In this inspiring episode of On the Brink with Andi Simon, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nicole Loftus, a powerhouse entrepreneur with a bold vision to democratize access to venture capital. As the founder and CEO of Pop Venture Enterprises, Nicole is doing more than imagining change—she’s building it.
Nicole’s journey began, as many transformative ones do, with a disruption—not of an industry at first, but of her own life. Raised in a traditional, working-class Italian family near Chicago, Nicole was expected to follow a conventional path. But after a personal turning point, she realized she had more to offer. She turned her keen eye for observation into a career of innovation, disrupting a $26 billion industry with her first company, Zorch, and now setting her sights on venture capital itself.
Disrupting an Antiquated System of Venture Capital Investments
Nicole’s new venture, Pop Venture, challenges a venture capital model that has long excluded the majority of Americans—especially women and people of color. With only a small number of venture dollars going to diverse founders, she saw a deeply flawed system that was gatekept by geography, identity, and elitism. Her solution: a publicly accessible, SEC-approved fund that allows anyone to invest in promising companies for as little as $25.
What makes Pop Venture unique is its transparency and accessibility. The investment process is broadcasted publicly on platforms like Peacock, and viewers are invited to weigh in on the businesses that receive funding. “We make venture popular,” says Nicole. This is venture capital for the people—by the people.
The Locker: Empowering Founders with Verified Diligence
Pop Venture isn’t just about funding—it’s also about empowering founders. Nicole created The Locker, a platform where entrepreneurs can submit their companies to a rigorous but founder-friendly diligence process. The goal? To showcase viable businesses with clear value and real potential, all in a transparent format the public can trust. This creates a win-win: investors see vetted opportunities, and entrepreneurs gain access to capital without the often-demoralizing hoops of traditional fundraising.
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Key Takeaways from the Conversation with Nicole Loftus
- Innovation Begins with Observation
Nicole’s mantra echoes the podcast’s tagline: “From observation to innovation.”She urges entrepreneurs to observe not only the market but themselves. Her breakthrough came from seeing what others overlooked—redundancies in the supply chain and outdated funding models—and being bold enough to reimagine them. - Scale Requires Focus
Nicole didn’t scale Zorch by chasing every opportunity. She created strict criteria for prospective clients and turned down deals that didn’t meet them. Her advice? Know your ideal customer, set your standards high, and stay focused. - Disruptors Must Think Big
Nicole’s story is a testament to the power of visualization. She imagined herself as an entrepreneur when it seemed impossible. Then she imagined a billion-dollar business model—and she built it. She now urges others to dream big and write it down.Your brain needs a plan. - Listen for the Pain Points
Through training like the Sandler sales method, Nicole learned to ask one critical question: “What’s your pain point?” This insight guided her innovations, whether for clients, suppliers, or herself. - Anyone Can Be a Venture Capitalist
Through Pop Venture, everyday Americans can now support the businesses they believe in—and share in their success. It’s not just financial inclusion; it’s financial empowerment.
Why This Matters Now
Nicole’s work comes at a time when trust in traditional financial systems is eroding, and entrepreneurs are seeking alternatives to inequitable funding models. Pop Venture is more than a fund—it’s a movement. With television access, founder-friendly tools, and crowd-powered capital, it’s putting the future of business in everyone’s hands.
As we wrapped our conversation, I was reminded why I launched this podcast—to spotlight pioneers who see, feel, and think in new ways, and to help listeners find the courage to do the same.
To Learn More:
- Visit www.popventure.com to invest, apply for funding, or explore their founder resources.
- Watch Pop Venture episodes on Peacock (free or with subscription).
- Explore The Locker for verified diligence tools.
Final Thought:
Disruption doesn’t always start with technology. Sometimes it starts with a question: What if we did it differently? Nicole Loftus asked that question—and answered it with action.
Listen to this other podcast or read the blog about the interviewee:
434: Meet India Martin, the New Chair of Women Business Collaborative
Want more stories like Nicole’s?
Visit www.andisimon.com, read our books, or contact us to explore how anthropology can help you discover your Blue Ocean.
