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Startup Junkie blog archive

February Owner Spotlights

Rick West, Opines   When browsing Walmart's online store, Rick West noticed a problem. Before an item could go live, the service required pre-seeded reviews. How would a new item get reviews, by just giving them away? This is what sparked him to create Opines....

The Importance of Diversity in Business

 “Access to adequate capital remains a significant challenge for black-owned businesses” According to Forbes 8 out of every 10 black businesses fail within the first 18 months of starting. Diversity is important for fostering innovation, improving decision-making,...

Global Entrepreneurship Week: Everything you need to know!

Startup Junkie is thrilled to be part of the global efforts to make GEW a resounding success. From November 13th-16th, they will host a series of events in Northwest Arkansas, dedicated to empowering existing and aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners. These...

The Power of Perseverance

As a business owner, there will be many bumps in the road especially at the beginning of your journey. Whether it’s a lack of funding, slow sales, or just an overall lack of motivation, your journey to success will have hurdles. This article will aim to focus on why...

Startup Crawl 2023: Everything You Need to Know!

The much anticipated fifth installment of the NWA Startup Crawl is tomorrow – Sept. 8, 2023 – returning to downtown Fayetteville with the best and brightest in the local entrepreneurial scene, featuring a diverse range of local startups and small businesses exhibiting...

Rekindling Your Passion and Finding Inspiration Again

Everyone experiences periods of time when it’s hard to be creative, motivated, or inspired. When something you once had a passion for bores you or when you lose motivation for your work, it can be difficult to get back on track. But it’s important to remember that...

What Are the Best ChatGPT Use Cases for Businesses?

With all the recent national attention OpenAI, ChatGPT, and DallE have been receiving, we thought it might be worthwhile to explore some of the best use cases businesses can consider right away. ChatGPT, the powerful language generation model developed by OpenAI, has...

When Should You Quit Your Job for Your Business?

By Nicholas Patterson | Southern New Hampshire UniversityDeciding to quit a job is a tough decision on its own but deciding to leave your full-time job for your business is even tougher. If done right, the decision can be extremely rewarding, and can allow to you grow...

Entrepreneurship Synergy in 2022: Arkansas with South Korea

Arkansas & Korea: Points of Interest in BusinessBy Yang Luo-Branch, President, Arkansas Association of Asian Businesses (AAAB)The bridge between Arkansas and Korea continues to be reinforced by the concerted efforts of innovative business leaders within both...

5 Principles of Customer Discovery

Your goal as a business is to sell your product or service to your customers. But do you know who you’re selling to? Could you identify what their pain points are, their budgets, their spending habits, or even their process for discovering and purchasing a new...

Creating a Website for Your Startup: A Quick Guide

Every day millions of websites are built. What separates successful from bad ones? Highly successful sites need to have a clear purpose, should be easy to navigate, and be visually pleasing. Visitors want to revisit secure, stable, functional, and helpful websites...

STARTUP CRAWL: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

The Northwest Arkansas Startup Crawl will return to downtown Fayetteville on Friday, April 8, for an evening-long celebration of the region’s budding entrepreneurial ecosystem. The fourth iteration of the event, postponed from September 2021, is organized by Startup...

Loloft Secures Funding and Opens First Location

Loloft, a Northwest Arkansas-based Startup, Combining Co-working with Micro-warehousing, Secures Funding and Opens First LocationLoloft, a new concept in flexible micro-warehousing, today announced that it raised $1M in funding and is opening its first location in...

4 Rules Every Founder Should Follow for Enterprise Sales

The following is a guest post from Max Menke, founding partner at GrowthX.For a startup, few things are more exciting than the opportunity of adding a big logo to your list of customers. Enterprise customers can provide a startup with a lot of credibility in the...

How Founders Can Be Their Own Marketing Departments

Marketing in today's image-saturated world can be difficult, but business owners are able to reach their audience in more ways now than ever before. If you're the owner of a new startup or small business in Fayetteville, AR, learn more below about how to become your...

Startup Junkie Foundation to Host Holiday Food Drive

In an effort to help address food insecurities in Northwest Arkansas this holiday season, Startup Junkie Foundation is launching a month-long food drive initiative to benefit the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. Through the initiative, dubbed Entrepreneurs Give Back, the...

