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© 2023 Freshmen Founders
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A high-level take on specific business topics for first time entrepreneurs. The hardest part is getting started, but Channing + Makenzie provide resources, anecdotes, and lessons learned to ease that process.
40 Episodes
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Continuing the conversation of fundraising, Channing and Makenzie give updates on their current round. They emphasize how important it is to find the right investors, and how you should be vetting them as much as they vet you. They also discuss determining how much you should raise and how to prioritize how the capital should be allocated.
In this episode Channing and Makenzie talk about their experience raising money (for the second time.) They discuss how they used SXSW as a launching pad to open their round and how they got interest from investors before having a deck. Raising money is a full time job and the EVA co-founders are happy to have each other to split some of the work. Finally, they talk about the cons of raising too much or valuing your business too high.
Many of us have gotten accustomed to working from home in the past two years. Some of us love it and never want to go back to the office, while some of us are ready to get out of the house. Channing and Makenzie talk about how their team is doing a hybrid model and how important it is to connect with your employees and co-workers even when you're not in the same room.
Channing & Makenzie have always had relationships with their customers. Much of their business has come through referrals and word of mouth. Finally they are spending money on digital marketing to grow their business outside of their network. In this episode they share tools, tips, and stories in their experience with a marketing budget.
Channing, Makenzie, and their sales team have always tried to make their customers lives easier. After years of saying yes, their clients are starting to ask for things outside of EVA's business model. In this episode Channing and Makenzie discuss managing expectations and setting boundaries with current clients. They determine if it is ever acceptable to turn business away.
Channing and Makenzie revisit the concept of validating your idea before starting a business. Getting feedback from potential customers, determining your market size, and estimating potential costs and expenses are all important before launching. They share tools for first time founders and give insight on how a business is constantly changing.
Channing and Makenzie recently took the rest of the EVA team on a company retreat. They talk about what they worked on during that time and how important it is to get face time with their team. The team looks a lot different than it did at their first retreat so they reminisce on how they've grown and what their goals are now. Company culture is something they touch on and how they make it a priority even as a small team.
Channing and Makenzie return for season 4! They discuss Makenzie's move to Austin and how it impacts their business, the growth of their team, and how they are managing in 2021. The founders also discuss the importance of timing, and that even the best ideas can sometimes be too early.
We are THRILLED that 2020 is coming to an end. While it was extremely difficult at times we do believe we came out of this better both personally and professionally. The theme of EVA's 2020 was accelerated iteration. We had to change our model fast when the pandemic hit and it was not something we could have done without our team. In this episode we discuss how our company culture has improved, hiring/firing, and What 2021 holds for us.
Now it's Makenzie's turn to be in the hot seat. Channing gets Makenzie to open up about who she is and what makes her tick. She discusses her strengths and weaknesses, her influences and interests, and how many bones she's broken. We love feedback! founders@freshmenfounders.com
In this episode Makenzie takes on the challenge of getting Channing to talk about herself. We thought it would be interesting to interview one another and see what questions we didn't already know the answers to. We learn a little more about Channing's way of thinking in personal and professional life. You can ask us questions, provide feedback, or just say hey at founders@freshmenfounders.com
Warner Carpenter, our software developer, joins us on the podcast. We talk about how he pitched himself for a full time position when we weren't even hiring (and got it), and what it's like working for a startup. He discusses the similarities between music and code and how he transitioned into programming. You can reach us at founders@freshmenfounders.com
Running a company is hard enough without a pandemic, but when one hits things get tougher for every business. We've talked about our pivot and some challenges we've faced in the company but on this episode we get more personal. We talk about how we stay motivated, how we get out of a funk, and how important communication is within a team.
We discuss some of our most embarrassing moments as first time founders. We record in a new studio with a few new fun tools that add to the awkward moments. In this episode we are very candid and open up how we've grown.
We check back in with Gordon and how his business is doing during the pandemic. Last time we talked we discussed him potentially partnering with another company, so he gives us an update on what happened there. We also discuss how the live music industry may look in the future.
You know those days when everything feels like it's falling into place? We were grateful to have one, especially in these continued wild times, so we went more off script than ever. This episode is all about what our pandemic pivot has been like for our company and we also reflect on previous pivots made. It's been unnerving to build a business during this time, but there have been lessons learned and experiences made that we wanted to share with you!
The better the brand, the better the business...right? While a beautiful brand isn't the only thing that makes a business, it is a very important piece. A well thought out brand gives your customers confidence that you can do what you say you can, and our brand...was not cutting it. In this episode we discuss what exercises helped us prepare for the rebrand, the creative journey itself, and tips and tricks we learned from a top notch branding agency.
Our roles have changed a lot while building our company. Sometimes it was forced due to our business’s evolution, and at other times it was decided as we found a better path forward. We wanted to be open and honest about all of it. On this episode, we talk about becoming Co-CEOs together this year, and why we insist that our team members act as leaders alongside us as well.
Season 3 is here! We had to get creative and record this without our typical production resources due to the pandemic. It definitely makes this episode that much more candid on what we are all experiencing in the world today. In this episode, we talk about what it's like to have a pandemic hit your business from all sides (aka ours), how we have grown our business since last season, and how we are now repositioning for the future of events. You know what they say, when the going gets tough...add COVID-19!
And that's a wrap, season 2! In this final episode we answered questions that were submitted throughout the season via founders@freshmenfounders.com. As always, please reach out if you have any further thoughts/questions or want to talk through pain points when growing a business.
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