Connect with me:
- Website: www.simonassociates.net
- Email: info@simonassociates.net
- Books: Learn more about these books here:
- Rethink: Smashing the Myths of Women in Business
- Women Mean Business
- On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights
Listen + Subscribe:
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Reach out and contact us if you want to see how a little anthropology can help your business grow. Let’s Talk!
From Observation to Innovation,
CEO | Corporate Anthropologist | Author
Simonassociates.net
Info@simonassociates.net
@simonandi
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Read the text for our podcast here:
Andi Simon
00:00:03
Welcome to On the Brink with Andy Simon. Thanks for joining us today. Whether you’re listening or you’re watching. I’m Andy Simon, and as you know, as a corporate anthropologist, my job is to help you get off the brink. And when I launched this podcast seven seasons ago, my, my, my journey was to find stories. Remember, we lived the story in our mind. And so our job is to help you change the story in your mind so you can. And I say these words intentionally so you can see, feel and think of new ways and respond to these very fast changing times. And they are fast changing. So today I have a wonderful woman with me, Nicole Loftus, and Nicole is here to tell you about her own journey. I thought it was so interesting as I read her bio, and I’ll read it to you in a moment. It was all about our tagline from observation to innovation. And what she’s going to share with you today is how she saw things and then turn them into even better things.
Andi Simon
00:01:02
And she is continually on a journey of really changing things for the better. Nicole, thanks for being with me today.
Nicole Loftus
00:01:10
Thank you for having me, Andy. I’m thrilled to be here.
Andi Simon
00:01:12
It’s so much fun. Let me tell the listeners or the viewers why they should pay attention. I’m Nicole Loftus is a founder and CEO of Pop Venture Enterprises. So I’m going to tell you about her current one a little bit about her prior one. And then I’m going to let her tell her journey with just an idea. Nicole created a company that disrupted a 220 $26 billion industry and grew to 40 million so fast. It was number eight on the Inc 500 and number one on Crain’s Fast 50. Whoa. Nicole saw the positive impact that funded businesses have on communities, and yet she found the system for funding them, as so many of us know, broken, antiquated, controlled by people who don’t necessarily want to fund us. Oh, my. How many? Shark tank. Pitch decks go nowhere. So she decided she saw it.
Andi Simon
00:02:05
She was going to change the game. Her solution is pop. Venture. A televised, televised public fund. Getting millions. Investing together. Choosing which businesses get capital and where jobs are created. Now the venture fund is SEC approved, operated by Pop Venture Advisors and a registered investment advisor and open to the public. This is Wednesday, June 18th, 2025 when it is coming alive. This is going to be fun because we’re going to launch this podcast at just about the same time. So you’ll hear her story and see what’s happening, and then go and maybe invest to operate it. She built the locker. A founder driven, comprehensive, verified diligence solution. Now think about this. You’re the founder. You want to tell people about your company. You want to do it in a way that is legitimate and it shows the diligence of the process. It’s really quite remarkable, so that you are in control. And yet it’s speedy, it’s fast and easy and it’s truthful. Prior to launching Pop Venture, Nicole was the founder and CEO of Search Like Pop Venture.
Andi Simon
00:03:09
The idea for Zork came from Nicole’s desire to make an industry better. Briefly, she built a model, evangelized the supply chain, and inspired a team all around branded merchandise. And while she was securing and maintaining multi-year, multi-year, multi-million dollar contracts with AT&T, American Airlines, Citigroup, she was doing all kinds of things to build something that she sold to private equity. It’s alive and well today. She will tell you about her journey, but I do think that she represents the kind of woman or person who is really transforming industries because they see, feel and think differently. And so can you. Nicole, thanks again for being here. But tell us, who is Nicole and how did you journey your way here? Because it hasn’t been without some bumps and bumps along the way.
Nicole Loftus
00:03:56
I’m sure that is for sure, but I think that’s true of everyone. again, thank you for having me. It’s a thrill. I, when we first met, I was, fascinated by you and the things you’ve written and said.