Kiva Community Loans Continue to Help Small Businesses Thrive

In the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced many small businesses across the country to face hard decisions, including whether to close their doors or do their best to survive one of the worst economic storms of the 21st century. Many small businesses had to...

The Power of Weak Ties: Tips on How to Become “The Connector”

The saying "It's not what you know, but who you know" holds substantial weight, especially in the entrepreneurial arena. In the book, The Tipping Point, Malcom Gladwell describes the connector as someone who knows a lot of people in the community and is able to...

Small Business Saturday 2021: A Guide for Small Business Owners

Rebecca Lake |  Bankrate.comBlack Friday and Cyber Monday represent two of the busiest days of the holiday shopping season. But in between them lies an opportunity for small-business owners to claim a share of holiday shoppers’ budgets.Small Business...

NWA Entrepreneurial All-Stars: Brett Amerine

After more than a year of being forced apart by the pandemic, we are celebrating what makes the Northwest Arkansas venture ecosystem great by highlighting the incredible founders and hardworking entrepreneurial support organization leader – all of whom drive our...

The Best Low-Budget Marketing Tools For Business

After almost two years of lockdowns and instability in many industries, we have seen small business owners struggling to stay afloat. Being an entrepreneur is stressful at the best of times—and exponentially more so in 2021. One crucial element in growing and...

NWA Entrepreneurial All-Stars: Jeff Amerine

After more than a year of being forced apart by the pandemic, we are celebrating what makes the Northwest Arkansas venture ecosystem great by highlighting the incredible founders and hardworking entrepreneurial support organization leader – all of whom drive our...

The Value of Brand Voice: Why It Matters

Guest Blog | George NewtonBrand voice often determines that initial first impression to your customers. Your brand voice is the unique manner you present yourself. It is a reflection of your identity as a company when you connect with your consumers. It represents...

Considering Insurance for Your Startup

Guest Blog | Andrija SubericMany startup owners incorrectly view insurance as a luxury and not a necessity. Working with brokers or advisers to create the right risk management program is often regarded as a tedious chore that can be left for later down the line in...

NWA Entrepreneurial All-Stars: Patrick Kinnamon

After more than a year of being forced apart by the pandemic, we are celebrating what makes the Northwest Arkansas venture ecosystem great by highlighting the incredible founders and hardworking entrepreneurial support organization leader – all of whom drive our...

NWA Entrepreneurial All-Stars: Martha Londagin

After more than a year of being forced apart by the pandemic, we are celebrating what makes the Northwest Arkansas venture ecosystem great by highlighting the incredible founders and hardworking entrepreneurial support organization leader – all of whom drive our...

The Value of a Logo to the Customer Experience

Your logo is oftentimes the first thing many customers will see. It is often the primary association many customers will have when they think of your business. Your logo represents your company, and many companies, from multinational conglomerates to mom and pop...

NWA Entrepreneurial All-Stars: Matt Francis

After more than a year of being forced apart by the pandemic, we are celebrating what makes the Northwest Arkansas venture ecosystem great by highlighting the incredible founders and hardworking entrepreneurial support organization leader – all of whom drive our...

NWA Entrepreneurial All-Stars: Spencer Jones

After more than a year of being forced apart by the pandemic, we are celebrating what makes the Northwest Arkansas venture ecosystem great by highlighting the incredible founders and hardworking entrepreneurial support organization leader – all of whom drive our...

Building Brand Identity with PR

The digital world is more important than ever, especially for brand awareness. Most brands have recognised that people spend a lot of their time online, so they’ve chosen to move the bulk of their advertisement to online hubs and platforms. Through this gradual...

NWA Entrepreneurial All-Stars: James Farmer

After more than a year of being forced apart by the pandemic, we are celebrating what makes the Northwest Arkansas venture ecosystem great by highlighting the incredible founders and hardworking entrepreneurial support organization leader – all of whom drive our...

NWA Entrepreneurial All-Stars: Sarah Goforth

After more than a year of being forced apart by the pandemic, we are celebrating what makes the Northwest Arkansas venture ecosystem great by highlighting the incredible founders and hardworking entrepreneurial support organization leader – all of whom drive our...

