Episode 11

full
Published on:

26th Sep 2024

Return and Reinvent: How Ryan Ryker and Julian Marquez Created an App to Empower New Businesses with Returned Store Items

This week host Susan Ford sits down with the dynamic co-founders of rScan, Ryan Ryker and Julian Marquez. Ryan and Julian share insights about their early ventures, including a clothing line, and how they reconnected to establish rScan, a company designed to help manage returned and liquidated products online. They also share how the South Bend community played a crucial role in their initial success, providing financial support and customer feedback.

Listen this week as Susan, Ryan, and Julian, discuss the journey of entrepreneurship and why empowerment is necessary for entrepreneurs to grow their e-commerce ventures.  

QUOTES

  • “Identify the right people on your team that fill gaps, the puzzle pieces. Because if you want to go far, have everyone go with you.” -Ryan Ryker [19:11]


  • “I've been working in industries that have that glass ceiling, and you see people work their life towards reaching that glass ceiling, and they never hit it and they see other people get up. It's very cutthroat once you get to the bigger picture of it in certain industries.” -Julian Marquez [09:00]



TIMESTAMPS

(00:10) From High School Entrepreneurs to Founders of RScan

(03:58) Empowering Entrepreneurs Through Community Support and Innovative Software

(10:40) The Importance of Hard Work and Mutual Respect in Leadership

(14:01) The Impact of Pitch Competitions on Entrepreneurial Growth

(17:08) Balancing Passion for Business with Personal Relationships

(23:02) Community Engagement and E-Commerce Opportunities in South Bend



RESOURCES

rScan: https://rscan.com/ 


CONTACT

Martin Mechtenberg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-mechtenberg-515a648/ 

Susan Ford: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-howard-ford-8446441/ 

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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.