Finding the key partners to work with can make or break your venture. After thousands of conversations with aspiring entrepreneurs, it’s one of the most common obstacles and risks holding folks back from pursuing their idea. So – we asked some of the smartest, most resourceful entrepreneurs in the community to share their lessons and insights to help inspire and educate the next great set of entrepreneurs.

Katie Getman

When we start off on our creative journey, a lot of times we are focused on our passion and not necessarily how to reach our end goal.

Having a coach work with me to fine tune my purpose, and highlight the parts of my work I really enjoy allowed me to see my unique capabilities, my “super powers” which others may not have. Read more>>

Ryan Buck

For us we were very lucky in that we had a lot of local support and vendors that approached us. But for those we need to find it was spending the time going around to other coffee shops to get some insights on who they use. That’s one of the surprising things for me is how open and friendly the coffee community is. We have not had a single negative interaction with any coffee owner or worker. Read more>>

Mark Malmquist

When launching Burning Oaks Coffee Company, finding the right coffee bean distributor was one of the most crucial steps. I wanted a supplier that not only provided high-quality beans but also aligned with my values—offering ethically sourced, traceable coffee while ensuring consistency in supply. After extensive research and comparisons, I found Genuine Origin to be the best fit. Read more>>