Nicole Loftus
00:04:09
And so it’s an honor. Thrilled to be here with you. so, I have, been born and raised in a blue collar Italian family in Illinois, not far from Chicago. My grandparents came here from Italy and parked on the west side of Chicago. And I was raised very much to believe that my place was to get married, have a family, and make a really good spaghetti every Sunday. And that was it. That was it. And I was following that path. And as you said, so well in the introduction, things happen. There’s bumps along the way. and as you always say, you know, there’s these observations you have to make. I think my very first disruption, my very first innovation was my life. And I’ve made. I’ve innovated my life a few times since then, but I was following that path of wife and, planning to have children. I never did, and the marriage didn’t work out. And I started making observations about myself and said, I think I have more to offer here.
Nicole Loftus
00:05:11
And I had always been thinking and observing ways that the industry I was working in could be better. And I just had something inside of me said, you know, the hubris, the I don’t know what it was or just the, challenging myself to say, can you possibly make this industry better? And so I chose to move on from married life and, to imagine myself as an entrepreneur, which was something that never entered my mind, ever.
Andi Simon
00:05:40
But, you know, I bet you made good spaghetti on Sunday, too.
Nicole Loftus
00:05:42
Always I make the best, which is a nice little bonus, right? I got something out of that. Yes, I still do. I still am the cook in my family. I’m still the hostess and I love that part of myself. I never gave that up. I just imagined, you know, just like when you innovate a company, right? You hang on to what was working before. You don’t let that go. You just now bring new possibilities into the company or into your life.
Andi Simon
00:06:07
So for our viewers, our audiences, can you share a little bit about that moment? What began? Because nothing comes up. You wake up in the morning and don’t say, I’m going to transform, or I’m going to build a whole new way to fund companies and must be some new mentors or ideas or something. You read a long walk you took. Travel. Travel has always been a good idea generator for me and my spouse, my husband, my partner. But what did you see or feel that made you rethink what you were doing and how you did it?
Nicole Loftus
00:06:41
I was working in the industry at, a very big participant. It was one of the biggest office supplies companies in the world, and my clients were Apple Computers and the biggest brands in the world. and I would go and watch how they saw this category as such, so important to their business. Simultaneously, I was starting to because my life was changing, starting to embarrass, to tell you read the paper for the first time.
Nicole Loftus
00:07:09
Learn about other businesses and other business models. For the first time in my life, it was like I was discovering a whole new world. And so as I started reading what Orbitz was doing to the travel industry, I’m dating myself. You know, the price lines, what people had done to the travel industry, eliminating that redundant layer. And I saw what one 800 flowers was doing to the flower industry. All these portals were shrinking supply chains. And it made me, of course, you read those things and it was inspiring me. And my brain thought, of course, my own industry and wait a minute, we have redundant layers just like they did. We have the same strong infrastructure farther down the supply chain. What would happen if we followed that model? So I didn’t create a new model. I merely was exploring other industries. So it’s like what? What happens when you get educated? What happens when you read? What happens when you look beyond your own backyard? And that was what inspired me to think, could we do this within our own industry? And every as soon as I started ideating it and finding flaws and what, it wouldn’t work.
Nicole Loftus
00:08:13
they all worked out. And then I hit the road and started talking to our suppliers in the industry and said what would happen if and their eyes would light up. And they thought, wow, that would be amazing. And I had basically, it had been proven already by these other industries. So I wasn’t, you know, starting from scratch, breaking through a brick wall.
Andi Simon
00:08:32
But, you know, but hold on to that thought, okay? Because I don’t know your archetype, but I’ll bet you’re an explorer. You’re curious.
Nicole Loftus
00:08:41
Very.
Andi Simon
00:08:42
You go out and explore and you begin to see what could be, not because you want to protect what is. You know, we specialize in helping companies change. And the first thing they say is, oh, we don’t do it that way. I said, I know that’s why you hired us. And here, you see, you know, whether it’s a travel agency or one 800 flowers, they are doing something, but we’re not. Why not? And now, did you have resistance? Were people saying we don’t do it that way?
Nicole Loftus
00:09:11
Are you kidding? I was told that I should get bodyguards, that I should go to the industry.
