“... probably the riskiest thing I ever did in my life was to go out there and start laying down whiskey, not knowing what it's going to taste like four or five years later.”

Our guest, Kaveh Zamanian, took his family “down the rabbit hole” when he decided to pursue his dream of becoming a bourbon entrepreneur. Kaveh shares his story from growing up in Iran to moving to the United States, where he began his career in the psychology field, and his transition to Louisville, Kentucky, to start Rabbit Hole. Like many small businesses, Rabbit Hole has been hit hard during COVID-19. Listen in to learn how Kaveh responded to help the community he loves and, despite the challenges, his ongoing belief in the American Dream.

“We started making hand sanitizer, coordinated with FEMA to make sure that it was going to the right folks that need it the most.”

“I was just looking for opportunities and I wasn’t afraid to do something that I didn’t know how to do.”

By the age of six, Rodney Williams knew he was going to be an entrepreneur, and he hasn’t slowed down or stopped creating businesses since the day he started renting magazines to customers at his mom’s hair salon. His entrepreneurial drive has taken him on a winding journey through consumer goods giant, Procter & Gamble – where he worked in the Pampers department and onto a “start-up bus” that resulted in the founding of his company LISNR. On the podcast, Rodney also talks to MCAAD President Kerry Healey about his latest endeavor, a fin-tech start-up called SoLo Funds. A serial entrepreneur, Rodney has gone on to win numerous awards, including Tech Entrepreneur of the Year by Black Enterprise, 2016; 25 Inspiring Entrepreneurs Under 40 by Entrepreneur Magazine 2016; and Entrepreneur of the Year in Connected Communications by EY in 2017. 

“I think the American Dream for me is that I'm going to go out and define my own world. I'm going to go out and define the environment that I'm going to be successful in and then, I'm going to be relentless…”

“The sky is the limit here. I really think so. If you put the work in, if you aren't afraid of giving it your all, I think there's a good potential in each and every one of us to reach goals that we set up.”

After a diverse career in Sweden, Sassa Akervall, CEO of Akervall Technologies, moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she founded her mouthguard business. After starting her business at the kitchen table, Sassa began distributing prototypes to her daughter’s sports team -- and promoting through the Roller Derby Girls. When purchase orders started to dry up as a result of COVID-19, Sassa, within only 10 days, pivoted to produce face shields. Listen in to hear more about Sassa’s background and her business's response to the pandemic.

“We were up and running with facial production within 10 days. We were calling everybody back and, we were all in there cutting and stapling and packaging.”

“The immigrant talent that we brought on board is just part of Miami. It's not the exception; it's the norm. And, there's a big luxury to that. There's a big drive and different perspectives, different sensitivities that, really when it comes together and if harnessed in the right way, something very powerful can resolve from that.”

Seth Cassel, a fourth generation Floridian, and Anton Diego, an American of Russian-Cuban heritage built their business, EveryMundo, in their hometown of Miami, Florida. EveryMundo is a digital marketing agency that works with more than 50 airlines, in 25 languages, and in 60 countries to improve online engagement with millions of passengers every day. The founders see Miami as a central component to the success of their business through the pool of talent it provides. Listen as Seth and Anton share with MCAAD President, Kerry Healey, their story of EveryMundo, their commitment to a diverse workforce, the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Miami, and their fight for survival during the pandemic.

“I think one of the good things about our company culture, about Anton and me, is we're very open minded about advice. We take it very directly. We're very quick to admit when we're wrong. I think that's really important, particularly if you're competing with the very limited resources in a massive global enterprise driven industry, you have to be flexible and have to be open minded.”

“For us, we came to Miami not knowing one single person here, launching a business in an industry and education technology that we hadn't been in before -- with a business plan in hand, a coworking space rented, and a website up. And here we are, six years later, with nearly a thousand graduates, maintaining amazing jobs support, working with over 450 hiring partners who hire from the program.”

