From Spark to New Venture
From Spark to New Venture is a student-driven podcast from the University of Mary Washington (UMW), where undergraduates share the stories of entrepreneurs and their journeys from idea to venture. Each episode uncovers the sparks of inspiration, the challenges they faced, and the mindsets that helped them overcome obstacles in their journey. The goal of this podcast is to inspire students to learn entrepreneurial mindsets and bring them into everyday lives, taking action and learning from every step along the way.
Episodes
23 episodes
Karen Laughlin--From Client Side Marketer to CEO of LMO Advertising
In this episode, hosts Sadie and Ava explore the career journey of Karen Laughlin, CEO of LMO Advertising, a full service marketing and communications agency based in Arlington, Virginia known for its purpose-driven work in military recruiting,...
Deandre Burnette--From Apprentice to Entrepreneur
In this episode, I talk about the entrepreneurial journey of Deandre “Dre” Burnette, who owns a Design Pro Remodeling franchise in Northern Virginia. Dre explains how working as an apprentice under “Papa George” helped him learn not only how to...
Jensen Huang--From Denny’s to the AI Revolution
In this podcast, Alex and Tyler explore the life and career of Jensen Huang, the co-founder and CEO of NVIDIA. Born in Taiwan, Huang came to the United States as a child and eventually studied electrical engineering before helping start NVIDIA ...
Steve Jobs--The Rise of Steve Jobs and Apple
In this episode, I will be talking about Steve Jobs and his journey as an entrepreneur. Steve Jobs is known for co-founding Apple and helping create products that changed the technology industry. I chose his story because I think it shows how h...
Walt Disney--Drawings come to Life
In this episode of Dream, Believe, Create, Lucas and Miguel explore the inspiring entrepreneurial journey of Walt Disney, from his early passion for drawing and storytelling to the creation of one of the world's most influential entertainment c...
JV Skinner-All about Buzz
In this episode of our podcast, we interview JV Skinner, the owner of It’s All About the Buzz, a small honey bee business. JV explains how beekeeping started as a hobby and eventually became a successful side business after he retired from a 28...
Valetta Bertrand: From Opportunity to Multiple Business Ventures
This episode explores the entrepreneurial journey of Valetta Bertrand. Valetta is a family member of mine and the current CEO of Diamonds Management Group, a Black and Woman-owned construction support company. In this conversation, she shares h...
Jeff Bezos: From Wall Street to Worldwide
In this episode, we explore the entrepreneurial journey of Jeff Bezos and how he turned a simple idea into Amazon, one of the most influential companies in the world. Starting with a stable job on Wall Street, Bezos took a major risk after reco...
Alex Hormozi: The $200M Man Who Makes Millionares
Join us as hosts Emmanuel Yibass, Michael Insetta, and Michael Alvarez dive into another entrepreneurs’ upbringing, life, and businesses, and in this podcast episode. Today, we dive deep into the story of the popular and wildly successful entre...
Jimmy Donaldson: The rise to fame of Mr. Beast
MrBeast didn't blow up overnight. This episode breaks down exactly how Jimmy Donaldson grinded his way from nobody to the biggest creator on YouTube. Years of testing, failing, scrapping ideas, and going again. No luck. No shortcuts. Just obses...
James Beazley: The Making of Magic Tint
This episode is about the solopreneur James Beazley, and how he was able to start and manage his own tinting business. In this episode we discussed how to approach a business with an entrepreneurial mindset and how to truly enjoy yourself in th...
Eder Garcia: Building Guapos Cutz from Skill to Business
This episode features a conversation with Eder Garcia, the entrepreneur behind Guapos Cutz, who shares how he got started in the barbering industry and built his business over time. He explains the importance of consistency, improving skills, a...
Ralph Lauren : Rags to Riches
Born Ralph Lifshitz in a working-class Bronx apartment, Ralph Lauren grew up sharing a bedroom with his two brothers and escaping poverty through movie theater fantasies of Cary Grant and Gary Cooper. Bullied for his immigrant name, he changed ...
Arthur Blank: From Spark to Stadium
In this extended episode, Jackson, Galler, and Spencer break down the legendary "revenge" story of billionaire mogul Arthur Blank. We trace his journey from the Spark, being publicly fired as a corporate executive to co-founding The Home Depot ...
Phil Knight: Co-founder of Nike
This episode explores the entrepreneurial journey of Phil Knight, co-founder of Nike, and how his mindset helped transform a simple idea into a global brand. We discuss what motivated Knight to start his venture, including his passion for runni...
Jack Ma: The rise of Jack and Alibaba
In my podcast, I did a short episode on the famous Chinese entrepreneur named Jack Ma. Jack is a hardlined entrepreneur who had a sketchy start within the business world. He had a rough start with being denied from college 3 times, and struggli...
Ishmael Mejia: IM Quality Home Contractor-- Building a way up
The story of Ishmael Mejia, starting out as an immigrant to the United States from El Salvador to owning his own successful contracting business. His story is about perseverance, creating skills, learning as you go, and working hard. Ishmael st...
Catherine: Generations of Giving Back: The Heart Behind Monkees
This episode of the podcast collection, we will be interviewing a small boutique owner Catherine. She was inspired by her grandfather who opened a hardware store after he returned from WWII. She always knew she wanted to give back to the commun...
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Riley Burzynski: Finding Freedom and Fulfillment in Small Business
For my first podcast, I chose to interview my friend and former coworker, Riley Burzynski. She is the owner of two small businesses located in Fredericksburg, Virginia. She firstly is a licensed Cosmetologist, and operates independently within ...
Lolita--More than a Salon
In this episode, hosts Anna and Jasmine sit down with Lolita, the owner of Hstyles, Inc., to discuss her journey to becoming her own boss. We explore the challenges Lolita faced and the valuable lessons she learned along the way. From taking ri...
Alayna Hermans: From Classroom to Clients: Redesigning Life Through Entrepreneurship
In this episode of From Spark to New Venture, hosts Kyle Johnson and Monique Lipton share the story of Alayna Hermans: a former Health and PE teacher at a Virginia Beach middle school who took a bold step into entrepreneurship. After years in t...
Dinah Idan-Biney: From Ghanaian Immigrant to Self-Made CPA Entrepreneur in Woodbridge
This episode tells the inspiring story of Dinah Idan-Biney, a Ghanaian immigrant who built a successful career as a Certified Public Accountant and opened her own accounting firm in Woodbridge, Virginia. Dinah’s journey highlights the determina...
Nehemia Abel: From Refugee to Founder Empowering Burundian Students Through Education and Opportunity
This episode highlights the inspiring journey of Nehemia Abel, a refugee who overcame significant challenges to become a co-founder of a nonprofit organization called Ubumwe, which means “unity,” dedicated to supporting Burundian students. As a...
