Arizona Entrepreneur’s Start-up Empowers Private Equity-Backed Companies Demetrius’ journey: From a web enthusiast to a tech entrepreneur Demetrius Bethea’s journey is a true tale of entrepreneurial resilience and success. From his early days as a web services enthusiast, Demetrius climbed the corporate ladder at Vanguard and GoDaddy before venturing into his first business at just 21 years old. This initial venture, a healthcare technology staffing agency, gave him invaluable insights into workplace dynamics and employer challenges. After selling his company to a larger staffing agency, Demet ..read more

Arizona engineer takes Solar-Powered Tech Startup to New Heights using StartupWind’s Marketing as a Service For many people, forgetting to charge their phone before leaving home means they are virtually incapable of doing anything productive while outside.  Or maybe, you’re a drone pilot who spends more time charging than actually flying it. Perhaps, you’re an outdoor enthusiast who has multiple digital devices and limited options to charge them all while outdoors. Some people wouldn’t think about such scenarios until it was too late, but not Stephen Aboasu.  As an entrepreneur with ..read more

Reasons why Startups and Small Businesses Fail in Demand Generation? “42% of SMBs fail due to demand generation issues” Even with a great product, it is not always easy to get people, especially targeted customers, to take notice. Without demand, even the best products and services are bound to fail.  Small businesses and startups have the inherent struggle of reaching their audience and driving demand, often because of limited marketing skills and expertise. Failure to drive enough demand eventually impacts the ability to raise funding or the viability of the business. The primary reason ..read more

Role of Storytelling in Fuelling Startup Success  “If I look at the mass, I will never act. If I look at one, I will.” As quoted by Mother Teresa, it tells us how one compelling story will move us to act more than facts, numbers, and statistics. Compelling storytelling can tap into the emotions of consumers and influence their decision making. Hence, the art of effective storytelling is critical in all aspects of marketing – from your website, blogs, email campaigns and social media campaigns.  Why is compelling storytelling crucial for businesses? As Nobel laureate for Economic Scie ..read more

Role of AI in Digital Marketing for Startups and Small Businesses  78% of small businesses fail because they lack a well-developed business and marketing plan, lack in-house expertise, and misaligned interests of marketing agencies. Small businesses continue to struggle with their marketing and demand generation due to: Lack of business strategy and marketing plans Limited marketing budget Lack of business and digital marketing skills High cost and complexity of dealing with multiple marketing agencies, consultants, and content writers When small businesses are not in a position to hire ..read more

Jackson State University &  The University of Southern Mississippi awarded NSF Engines Grant Jackson State University (JSU), serving as the lead, and the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) have secured the much-coveted $1 million National Science Foundation (NSF) Engines Development Award. Also referred to as the Sustainable Innovation Ecosystem (SIE) Food Industry Engine Development Award, the NSF Engines Grant has an award period of two years. The NSF Engines Grant Award allows JSU and USM to work on “Advancing food security and climate resilience” with an extensive focus on d ..read more

Two Nurses in Arizona Innovating & Helping Hundreds of Patients with Compassionate at Home Care From Idea to serving 165 patients & generating $1M+ in sales in 18 months! Growing up, Jasmine Bhatti never thought she would become a nurse, let alone the CEO of a fast-growing healthcare startup. When Jasmine’s grandmother was diagnosed with cancer and her family became the full-time caregiver, Jasmine firsthand saw the challenges the patients and families had to endure. They had to give her food via tubes, to make sure they are not aggravating the wounds. Jasmine also remembers how overwh ..read more

Product Manager & Product Owner Hats While a lot of emphasis is placed on the strategy role of a product manager, executing well to deliver the roadmap is equally important. During the roadmap execution phase a product manager may have to wear two different hats. One, of an externally focused product manager who continues product discovery to build a healthy backlog and the other of that of an internally focused product owner who works with engineering, CX and other internal stakeholders to ensure a successful release. If you are lucky you may be part of an organization where these roles a ..read more

“A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them. -Steve Jobs Landmark Finish manufactured barriers for social distancing at schools, colleges and hospitals. While the consumers provide deep insights into their needs and pain points, the innovation often comes from the producer. US Navy Veteran Stewart Junge and his wife Deanna Junge are the innovators who have the ability to rapidly prototype new products to help with the public health crisis and re-opening of the state of Massachusetts. Starting in 2001 as a high-end millwork company, Landmark Finish evolved into ..read more

CareAline Isolation Gown and Mask “The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all what the world needs most are dreamers that do.” – Sarah Ban Breathnach, Author, philanthropist, and public speaker Kezia Fitzgerald is the dreamer that does. Kezia’s story should be told in every Design Thinking class as she embodies empathy for the patients, stays plugged in with her customers, uncovers their articulated and unarticulated needs, and constantly improves the healthcare product lines for her company, CareAline. Kezia and Mike Fitzgerald co-founded CareAline in 2012 after going ..read more