Nicole Loftus
00:09:15
I swear I was told that I should I should, not go to the industry, show because there was 20,000 middlemen, and I was claiming that they were redundant and not necessary. So it was there was resistance within the industry. But when I went down the supply chain to the domestic manufacturers that I was bringing into my own infrastructure, it was open arms. We love this. This is you’re bringing us back in back to the table. So there was yes, resistance, but there was also I was being waved in at the same time, if that makes sense. So, you know, if, if you, as you say, there is those things within an organization. I always say go as far down the supply chain as you can on both sides. Go all the way to the end user and go all the way down to where your original, raw materials come from or where, you know, as. Go to both sides of that spectrum and you will start to identify what the innovation is that you should be, that where you can find the innovation.
Andi Simon
00:10:16
You know, I’m listening to you and I if I if there’s a takeaway I want to make sure we repeat at the end is go all the way to each end of the supply chain, the end user. You know how many times I take my clients out to see their clients and not using it any way they expected them to. They had designed, overengineered, produced it for one problem that had nothing to do with the real problem, and on the other side was going all the way down the line to the suppliers who think they’re supplying you. The wonderful world that we in the mind thinks and imagines a reality that doesn’t necessarily match what’s real. But how do we tell the story over and over again? All those middle people told a great story about why they were so essential at a time when they were being obsolete. Right.
Nicole Loftus
00:11:05
Right. And that happens to us personally, right? You tell your own. You have your you’ve been so trained to your own story that you start to believe it and think there’s no other story.
Nicole Loftus
00:11:13
And I think that supply chain example is great, even when it’s, you know, a non-manufacturing company, right? You have a supply chain, even if you’re a tech company, if you’re a consulting firm, you’re a service provider, right? There is still two ends of that supply chain. The other breakthrough for me, again, sticking with that idea that I’m I was exploring myself simultaneously, you know, starting to read papers for the first time, but also going to educate myself and taking classes in sales training. I went through the Sandler selling system, which I still am a huge advocate of now. And their belief is that you need to ask questions and listen and shut up. But the number one question you have to find out is what is their pain point? So Andy, when you just said go down to the end user, what are they in pain? So my procurement clients their number one pain points, they have to save this company money. Okay. Let me go find you that savings.
Nicole Loftus
00:12:07
I went to the suppliers. What’s your pain point? I need transparency from you. Okay, great. Once I knew. Once. You know, their pain point therein is the, innovation and the solution. Possibly. Same thing with your personal life, you know? Where is where are you in pain right now? And you need to. We need to find you that sap.
Andi Simon
00:12:25
Well, but, you know, as an anthropologist, often people can tell you the pain. And. Oh, I never loved that.
Nicole Loftus
00:12:33
Wait. You just gave me a breakthrough. Say that again. People don’t know the pain.
Andi Simon
00:12:37
Well, and they’ll tell you a story about what they think is the pain. Oh, finish my thought. Because you probably intuitively understand this. But when you go out with a client to see their clients. And you tell the client’s client. Why don’t you talk to us about what’s happening with your industry or the trends? Yeah. And then what do you see is happening? And my client is sitting there and I’m there, and we or we go into the manufacturing floor and we watch products that they’ve created to improve the process, not working exactly as they thought.
Andi Simon
00:13:09
Then we walk out and we write down everything we thought we heard because it’s only thought we heard. And the client, my client heard a completely different story than I heard. Wow. And I said to them, now let’s figure out why you’re trying to put it into your this is the way we do it. And that’s their problem because they’re not using it. Right. And I’m trying to find the gaps. And it’s always an Like an epiphany I watch their brain go whoosh as if to say I didn’t see that. I said yeah you can’t see it.
Nicole Loftus
00:13:41
There is confirmation bias too right. It’s like whatever you think you’re going to hear.
Andi Simon
00:13:46
Yes and no. So observe and go watch. Because listen and not to judge but to hear and you have been doing all of this. I’m curious how did you scale. It’s always a question that entrepreneurs, women entrepreneurs ask how do we scale?
Nicole Loftus
00:14:04
Yeah. for me it was essential. I don’t you can’t disrupt an industry in drips and drips.