 Married co-founders Juha and Johanna Mikkola lived in Finland and Canada prior to moving to Miami, Florida, to start their business, Wyncode Academy. The Endeavor Miami entrepreneurs saw the power of technology to reinvent careers and better prepare people for the jobs of the future. They launched without any direct experience and without any connections in the city. Now, their coding bootcamp graduates are joining top technology companies in the country, including Microsoft and Amazon. Listen to Juha and Johanna speak with MCAAD President, Kerry Healey, about learning as they grew their business, personal success stories, and the mentorship they’ve received along the way.

“What we're seeing over and over again with our graduates -- the fact that technology and technology careers are really the way to live out that American Dream in modern America. I think entrepreneurship is a huge part of that in technology.”

“I realized that most busy professionals struggle with eating clean - not because they don't know what to eat, but it's the time, right? Your time, your life, your health. That's kind of the mission statement as to how to DeliverLean evolved was to create a model that focused on transparency of ingredients, not diet food, just healthy food, and making it convenient for people to eat this way consistently with the variety and the transparency.”

Scott Harris has built one of the largest food manufacturers in the nation, DeliverLean. The company, unlike many other businesses, has seen growth during the COVID pandemic because of his unique business model that involves safe, economical and streamlined delivery of prepared but fresh food during quarantine. Even before the pandemic resulted in an increased demand for delivery of healthy meals, DeliverLean was experiencing rapid growth after a decade of trial, error and dedication, and his story is inspirational for all budding entrepreneurs. In this week's episode, the DeliverLean co-founder and CEO and Endeavor Miami entrepreneur speaks with MCAAD president Kerry Healey about how he entered the “healthy food” industry and how he is now sharing his success by partnering with community organizations to provide free meals to those in need.

“You look at certain entrepreneurs and, most that have been wildly successful, they have failed so many times before they hit. Look at my story. … I'm in a better position than I've ever been in and it happens for me just before my 50th birthday. So, it takes time, right? 11 years of hard work. And I'm here today.”

“What we've really discovered is our new calling in this COVID space. We are really purveyors of local pride and, people who buy our boxes, aren't just buying it for this functional need of feeding their families, but of course that is important. They really believe and supporting small business and making sure that their communities look the way that they look before COVID.”

When Angela Shen’s parents immigrated to America, despite not speaking English, they were able to open a Chinese restaurant in Minneapolis when a member of the community co-signed a lease with them. From an early age, Angela was drawn to the ability food has in bringing together a community. This power was particularly significant when Angela moved to Seattle, Washington, where she knew no one. Inspired by Pike Place Market, Angela started her food tour business, Savor Seattle, as a way of showcasing and supporting her community by highlighting the small businesses that shape and define the Seattle food scene. In this week's episode of Start Small, Dream BIG, listen to Angela and MCAAD president Kerry Healey discuss how she found a way to continue supporting her community during COVID by pivoting to distribute food boxes, highlighting different vendors with whom she has spent the last 13 years building relationships.

“I grew up seeing hospitality through the lens of food and what that can do to people together in the community.” 

"You can do it… you really can. I mean, you don't have to be a victim of your circumstances. Whatever you can come up with, whatever passion you decide to store down in your belly, you can make it - or whatever big idea you have in your brain - you can make it come true. And I think that it's just a blessing to be in a position where you can inspire other people as well."

In pursuit of her life-long passion for doing hair, LaTarah Edmond left her marketing career to build Good Hair Day Salon in Duncanville, Texas. An alumnus of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, LaTarah speaks with MCAAD president Kerry Healey about her genesis story, her difficulty in raising capital in a high-risk industry, the importance of mentorship, and her challenges during the coronavirus pandemic. 

"…in the Black community, unfortunately, the Black salons have a stigma of being unprofessional. I personally had not seen an upscale Black salon… So, I started visiting all of the upscale salons that were Black-owned in Dallas and I was like, “Oh my gosh, I'm your client! I'm your demographic! How are you letting people know that you exist?””