The Startup Junkies Podcast

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514

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Oct 2026

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About the show

Candid conversations with the founders, operators, and investors building companies in Northwest Arkansas and beyond. The Startup Junkies Podcast is hosted by Jeff Amerine, founder of Startup Junkie, a Northwest Arkansas organization that has provided no-cost consulting, programs, and events to entrepreneurs for more than 15 years. Each week Jeff and the Startup Junkie team sit down with people who have actually done it: first-time and serial founders, small business owners, investors, accelerator alumni, and the ecosystem builders working alongside them. Expect real stories, not lectures. How they got started, how they found their first customers, how they raised money or chose not to, what nearly broke them, and what they would do differently. Topics range from validating an idea and finding capital to hiring, marketing, leadership, scaling, and selling the business. With more than 450 episodes since 2015, the back catalog covers nearly every stage of building a company in Arkansas and the Mid-South. If you are starting something, growing something, or helping founders do either, this show is for you. This feed also carries Querido Emprendedor, our Spanish-language founder series, and the Fuel Podcast, featuring companies from Startup Junkie's Fuel Accelerator. New episodes weekly. Show notes, transcripts, and the full archive at startupjunkie.org/podcast. Startup Junkie's mission: improving lives through innovation and entrepreneurship, from Northwest Arkansas around the globe.

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October 27, 2026Episode 47125 min

Using AI Medical Record Audits to Reduce Claim Denials with Dmitry Karpov of Adentris

Insurers have thousands of engineers building systems to deny claims. Most healthcare providers have no one on the other side of the table. In this entrepreneur interview, Dmitry Karpov — serial founder and CEO of Adentris — explains how AI can audit medical records in real time, why behavioral health documentation draws so much payer scrutiny, and what rural hospitals stand to lose as value-based care raises the stakes. Whether you run a clinic, work in revenue cycle management, or are building in health tech, this conversation shows where AI can close gaps human teams can't. What you'll learn: - Real-time AI audits of medical documentation - Why behavioral health records face heavy payer scrutiny - Auditing 100% of charts instead of sampling - How AI could cut the cost of revenue cycle management ⏱️CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction 0:38 What Adentris does |1:28 Why revenue cycle management is ripe for AI 3:53 Building trust with small clinics 5:34 Why EMR vendors guard billing data 6:28 The documentation burden in behavioral health 8:47 Using AI to audit treatment plans 10:15 Why mental health demand is outpacing primary care 12:13 Selling to staffing gaps, not cost cuts 12:41 Auditing every chart instead of a sample 14:30 Rural hospitals and the sepsis bundle 17:40 Rural health transformation funding and RCM 19:17 From passive audits to automated action 21:05 Cutting denials from 17% to 12% 24:07 Why Northwest Arkansas and how to connect This episode is part of our Fuel Accelerator series --- About Dmitry Karpov: Dmitry Karpov is the CEO and founder of Adentris, which uses AI to catch medical documentation errors before they become patient safety or billing problems. Adentris was part of the Fuel Accelerator health tech cohort. Connect with Dmitry on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmitrykarpov/ Learn more: https://adentris.com/ --- 🎧 Follow the Startup Junkies Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, like, subscribe, and share it with a friend. The Startup Junkies Podcast is brought to you in part by RISE, helping Arkansas tech and tech-enabled startups grow with no-cost coaching, capital navigation, and expert connections.