Nicole Loftus
00:14:13
You need a tsunami of volume and revenue to convince the both sides of the supply chain that this is going to work, right. If you’re trying if people right with their right hand and you’re trying to ask them to write with their left. They need a lot of practice. They need to do it again and again and again. So I realized, and also, you know, crunching my numbers and doing projections that I needed big clients. So I became laser focused and said, we will not talk, take a call. I won’t take a meeting with anyone unless they meet these three criteria. And I tell everyone that you need to do this. decide what the three characteristics are of your ideal client and refuse to talk to anyone else. I would have employees who would say, but I have a friend of a friend who could buy a thousand soccer t shirts, and if they don’t meet our criteria, I’m not taking that call. And so we said the, we must only talk to companies who spend X amount of dollars a year.
Nicole Loftus
00:15:09
It was for us. It was 5 million a year. Must they must drive compliance, be exclusive. And they’re up for bid in six months if they don’t meet those three criteria, I’m not taking the call. So that laser focus allowed me to. It was one part of me winning every single RFP, one after, and allowed me to make sure I was scaling in big steps. Not little. There were so many men, especially, that said to me, stop trying to go for these Grand Slams. Go for the base hits. Of course, the sports analogy and I was like, you don’t understand. You must have Grand Slams if you’re going to be successful innovating and you can’t innovate if you don’t scale like so like to your question that go hand in hand in my opinion. You know, what do I know. But for me that was the only way to do it. And that’s why we grew from zero to 6 to 22,000,040 million so fast.
Andi Simon
00:16:00
But, you know, for our audience, I’m going to repeat this.
Andi Simon
00:16:05
you know, you can you can focus on mid market $50 million companies or billion dollar companies. You can choose. You have the choice. Part of it is believing that what you offer can really transform has a purpose. And I say that gently because in some ways your company wasn’t purpose driven at that time, but it did on purpose. You were going to scale and you were going to provide for big clients a different way of providing these services. And it wasn’t because they could tell you, could you please, it was that they needed it. You knew they needed it and you had a solution for it. If only they came with their $5 million sales and not the $500,000 won or the $50,000 one. But it’s a very important part of growing a business, knowing who’s going to be the right client for you and create sustainability. Now, did you deliver? I’m assuming you did. Did you have systems in place to do that?
Nicole Loftus
00:17:03
They say our clients saved millions of dollars, and my other purpose was having to prove that the model worked.
Nicole Loftus
00:17:09
It was quite revolutionary this. Imagine to imagine that we would tap into the existing infrastructure of our suppliers and be more of a lean portal. And people thought it was crazy, and I’d convinced them to trust me a little bit. And so I had I only had so much time to prove it. So that was also my other purpose too, was and I think that’s true of most disruptors. But, you know, you had said something a minute ago about the, people having confirmation bias and people hearing what they wanted to hear. You know, the idea that, people are convinced that big companies are hard to work for, you know, if they’re fearful of going after the big brands like I did AT&T, State Farm City and Chase, Chevron and BP. Everyone’s like, oh, aren’t you scared to go after the big. The secret is the big clients are actually easier to close, in my opinion, than those and easier to manage than the little a smaller company for a lot of reasons.
Nicole Loftus
00:18:05
But, you have to get over what you already think is true and be willing to imagine something that might be right.
Andi Simon
00:18:13
Use that word. Imagine. the way we live today is based on how we see the future. Right. And I’m coaching a client later today just along this way. He’s small medium size wants to grow larger. And he said you have to visualize. What will it be like when you imagine that future. So it’s an interesting set up for our conversation. because the way your brain works is you imagined it, right? And then you made it happen. Yes. So if you can begin to visualize that future C big is possible, then it’s possible. And the only one who’s stopping you is you. And yes. You don’t know what you don’t know. Am I right?
Nicole Loftus
00:18:57
Right. You’re so right. And that imagining exercise you talk about involves must involve, in my experience, documenting and writing it down and imagining which in a form is a business plan, which I know is controversial.
Nicole Loftus
00:19:09
Not everyone likes a business plan. It’s essential to me because I have to document what type of clients do I have, and then that imagination becomes a working exercise. and next thing you know, you’ve got yourself a plan, you know?
