(upbeat music) - [Announcer] This program was made possible by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.

- [Narrator] "It's Your Business" with Michael Aikens is brought to you by WCTE PBS and the Tennessee Tech Center for Rural Innovation with funding provided by the Rural Reimagined Grand Challenge and the Tennessee Rural Development Fund.

- When you're starting off on a new venture and you're not sure how to begin, what better way to learn than to sit down with someone who has already set out on that venture and had success?

Well, that's what this show is all about.

Welcome to "It's Your Business."

Join us as we travel around the upper Cumberland and hear the stories of local business owners and entrepreneurs learning from their successes and failures in order to bring you the best information possible on how you can start your own business or manage the business you already have.

(upbeat music) The idea of cybersecurity and personal online information can be unsettling for a lot of people, especially with all the new technologies that are being unveiled every day.

George Tuvell shared these concerns as well and saw the need to help make your online presence more safe and secure.

So he began DIGID, which is a business designed to help protect your online activities and guard your personal information.

There are so many ways which your information can fall into the wrong hands, so it's good to know that there are those out there working hard to help protect your online presence.

(upbeat music) We're here in Cookeville, Tennessee talking with George Tuvell, owner of DIGID.

George, welcome to the show.

- Glad to be here, thank you.

- So let's start out with the basics.

Tell us about DIGID.

What is your business?

- Yeah, so DIGID, we are a, think of us as a reusable digital identity.

So we're able to allow a person to verify themselves online with a bank, for example, and then reuse that identity without having to re-verify themselves over and over again at different institutions.

- What would be a normal verification process and what's the problem with it that you're solving?

Walk us through that.

- So, normally if you go into a branch, for example, you're doing, you know, presenting your documents, your ID, right, verifying different things.

If you're online, it's typically a mix of, you know, usernames and passwords, your address, SMS passcodes, right?

And it changes based on which bank you go to and which service you're getting.

Within the same bank, if you go from a credit card or a mortgage side of the house, or a checking account, you typically have to reverify yourself every single time, even within the same bank.

So we're able to eliminate that friction by having you verify all your credentials one time and then reuse those across, you know, different sections of the bank.

- Well, that's really exciting.

And you know, one thing that I always like to ask business owners is, you know, you're doing this right here in Cookeville in a rural area.

It seems to me like you would wanna go to Nashville or some other major market, but you're right here in Cookeville, Tennessee.

Walk me through what decision you made to open the business here.

- Yeah, it's really interesting.

So actually I live here.

I've lived here for two years and, you know, family first at this point in my life, honestly.

And we love the family, you know, being out here, tons of things to do outside, you know, outdoors.

We had the lakes and so, you know, we learned about The Biz Foundry and it was an absolute perfect fit for the business.

Met Jeff Brown, you know, got plugged in here, led us to the Start Here Pitch Competition and meeting you and so on.

So it's been just nothing but, you know, positivity for the business since we got plugged in here, so.

- So let's talk about The Biz Foundry a little bit.

You know, a lot of our viewers will remember that they're on the show.

We feature them for resources, you know, they have co-working space, they have classes, they have so much stuff to support entrepreneurs.

How have they supported you and how have you really worked with them for your business?

- Yeah, well actually when I first met Jeff, he made me aware of the 3686 Conference that was happening in Nashville.

Thought it'd be a good fit because we were raising money.

I was hesitant to go, honestly.

But I went there and it was absolute, you know, game changer for the company.

We had very good, qualified investors, you know, meetings back-to-back.

It was a very, very good outcome.

We're actually in late stage discussions with some of those investors now about participating in the business.

So that changed everything.

We got involved with the Start Here Pitch Competition, which we placed at, and then also getting involved with TTU and some, because, you know, we're a small shop, we're just a couple people right now, help with social media and some of the, you know, early stage marketing, LinkedIn, things like this.

We're talking about, you know, working with the university and the intern program for that.

- You're a co-founder, so you have somebody else.

So how are you balancing your vision for the business with the operations, with the vision with the co-founder?

How does that work?

- Well, we get along great.

So we've, we have a history, you know, two years.

We are very complimentary.

So I'm a product guy, kind of, you know, kind of techie product guy.

My partner is more go-to-market, biz, you know, biz development.

So we're balancing each other out and moving the company, you know, the way it needs to go.