Putting Real Opportunity into Opportunity Zones

When Opportunity Zones (OZs) were first announced, there was a substantial amount of interest and enthusiasm. The effort included key members of Congress and a significant number of high-profile venture investors. The OZs were going to motivate new investment in over...

How to Piss Off Your Investors (or How Not To)

Once a founder has decided to pursue outside investment, a process begins that can be much like the inquisition. Preparation and thickness of hide are mandatory attributes. Over my career as a founder and active early-stage investor, I've witnessed a variety of...

Required Reading: The Venture Essentials

Ten thousand hours or four hundred sixteen and two-thirds days seems like a long time. It is. Much has been said about the 10,000-hour rule in developing mastery over anything. As a founder or small business owner, learning and developing mastery must be an essential...

Building Antifragile Businesses

by Jeff AmerineBusinesses of every size faced existential threats in 2020 due to the pandemic and other factors. Supply chains were disrupted, economies were locked down, demand disappeared or blew up and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs was on full display. This sort of...

Valuation – Magic, Myths, and Methods

by Jeff Amerine Raising money sucks. It sucks for founders. It sucks for fund managers. It pretty much sucks for everyone. Part of what adds to the suckiness for founders is the dark art of valuing your company. The conventional financial valuation methods used by...

Mentors and Subject Matter Experts: What’s the Difference?

Most founders come to the realization they don’t possess an omnipotent understanding of every aspect of their business, their market or numerous other critically important issues. Lots of resources are available that can be helpful like entrepreneurial support...

Asking Good Questions

 Creativity is seeing what others see and thinking what no one else has ever thought. – Einstein I like to ask questions. No matter if I’m going through a difficult season, have an idea that I want to bounce off of someone, or trying to grow the Science...

12 Tips for Using Social Media for Small Business

From Christina Newberry | Hootsuite If you have a business, you likely spend a lot of your time trying to dig up the latest social media marketing tips. And for good reason.There are now 4.2 billion active social media users—almost twice as many as...

HubSpot: Everything You Need to Write a Marketing Plan

Clifford Chi | HubSpotYou did it.You've been spearheading your organization's content marketing efforts for a while now, and your team's performance has convinced your boss to fully adopt content marketing. There's one small problem, though.You don't know where to...

Important Social Media Trends to Watch for in 2021

Christina Newberry, Sarah Dawley | HootsuiteIt’s an understatement to say this year has changed the way people and businesses use the Internet in general and social media in particular. So how will these new social media trends affect the way we use social networks in...

How Microlending Helps Small Business Owners During COVID-19

When it comes to starting a business many entrepreneurs and early startups seek funding from friends and family first. Further, in regard to existing businesses, the pandemic caused global economic disruptions when many small...

Media Startup NWA Daily is Improving the Way We Do Daily News

Local media startup NWA Daily is looking to change the way Northwest Arkansas residents consume their daily news. Founded by Daniel Fritsche and Luke Brasuell in the fall of 2020, the daily newsletter has grown to more than 1,000 readers and counting. Check them...

The Top 5 Reasons Brands Make Videos

By Caroline Forsey | HubSpotVideo is fast-becoming the preferred tool for most marketers to connect with and reach new audiences.Video marketing is undeniably effective, too — in fact, including a video on a landing page is capable of increasing conversion...

How to Manage Your Entire Marketing Budget

Megan Conley | HubSpot Blog Let's say your company decided to invest in a website redesign to improve lead generation, and you're responsible for managing the project.Naturally, one of the first questions you have is, "How much is this website...

9 Social Media Trends Marketers Should Watch in 2021

Pamela Bump | HubSpot Blog As we near the end of 2020, one thing is certain: We've spent a lot of time on social media this year.But, our increased connection to social media isn't at all shocking.In March, as countries implemented stay-at-home orders due to...

Important Finance Terms for Small Business

Small business finance can come with a new language that is very different from personal finance terms. Some of these terms might transfer, but even when they do, there might be some difference as it concerns business finance.If you are making financial decisions for...

Everything You Need To Know About Startup Week

The NWA Startup Week (Sept. 14-18) will feature five nights of virtual, televised events and local food and drink pairings that highlight startups, small businesses, restaurants and breweries throughout the region. Each night, local startups will be showcased on...

