Rust Belt Startup

Rust Belt Startup I work with small businesses who want to have a big impact. Website Design, Startup Consulting, Podcast Production and More.

12/09/2025

Lending through a personality test? Excerpt from "Good Bread, Good Data, Better Lending: Reimagining Access to Capital" | Rust Belt Startup Podcast

In this episode, I sit down with Noa Simons, founder and CEO of Good Bread, a new kind of small business lender working to reinvent how entrepreneurs access capital. If you’ve ever tried to raise money—through banks, credit unions, investors, or anywhere in between—you know it’s never one-size-fits-all. Even in communities with great lending institutions, many founders still fall through the cracks.

Noa’s on a mission to fix that.

Good Bread is a startup blending technology, psychology, and trust to create a more human, accessible path to capital. One of the most fascinating pieces of their approach is the Boss Index—a behavioral data tool her team uses to understand creditworthiness far beyond a traditional credit score.

In this conversation, Noa and I dig into:

Why access to capital is so difficult for so many entrepreneurs

How her co-founder relationships were built and how she's raising her own investment dollars

How behavioral data can create more equitable lending

What a “human-centered” underwriting model actually looks like

The role trust plays in entrepreneurship and local economies

Why overlooked regions (like ours) are full of untapped possibility

If you’re interested in startups, money, trust, or building meaningful businesses in emerging regions, this episode is for you.

Visit www.rustbeltstartup.com/thepodcast for the full episode or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Learn more at www.goodbread.net.

12/05/2025

THE BOSS INDEX: Excerpt from "Good Bread, Good Data, Better Lending: Reimagining Access to Capital" | Rust Belt Startup Podcast

In this episode, I sit down with Noa Simons, founder and CEO of Good Bread, a new kind of small business lender working to reinvent how entrepreneurs access capital. If you’ve ever tried to raise money—through banks, credit unions, investors, or anywhere in between—you know it’s never one-size-fits-all. Even in communities with great lending institutions, many founders still fall through the cracks.

Noa’s on a mission to fix that.

Good Bread is a startup blending technology, psychology, and trust to create a more human, accessible path to capital. One of the most fascinating pieces of their approach is the Boss Index—a behavioral data tool her team uses to understand creditworthiness far beyond a traditional credit score.

In this conversation, Noa and I dig into:

Why access to capital is so difficult for so many entrepreneurs
How her co-founder relationships were built and how she's raising her own investment dollars
How behavioral data can create more equitable lending
What a “human-centered” underwriting model actually looks like
The role trust plays in entrepreneurship and local economies
Why overlooked regions (like ours) are full of untapped possibility

If you’re interested in startups, money, trust, or building meaningful businesses in emerging regions, this episode is for you.

Visit www.rustbeltstartup.com/thepodcast for the full episode or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Learn more at www.goodbread.net.

12/04/2025

Thanks to Noa Simons from Good Bread for coming on the podcast. Our conversation just went live! Good Bread, Good Data, Better Lending: Reimagining Access to Capital

Good Bread is a startup blending technology, psychology, and trust to create a more human, accessible path to capital. One of the most fascinating pieces of their approach is the Boss Index—a behavioral data tool her team uses to understand creditworthiness far beyond a traditional credit score.
In this conversation, Noa and I dig into:

Why access to capital is so difficult for so many entrepreneurs
How her co-founder relationships were built and how she’s raising her own investment dollars
How behavioral data can create more equitable lending
What a “human-centered” underwriting model actually looks like
The role trust plays in entrepreneurship and local economies
Why overlooked regions (like ours) are full of untapped possibility

If you’re interested in startups, money, trust, or building meaningful businesses in emerging regions, this episode is for you.

Check it out wherever you get your podcasts or listen and view video highlights from our conversation at the website: https://rustbeltstartup.com/2025/12/04/good-bread-good-data-better-lending-reimagining-access-to-capital/

09/16/2025

Excerpt from BLACQUE ACRES: CONTAINER FARMING AND COMMITTING IN CORNHILL | The Rust Belt Startup Podcast.

This is a conversation with James Paul of Blacque Acres - a hydroponic container farm in the Cornhill neighborhood of Utica, NY.

James shares his journey from military service to urban farming, and we’ll talk about how he was able to commit to the project without knowing much about container farming or fundraising to make the first container farm a reality.

We’ll get into how he created buy-in from the community and funders, raising over $200k to start the first farm, and how you don’t need to know exactly what you’re doing to get started on your big idea. Blacque Acres aims to provide fresh, affordable produce to the Cornhill neighborhood an often overlooked part of the city, addressing food insecurity and promoting community health in the process.

