Episode 3

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Published on:

23rd Mar 2023

Helping Startups Succeed | Paul Anthony

In this episode of the Rooted and Reaching podcast, hosts Nick Kuhn and Bethany Hartley speak with Paul Anthony, CEO and Co-founder at OpStart, a South Bend based company managing accounting, finance, and other back-office functions for startups. Paul talks about his background in venture capital and how deviating from the traditional career path can bring value to your life and your community. He also discusses the unique ethos of South Bend and the vast opportunity it presents for successful and impactful startups.

QUOTES

  • “What we're really focused on is providing the best advice and execution to companies that are looking to scale quickly. Because when you are scaling really quickly, that's when things can break more easily. And you need to be laser focused on your metrics. You need to be really well informed on how you're doing financially because a small slip up can be catastrophic.” -Paul Anthony [14:43]
  • “I'd love South Bend to be an ecosystem where people can work on interesting things that have a social component to them and that make the world a better place. And I think that would be a really great way to match what the community's ethos is in general. This is a very passionate kind of collective community.” -Paul Anthony [23:01]



TIMESTAMPS

  • [00:17] Growing up in South Bend and Paul’s experiences in investment banking
  • [05:35] Working with a local community in the Dominican Republic
  • [10:44] The need for financial function as a service for startups
  • [15:30] OpStart's journey 
  • [21:40] Leveraging South Bend's strengths to put it on the world map




RESOURCES

OpStart: https://www.opstart.co/ 


CONTACT

Nick Kuhn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kuhnnick/ 

Bethany Hartley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethanyhartley/ 

Paul Anthony: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-anthony-8a256087/  

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About the Podcast

Rooted and Reaching
Stories about local Startups and Founders in South Bend and Elkhart
There’s a job to do, and in the South Bend - Elkhart region, a midwestern work ethic is changing the narrative from rusty to ready. Our cities are opening up and working together as a region—universities are engaging beyond their campuses, sharing their brainpower and realizing that they’re bigger and better with the community behind them. Organizations are reaching out to newcomers and helping them build local networks, leveling the playing field. Infrastructure is being creatively adapted to be gathering places where new deals are made, new collisions happen, and new entrepreneurs take root. Join the Rooted & Reaching podcast, where we discuss the startup life with entrepreneurs with connections to the South Bend - Elkhart region.

In doing this, we will inform the general public and ourselves about what resources are available and the major pain points of entrepreneurs in our region. This podcast is also intended to tell the amazing stories of our local entrepreneurs in the hope that it will inspire another person in the region considering an entrepreneurial pursuit to take that leap of faith and see the supportive atmosphere in the area.