief and hope to others?” Realizing her full-time job […]

How Liz Martin listened to her gut and landed a deal on Shark Tank Liz Martin was at her wit’s end when it came to combing her daughter’s’ hair. Necessity being the mother of invention, Liz literally tore up a teddy bear and inserted a hairbrush—and Tangle Pets was born. Knowing her family was six […]

Get scrappy, fire up social, and launch without spending a fortune. Do you want to launch your own brand? It might seem crazy to step into a marketplace crowded by global titans like Nike and H&M. But Air Force veteran-turned-entrepreneur J.B. Reynolds is showing us how to launch an apparel brand with BeneFIT Medical Apparel. […]

What separates a professional photographer from an amateur? The courage to jump in, over and over. That’s what our newest coaches, Jenn Wilson and Charla Storey, have to teach us. They’re the two beautiful voices sharing their journeys from photography enthusiasts to thriving creative entrepreneurs on this episode of StartupCamp Stories. Listen below. And you […]

The best way to reach success is to first define it. So you’ve got a great idea for a new product and are ready to bring it to market. Or maybe you’ve honed and tailored your skill and are ready to solve client problems. But what does success look like for your business? Where will […]

How one woman got her hands dirty in order to build a skincare brand. Bethany McDaniel is the owner and founder of Primally Pure, an all-natural skincare and beauty brand pulling in over 2 million dollars a year. If you ask her, she never set out to build such a successful business, but you’ll quickly […]

How do you build a million-dollar business selling on Amazon? With hard work, fast learning, and maybe a little wisdom from our guest this week, e-commerce expert Jamie Vie. Jamie got his start sourcing products and selling on Amazon on nights and weekends. In a few months, he was able to leave his stable but […]

If you don’t know who you are, you’ll be whoever someone else pays you to be. But you can only pretend for so long. Those words have stuck with John Emery for a long time. They helped him and his wife, Elyse, to build Emery Agency, where they guide companies to discover their true identity: […]

How a near-death experience helped Amber Lilyestrom transform her life and turn her business dreams into her reality. Amber Lilyestrom was having an emergency c-section during the birth of her first child when she stopped breathing. While she lay on the operating table, not sure if she would ever hold her baby, Amber was filled […]

Waiting for everything to be “just right”? Then don’t expect to get very far, says Alexis Busetti. That perfectionism is holding back your business. Alexis and her husband Seth Busetti started a financial coaching and advocacy business called Cistern and Grove. Like so many of us, Alexis’ greatest entrepreneurial challenge was overcoming her own Type-A […]

Nic Comanici was lying on his back under the engine of a school bus in the middle of a Pittsburgh winter, snowmelt and salt dripping into his face, when he decided to change his life. Three businesses later, Nic is the CMO of Carney, the founder of Tactics Not Hacks, and one of the newest […]

What do you do when you have three kids in diapers, a husband working miserable long hours, and no friends or family for a thousand miles? First, declutter. Then, start an explosively popular online course to lift up other moms across the country. Sound impossible? That’s what Allie Casazza did. By being thrifty, passionate, and […]

How do you beat the odds? By tapping into the power of the people around you. That’s what Bryan Bessette says. He’s the founder of Freedom Cafe, a non-profit working to end human trafficking. To launch Freedom Cafe, Bryan put together a board of directors, recruited some sixty-odd volunteers from the local university, and wrangled […]

The hospitality industry is one that will never die, and as an entrepreneur in a niche market like Chris Centracchio’s, it’s exciting to realize that the market is not going anywhere. It takes elements of risk and creativity (entrepreneurs’ strengths) to have a hospitality business, which is what we talk about in today’s StartupCamp Stories […]

Life can feel like this sometimes, speeding at 120+ miles an hour with everything a blur and your heart racing. Sometimes it’s life that flies by you. And sometimes it’s you that speeds past everything else. At Fishtail Riding School, Tim Hafner provides this experience for the speed-hungry population. He joins us on our show […]

In this episode of StartupCamp Stories, Chris tells his story--how three years ago, he built an extremely profitable e-commerce business by working on it part-time at night after his family was asleep. He turned $4,000 into a $2.1 million business in only three years.