October 20, 2026Episode 47023 min

How a Dentist Grew a Telehealth Startup 1,200% with Dr. Maria Kunstadter

Toothaches are one of the top reasons people end up in the emergency room, where there’s no dentist to treat them. In this entrepreneur interview, Dr. Maria Kunstadter, dentist and founder of The TeleDentists, shares how a national conference on the opioid crisis sparked the idea for virtual dentists. She also explains how COVID drove 1,200% growth in a single year, and why she’s now taking teledentistry into emergency rooms, rural communities, and countries with only a few hundred dentists. Whether you’re a startup founder in health tech or a healthcare leader working on access to care, this founder story shows what it takes to build in a space that’s been slow to change. What you’ll learn: How teledentistry consultations work Why toothaches cost ERs nearly $3 billion The link between oral health and chronic disease Scaling a telehealth startup across states and countries Why dentists gain patients, not lose them ⏱️ Chapters: 0:00 “You saved my life that day” 0:22 Introduction 0:48 How teledentistry works 2:11 Why toothaches end up in the ER 4:11 COVID and 1,200% growth 5:29 The $3 billion ER toothache problem 6:41 Why dental is separate from medical 7:58 Oral health and chronic disease 9:32 Teledentistry in rural communities 14:08 Health care is cultural: going global 15:48 Why dentistry is slow to innovate 17:45 Scaling telehealth across borders 18:36 When a dental emergency isn’t an emergency 19:30 Why dentists should welcome teledentistry 21:11 Fuel, Northwest Arkansas, and how to connect About Dr. Maria Kunstadter: Dr. Kunstadter is the CEO and founder of The TeleDentists, a teledentistry platform offering virtual dental consultations, e-prescriptions, and next-step appointment scheduling. She is a member of the Fuel health tech accelerator cohort. 🔗https://www.theteledentists.com/ --- 🎙️ The Startup Junkies podcast is brought to you in part by RISE, which helps Arkansas tech and tech-enabled startups grow with no-cost coaching, capital navigation, and expert connections. The Startup Junkies podcast shares new founder stories and entrepreneur interviews every week. Subscribe so you never miss an episode. 🔗https://startupjunkie.org/

October 13, 2026Episode 46933 min

How Cities Can Make Starting a Business Easier with Fayetteville Mayor Molly Rawn

Starting a small business is full of unknowns. Fayetteville's mayor says City Hall should be the one predictable part. In this entrepreneur interview, Molly Rawn, Mayor of Fayetteville, Arkansas, and part of the founding team behind the Scott Family Amazeum, talks about leading a city with a founder's mindset, why government shouldn't be a barrier to small business, and what most people get wrong about what a mayor can actually do. What you'll learn: - Why running for office mirrors launching a startup - Translating "soon" from city-speak to plain English - The Business Starter Kit and cutting through red tape - How small business sales tax funds city services - Why infrastructure follows housing growth - Her advice: What would you do if you weren't afraid? ⏱️Chapters 0:58 Molly Rawn's origin story 1:45 Seeing herself as an entrepreneur 4:12 Running for office like launching a startup 6:31 Leadership lesson: Patience in city government 8:06 Why "soon" means something different at City Hall 9:30 The city's role in a thriving startup ecosystem 11:15 Fayetteville's Business Starter Kit 12:59 Why small business matters to city budgets 15:59 The pitch for founders considering Fayetteville 17:18 Growth, housing, and infrastructure 20:57 Bond projects and bus shelters 23:04 What surprises people about being mayor 26:50 Transparency and public meetings online 28:49 Startup Junkie Time Machine: Advice to her younger self — Connect with Mayor Molly Rawn Instagram: @MayorMollyRawn LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mollycollierrawn/ Website: https://www.fayetteville-ar.gov/526/Mayor 🎙️ The Startup Junkies podcast is brought to you in part by RISE, which helps Arkansas tech and tech-enabled startups grow with no-cost coaching, capital navigation, and expert connections. The Startup Junkies podcast shares new founder stories and entrepreneur interviews every week. Subscribe so you never miss an episode. 🔗https://startupjunkie.org/

October 6, 2026Episode 46826 min

How Small Businesses Can Win Defense Contracts with Chip Laingen

Small businesses, not the big defense primes, are where the Department of Defense is looking for its next breakthrough. Here's how to get noticed, and how to be ready when you do. In this entrepreneur interview, Chip Laingen breaks down what it really takes for a small business or startup to sell to the government. Chip is executive director of the Defense Alliance, a 21-year Navy veteran, and has advised defense-tech companies for two decades. In This Episode: ✅ Why the DoD is turning to small-business innovation ✅ Navigating government contracting as a startup ✅ Teaming with partners to leverage past performance ✅ Preparing for a five-minute pitch with a buyer ✅ Technology readiness vs. business readiness ✅ OTAs and Defense Production Act funding ✅ Servant leadership lessons from the Navy ⏱️ Chapters: 0:38 Introduction 1:13 From Navy helicopter pilot to defense contracting 4:26 How the Defense Alliance helps small businesses 5:47 Why selling to the government isn't logical 8:42 Leveraging partnerships and past performance 10:30 How to prepare for a five-minute pitch with a buyer 12:36 Servant leadership lessons from the Navy 16:34 What it takes to build a defense innovation cluster 19:09 Technology readiness vs. business readiness 21:02 How defense procurement is changing: speed and scale 22:47 How one startup got a $50M factory funded 24:19 Advice to his younger self 25:54 How to connect with the Defense Alliance — About Chip Laingen: Chip Laingen is executive director of the Defense Alliance, an SBA-funded regional innovation cluster. It helps small businesses navigate defense contracting at no cost, and it has members in 38 states. Join free at https://www.defensealliance.com/ Connect with Chip - https://www.linkedin.com/in/laingen/ — 🎧 Follow the Startup Junkies Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, like, subscribe, and share it with a friend. The Startup Junkies Podcast is brought to you in part by RISE, helping Arkansas tech and tech-enabled startups grow with no-cost coaching, capital navigation, and expert connections.