Andi Simon
00:19:21
No, but don’t underestimate the way your brain works. It needs a plan. And the absence of it. It’s a shotgun. It has no focus. It doesn’t go anywhere. You don’t know if the decisions you’re making are on its journey someplace. And the small wins that get you there. Celebrations. Your mind remembers what you celebrate. So you’re really a good mind Model for everyone who’s the audience today is, you know. Don’t shut it down. Dream big. I’m Athena Clark at the launch of our book Women Mean Business Said to Women dream big. And I’ve held that in my head. I can hear her saying it. Why not? You dreamt big. And look what happened, didn’t it? Yeah, yeah. So that was Zork?
Nicole Loftus
00:20:04
Yes.
Andi Simon
00:20:05
Then how did you. Well, I guess you sold it and then moved on to something new. Would you like to share how you transitioned?
Nicole Loftus
00:20:11
Yeah, I actually didn’t sell it intentionally. I built the business to 40 million, 37 million and profitable without raising institutional capital. We had a small angel group that would might consider themselves, you know, venture capitalists. But, I, was a little too cocky and too confident and did not realize how venture capital works or doesn’t work, and I so I didn’t I wasn’t very prudent when I was choosing my VCs. Not that they were bad people. They were wonderful people. They were just not the right fit for my company, a tech company, disruptive. They’d never done anything like that. And they really were looking to get a win. So they,
Andi Simon
00:20:55
Defined as, flippant.
Nicole Loftus
00:20:58
Yes. Exactly. Like you flip a house. So, suffice to say, the company, the where the company ended up is not where I wanted it to be.
Nicole Loftus
00:21:06
The VC sold the company out from under me without my knowledge to private equity. And, I tried to wrestle it back, and I lost. So the company went to private equity, which a lot of people think is a success. But, the VCs are the only ones that got any money out of it. And it was absolutely devastating to me because I still hadn’t fulfilled that what I had imagined, right? That we would be $1 billion business owning a very large chunk of that $26 billion, industry, which was what we were where we were destined was on our way. Everything was working, well enough. And, so after I beat myself up because I take full responsibility for what happened. I started exploring again and educating myself. I started reading all about the venture capital industry voraciously and any data I could find. I was reading about it and I was shocked to see how, the data kicked out by the National Venture Capital Association itself was that VCs were only funding people in three states, only funding white men in those three states, and only funding very specific kinds of companies.
Nicole Loftus
00:22:11
So that meant all these other businesses weren’t getting funded and yet proved that these, companies are our job creators, our innovators, our problem solvers, that our country, our world wouldn’t survive without them. So if that’s their funding source, we need to build a new funding source. And I thought, well, I disrupted tchotchkes. I think I can disrupt venture capital. I didn’t realize how big a feat that was going to be because it’s been a long road. But, I’m so proud to say that we are. We are launching this week, Pop Venture, a new system for funding entrepreneurs that invites the public, all of America to invest in a fund that will invest in entrepreneurs, innovations, creating jobs and fueling communities. that when I was doing my research, the one piece that really shook me was realizing that only wealthy people can join a venture fund. I’m embarrassed again to tell you I did not know that. And I’ve asked people a lot. Most people don’t know that they’re shut out of that game.
Nicole Loftus
00:23:09
It’s the most lucrative investment there is, even though it’s very risky. And you should never invest what you can’t afford to lose. But, I thought why? And they said, well, because they’re not sophisticated enough. Well, I come from a family of truck drivers, bricklayers and movers. And you want to see financial sophistication go sit at their kitchen tables and see how they pay their mortgage. They have two kids, two cars in the garage, two vacations, and they pay their taxes with pride. Imagine that. And, that’s sophisticated enough for me to say we need to let everyone get in this game. And so we found a fund that was created by FDR 85 years ago, when he was trying to unite the country in a difficult time. And that’s our fund. It’s a 40 act fund, and I’m so proud of it. And I’m really excited for everyone to finally get in the game.
Andi Simon
00:23:55
I love this. So for our listeners, is it now? So talk about a little bit about the fund because it has you you’ve brought the sophistication that you’ve brought to the industry, to a fund that’s going to disrupt the way both businesses are funded and people can invest in them.
Andi Simon
00:24:15
It’s a big starter, sort of like a Kickstarter, but perhaps different. Share a little bit about the dynamics here.