IdeaFame Competition set to be Televised First Day of Startup Week

In order to accommodate social distancing and gathering guidelines, this year’s Startup Crawl will instead be Startup Week, which will feature the first-ever televised IdeaFame Pitch Competition. This virtual adjustment will provide entrepreneurs a platform where they...

The Ultimate Guide to Startup PR

Written by Marie BarnesYou may be in the middle of launching a startup or have been dreaming about your startup behind the scenes. Anyway, starting a business is invigorating. This path can be passionate, troublesome, unnerving, energizing, hazardous, and fulfilling....

SBA Launches Forgiveness Platform August 10

The SBA will launch a new PPP Forgiveness Platform for lenders beginning August 10, 2020. The platform is designed to ensure a secure forum for lenders to upload and accept loan forgiveness decisions, monitor the status of the forgiveness request and work directly...

Suspicious Activity Detected in COVID-19 EIDL program

Update August 20: SBA impersonators are email phishing to scam businesses who have applied for an EIDL to upload additional personal information to a third party platform. If you suspect fraudulent activity, contact the SBA Inspector General. The SBA has issued...

Camp Girl Boss Offers Virtual Competition

This fall over 100 middle school girls aged 10-13 in the Fayetteville area will have the chance to work with local entrepreneurs to build their own business plans. The Camp Girl Boss program is establishing a local presence in Fayetteville by teaming up organizations...

Utilizing Digital Marketing as a Strategy

Digital marketing has become a proverbial buzz word in recent years as more of the world, and thus consumer purchases, move online. The thing with digital marketing is that it can be as confusing, complicated, and overwhelming as you allow it to be. But once you've...

University of Arkansas Seeks Students to Help Local Startups

The University of Arkansas Walton College students have the opportunity to work directly with the local entrepreneurial community through the Venture Intern Program. The benefits of this program are two fold; students can implement their knowledge from the classroom...

More Leniency in Loan Forgiveness Revisions

New revisions to the Paycheck Protection Program under the CARES Act have been expedited to be effective immediately as of June 5th by the U.S Treasury department to relieve additional economic loss from coronavirus (COVID-19). These revisions were signed in by the...

Last Chance to Apply for PPP Loan June 30th

There is one week remaining to apply for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding with the application window closing on Tuesday, June 30th. Applicants must receive a small loan number by June 30th to qualify for aid and should meet with a lender prior to the...

Perfect SEO for Startups: 4 Win-Win Tips available to Everyone

From Gearyoda by Marie BarnesA newly minted business has a lot of problems to face all at once: product development, production adjustment, team building, marketing activities and much more. But even a novice knows that in order for a product or service to be sold, it...

Interview with an entrepreneur: Ed Linck

“Buy Local. Eat All Natural. Live Well.”From ConductorBuy Local, Eat All Natural, Live Well - this is what Barham’s Ozark Beef believes. A two-part business, Charles Barham raises beef in Ozark, Arkansas, and Ed Linck markets, sells, and delivers beef out of Conway,...

Financing a Startup Business – Top 5 Methods to Do It

The notion of launching your own business and onboarding a group of likeminded individuals who share your passion and dedication to the project is certainly an alluring idea. However, given that startups require financial resources to make an impact on the market and...

Paul Graham: Why to Start a Startup in a Bad Economy

By Paul GrahamFrom October 2008The economic situation is apparently so grim that some experts fear we may be in for a stretch as bad as the mid-seventies.When Microsoft and Apple were founded.As those examples suggest, a recession may not be such a bad time to start a...

7 Tips for Startup Marketing on a Budget

As a startup, you’ll need to turn the audience’s attention to your business. Most startups find this to be a problem as they don’t have the possibility to spend a lot of money on marketing. This initial challenge can seem like a tough one, but it’s not all about who...

Best Practices for Working from Home

From Entrepreneur Magazine: Thousands of in-office workers are experiencing their first foray into the world of at-home work, as large and small businesses try to manage the threat of COVID-19 by asking their employees to work remotely.And while a...

How to Raise Capital in Uncertain Times

For the past decade, we have been in the midst of the biggest economic expansion in American history with unemployment at a historic low of 3.6%. Naturally, during periods of economic expansion, raising capital for a startup or new business is...