What we're looking to do is expand on the engineering front, you know, and that's why I come back to TTU again, having sort this local footprint of great talent that we can kind of have a genesis, basically, a home base of, you know, is really helpful.

And then the shared space here at Biz Foundry, you know, a place I can hang my hat as well, right, is very nice.

- So you mentioned that you went to the 3686 Festival.

- Yep.

- And that's an annual festival that launched Tennessee, which is The Biz Foundry is under their umbrella.

They have this every year.

It links people up with investors and more.

You said that you're in some late stage conversations with investors.

What kind of conversations are you having?

What does that look like for your business?

- Well, we're having great conversations.

It was really a good format, you know, and it was the first time I'd been to that, you know, that conference and the way they had it structured.

It was sort of like registering for one-on-one meetings.

And you can get very specific about filtering, you know, investors that match your stage of business.

So whether you're, you know, pre-revenue, pre-product, you know, where, you know, wherever you may be.

And so you're able to really get that, you know, quality conversation.

And we had a literally a full day of back-to-back conversations just like that.

And so actually it was easier than, you know, walking into a conference and not having any idea who you're gonna talk to, you know, and it may not be a fit, and you may find one or two people that might be a fit for you.

This was very, like I said, filtered, qualified leads and ultimately we had, you know, a handful of them that wanted to have ongoing discussions so.

- So what are you doing to prepare for eventually bringing an investor on?

- Well, so lots of prep around the pitch, obviously, you know, making sure that it's clear and concise of what we're doing, the value we're adding, what our go-to-market strategy is.

So a lot of issues in my field, my industry, is sometimes there's a good cool technology, but you're looking for a problem to solve.

And we've been fortunate that we've been able to get a first pilot customer very interested.

So we've sort of validated the market, you know, as we're moving this concept along, which has really helped with investors.

- Who are your customers?

Who do you wanna approach when you are going to market?

- We're in the financial space, particularly online financial institutions.

So these are companies like online lenders, you know, online banking and savings accounts.

And they're typically also not your tier one, you know, Bank of America, Chase companies.

These are more like mid-tier, you know, regional banks, regional credit unions where they're typically outsourcing their technology platforms.

They don't have, you know, their own banking software, they're using third parties.

And also they have a fraud problem because a lot of their activity is online.

- There's gotta be so much security involved.

Walk me through how you're dealing with that.

- Yeah, that's a big one.

Actually, and now today with AI, right, it's so easy for a hacker to generate a fake person.

I mean, it, and they can scale it.

They can sit on one computer, generate a fake person's face who never existed, make them smile to pass a liveness test.

It's amazing what they're doing now.

And so to keep up with that, we're doing things like making sure it's a genuine camera.

When you take a picture of your license or your face, that wasn't a screenshot, you know, it wasn't someone who actually did a a video and then uploaded that to the service.

And it's a real time camera capture.

It's a real genuine camera that's being used.

So there's new layers that we have to look at to, you know, to thwart, you know, or block these types of attacks.

So it's a constantly evolving space.

- Speaking to our audience, what can they do right now to keep themselves safe?

- Yeah, that's a big, important question.

Number one is, I mean, passwords, we all use passwords and, unfortunately, you know, we're not off of passwords yet.

It's happening, it's a trend in the industry, we're moving away from them.

But making sure you're not using the same password, you know, over and over again for every service.

Because one of the big hacks is, you know, a third-party service will be hacked, like a social network, and because you're using the same login credential and the same password at that service, they, the hacker will take it to 10 different banks and try every one of them.

And you know, if they get a hit, congratulations, they've used your password that you used over here at the bank, right?

So particularly around the holidays, you know, you're looking at where hackers really ramp it up.

A lot of buying online, obviously, you'll see emails or text messages saying, "Oh, you know, "congratulations on approving this transaction," or "You bought this, here's your receipt."

And you go, "I didn't buy anything," you know?

And all of a sudden you're talking to someone on the other line who pretends to be an agent from that company or the bank who's really the fraudster trying to get your information.

And as soon as you give it over to them, they're gonna use it against you and off they go.

So, you know, being aware of those, they're called phishing attacks, right?

So those emails, text messages, even phone calls now where hackers are posing as valid third-party merchants, financial institutions, even government agencies to try to get you to hand over their information.

- Speaking a little bit more positively now, we've got all those problems, but you know, your business is addressing that, that's gotta make you feel good that you really have a social mission as well.

