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.

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.

07/23/2025

Today on the podcast I’m honored to sit down with Erin Hamlin — Olympic Luger, World Champion, and the first American to medal in singles luge. But her story starts in Remsen, NY, where a 12-year-old kid signed up for a wheeled luge clinic on a whim… and ended up competing in four Olympic Games. We go deep on what it really takes to compete at the highest level — not just physically, but mentally. Erin shares what it’s like to train in a barn gym as well as the Olympic training center, the pressures and insane nuance that goes into competing in Luge to get to the Olympics. We also talk about the broken model of youth sports, and how she navigated the incredibly personal decision to retire on her own terms and find what’s next. This is an inspiring, behind-the-scenes conversation about chasing big goals, mental and physical toughness, and reinventing yourself after a career in professional sports.

Watch or Listen wherever you get your podcasts or online at https://rustbeltstartup.com/2025/07/22/sliding-in-to-the-unknown-erin-hamlins-olympic-and-post-olympic-journey/

07/16/2025

A story about using tech to find your voice.

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