This Is Small Business
Welcome to This Is Small Business, an Amazon podcast hosted by Andrea Marquez—where we talk about entrepreneurship the way it actually feels: exciting, chaotic, personal, and honestly… kind of life-changing. Follow along for unfiltered conversations with founders and creators as they open up about the wins worth celebrating, the messy middle nobody posts about, and the behind-the-scenes wisdom you won’t find in a textbook. If you’re dreaming, building, or just curious about how people actually make it happen—you’re in the right spot.
Episodes
Running a business rarely goes exactly as planned. Sometimes the idea comes from an insecurity you cannot shake. Sometimes growth means questioning the habits that got you this far. And sometimes the best advice sounds completely ridiculous until it starts to work.
In this latest season of This Is Small Business, host Andrea Marquez sits...
Data can tell you who your customers are, what they’re searching for and what to test next – if you know what to look for.
In this Small Business Byte on This Is Small Business, host Andrea Marquez explores how founders can use data...
Your culture may already be shaping your business – through the problem you noticed, the traditions that inspired you, or the story behind your product. Bringing those influences forward can help customers understand what makes your brand distinct and why it exists.
In this Small Business Byte on This Is Small Business, host Andrea...
When you’re building a business, it can be tempting to keep tweaking until everything feels perfect. But sometimes, the next step isn’t more polishing. It’s putting something real in front of people and learning from the feedback they give you.
In this Small Business Byte on This is Small Business, host Andrea Marquez d...
You don’t need to have it all figured out before you start.
This latest season of This Is Small Business was full of founders who began with a problem they couldn’t ignore, made mistakes, changed direction, and learned as they went.
Catch up on the stories, lessons, and advic...
What if the conversation you’re avoiding is the one your business needs most?
A lot of founders start a business because they have an idea, a product, or a vision they believe in. But at some point, building the business also means learning how to lead people, give feedback, handle tension, and communicate when things feel uncertai...
Your first business might not work out but it can show you how to build a better one.
After years in hospitality and teaching cocktail classes to thousands of people, April Wachtel saw a gap: people wanted bar-quality drinks at home, but didn’t always have the time, tools, or ingr...
What would you give up to build something bigger than yourself?
After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Rubens Amedee left his successful finance career to build a school on his grandfather’s land. But keeping that dream alive meant finding a sustainable way to fund it. That’s how Papa Rozier Farms was born – a beauty brand...
What if your biggest competitive advantage is your story?
When Akruti Babaria couldn’t find tools to help her son connect with his Indian heritage, she turned that gap into a business. What started as selling curated children’s books quickly evolved into Kulture Khazana – a brand built on storytelling, cultural co...
What separates the businesses that get funded from the ones that don’t?
Angela Lee, a professor at Columbia Business School and founder of 37 Angels, has helped evaluate over 20,000 startups and knows exactly what makes investors say yes.
In this episode, Angela breaks down how to ...
What happens when a simple craving turns into a nationally recognized brand?
For Alejandro Lopez, it started with brunch. Frustrated by inconsistent Bloody Marys at restaurants, he began experimenting in his own kitchen – searching for the perfect mix. What began as a passion project quickly turned into Toma Beverage Company.
What happens when you take a centuries-old tradition and introduce it to a modern audience?
That’s the question Brenden Silverman set out to answer with Leilo, a wellness drink inspired by kava – a traditional beverage from the South Pacific known for its calming properties. What started as a college experiment (complete with...
What if design isn’t the finishing touch on your business but the foundation?
Sally Chung thinks most founders have it backwards. They obsess over logos, colors, and aesthetics, while skipping the deeper work that actually determines whether a product succeeds: understanding the user.
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She didn’t mean to disrupt the gum industry. She just wanted gum that wasn’t made of plastic.
When Caron Proschan first found that out, she couldn’t ignore it. One piece of neon-blue gum after a healthy lunch sent her down a rabbit hole that ended with her hand-making natural gum in her apartment.
What if the biggest thing holding you back isn’t your idea… it’s the way you’ve been trained to think?
Ashish Bhatia is basically a therapist for entrepreneurs and in this episode of This Is Small Business, he breaks down why “just be confident” is the worst advice ever, and what actually works instea...
What do you do when you realize the “safe” path isn’t actually your dream?
Brandon Fuhrmann went to law school, passed the bar… and then walked away – because building Cooler Kitchen, a space-saving kitchen brand born in a tiny NYC apartment, sounded way more fun than billing hours forever.
What if the thing everyone avoids talking about is actually your best business idea?
When Katie Diasti realized how awkward and outdated period care still felt, she didn’t wait for someone else to fix it. She built Viv – a brand rooted in honesty, education, and actually listening to people.
In this episode of This Is Small Business, Katie shares how a college class project turned into a real company, why she said no to a...
Running a business is more than strategy and numbers. It’s momentum, pressure, excitement, and responsibility–often all in the same day. It’s making decisions without perfect information, trusting your instincts, and living with the outcome.
In This Is Small Business, host Andrea Marquez sits down with founders and creators to talk honestly about what it’s really like to run a business. The highs that keep yo...
Building a business can often seem like a solo mission. But founders who thrive know that success doesn’t come from hard work alone — it comes from having the right people in your corner: those who understand your mission and are invested in your growth.
In this Small Business Byte on This is Small Business, host Andrea Marquez dives into ...
Every small business owner dreams of seeing their product go viral. It’s exciting to imagine your business blowing up out of the blue, but these moments aren’t as random as they seem. What looks like a sudden spike in attention is often months of preparation, small bets, and calculated risks coming together at just the right moment.
In this Small Business Byte on This is Small Business, host Andrea Marquez breaks down ho...
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