James is proving that fresh, affordable produce can be grown year-round in the middle of the city—and that a farm can be about much more than food.

I hope you'll take a listen wherever you get your podcasts (and subscribe!) or check out the video of our conversation at: https://rustbeltstartup.com/2025/08/28/blacque-acres-container-farming-and-committing-in-cornhill/

09/13/2025

Excerpt from BLACQUE ACRES: CONTAINER FARMING AND COMMITTING IN CORNHILL | The Rust Belt Startup Podcast.

This is a conversation with James Paul of Blacque Acres - a hydroponic container farm in the Cornhill neighborhood of Utica, NY.

James shares his journey from military service to urban farming, and we’ll talk about how he was able to commit to the project without knowing much about container farming or fundraising to make the first container farm a reality.

We’ll get into how he created buy-in from the community and funders, raising over $200k to start the first farm, and how you don’t need to know exactly what you’re doing to get started on your big idea. Blacque Acres aims to provide fresh, affordable produce to the Cornhill neighborhood an often overlooked part of the city, addressing food insecurity and promoting community health in the process.

James is proving that fresh, affordable produce can be grown year-round in the middle of the city—and that a farm can be about much more than food.

I hope you'll take a listen wherever you get your podcasts (and subscribe!) or check out the video of our conversation at: https://rustbeltstartup.com/2025/08/28/blacque-acres-container-farming-and-committing-in-cornhill/

09/12/2025

Excerpt from BLACQUE ACRES: CONTAINER FARMING AND COMMITTING IN CORNHILL | The Rust Belt Startup Podcast.

This is a conversation with James Paul of Blacque Acres - a hydroponic container farm in the Cornhill neighborhood of Utica, NY.

James shares his journey from military service to urban farming, and we’ll talk about how he was able to commit to the project without knowing much about container farming or fundraising to make the first container farm a reality.

We’ll get into how he created buy-in from the community and funders, raising over $200k to start the first farm, and how you don’t need to know exactly what you’re doing to get started on your big idea. Blacque Acres aims to provide fresh, affordable produce to the Cornhill neighborhood an often overlooked part of the city, addressing food insecurity and promoting community health in the process.

James is proving that fresh, affordable produce can be grown year-round in the middle of the city—and that a farm can be about much more than food.

I hope you'll take a listen wherever you get your podcasts (and subscribe!) or check out the video of our conversation at: https://rustbeltstartup.com/2025/08/28/blacque-acres-container-farming-and-committing-in-cornhill/

09/11/2025

Excerpt from BLACQUE ACRES: CONTAINER FARMING AND COMMITTING IN CORNHILL | The Rust Belt Startup Podcast.

This is a conversation with James Paul of Blacque Acres - a hydroponic container farm in the Cornhill neighborhood of Utica, NY.

James shares his journey from military service to urban farming, and we’ll talk about how he was able to commit to the project without knowing much about container farming or fundraising to make the first container farm a reality.

We’ll get into how he created buy-in from the community and funders, raising over $200k to start the first farm, and how you don’t need to know exactly what you’re doing to get started on your big idea. Blacque Acres aims to provide fresh, affordable produce to the Cornhill neig

08/28/2025

New Podcast! Container Farming and Committing in Cornhill. This is a conversation with James Paul of Blacque Acres - a hydroponic container farm in the Cornhill neighborhood of Utica, NY.

James shares his journey from military service to urban farming, and we’ll talk about how he was able to commit to the project without knowing much about container farming or fundraising to make the first container farm a reality.

We’ll get into how he created buy-in from the community and funders, raising over $200k to start the first farm, and how you don’t need to know exactly what you’re doing to get started on your big idea. Blacque Acres aims to provide fresh, affordable produce to the Cornhill neighborhood an often overlooked part of the city, addressing food insecurity and promoting community health in the process.

James is proving that fresh, affordable produce can be grown year-round in the middle of the city—and that a farm can be about much more than food.

I hope you'll take a listen wherever you get your podcasts (and subscribe!) or check out the video of our conversation at: https://rustbeltstartup.com/2025/08/28/blacque-acres-container-farming-and-committing-in-cornhill/

08/13/2025

How do you get a customer for life? Thanks to Elias and Lafa for the inspiration.

Address

326 Broad Street Suite 1
Utica, NY
13501

Telephone

+13155208768

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Rust Belt Startup posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Rust Belt Startup:

Shortcuts

Share

Category