Startup Storytelling Episode 10 - Laura Davenport - The Blue Julep
Before she was baking wedding cakes for 900 people on Michigan Avenue, Laura Davenport was a Kentucky chemistry grad who went to law school, practiced civil and appellate law in Jackson for eight years, and then stepped away to raise five kids. Brandon Marken and Alex Masten sit down with the founder of The Blue Julep, the downtown Jackson specialty dessert shop heading into its tenth year. Laura talks about turning a home business that took over her house into a storefront, the wedding cake ...
15 Sept 2026
Episode 9: Bart Hawley - JTV
This week we flip the script and put JTV's Bart Hawley in the guest chair for the first time. Bart takes us back to 2000, when a portrait photographer and former radio DJ took over Jackson's government access channel and built it into JTV, now the world leader in local high school sports television and the most visited website in Jackson County. We talk about the "no plan" origin story (his words: an entrepreneur jumps off a building and figures out the parachute on the way down), how...
13 Aug 2026
Episode 8: Jake Cross - Uncharted Film Co
What happens when a video production company outgrows its space and stumbles into a real estate deal instead? In this episode, Brandon and Alex sit down with Jake to unpack the winding, hard-won journey of scaling a video business — and then taking a completely unexpected leap into property development. Jake opens up about the pricing mistakes that were quietly capping his business (and what happened the moment he tripled his rates), the shift from selling "a video" to selling a measurable re...
10 Jul 2026
Episode 7: The Lean Rocket Lab Team
What does it really take to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem from the ground up? In this episode, the Lean Rocket Lab team comes together to pull back the curtain on the full scope of what LRL does, from its roots as a high-tech manufacturing incubator and accelerator to the co-working space and entrepreneurial support hub it has grown into today. The team shares the pivotal moment during 2020 that reshaped their approach, when people from every walk of life started walking through their do...
8 Jul 2026
More Than Programs: Inside the Full Mission of Lean Rocket Lab
What does it really take to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem from the ground up? In this episode, the Lean Rocket Lab team comes together to pull back the curtain on the full scope of what LRL does, from its roots as a high-tech manufacturing incubator and accelerator to the co-working space and entrepreneurial support hub it has grown into today. The team shares the pivotal moment during 2020 that reshaped their approach, when people from every walk of life started walking through their do...
30 Apr 2026
Episode 6: Paige Fuoco - Hoyden Branding
What does it take to buy a creative agency, modernize it, and grow it entirely on your own terms? In this episode, Brandon and Alex sit down with Paige, Owner and CEO of Hoyden Branding, for an honest and energetic conversation about what it really means to lead a creative business. Paige opens up about the biggest shift she made after acquiring the agency -- moving away from a production-house model and leaning hard into brand strategy and relationship-driven work. She shares how bei...
What started as a simple desire to give back through baking turned into a thriving culinary movement in Jackson, Michigan. In this episode of Startup Storytelling with Lean Rocket Lab, we sit down with Aaron Cole, the visionary behind DoughNation Bakery and The Melted Grill. Aaron shares the unconventional "non-business" origin story of DoughNation--a bakery founded on the principle of feeding the community--and how that mission-driven approach paved the way for the comfort-food succe...
26 Jan 2026
Episode 4: Shane Grant - Machining Momentum
Welcome back to Startup Storytelling by Lean Rocket Lab! In this episode, host Alex Masten is joined by a special co-host--Lean Rocket Lab co-founder Ken Seneff--to dive into the high-stakes, high-precision world of manufacturing. Our guest is Shane Grant, the founder and owner of Machining Momentum. Shane's story is a masterclass in what happens when technical expertise meets entrepreneurial grit. From his roots as a skilled machinist to building a company that serves as a co...
26 Nov 2025
Episode 3: Dallen Reber - Realization Co.
Welcome back to Startup Storytelling by Lean Rocket Lab! In this episode, hosts Brandon Marken and Alex Masten sit down with the founder of Realization Co., Dallen Reber. Dallen shares his journey of turning a passion for personal development into a successful business that helps people live more intentionally. Listen in to learn: The "realization" that sparked the idea for his company's flagship product, the Self-Mastery Journal. How a simple, easy-to-use journal c...
8 Oct 2025
Episode 2: Kim Gamez - Sober(ish)
Welcome back to Startup Storytelling by Lean Rocket Lab! In this episode, hosts Brandon Marken and Alex Masten sit down with the incredible Kim Gamez, a true serial entrepreneur who has built and sold multiple companies. Kim shares her remarkable journey, from her early days as a restaurant and real estate owner to the creations of her highly successful tech marketplace, Mi Padrino, and her latest multi-million dollar venture, Sober(ish). Listen in to learn: How Kim went...
8 Sept 2025
Episode 1: Josh Clark - Angling Ai
Connect with Lean Rocket Lab: Website: leanrocketlab.orgLinkedIn: Lean Rocket LabFacebook: Lean Rocket LabInstagram: @LeanrocketlabTikTok: @LeanrocketlabYouTube: Lean Rocket Lab Don't miss a single story! Subscribe, rate, and review Startup Storytelling by Lean Rocket Lab wherever you get your podcasts.
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Spotify
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
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