Nicole Loftus
00:24:21
Yeah. So the, it is definitely a two sided marketplace and that both sides win. It’s the new way to invest and it’s the new way to get funded. So as an the entrepreneur in me loves the idea that it’s friendlier capital. It’s easier, not easy. And that we don’t do very difficult, arduous diligence. But, there’s less hurdles to jump over. And then for the, American public who’ve been shut out of investing in privately held businesses, privately held businesses are not as volatile as the public markets are. I mean, look what we’re dealing with today. One tweet in your 400, one K is gone, right? So privately held businesses are risky investments but less they’re not correlated to the public markets. our fund will allow someone to join with as little as $25. They can get shares in our fund. It’s a federally regulated fund. S.E.C. approved. It’s a registered fund.
Nicole Loftus
00:25:15
So that means that you can sell your shares back, once a year, and it’s limited what you can sell. And again, no one should ever invest more than they can afford to lose. but what we chose to do when I realized I was going to open this up to the public was, well, how do you get the attention of the American people? And how do we show them how this whole thing works? Right? So they don’t have to go learn like I did? Let me show them. And we chose to do this all on camera, all on television, all completely transparent. So everyone not only knows what we’re up to and gets to meet the companies we want to fund, we ask them to weigh in and tell us, do you think we should? We as a people should invest in this company, create jobs in that town, fuel that community, and that vote decides whether we invest or not. We’ve already chosen that company. so that transparency to me was essential.
Nicole Loftus
00:26:06
It’s like a democracy. We actually get to run. And, we’re using the most amazing technology that brings us together since the moon landing and even this year’s Super Bowl television. So that’s how it works.
Andi Simon
00:26:19
I love it. Now, if I want to watch it, where might I watch it?
Nicole Loftus
00:26:23
Yeah. So we’re going to be on Peacock and we will be announcing soon some other NBC, networks where we’ll be broadcast simulcast. So Peacock streaming, which is free, if you want to watch ads, you don’t have to be. You can subscribe, but you. But you also can be a subscriber.
Andi Simon
00:26:40
It is at a timing is everything. And you couldn’t be better timed for thinking about how do we turn, our own successes into other people. It’s a shock. Shock? Shark tank for general people.
Nicole Loftus
00:26:59
You. Everyone gets to be the shark. Andy. You’re right. You just nailed it.
Andi Simon
00:27:02
Yeah, exactly. And in the process, have the confidence that if I win, I won.
Andi Simon
00:27:07
And if I lose, I lost. And. And it’s not someone else who’s manipulating here. And I can judge now, the judging has to come from the due diligence on that company.
Nicole Loftus
00:27:19
Yes. That’s why we built our diligence software. And we have an incredible team that is really tough. we don’t present a company until we’ve done our diligence on it.
Andi Simon
00:27:27
And so in some ways, you’re, you’re evaluating the companies that are going to be on there. And so the trust factor has to be for you and the work you’ve done in order to bring them to market. And they do have to have a voice that tells an honest story. Now times change, so companies that are good can turn not so good. And that part of the business environment, and we have to be honest about that. It’s not perfect, but it’s a time for us to get engaged and involved. And this is very exciting. Yeah. So I think we’re almost about ready for us to wrap up.
Nicole Loftus
00:28:03
As much as that went by fast.
Nicole Loftus
00:28:05
This was fun.
Andi Simon
00:28:06
It was fun. It’s always fun. but you have some real good wisdoms I’d like our audience to remember and act on if they can. We can start with the end. If you want to really get involved in the future of the business world in America, how Bob ventures can, and then you can share with them some of the things that you’ve learned through your own journey. Please. Your thoughts.
Nicole Loftus
00:28:31
So how can they how do they get involved in Pop Venture? Go to Pop venture.com, and you can, apply for funding if you’re an entrepreneur. Or you can buy $25 or more in shares and just choose to buy shares. So that is. Yes.
Andi Simon
00:28:47
So this can be your let’s see, a little extra money you earn this week and you want to turn it into something better than, I don’t know, a beer. And here you have an opportunity to really begin to invest in things.