5 Tips for Young Entrepreneurs Hoping to Raise Venture Capital

The daily news of startups raising multi-million-dollar funding is enough to suggest it’s almost easy to raise venture capital. Unfortunately for most entrepreneurs, nothing could be further from the truth — VC firms are more selective than ever in allocating their...

Five Podcasts Female Founders Should Add to Their Playlist

 According to Podcast Insights, 51 percent of the US population has listened to a podcast, and 62 million people listen to podcasts every week. Those are huge numbers. Regarding business, podcasts have become a way for professionals to educate...

Simple Tips for Leading a Remote Workforce

From Inc. Magazine: Working from home has become a stark reality for millions of Americans as businesses large and small move to close offices to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As a result, countless team leaders are now responsible for leading their teams from afar....

13 Lessons from the Experiences of Self-Made Billionaire Founders

In the world of a startup founder, one must always look for ways to improve their company if they want to take things to the next level. Whether it be building a founding team, developing products that can survive a competitive marketplace, raising venture capital, or...

How to Handle Hypergrowth

Hypergrowth, or the rapid acceleration of incoming business (and overall growth), is rare for startups to experience. Although that’s not to say it doesn’t happen. Big names like Uber, Slack and Airbnb that seemingly became a household name overnight have all...

What’s your best advice for pitching?

The Northwest Arkansas entrepreneurial ecosystem is privileged to have a number of leaders who represent successful startups, Universities, entrepreneurial support organizations and more. Want to learn from the leaders? We’ve polled the men and women of the Northwest...

Not-so Breaking News: Startups Love Stickers

Startups love stickers. Wait – no ­– everyone loves stickers. But for a startup, stickers represent a fun way to create brand ambassadors that passively spread the word about their growing business. What’s not to like? “Stickers are great,” says Edwin Ortiz,...

Working Capital for Startups

It’s every startup’s goal to become a successful and thriving business. To maintain your startup’s financial health, it’s critical for you to thoroughly understand working capital. Working capital measures the difference between your current assets and...

What should I consider when hiring my first employee?

The Northwest Arkansas entrepreneurial ecosystem is privileged to have a number of leaders who represent successful startups, Universities, entrepreneurial support organizations and more. Want to learn from the leaders? We’ve polled the men and women of the Northwest...

Startup Junkie Asks: What’s the Best Advice You’ve Ever Received?

The Northwest Arkansas entrepreneurial ecosystem is privileged to have a number of leaders who represent successful startups, Universities, entrepreneurial support organizations and more. Want to learn from the leaders? We’ve polled the men and women of the Northwest...

Small Business Saturday: What you need to know

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Small Business Saturday, and there’s no better time to celebrate it by shopping local.  Small Business Saturday is a shopping holiday launched by American Express during the holiday season of 2010 as an effort to...

Going out tonight? Take Purlu with you

Brad Cardwell and Caitlin Trickett want you to go out tonight. And they want you to find the best deals possible when you do. Their app, Purlu, is designed to allow users to find the best local food and drink specials and maybe even discover your new favorite...

Take a Ride with Buddy Pegs

Husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Scott and Jannine Fitzgerald are on a mission. Their company, Buddy Pegs, has envisioned a world where the children of today become the joyful and inspiring leaders of tomorrow by introducing them to and helping to develop a love...

Gratavid: Using Tech to Transform Fundraising

Gratavid and founder Will Trapp is looking to change organizations fundraise, helping increase donor retention through the use of personalized videos showing gratitude to donors and where exactly their donated dollars are going. Gratavid (think gratitude video) is a...

Rockin’ Baker Academy: Meeting a Knead

Daymara Baker is transforming lives, one loaf at a time.  The Venezuelan native-turned-Fayetteville business woman is cooking up something special in her small, European-style bakery. And it’s not just the sourdough and brioche. For the last three years,...

The Blade Solution Aims to Transform Mowing Safety

Some of the best startups are born out of necessity. Innovative individuals set out to solve a problem, and as a result, a new company is created. That was certainly the case for retired cowboy and security consultant Richard Nevels.A few years back, Nevels bought a...

Building a Unicorn: A Look at the Lessons from the $1B+ Club

Just about every startup founder’s dream is to join the herd of unicorns — becoming a statistical rarity or household name like Uber, Lyft or Postmates. But it much easier said than done. These days, just establishing a startup takes a talented and dedicated team,...

