Dynamic Purchasing Solutions provides purchasing services to K-12 teachers and school clubs. DPS helps facilitate transactions through public schools and outside vendors. Through DPS, teachers purchase the items they choose without being limited by the school’s pre-approved vendor list, wait times and lengthy purchasing process. Cooper Weissman founded DPS last year and is … [More]
OHM Fitness Takes Off at an Electrifying Pace
OHM Fitness is the first franchise to deliver small group workouts using the highly effective electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) using wearable technology through its EMPower Suit. Explains founder Doug Payne, “This high-tech fitness experience packs the benefits of an intense two-hour workout into a low-impact, 25-minute session with a low rate of wear and tear on the joints, … [More]
Terkel – Where the Question Is the Marketing Solution
Terkel is a question-and-answer site that turns any professional question into an article featuring expert insights. More than 7,500 leaders and professionals from organizations like Google, Harvard, VISA, Southwest Airlines, Airbnb, the NFL and more answer questions on Terkel to build their brand and share their expertise. Meanwhile, more than 300 brands, among them Calendly, … [More]
Brightside Studios – More than a Co-Working Space for Creatives
Brightside Studios opened its doors to “the creatives of Arizona” on February 22, 2022, offering a large creative space for traditional artists of all types along with live music, an art store and delicious coffee for the public. “At Brightside, artists of all types and skill levels can enjoy our open-concept studio, catered to most artistic needs. It’s a bustling … [More]
Why Do Many Startups/Businesses Fail Quickly?
Across the country, many people are leaving their jobs and starting their own businesses. People may want to start their own business to follow their passion, have control over their lifestyle and schedule and pursue financial independence. However, according to Entrepreneur.com (“The True Failure Rate of Small Businesses”; January 3, 2021), the failure rate of small businesses … [More]
AZ Liquids – Flowing Its Juices and Coffees B2C and B2B
AZ Liquids, established in early 2021, is a fresh-pressed juice and coffee company with products for health-minded individuals. Fares Tarabichi drew on his Parisian culinary experience in establishing this company to bring freshly pressed produce to consumers, and AZ Liquids juices are now distributed in gourmet restaurants and stores across the Valley as well as … [More]
Stenson Tamaddon: Technology-First Accounting
As part of the CARES Act introduced in 2020, Congress created a new tax credit known as Employee Retention Credit (ERC) to incentivize employers to keep workers on the payroll during the pandemic. Through this program, qualifying businesses can receive up to $26,000 per employee. Stenson Tamaddon launched a few months into the pandemic to aid business owners who were … [More]
BitFire Studios: Cutting-Edge Tech Serves Video Content Creators
BitFire Studios opened its doors in Phoenix in Oct. 2021. At that time, BitFire Studios joined BitFire Networks, which came to be in July of 2020. BitFire Networks & Studios is the only combined company of its kind anywhere in the country — combining a state-of-the-art LED studio with a proprietary IP transmission network designed to take a client’s broadcast quality video … [More]
GVC Creates Non-Insurance Healthcare Membership
GVC (Give Virtual Care) Health Tech is a non-insurance, best-in-class, virtual healthcare solution offering a comprehensive healthcare membership of unlimited virtual access for general health, mental health, crisis care, expert second medical opinions and discounted prescriptions. With labor shortages plaguing the country, the GVC private-labeled Give Virtual Care App … [More]
Connect-UV Sanitizes with the Power of Natural Light
Nic Brown founded Connect-UV in March 2020 in direct response to the COVID pandemic and the need to keep people safe from dangerous germs. Connect-UV provides UV-C sanitation products for consumers and businesses. UV-C is naturally occurring light that is filtered by our ozone layer. The wavelength of the light destroys the DNA of microorganisms including viruses, bacteria, and … [More]
Puzzle Rides’ Unique Adventures also Support Other Old-Town Small Businesses
Katie and Gregg Dufort created Puzzle Rides, a mobile escape room-style scavenger hunt, in the middle of the pandemic. When their Old Town golf cart taxi service got shut down in 2020 because of coronavirus, the couple pivoted to bring one-of-a-kind experiences to the city. Puzzle Rides is an adventure game where players are taken on a scavenger hunt via golf cart and must use … [More]
Caribou: Childcare & Community
Taking to heart the advice, “Create a product that people need,” Dinali de Silva and Jordan Kong founded Caribou last year to provide “reliable childcare.” Says de Silva, “Childcare in America is a fragmented and broken system. The current options are either too expensive for the average family or don't offer the one-to-one attention that young kids need. At Caribou, we believe … [More]
Family Tradition Inspires Leila’s Empanadas
Owner and chef Leila Beltrame of Leila’s Empanadas, started putting her artisan empanadas and Brazilian cheese rolls on the market last November, launching with an event to benefit a local nonprofit. “They are healthy food options because they do not contain any type of preservative,” she says, noting they use the best ingredients available, including organic. “We sell them … [More]
Wild Rye Baking Co. Brings Home the Magic of Baking
Wild Rye is a new kind of baking company — designed for today’s varied styles and occasions of social interaction. It offers cake, frosting and pancake mixes for the gluten-free, plant-based and gluten lovers alike. “We are all about quality, ease, connection and good times,” says founder and chief baking officer Sarah Chisholm. A professional pastry chef, she says, “I … [More]
Propelling Women’s Business Dreams with the RECREATE Action Tank
In 2020, business partners Kimberly Mylls and Melissa Lamson co-founded RECREATE Now, LLC, an action tank designed to be a one-of-a-kind, one-stop-shop, mastermind business incubator for women 40 and over. Each session provides members with the laser focus, tools and connections necessary to take their business or nonprofit from idea to launch by the end of the six-month … [More]
KeepWOL – Growth through Play and Reflection
KeepWOL — which stands for Keep Wondering Out Loud — creates learning and development technology that maximizes cultural intelligence in the workplace. Its SaaS talent development platform uses a digital library of multiplayer games to facilitate recurring guided immersive team experiences that cultivate engagement and learning. These psychology-based games emphasize … [More]
Form Paper Co. Goes Big and Bold with Peel-and-Stick Wallpaper
Form Paper Co. is an online company offering commercial-grade, peel-and-stick wallpaper designed “for those who aren’t afraid to go big or bold,” says founder Dala Al-Fuwaires. “All our patterns are vetted and approved by an interior designer, making high-design accessible and affordable. Our peel-and-stick wallpaper breaks the mold with curvy contours and statement-making … [More]
Challenges for Future-Proofing a Startup Business
Starting a business today feels very different from how it felt 10 years ago and is unrecognizable from 20 years ago. The main challenge for startups today is the choice of how day-to-day business gets done in either a physical or a virtual space. This was a much easier decision just a few years ago, as most startups felt the only logical choice would be to find a convenient … [More]