Nicole Loftus
00:29:01
Yeah. And realizing that we are together. More powerful in the aggregate. You know, we there are billionaires who are powerful.
Nicole Loftus
00:29:07
Well, together we are billionaires. You know, if we just the folks who love to watch Shark Tank and, the people who, maybe do fantasy sports or play the lottery, put their a little bit of money in a fund. We will have $1 billion fund before we know it. And with that power. Right. And as a people, this is built by the people. For the people truly is what venture is. We make venture popular. yes.
Andi Simon
00:29:34
Love it. I almost don’t want to go back. A few moments in the other conversation. But you had some other wisdoms to leave for people who are, you know, beginning to build their own businesses or I don’t want to forget how to build their business and scale it. 1 or 2 thoughts to share.
Nicole Loftus
00:29:49
Well, first off, I did build a directory of local resources that help entrepreneurs for free. It’s that help for founders. It’s free. I would never be an entrepreneur today if it wasn’t for the local resources that help entrepreneurs.
Nicole Loftus
00:30:02
The Women’s Business Development Center of Chicago and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce made me an entrepreneur. And so I invite everyone to please go to your local resources. They are there for a reason. They’re paid by taxpayer dollars. And, I wouldn’t be sitting here with you, Andy Simon, if it wasn’t for that help. And so that’s my number. That’s a big one.
Andi Simon
00:30:24
I love it, and don’t. You don’t have to look far. They’re there to help you. And the other part is ask questions. Ask questions, ask questions. Don’t think you have to know. Yes. No. And Nicole told you how she went researching everything from the venture capital world to discover. Oh, that’s why it works that way. Right. To. What can we do? And that was the supply chain. Look at the supply chain from the beginning to the beginning. You know, the whole thing is one integrated system, more or less. And so if you’re in a business and you haven’t done that, take some time.
Andi Simon
00:30:58
Be an anthropologist. Go explore it. Don’t assume you know. Go. Open your eyes. Listen to the stories.
Nicole Loftus
00:31:06
Open your mind to.
Andi Simon
00:31:08
Right and just open. Because you’re there. The times they are changing fast. And when they do what you thought was won’t be. And you won’t know what’s coming next. You know, Nicole told you she developed her company by looking at what you know, the airlines were doing. You can buy all kinds of stuff. You could get your, your flowers online. There was a whole new Transformation. You need the stores. And I remember having a client create an Amazon store for his products, he said. By that way, I said, well, look at what everyone else is doing on there. Why not? Oh, and it’s sort of like, And, you know, welcome to the world. And so as you’re thinking about your own business, don’t be bashful. I’m going to wrap us up. Nicole, thank you for coming today.
Nicole Loftus
00:31:53
Thank you for having me.
Andi Simon
00:31:54
I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. Talk about a purpose driven woman with a purpose driven company. And Pop Ventures is something that you all can participate in. We will put up both on the end of this podcast and in the blog that we write about it, where you can reach her and how you can find out more about it. For our audience, though, I really want you to think about how to see and feel before you do anything. You know, be an anthropologist. Go explore. Take a little time and realize that unless you go out and explore, you cannot go through filters. They all distort it, and by the time you get the message, it’s not the real one. And is there a reality? No, there’s no reality. There’s only an illusion. But that’s okay. You have the ability to turn it into an innovation. And that’s what we’d like to help you to. Our books are all available on Amazon. Look for Andy Simon, and we’re there.
Andi Simon
00:32:47
Andy Simon tells you all about them. Simon Associates dot net is our website and in there lots of case studies and tools you can use to assess your culture. Can we help you change it? Find your blue ocean strategy. Maybe help you build it and then really create innovation through leadership academies, where we help your emerging leaders become the kind of people you need to grow for the next stage in your own business. It’s been a pleasure, Nicole. Thanks so much. This has been such fun.
Nicole Loftus
00:33:14
Thanks for all you do, Andy. You do so much great work for entrepreneurs.
Andi Simon
00:33:18
Well, and I love being one, so it’s a state of happiness. Goodbye, everybody. Have a great day. Remember? Take your observations, turn them into innovations and tell us about it. Bye now. Take care. Bye.
