Entrepreneur creates podcast to boost city’s startup sector

Entrepreneur Mart Marasco gave up a full-time business development job in his hometown of Altoona, Pennsylvania, to move to Birmingham with his family in February 2017 and help start a new company.

And Marasco quickly discovered the Magic City’s vibrant tech and startup business community.

“There’s a lot of cool activity,” he said. “There’s a good foundation being built.”

This activity deserved to get more local attention, Marasco felt.

“There’s a lot of stuff going on, but a lot of people don't know about it,” he said.

To help change that, Marasco started a new podcast called “Savvy Startup Birmingham” in November 2017 that consists of 30- to 60-minute interviews with the owners of local startups and former startups that have become success stories.

Marasco also talks to representatives of local for-profit and nonprofit entities, including universities and business incubators — that offer information and resources to entrepreneurs.

The response to the podcast among business people has been positive, Marasco said.

“They think the word needs to spread about the startup community in Birmingham,” he said.

Marasco graduated from Penn State in 2005 with a degree in supply chain and information systems.

He worked in operations and supply-chain management for 12 years and had what he described as a six-figure salary. But Marasco said he “always had the entrepreneurial itch” and finally chose to scratch it by moving to Birmingham to serve as COO for a tech-based medical startup.

However, that company dissolved in summer 2017, and during the transition, Marasco decided to do his own podcast as a potentially fruitful side project.

“It’s a chance to introduce myself and also provide the opportunity to help other people get introduced to the startup community in Birmingham,” Marasco said.

He has done nine episodes so far, with interview subjects such as Devon Laney, CEO of tech hotbed Innovation Depot; Kimberly Brock, owner of Bitty’s Living Kitchen; and Tony Summerville, founder and CEO of Fleetio. 

There’s been no problem for Marasco in finding willing interview subjects.

“There’s lots of people who’ve been there, done that and are eager to support entrepreneurs and also build something to help the community,” he said.

The podcast gives entrepreneurs a chance to promote themselves. “They want people to hear about their company, their startup,” Marasco said.

But it also seems that taking part in the podcast can be “kind of therapeutic” for entrepreneurs, according to Marasco.

The interviewees get a chance to step back and review the factors that led them to make the “huge life decision” to start a company, he said

“It gives them a fresh perspective on what they’re doing and energizes them moving forward,” Marasco said.

The podcast certainly benefits its creator, according to Marasco.

“It has helped me focus on the expertise I bring to the table and how I can help support someone's else business or their needs,” he said.

Marasco is in the midst of his own new entrepreneurial venture, launched in 2017. He is a managing partner at BFC (Better Faster Cheaper) Global Services LLC, based at Innovation Depot.

Marasco describes BFC Global Services as “a global sourcing company that has boots on the ground in most low-cost countries, like China, to manage quality and sourcing of any company's products or components.”

The podcast helped Marasco realize that he’s coping with the same “pains and struggles” as anyone else trying to start and grow a business. 

“And I am continuing to grow a network of folks who have skills sets I don’t have, that I can rely on in the future,” he said.

Marasco and his wife, Cameron, live in Inverness with their three children: girls Marli and Alaina, ages 4 and 2, respectively, and newborn boy Micah. His goal now is to grow the listening base for “Savvy Startup,” and he wants the podcast to help entrepreneurs reach out and connect with each others.

Marasco said he also hopes his podcast will show that entrepreneurship is not at all glamorous. “If you want to achieve something, you have to get through the pain to get there,” he said.

Another goal is to allow business people learn about some of the free or low-cost resources available in Birmingham.

“A lot of startups don't realize all the programs and services that are out there,” he said.

To find “Savvy Startup Birmingham,” go to savvystartupcity.com. For more about Marasco’s startup, go to bfcglobalservices.com.