Hey, everybody. It’s Ben again.

Last week, we dove into the exits of various startups out of Nebraska. These founders had to ask themselves questions on how much farther they wished to scale, would the market be more or less friendly if they continued and if they had fulfilled their personal goals. 

This week, I wanted to explore the beginnings of this journey, rather than the ending. Seeing various business models over the years at pitch competitions, meetups and conferences, I’ve always wondered how entrepreneurs determined their dreams of starting a small business or scaling a high-growth startup. Sometimes, I’ve even seen these words of “small business” and “startup” used interchangeably — but I know there is more to it.

To try to get a better understanding, I reached out to advisers from the Nebraska Business Development Center and The Combine for how they help entrepreneurs at the early stages of their ventures. I also heard the experiences and recent milestones of Nebraska-based Cup of Coa and Humbl Roots on their paths to scale into well-known food brands. 

Although consumer packaged goods businesses have distinct trajectories of their own, I thought they could act as a sort of a bridge between the worlds of small businesses and startups: starting at farmers markets and specialty stores to taking on venture capital and appearing in popular retailers across the country. 

Check out the story here on SPN, and maybe also see it as a friendly reminder to complete that grocery list you keep procrastinating.