- Yeah, absolutely.

That's a big thing for us.

Getting rid of also just the passwords, things that we know aren't working, right, from a security perspective and making it safer, right, to transact online.

That's really what we're doing.

So it's not just about the, you know, financial institution, but it's also better user experience for the account holders.

You know, imagine using just your biometric, right?

A face, you know, print, or a fingerprint instead of having to worry about all these, you know, nuanced passwords or waiting for an SMS code, you know, those types of things.

- So, you know, people that are watching the show, they may be thinking, I'd like to start a business at some point, but for whatever reason they haven't crossed that fence yet.

What is some advice that you would give to a first time entrepreneur?

- I think honestly, the, I would say to not be afraid.

You know, that's probably the biggest hurdle is getting, you know, your mindset that you can do this.

If you're passionate about something and you have a talent, you know, go out and start doing.

That's the probably the first and foremost, you know, piece of advice I would give is roll up your sleeves and just start going in that direction.

Don't keep thinking about it.

- So you were there not too long ago.

We'll say about a year ago you started this business and you took your own advice, you just went out and did it.

Thinking where you're at right now, what do you know now that you wish you knew then?

- You know, there's people out there wanting to help you.

You know, there's a network of people and all you have to do is ask and people will help you.

And it's not all about you on your own.

You feel like you're this isolated, you know, thing and you're just trying to make it happen and what if this and what if that?

But you know, you talk to this person, you talk to that person, and all of a sudden you've got resources, someone helping you build a website, someone who knows a couple investors and, you know, and then all of a sudden things start happening.

- And that's the exact reason that we put the resources - Yeah.

on every show that we make.

- Yeah.

So George, last question for you.

Moving forward, what are your plans?

- My plans moving forward, hopefully DIGID, we wanna make a huge success.

We hope to be rolled out to, you know, across the world, honestly, and with financial institutions and banks, making the internet safer, right, a safer place to transact.

And then also, yeah, moving into different markets.

So health care is another major place we see, you know, we could participate in, a lot of compliance issues, and you know, theft issues happening there.

So definitely expanding outside of just the fintech world into other markets.

- Well George, this has been a great conversation.

Thanks so much.

- Thank you, appreciate it.

(upbeat music) - Our next guests are no stranger to "It's Your Business."

We actually spoke with them in the first season when they ventured out on a new business.

And now Luke Yoder and Meghan Borland have ventured out on yet another business.

They have started West Side Grocery in Cookeville, Tennessee, where they provide healthy and organic food from local farmers as well as across the country all in one place.

But Luke and Megan want their grocery to be more than just a place to buy food.

They are taking steps to make it into a local meeting spot to relax and enjoy something to eat as well.

(upbeat music) We're here in Cookeville, Tennessee, talking with Meg Borland and Luke Yoder, owners of West Side Grocery.

Meg, Luke, welcome back to the show.

- Thank you.

- Thanks for having us.

- So in season one we had you all on, you all also own Meg's Bread.

Now you've opened up West Side Grocery.

Tell me, walk me through just a little bit about this particular business.

- We have a farm in Overton County called Shiloh Farm.

So we grow some of the produce, we get some from other local farmers.

And then we also bring in organic produce from all over the country.

And then we have all kinds of different natural, organic products and a bulk section where we pack up, you know, bulk nuts, grains, spices.

- Very cool.

Now how did y'all get the idea to open a grocery?

- Well, Luke had worked at a health food co-op after college and then we kind of got into it a little bit with the bakery of kind of carrying some olive oils and things and then produce.

But it just kind of kept expanding.

And it wasn't necessarily the plan, but the space opened up and then we just thought it was time to do it.

- We also know when we're traveling in other towns, this, we like to go to a natural food store that has some really good options of different products.

And it seemed like there was a gap in Cookeville and that there could be a demand for a store like this.

- Well, speaking of demand, you know, just in the time we've been here this morning, I've seen people in and out and it's early in the morning.

So what's the reception been like in Cookeville?

- It's been great.

I mean, we had a solid customer base from the bakery, but it's interesting that people come here and come into the grocery that didn't know about the bakery or vice versa.

So it's really interesting to see just more of Cookeville coming out and knowing about it and learning about it.

- Now you said you offer a lot of organic, locally grown, you all grow some of these things as well.

