Make Startups: The Podcast

Make Startups: The Podcast brings you the raw, unfiltered stories of entrepreneurship. Dive deep into the journeys of founders, investors, and visionaries as they share the trials and triumphs of making startups. Where passion meets purpose, that's where you'll find us. Hosted by Eric Parker and Grace Belangia, the co-founders of Make Startups, this podcast offers unique perspectives and invaluable insights, directly from the minds shaping the future of business.

Make Startups: The Podcast is a business podcast hosted by Make Startups, with 17 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Make Startups hosts Make Startups: The Podcast, a business show with 17 episodes published.

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  Make Startups: The Podcast

  The Economics of Entrepreneurship, Recovery, and Community Health | Vahé Heboyan

  Mar 26, 202645 min

  What does entrepreneurship have to do with community health? In this episode of the Make Startups Podcast, Eric Parker talks with Dr. Vahe Heboyan, Professor of Health Economics at Augusta University, about the economic forces shaping entrepreneurship, recovery, workforce development, and long-term community health. Together, they explore why small business entrepreneurship matters, how economic well-being affects health outcomes, and why trade-based and microenterprise models may be one of the most practical ways to create opportunity in local communities. This conversation covers: • the basic economics behind entrepreneurship • why entrepreneur support organizations need to think differently about ROI • the connection between entrepreneurship and community health • social determinants of health and economic mobility • entrepreneurship as a pathway for people in recovery • why trade-based businesses and microenterprises deserve more attention • how local communities can invest in low-cost, high-impact entrepreneurial capacity building If you care about economic development, workforce development, entrepreneur support, or community health, this episode is for you. Subscribe for more conversations on entrepreneurship, ecosystems, and building stronger communities. Stay connected with us: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/makestartups Website: https://makestartups.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makestartups

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  Make Startups: The Podcast

  She Refused the Job. Now She’s Trained 170,000 Women.

  Feb 25, 202632 min

  When Dr. Aanu Gopald graduated with a computer science degree, she had never touched a computer.At her final job interview, she was told she would need to trade her body to secure the role. She refused.Years later, that moment became the catalyst for Africa Agility.Today, Africa Agility has supported more than 170,000 young women across 52+ countries, training them in tech, mentoring founders, and building pathways into employment. Nearly all of it has been self-funded.In this conversation, we explore:• Why entrepreneurship in parts of Africa is about survival, not convenience• How constraint builds resilience in emerging startup ecosystems• What it takes to scale impact across 52 countries• Why small capital infusions can be transformational• And what ecosystem builders around the world can learn from Africa AgilityIf you care about startups, economic mobility, or building systems that expand dignity, this conversation will challenge your assumptions.Learn more about Africa Agility: https://africaagility.org/Connect with Dr. Aanu Gopald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aanugopald/Curious how many entrepreneurs in your own community may be operating under economic constraint?We built a Poverty & Opportunity Calculator to help ecosystem builders understand how poverty intersects with entrepreneurship locally.Explore it here: https://www.makestartups.org/poverty-and-opportunitySubscribe for more conversations with ecosystem builders, founders, and leaders reshaping entrepreneurship globally.Stay connected with us:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/makestartupsWebsite: https://makestartups.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makestartups#BeTheNode

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  Make Startups: The Podcast

  How Rural Startup Markets Can Compete

  Jan 28, 202654 minS0

  <p>What happens when entrepreneur support gets local but forgets scale?</p><p><br></p><p>In this week’s episode, Eric Parker talks with Moonshot CEO Scott Hathcock about why traditional incubator models break in small markets, how networked systems make local support survivable, and what “Five Seats” reveals about scaling founder support without losing community context.</p><p><br></p><p>Subscribe for more talks, tools, and insights for ecosystem builders and ESOs.</p><p><br></p><p>Stay connected with us!</p><p>LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/makestartups</p><p>Website: https://makestartups.com</p><p>Inst...

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  Episode #1

  Ideas Worth Championing: What Taylor Swift Can Teach Us About Ecosystem Building

  Dec 10, 20258 minS3

  <p>In this Ideas Worth Championing talk, recorded live at the Startup Champions Network Fall Summit, Lexie Irvine, Ecosystem Builder at theClubhou.se, uses three Taylor Swift songs to explain the core work of ecosystem builders.</p><p><br></p><p>Through “Opalite,” “Change,” and “Shake It Off,” Lexie explores:</p><p>• why ecosystem building is about reflecting the light of others</p><p>• how real change happens in systems piece by piece</p><p>• why protecting your peace is essential to long-term impact</p><p>• how imposter syndrome shows up early in your career</p><p>• and how emerging voices strengthen entr...

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  Make Startups: The Podcast

  Ecosystem Tour 2025 Season 2 Episode 1 - Denver/Boulder

  Feb 5, 202556 minS0

  <p>During our recent tour of Denver and Boulder, we had the privilege of sitting down with Wendy Lea—one of America’s foremost leaders in building innovation communities. As Co-Founder & Chair of Energize Colorado, Co-Founder & Partner of TechHubNow!, a Board Member at Elevate Quantum, and a member of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE), she is a driving force for collaboration and impact.</p> <p>In this conversation, we explore the similarities and differences between small business support and high-growth startup acceleration, the role of investment communities, the EDA Tech Hubs initiative, and the critical importance of f...

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