City Entrepreneur

City Entrepreneur Foundation is a 501(c)(3) that shares the real stories of ecosystem growth;told by the founders, funders, and leaders driving meaningful change in underdog cities.We amplify what’s working, what’s next, and who’s making it happen.

City Entrepreneur is a education podcast hosted by Zik Nwanganga, with 161 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Zik Nwanganga hosts City Entrepreneur, a education show with 161 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  City Entrepreneur

  Billy Cadaing Turned 30% Odds, 550 Credit Score into 7 Figure Business| City Entrepreneur S1E6 Uncut

  Sep 4, 202640 min

  Billy Cadaing has been running 17th Street Automotive in Virginia Beach since 1985. What most people who pull into his shop do not know is that he spent two years in a hospital bed fighting cancer with a 30% chance of survival. He did not just survive. He came back and built one of the top 10 businesses of the year in Virginia Beach.In this season finale episode of City Entrepreneur Virginia Beach, Billy sits down to talk about what two years in a hospital actually does to a person, what kept him going when the odds were against him, and what he learned about business and life on the other side of something that was supposed to end him. He also talks about how he saw the rise of electric vehicles not as a threat but as an opportunity, which led him to found AnythingEV, expanding 17th Street Automotive's reach into the future of the industry.This is a story about what it looks like to build something that lasts, survive something that should have stopped you, and keep growing when most people would have settled for just making it out.17th Street Automotive is located at 1780 Virginia Beach Boulevard Virginia Beach VA 23454. Learn more at 17thstreetauto.com and anythingev.com.This episode is sponsored by the Virginia Beach SWaM Business Office and Anthony Global Holdings. If you're an entrepreneur in the Virginia Beach area looking to scale your business, apply to the VB Uplift Program at https://finance.virginiabeach.gov/swa...Anthony Global Holdings, founder of the UPLIFT Initiative, is a private investment holding company that builds companies and helps them realize their true growth potential through uncovering value, identifying business opportunities, and employing strategic capital. https://www.agholdingsinc.com/

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  City Entrepreneur

  She Cleaned the Restaurant First Then She Bought One: Cynthia Terry| City Entrepreneur VB S1E5 Uncut

  Aug 22, 202623 min

  Cynthia Terry spent over 20 years cooking in someone else's kitchen before she decided to build her own. From managing fresh foods at Harris Teeter across multiple locations to running Hampton Roads restaurants, she was putting in the work long before she took the leap. In 2023 she opened Black Eyed Peas Restaurant in Virginia Beach and has not looked back since.In this episode of City Entrepreneur Virginia Beach, Cynthia sits down to talk about what it actually took to bet on herself after two decades in the industry, why she named her restaurant after a dish with roots that go all the way back to post-slavery America, and how that history shapes everything she puts on the plate. This is not just a restaurant story. It is a story about culture, identity, and what it means to build something that carries real meaning beyond the menu.Black Eyed Peas Restaurant is located in Virginia Beach. Learn more at blackeyepeasvb.comThis episode is sponsored by the Virginia Beach SWaM Business Office and Anthony Global Holdings. If you're an entrepreneur in the Virginia Beach area looking to scale your business, apply to the VB Uplift Program at https://finance.virginiabeach.gov/swa...Anthony Global Holdings, founder of the UPLIFT Initiative, is a private investment holding company that builds companies and helps them realize their true growth potential through uncovering value, identifying business opportunities, and employing strategic capital. https://www.agholdingsinc.com/

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  Episode #4

  What People Who Live Past 100 Do Differently: Derak Green| City Entrepreneur VB S1E4 Uncut

  Aug 8, 202628 minS1

  Derak breaks down what he found out about living heathy and living longer. Seven years ago Derak Green watched ALS take his father. That loss changed everything about how he lived, moved, and ate. What started as a personal health journey became Cooking With the Greens, a food brand built on the idea that eating well should never feel like a punishment.Derak and his wife Anita run their shop out of Selden Market in Norfolk Virginia where they sell handcrafted spice blends, cookbooks, and cooking experiences that have grown their community to over 200,000 followers online and earned Derak a spot on Fox's MasterChef Season 14. We visited their Norfolk location, tried the spices firsthand, and sat down with Derak to talk about what grief taught him about food, why every extreme diet he tried eventually failed him, and why balance is the only approach that actually lasts.This one is for anyone who has ever tried to eat better and felt like they were doing it wrong. Derak is not selling perfection. He is selling flavor, intention, and the kind of cooking that keeps you coming back because it actually tastes good.This episode is sponsored by the Virginia Beach SWaM Business Office and Anthony Global Holdings. If you're an entrepreneur in the Virginia Beach area looking to scale your business, apply to the VB Uplift Program at https://finance.virginiabeach.gov/swa...Anthony Global Holdings, founder of the UPLIFT Initiative, is a private investment holding company that builds companies and helps them realize their true growth potential through uncovering value, identifying business opportunities, and employing strategic capital. https://www.agholdingsinc.com/

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  City Entrepreneur

  The Truth About Probate and How To Prove Ownership: Anita Lumpkin | City Entrepreneur VB S1E3 Uncut

  May 30, 202631 min

  Most Black families don't find out their inheritance is gone until it's already too late. Lost records. Erased history. A legal system that was never designed to work in your favor. The result? Generational wealth that disappears before it ever reaches the next generation.On this episode of City Entrepreneur, we sit down with Anita Lumpkin — CEO of RS Settlements and one of Virginia Beach's most trusted real estate advisors. She's helped countless families close on their homes, built multiple successful corporations, and become a pillar in her community. Now she's pulling back the curtain on one of the most overlooked threats to Black wealth in America: probate.This episode is sponsored by the Virginia Beach SWaM Business Office and Anthony Global Holdings. If you're an entrepreneur in the Virginia Beach area looking to scale your business, apply to the VB Uplift Program at https://finance.virginiabeach.gov/swa...Anthony Global Holdings, founder of the UPLIFT Initiative, is a private investment holding company that builds companies and helps them realize their true growth potential through uncovering value, identifying business opportunities, and employing strategic capital. https://www.agholdingsinc.com/

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  Episode #2

  Ryan Turner: The Business Lessons That Only Come After You Start | City Entrepreneur VB S1E2 Uncut

  May 16, 202632 minS1

  Ryan Turner breaks down the exact moments that shattered his belief in corporate security and forced him to launch his own venture, The Snoball Shop.The turning point came when Ryan witnessed seven of his coworkers get abruptly fired on the same day. It was a stark realization that if an employer has the power to let you go, they eventually will. This episode unpacks his transition from an unsecure employee to building his own business, exposing why true freedom requires taking full control of your livelihood.We challenge the modern obsession with expensive advertising. Ryan explains how he leverages customer service as the highest-leverage marketing tool for his business. The real-world experience a person has when they walk into his store speaks louder than any ad campaign, proving that customer retention is built on human connection rather than marketing budgets.This episode is sponsored by the Virginia Beach SWaM Business Office and Anthony Global Holdings. If you're an entrepreneur in the Virginia Beach area looking to scale your business, apply to the VB Uplift Program at https://finance.virginiabeach.gov/swa...Anthony Global Holdings, founder of the UPLIFT Initiative, is a private investment holding company that builds companies and helps them realize their true growth potential through uncovering value, identifying business opportunities, and employing strategic capital. https://www.agholdingsinc.com/

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