In the small town of Sparta, North Carolina, Jennifer Swank, the founder of Sparta Candle Company, defied all odds to create a thriving global business. Born and raised in Sparta, Jennifer was told that success meant leaving her hometown. And that's exactly what she did after graduating high school. However, the city life didn't suit her, and she longed for the familiarity and connection of a small town. Determined to make a living in Sparta, Jennifer took on various jobs but struggled to make ends meet.

Driven by the need to support herself, Jennifer became an entrepreneur. She started her own marketing company and ventured into real estate, all while making candles on the side. Little did she know that this small side hustle would turn into something much bigger. Sparta Candle Company blossomed into a thriving empire, on track to earn over 1.5 million dollars annually and reaching customers worldwide.

What sets Sparta Candle Company apart is not only the quality of their products but also their impact on the town. Jennifer is committed to paying living wages to her employees, making her company one of the top-paying employers in Sparta. Additionally, she established the town's first LGBTQ+ support charity, despite facing pushback. The company's success and contributions have brought new life and opportunities to the small community.

Sparta Candle Company is not just a candle and soap company. It's a symbol of resilience, community impact, and honoring loved ones. Jennifer's dedication to her mother's memory, commitment to her hometown, and the pursuit of excellence have propelled her small-town business to remarkable heights.

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Today on our show, learn the story of how one man, who was born in Germany, has traveled to over 45 countries, and speaks 6 languages, wound up living in, of all places, Boone, NC, and dedicated himself to helping solve one of the largest threats our world is facing today…biodiversity decline.  

Max Rünzel, is the CEO and co-founder of Hivetracks, a SaaS Company that’s Creating a planet-positive impact –– one healthy bee at a time. 

Over the past decade, Hivetracks has grown into a full-blown Venture Startup, raising over $1MM in investment capital and securing Government Funding worth over half a million dollars. Its software has globally significant potential around topics of colony collapse, food security, climate change, and biodiversity decline.

Using bees at biosensors, Hivetracks is unlocking an urgently needed source of environmental intelligence and data that’s natural, scalable, and available.

Today, we take a look at the positive impacts Hivetracks is having on ecosystems and farmers around the world, ranging from Uzbekistan and Ethiopia, to right here in the High Country, as well as peek behind the scenes at Hivetracks' entrepreneurial journey from start to present.

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Today we are preaching the gospel of entrepreneurship with President and CEO of NC IDEA, Thom Ruhe.

If you’ve ever battled with the question “is entrepreneurship really THAT important?” stay tuned to hear the mind-blowing facts that will have you proselytizing the world of entrepreneurism right along with us.

Thom Ruhe grew up in Northeast Ohio, but came to North Carolina when he was offered the position of second CEO of NC IDEA, who's mission is to foster entrepreneurism for the entire state. He has been working fiercely ever since to make North Carolina the best state in the nation for people of all backgrounds to start and grow companies.

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After spending twenty years in the electronics payment industry, Tim Herdklotz decided to leave it all and start making beer.

Tim is now President and Co-Owner of Booneshine Brewing Company, the wildly popular microbrewery, tasting room, and restaurant located in East Boone.  Along with his co-owner Carson Coatney, Tim saw a microbrewery trend happening across the country and decided to jump on that movement to fill a gap within the High Country’s gastronomical ecosystem.

In 2015 they served their very first beer, starting out with just two employees. Now, Booneshine has over 70 employees on the payroll, and a scalable, thriving microbrewery business that never stops giving back to its community.

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Music Attribution:

Kick It by Mr Smith

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Prior to the 1980s, most Point of Sale interactions consisted of cash or check exchanges at clunky checkout machines that were limited to a single store’s accounting information. But with the invention of the microprocessor, slowly, cash registers evolved into much more complex machines that allowed Point of Sale transactions to become quicker, more accurate, more connected, and more helpful for companies trying to track their financials.

One of the people who saw the potential of this was Pete Catoe. And in 1989 he decided to start a company that specialized in POS transactions utilizing electronic cash registers. He called this business ECRS, or Electronic Cash Register Services. And today, it’s known as one of the most sustainable employers of the High Country.

Tune in to hear the story of how ECRS came to be built and the important lessons Pete Catoe learned along the way.

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Today on our show, you'll hear how an organization called NC Tech Paths is on a mission to turn WNC into a Nationally recognized hub for rural tech workers. Former NC Tech Path's director Zach Barrickulow talks about how they are achieving this mission and the origins of this broad-reaching, mission-driven program .

You'll learn how the once sleepy-towns of Wilkesboro, North Wilkesboro, and surrounding towns are now undergoing a massive "renaissance" moment, and how that's effecting the present and future of locals and transplants alike.

You'll walk away with actionable advice on "un-networking," project strategizing, and navigating the tech resources of Western North Carolina.

Connect with Zack Barricklow at: https://nctechpaths.org/

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Getting started in Startups isn’t always black and white. It takes grit to find your way through the grey. Today’s guest, Sam Glovers, knows exactly what it takes to carve out your place in the Startup world and shares with us his Startup origin story, plus tips for those aspiring to join this exciting ecosystem.

Sam Glover is one of Startup High Country’s founding members. This episode represents our final “meet the team” episode. After this, you’ll be hearing from entrepreneurs all over Western North Carolina, sharing the stories of how they built the businesses and movements here in the High Country.

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Today's guest, Chris Grasinger, is one of Startup High Country's original founding members and has an impressively long wrap-sheet of entrepreneurism for his age (35). He is part-owner of the much beloved climbing gym, Center 45, has coached hundreds of business owners, and helped launch The High Country Impact Fund; a venture capital fund focused on benefiting Western North Carolina. He works as the High Country Regional Manager for Mountain BizWorks; an extremely influential catalyst to entrepreneurship in Western North Carolina.

Today you'll learn about Chris' surprisingly deviant youth experiences, advice on lending options for entrepreneurs, and the intersection between privilege, abundance, and caution when it comes to starting or growing your business.

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