September 29, 2026Episode 46743 min

How Korean Founders Break Into the US Market: Founder Interviews from Startup Crawl 2024

What does it take for a startup from Korea to break into the US market? Four founders share how they're doing it. Recorded live at Startup Crawl in Fayetteville, Arkansas, this episode features founders from the Korea Global Expansion Accelerator. They build AI companion robots for isolated seniors, AI-powered lead generation, classroom analytics for early childhood education, and hotel operations software. We also go inside RISE Arkansas, a no-cost program for tech and tech-enabled startups. The episode closes with a look at how Startup Crawl grew from one building to a downtown-wide event. In this episode: ✅ AI companionship for aging populations ✅ Selling without a network in relationship-driven markets ✅ Asian business data for US brands ✅ AI insights into how young kids play and learn ✅ Tech vs. tech-enabled startups ✅ Why staying power matters in entrepreneurial support ⏱️Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 0:20 Live from Startup Crawl 2024 0:55 From Hong Kong IT to senior care 2:24 AI companion robots for isolated seniors 5:05 Selling in Asia without connections 7:45 How AI lead generation works 9:32 Asian business data for US brands 13:10 AI that tracks how preschoolers play and learn 15:08 From Hasbro toy designer to edtech founder 17:40 RISE Arkansas: free support for tech startups 18:30 Tech vs. tech-enabled startups 20:02 109 startups in 101 days 27:58 Hotel operations tech from Korea 33:58 How Startup Crawl grew from 2019 to 2024 36:55 Why staying power matters Featured guests: Louis Lee, CMO, Wonderful Platform: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louisleedonguk/ Jay Lee, Co-founder & CSO, DeepSales: https://deepsales.com/ Sarah No, Head of Product, PlayTag: https://playtag.ai/ Stephen Park, Do What Chris Adams & Kate Lockridge, RISE Arkansas: risearkansas.org ----- 🎧 Follow the Startup Junkies Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, like, subscribe, and share it with a friend. The Startup Junkies Podcast is brought to you in part by RISE, helping Arkansas tech and tech-enabled startups grow with no-cost coaching, capital navigation, and expert connections.

September 22, 202621 min

How AI Agents Fix Denied Insurance Claims with Shahbaz Virk of Cair Health

Denied insurance claims cost clinics money, staff time, and patient care, and AI agents are starting to change that. In this entrepreneur interview, Shahbaz Virk (co-founder of Cair Health) explains how AI agents can handle medical billing from start to finish. That covers checking eligibility, reworking denied claims, and even waiting on hold with insurance companies. He shares why so many claims get denied, how growing up with a nurse mom shaped his founder story, and why rural health is central to his mission. Whether you're a startup founder building in healthcare or an operator buried in admin work, this conversation shows what an AI-powered billing team actually looks like. In This Episode: Why insurance claims get denied AI agents that call insurers for you 90% touchless claims after six months 150 minutes per claim cut to under three Y Combinator vs. a healthcare-specific accelerator AI's role in rural health ⏱️ Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 0:44 What Care Health does 2:06 Why medical billing affects patients 3:15 Why insurance claims get denied 5:35 A nurse mom and the origin of Care Health 6:37 From health economics research to AI 8:40 Y Combinator vs. the Fuel Accelerator 10:45 The metrics that matter: touchless claims 11:44 How AI agents work together on a claim 13:17 Will AI replace medical billers? 15:08 Customers and traction 16:14 AI for rural health in Arkansas 17:53 Care Health in three years 18:40 From 150 minutes per claim to under three 20:00 Large vs. small health systems — Connect with Shahbaz 🔗 https://www.cairhealth.com/ 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/shehbazvirk/ — 🎧 Follow the Startup Junkies Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, like, subscribe, and share it with a friend. The Startup Junkies Podcast is brought to you in part by RISE, helping Arkansas tech and tech-enabled startups grow with no-cost coaching, capital navigation, and expert connections.