Why is it so important to offer those types of options versus, you know, just a normal grocery store?

- Well, the quality of the food is so much better for one.

And then also supporting local businesses, people in the community.

It just, it's investing in in Cookeville and the surrounding area.

- So let's think a little bit about the actual nuts and bolts of the business.

So you've got employees, you've got inventory.

One of the things that I'm always interested in, how do you all manage inventory?

What is your all's strategy on that?

- Oh, that's a good question.

- Yeah, that's, we're kind of always getting better at that.

- Yeah.

- And at this point we have at least 10 different distributors that we get from.

So you know, we're trying to maximize where we get the best deal on things.

It's really a work in progress.

- [Meg] Yeah.

For the bakery has special needs of like our flours and I kind of handle that one in there.

And then Luke does a lot of the ordering for the grocery store and deals with the farmers and all of that.

It takes a village of people.

- And managers, too, - [Meg] Yeah.

that help keep us in stock of dry goods and packaging.

It takes a lot of people to keep track of all of it.

- Absolutely, it does.

So you know, in thinking about this, you know, you're baking, you're farming, you're the manager, you're the head floor sweeper, you're everything.

How are y'all making a balance between life and work?

- It's interesting doing this grocery store after doing the bakery and when we opened the bakery it was a pandemic.

And for me, I've noticed sometimes it's just nice to know the patterns that are like we're opening it, you're in it, you kind of having to learn how to swim again.

You just kind of know where you're at in the journey and then you just have to keep going.

I don't know if there is a balance necessarily.

And I think the thing is that we just love what we do and, you know, we go home and we cook food or we go home and, I mean, sometimes we go home and eat cereal and we're not always perfect, but it's also, we like what we do and we work with people that we like.

And so it's work, but it's enjoyable.

- Well, I completely feel what you're saying there.

You really do have to love what you do.

So, you know, in thinking about when you first started, going back to the bakery, thinking about what you learned there and now you've opened up the grocery, I'm willing to bet a lot of things have kind of transferred over, but there's also a lot of different things as well.

Walk me through what that's like.

- Well, I've learned hopefully that to learn in real time, like it's not easy to be vulnerable to like sometimes not know what you're doing, but to try to get a little bit more confident in that.

And when you have a group of people that you can do that with, that's very helpful.

So with the bakery, I kind of just started alone.

Now that there's a whole community of people.

But also with this, Luke's in town a lot more with, you know, bakery we kind of called Luke the oracle who would like do a lot of research or things with, but he was always at the farm.

So now Luke's in town.

So I think we've learned our strengths and our weaknesses and how we can divide tasks.

And so it's been very helpful that way.

- And so y'all literally have figured this out as you go along the way.

Now what I learned on season one, y'all don't really have business backgrounds, but here you are two-time business owners.

- Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

- Yeah, I mean it's really just, it's kind of been an evolution.

You know, Meghan was an art student.

I studied sociology and Spanish.

I just wanted to travel.

Somehow I got hooked on farming and I've been interested in food ever since then.

And it's kind of the thing that really brings everything together for us.

And it's also a lot about just how we wanna relate to our community.

And food has just been this perfect avenue for that.

And it kind of a great equalizer, too, 'cause, you know, anybody that bites into a really good croissant, it's like, it's just a good thing and it's hard to argue with and I think that's been a driving force for all of it really.

- Well, you know, if you think about it, too, you got sociology, art, I'm sure a lot of that plays right into the business.

I mean, you know, when I come into the bakery, I marvel at how beautiful the things are and, you know, you also think about, you know, employees and customers.

There's a sociological aspect to it.

Would you all agree with that?

- [Meg] Oh, yeah, totally.

- Yeah, definitely.

And it's fun with the grocery just to see how people shop and what people want.

And we have a a suggestion clipboard and, you know, tell people, "You don't see what you want, "yeah, write it down and we will try and get it in "if we can."

And there's been some products like that I wouldn't have thought to stock on the shelf, but once it's there, they're just buying them up like crazy.

And we've gotten to learn about so many new products, things I didn't even know existed, just through listening to our customers and then seeing how, you know, maybe people go crazy for that one thing and then diversify and find three or four options that are like that and just see how that does.

- So one of my favorite questions to ask is what do you know now that you wish you knew then?

And you can apply that to starting the bakery, starting the grocery.