Startup Crawl: Everything You Need To Know

The Northwest Arkansas Startup Crawl will return to downtown Fayetteville on Friday, Sept. 13, for an evening-long celebration of the region’s budding entrepreneurial ecosystem. The third annual event is organized by Startup Junkie, the mission-driven organization and...

Fayetteville Startup LIVSN Designs Cruises Past Kickstarter Goals

If you’re going to create something, take the time to create something the world needs. And if you take the time to do so, the world will respond positively to what you have created. That has certainly been the case for Andrew Gibbs-Dabney and his outdoor apparel...

Startup Spotlight: Luncher

For some entrepreneurs, one venture can be the result of a lifetime of experiences. That is true of Edwin Ortiz and his company Luncher. The Mexico City native turned Northwest Arkansas resident is working to solve a problem that very few are as equipped to...

Find Your Why with Cox Media

In the first of four sessions in a marketing series presented by Cox Media, Mike Papacoda took attendees on a journey to help small business owners and entrepreneurs find their purpose for doing business.  Awaken Your Why“Small business owners work...

From Intern to Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurship comes naturally to some. Tanner Green, 18, is one of those individuals. A former Startup Junkie intern and an entrepreneur at heart since before he could get a driver's license, Green is diving headfirst into his latest venture: PigPin. He took the...

A Golden Opportunity for Supply Chain Startups

Fuel is a 16-week, collaborative program for growth-stage, supply chain-focused startups who are serving enterprise clients. Fuel’s focus is on education, mentorship, and growing business relationships with enterprise partners.BENTONVILLE, AR – A new opportunity...

With LIVSN, Less is More

Andrew Gibbs-Dabney, an authentic outdoor enthusiast, founded LIVSN to create a clothing line that promotes and inspires the active lifestyle. Through much preparation and the combination of a deep passion for the outdoors and commitment to quality, he is set to...

10 Free Tools to Jumpstart Your Business

You’ve likely completed your Lean Canvas. You’ve read Ash Maurya’s Running Lean. You’ve Talked to Humans. Now is the time to put your plans into action and turn planning into doing. But where do you start? You may feel like you need a website, a...

It Pays to be an Arkansas Based Company

Navigating how to fund a startup venture is often one of the largest barriers to getting started in a new business. It is perhaps even more difficult when you are trying to start a company that requires extensive research and development before getting to a product or...

Numbers Fib, Statistics Lie!

Numbers Fib, Statistics Lie!Facts are stubborn, but statistics are more pliable.Mark TwainDuring the darkest days of the Second World War, Allied bombers were being shot down in alarming numbers. To address those losses, a study was commissioned to examine...

Keeping Up With K

Entrepreneurs are a rare breed, oftentimes willing to go the distance when others won’t. Staying resilient in the barricade of “no’s” they receive, entrepreneurs tough it out, knowing that quitting is not, nor ever will be, an option.We spoke with K Clarence Lawrence,...

Kasim’s Comeback

Sitting with Omar Kasim at his organic cold-pressed juice bar, I got the scoop on his comeback, as well as the process of building Juice Palm in the wake of losing Con Quesos a year ago.Con Quesos had originally started out as Omar’s honors thesis, which he...

My Entrepreneurial Journey

There is no standard journey or common path to becoming an entrepreneur. Each of us has our own story and our own reason for choosing this path. The entrepreneurial path lacks “perceived” security, elements of prestige, and can be a lonely journey. However, I’ve found...

Libby Primm, RHU

This week we sat down with Libby Primm, founder of Primm Risk Solutions. Located in Springdale across from the Country Club, Libby’s office hosts less than ten employees – each of them adamantly offering us Skittles as we walked through the door. Primm Risk Solutions...

LFLS Shoes

We’ve had the opportunity to work with Eric and watch his business grow this past year, and we’re excited to see where the future takes him!Last week I sat down with Eric Jones, CEO and founder of LFLS Shoes, a designer dress shoe company that offers many unique...

Defining Identity

When I first set out to write this blog post, I was thinking through the concept of work life balance. I’ve always been a verbal processor, so while talking this through with my husband over dinner, he helped me realize the point I was really trying to convey was...