September 15, 2026Episode 46625 min

AI and Data Privacy for Growing Companies with Carl Maloney of FloX

On this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast, hosts Daniel Koontz and Caleb Talley sit down with Carl Maloney, founder of FloX, a technology consulting firm helping mid-sized companies replace spreadsheet chaos with AI-driven systems. Carl shares his journey from a decade-plus corporate career and burnout to a six-month sabbatical, and ultimately launching his own consulting business. Plus how he validates customer problems, runs marketing solo, and thinks about privacy and compliance when implementing AI for clients in regulated industries like healthcare. In This Episode: ☑️ Warning signs a company has outgrown Excel-based operations ☑️ AI implementation, data privacy, and HIPAA compliance ☑️ A solo founder's marketing strategy ☑️ Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs ⏱️CHAPTERS 00:00 – Welcome to the Startup Junkies Podcast 00:59 – Meet Carl Maloney of FloX, 01:17 – From Corporate Burnout to Launching His Own Business 02:28 – Sabbatical Adventures: Road Trip & Mountain Biking 03:06 – The Rebrand: Choosing the Name FloX, 03:26 – What FloX, Does for Growing Companies 04:15 – AI, Data Privacy & HIPAA Compliance 05:17 – Warning Signs You've Outgrown Excel 06:05 – Validating the Problem With Customer Discovery 07:01 – Marketing & Running FloX, as a Solo Founder 09:47 – Why Entrepreneurship Is Harder Than It Looks 12:24 – Entrepreneurship as a Mountain Bike Trail 13:41 – FloX,'s Growth Vision, Team & the NWA Startup Ecosystem 16:52 – Defining Success & Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs 21:21 – Advice to His Younger Self, Where to Find Carl & Closing — Connect with Carl 🔗 https://flo-x.io/ 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/carl-maloney-bab29b6/ — 🎧 Follow the Startup Junkies Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, like, subscribe, and share it with a friend. The Startup Junkies Podcast is brought to you in part by RISE, helping Arkansas tech and tech-enabled startups grow with no-cost coaching, capital navigation, and expert connections.

September 8, 2026Episode 46531 min

Lawn Care Olympics in Fayetteville, Arkansas with Quinn Childress of Willow Street Lawns

Quinn Childress, owner of Willow Street Lawns and founder of the digital lawn care marketplace Lawnly, joins the Startup Junkies Podcast to talk about the first-ever Lawn Care Olympics coming to Fayetteville, Arkansas on September 20th. Quinn shares how he went from experiencing homelessness as a teenager to building a lawn care business, and now a platform designed to funnel local dollars toward nonprofits and people experiencing homelessness in Northwest Arkansas. In This Episode Why Quinn started Willow Street Lawns after experiencing homelessness at 15 What the Lawn Care Olympics is and why it's coming to Fayetteville How Lawnly connects homeowners, lawn care pros, and nonprofits Why local dollars, not charity, are the key to breaking poverty cycles How Startup Junkie's ecosystem helped Quinn scale two ventures What advice Quinn would give his younger self today ⏱️ Chapters 1:01 – Welcome to the Startup Junkies Podcast 1:42 – Meet Quinn Childress: Willow Street Lawns & Lawnly 2:09 – Announcing the First-Ever Lawn Care Olympics 2:29 – The Vision: Turning Lawn Care into a Community Sport 3:23 – Partnering with Nonprofits to Fight Homelessness 4:45 – Quinn's Story: From Homelessness to Business Owner 6:30 – Lawn Care Olympics Event Details (Sept 20 at New Beginnings) 7:26 – Judges, Challenges, and Who Can Compete 11:41 – Inside Lawnly: A Two-Sided Marketplace for Lawn Care 14:06 – RISE Arkansas Sponsor Message 14:34 – Quinn's Roots in the NWA Ecosystem & Building Lawnly 19:18 – The Real Motivation: Helping the Local Economy Thrive 22:22 – Time Machine Question: Advice to His Younger Self 29:20 – How to Connect with Quinn & Support the Olympics — Connect with Quinn 🔗 https://www.willowstlawns.com/ 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/quinn-childress-9a2065155/ — 🎧 Follow the Startup Junkies Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, like, subscribe, and share it with a friend. The Startup Junkies Podcast is brought to you in part by RISE, helping Arkansas tech and tech-enabled startups grow with no-cost coaching, capital navigation, and expert connections.

