Local business leaders fuel growth through ASU's SMB Lab

Owners of a gourmet ice pop shop, a plant-based protein company, and a logistics firm reveal how ASU’s SMB Lab is helping them accelerate their business progress through expert collaboration.

The W. P. Carey School of Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship's Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMB) Lab, established in 2022, brings together ASU faculty, business leaders, economic development professionals, and Southwest Valley Chamber of Commerce (SWVCC) members to address the challenges faced by local companies. The lab has become a valuable resource for helping small businesses thrive by offering tailored, actionable solutions. This story is the ninth in a series showcasing how the lab fosters a supportive ecosystem for small businesses in the Valley.

Earlier this month, leaders from three local businesses — Agoge, The Paleta Bar, and Waggon.io — kicked off the SMB Lab's second session of the fall 2024 semester with presentations featuring their company's strengths, weaknesses, and challenges. The session marked the lab's 10th meeting since its founding.

"The SMB Lab was a wonderful experience. It brought up ideas that small business owners don't get to explore given our operational demands," says Sara Baldonado, owner of The Paleta Bar, Glendale's gourmet Mexican ice pop restaurant.

"ASU is an enormous organization with significant resources throughout the state," says Justin Moore, co-founder and CEO of Agoge, a sustainable hemp-based protein powder manufacturer. "The SMB Lab connects the business community and various ASU departmental representatives to discuss and identify how ASU resources can benefit local businesses."

Created by the Center for Small and Medium-sized Businesses (CSMB) and ASU faculty members Gopalakrishnan Mohan, senior associate dean of faculty and director of the School of Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, and Hitendra Chaturvedi, supply chain management professor of practice, the lab has assisted 18 companies and generated nearly $6 million in creation value over the past two years.

Following the presentations by Moore, Baldonado, and Robert Rajfer, founder and CEO of Waggon.io, a supply chain logistics and tailored freight shipping solutions company, lab participants broke into small groups to brainstorm solutions related to the organizations' sales marketing, networking, supply chain, technology, and hiring needs. The discussions also included students from the W. P. Carey School of Business.

Baldonado first discovered The Paleta Bar while visiting the restaurant in her hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico. After learning the organization was a franchise, Baldonado was inspired to open a location in Arizona.

"The challenges we face include sales and marketing given the limited resources we have as a small business," says Baldonado, whose goal is to continue growing the company while giving back to the local community. "I am excited to be part of the SMB Lab and learn about all the growth at the ASU West Valley campus. We hope to be a part of it now and in the future."

In his presentation, Rajfer focused on Waggon.io's challenges related to onboarding, up-skilling logistics industry professionals, and implementing AI to assist with escalation management in his presentation. Waggon.io offers clients in the food and beverage industry — including Starbucks, McKinley, and Dole — opportunities to optimize their operations and costs through tailored freight shipping and supply chain and logistics services.

"Our SMB Lab experience was informative and insightful. It was great collaborating with the students to get additional outside perspective," says Rajfer. "Waggon.io is looking for more ways to collaborate with ASU and begin hiring from the university."

As a veteran-owned, USDA-powered organization, Agoge is committed to creating sustainably grown, allergen-free plant-based nutrition options. Moore says the SMB Lab has already provided significant partnership opportunities for Agoge and he's interested in bringing more ASU talent into the company.

"We're looking to build a more synergistic relationship with ASU, and lab members provided at least a dozen new ideas on how to better engage with ASU as a partner, not a customer," says Moore. "We are implementing several of the ideas provided by our SMB Lab group immediately. This was time well spent!"

Chaturvedi says the lab is a testament to the inclusive and unique nature of entrepreneurship at ASU and W. P. Carey and has become integral to the National Science Foundation-funded Southwest Sustainability Innovation Engine which aims to support and elevate sustainable entrepreneurship across Arizona, Nevada, and Utah.

"As the value proposition reverberates across the Valley, the lab is building a groundswell of support. Our success story has reached Washington DC and the lab was recently visited by the Small Business Administration Deputy Administrator Dilawar Syed and his team. We are exploring how to work with them to scale lab efforts," says Chaturvedi.

Learn more about the SMB Lab.

Photo from left: Sara Baldonado, Justin Moore, and Robert Rajfer