Evan Lutz launched his social enterprise, Hungry Harvest, from his dorm room at the University of Maryland. Hungry Harvest believes no produce should be thrown away, which is why they carefully source, hand-package, and deliver these fresh, although not so pretty, items to their customer's doorsteps at a discounted rate. Hungry Harvest was featured on Shark Tank in 2015. In this episode, hear about the rigorous and not-so glamorous Shark Tank experience; how the appearance affected the business; and all he learned along the way. You can also hear why Hungry Harvest is not just about the sales, Evan and his team are passionate about the company's social mission to reduce food waste and provide the more than 50 million Americans who are food insecure with healthy options. Listen to learn about the company's four criteria for their sustainable donation model and play along with another segment of "Kickstarter or Not."

After practicing law for a brief time, attorney Jason Shrensky decided to quit his job and build a software company. It was 2000 and the dot.com bubble hadn't burst yet, so why not? Hear how the imminent burst affected him and his startup. Jason also talks about the process of exiting your company and the reality of starting over as an entrepreneur. You will also hear Jason's his tips on raising money and investing, he's made 12 investments in DC tech. Listen on as he talks about his newest venture, Complex Interests. Play along with co-hosts Elana Fine and Joe Bailey in this week's installment of "Kickstarter or Not?"

After an eight-year career in the military and 20-plus years of experience in hospitality management, Dan Cowens entered the Smith School of Business’ Executive MBA program. He completed the program with an MBA degree and a new startup. The company, Oasis Marinas, provides high-quality marina management services in Annapolis and around the world. When pitching the idea in his entrepreneurship class, Dan was joined by fellow classmates including Paige Holden, who is now the VP of Marketing & Communications. On this episode of Bootstrapped, Dan and Paige talk about founding not one but two startups targeted to boaters. The founding team talks about discovering a pain point experienced by many boaters and deciding whether to buy, build or outsource a solution. In their case, there was nothing to buy so they built Snag-a-Slip.com, which acts as a Hotels.com for boaters looking to book a boat slip. Challenges included building the market on both the supply and demand side; determining a business model that works for both the marinas and the boaters; and ensuring a replicable and scalable model before launching in new markets. Hear their story and play along with this episode's installment of “Kickstarter or Not.”