September 1, 202619 min

Cutting Health Care Costs for Self-Funded Employers with Kirat Kharode of HealCo

Employer health care costs have risen 70% over the last decade while wages have grown just 30%. Kirat Kharode, CEO and Founder of HealCo, joins the Startup Junkies Podcast's Fuel Accelerator health tech series to break down why self-funded employer health plans are becoming unsustainable, and how HealCo's governance layer helps route employees to lower-cost, high-quality care before costs spiral. In this episode: Why self-funded health plans are under more scrutiny than ever The site-of-entry problem driving up specialty care costs How HealCo's governance and routing model works What a real cost-savings diagnostic looks like for employers Why Northwest Arkansas is fertile ground for this kind of infrastructure This episode is part of our Fuel Accelerator series ⏱️ Chapters: 00:18 – Welcome & the Fuel Accelerator health tech cohort 00:42 – Meet Kirat Kharode, CEO & Founder of HealCo 01:00 – 20 years inside hospital C-suites 01:26 – Inside the self-funded health plan landscape 02:07 – Why costs are outpacing wages 03:06 – Site of entry: where health costs really start 04:02 – Specialty care and the $15K vs. $50K cost divide 05:33 – HealCo's origin story and validation lab 06:36 – Building the governance layer and how employees benefit 09:06 – Sponsor: RISE Arkansas 09:33 – Validating the model & where self-funded care is headed 11:48 – HealCo's 5-year vision, case studies & broker demand 15:49 – Why Northwest Arkansas, plus advice for CFOs 18:50 – Connect with Kirat + episode wrap-up — Connect with Kirat & HealCo 🔗 https://www.healco.us/ 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirat-kharode/ — 🎧 Follow the Startup Junkies Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, like, subscribe, and share it with a friend. The Startup Junkies Podcast is brought to you in part by RISE, helping Arkansas tech and tech-enabled startups grow with no-cost coaching, capital navigation, and expert connections. Learn more at RiseArkansas.org.

August 25, 2026Episode 46432 min

How to Be a Great Startup Mentor with Permjot Valia & Ross Webb

In this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast, host Caleb Talley sits down with Permjot Valia, founder of Mentor Camp, and Ross Webb, a longtime AI product manager and returning Mentor Camp mentor, to unpack the philosophy behind one of the most unusual mentorship models in the startup world. This is a masterclass for founders on how to actually get value out of mentorship, and for mentors on how to build relationships that last well beyond a single conversation. In this episode: ✅ The origin story of Mentor Camp ✅ How to build genuine trust and social capital as a mentor or founder ✅ The question that ruins a mentoring session ✅ Advice Permjot and Ross would give their younger selves ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:24 – Welcome & Meet the Guests 1:09 – Permjot Valia's Sales Background 2:24 – Ross Webb: From Cape Town to AI Product Management 3:06 – Building an AI Product That Hit $50M in Revenue 4:18 – The Origin Story of Mentor Camp 5:19 – Why the Mentor Is the Client, Not the Startup 6:35 – Creating a White-Glove Mentor Experience (and Why Top Mentors Keep Coming Back) 10:25 – Real Relationships vs. One-Way Mentoring 13:29 – Fixing Transactional Mentorship in the Fuel Accelerator 13:52 – Social Capital: Why Mentors Shouldn't Hand Over Contacts Right Away 15:55 – Ross Webb's Charity "Gating System" for Mentoring Requests 19:19 – Spotting an Uncoachable Mentee (and the #1 Advice for Every Mentee) 22:10 – Asking for Insights, Not Opinions, in a Mentoring Session 24:29 – Advice to Their Younger Selves & the Shoelace Story That Changed Lives — Connect with Permjot Valia & Ross Webb 🔗 https://mentorcampnwa.com/ 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/permjotvalia/ 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosswebb/ — 🎧 Follow the Startup Junkies Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, like, subscribe, and share it with a friend. The Startup Junkies Podcast is brought to you in part by RISE, helping Arkansas tech and tech-enabled startups grow with no-cost coaching, capital navigation, and expert connections. Learn more at RiseArkansas.org.