What do you all know now that you wish you knew when starting either of those?

- I honestly don't think I wouldn't wanna know anything.

(laughing) If we knew, we probably wouldn't have done it, but are so thankful that we did do it.

But I think it's just getting better at learning in real time and how to be adaptable and knowing that I don't always have to have the right answers.

Even like ordering in here, the suggestions people have, like we wouldn't have thought it, but it's just interesting to open that up for.

And so I guess just stay adaptable.

- So in thinking about being adaptable, learning as you go, you know, people that are watching this show, many of them may be thinking I could open a business, too, but yeah, they just haven't crossed that fence yet.

What advice would you provide to them?

- Oh, just do it.

Just jump in the deep end and learn how to swim.

- I mean, you're, you made a good point that you have to like what you do and I think if we were doing something that I didn't feel strongly about it, it might be hard to keep at it.

And it really does take a drive and a perseverance, I think, especially if you don't necessarily know what you're doing from the beginning.

And just being willing to learn.

But I think you won't regret the things you did, but you might regret what you didn't do.

- Well, you know, so at the time of us filming this interview, y'all been open for about four months with the grocery.

Thinking to the future, what are your next plans?

- Well, we're planning on getting a deli in the back of the grocery.

And so all of our sandwich stuff that we're doing in the bakery will be here seven days a week, hopefully.

And we'll have more hours and a consistent menu.

We're gonna build some more seating in our seating area.

- It's a good place to hang out right now, but we just wanna keep making it a really enjoyable place to sit down and eat a sandwich, a pastry.

- Well, Meg, Luke, thank you so much for coming back on the show.

We really appreciate talking to you.

- Oh my gosh, thanks for having us back.

- Thanks for having us.

(upbeat music) - Hey there, my name is Kelley Hunter, the Statewide Coordinator for Tennessee Tech Center for Rural Innovation.

Are you a business owner that is overwhelmed by the requirements you need to apply for grants?

Or are you struggling to showcase your value to your community?

Whether you're a business owner, a non-profit organization, or a public institution, understanding your economic impact is crucial to long-term success or gaining potential funding.

An economic impact analysis can provide the data to support your claims for continued and future success.

Tennessee Tech Center for Rural Innovation is here to help you create an economic impact analysis and report.

This analysis is a fascinating way to understand how a business like yours affect our community.

You might be asking, what is an economic impact analysis and why is it so important?

Economic impact analysis is a powerful tool that helps us understand the profound influence a business has on its local community.

So let's break it down.

There are three categories of economic impact, direct, indirect, and induced.

Direct impacts are the most visible.

These are immediate effects your business has on the local economy.

Think about salaries you pay, the goods and services you purchase, and the taxes you contribute.

These are all direct results.

However, there's more to the story.

Indirect impacts come into play, which are the ripple effect as your business interacts with other local businesses.

For example, when you purchase supplies, the supplier's business grows and they hire more employees.

That's indirect impact.

And finally, there are induced impacts.

These represent the changes in consumer spending when your employees and employees of businesses you support spend their earnings within the community.

Let's talk about why do you need to conduct an economic impact analysis?

Well, it starts with data.

You'll need information on your revenue, expenses, payroll, and other financial details.

But here's the good news.

If you're missing some data, don't worry because our team can help fill in those gaps for you.

We can help estimate the missing information and tailor the analysis to your specific industry to provide a precise assessment of your economic impact.

Understanding economic impact analysis is essential for measuring the effects your business has on your local community.

Direct, indirect, and induced impacts are all a part of the story.

And the data you need can be gathered and estimated with the help of experts like Tennessee Tech Center for Rural Innovation.

To get started on your economic impact analysis today, contact Tennessee Tech Center for Rural Innovation.

(upbeat music) - Thank you so much for joining us, and we hope that you've learned that entrepreneurship doesn't have to be a scary venture when you have the necessary resources for success at your fingertips.

If you'd like more information on today's topics, please visit the WCTE website.

And to learn more about free small business resources and expert assistance, visit the Business Resource Collective website.

Until next time, I'm Michael Aikens.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] "It's Your Business" with Michael Aikens is brought to you by WCTE PBS and the Tennessee Tech Center for Rural Innovation with funding provided by the Rural Reimagined Grand Challenge and the Tennessee Rural Development Fund.

- [Announcer] This program was made possible by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.

(upbeat music)