Tag: Entrepreneurship
Fearless Growth in Hospitality: Building Without Losing Your Culture with Sydney Grims (Ep. 18)

Fearless Growth in Hospitality: Building Without Losing Your Culture with Sydney Grims (Ep. 18)

By |

Growth can look exciting from the outside—but behind every new location, partnership, or expansion are tough calls, people challenges, and the constant pressure to get it right.

So how do you scale a business without losing the culture that made it successful in the first place? And what does it really take to build a company people want to grow with?

In this episode, Jamie Hopkins and Kate Duffy sit down with Sydney Grims, Director of Business Development at Fearless Restaurants, to unpack what it takes to expand a hospitality brand while staying true to its roots. Sydney shares how her family’s restaurant background shaped her leadership approach, why building the right operational systems became essential, and how Fearless navigates hiring, real estate decisions, branding, and thoughtful growth.

They also dive into women in leadership, community-building through the Fearless Femmes initiative, and why sometimes the smartest growth strategy is slowing down.

Key takeaways:

  • Why protecting culture—not just chasing growth—is the foundation of long-term success
  • How stronger systems and faster response times unlocked new operational opportunities
  • What to look for in new markets, from real estate strategy to local demand signals
  • How intentional, measured growth helps avoid burnout and build a company people want to be part of

Resources:

Connect with Bryn Mawr Trust: 

Connect with Kate Duffy: 

Connect with Jamie Hopkins: 

Connect with Sydney Grims: 

About our Guest: 

Sydney Grims serves as Director of Development for Fearless Restaurants, where she oversees the strategic growth and evolution of the company’s 14-property hospitality portfolio. Working directly with the Founder and CEO of the family-owned business, she helps advance both vision and execution across the organization.

Her role spans all divisions of Fearless, including capital projects, talent acquisition, sales and marketing, operations, and culinary. She leads cross-functional teams to bring new concepts to life, strengthen existing properties, and align each initiative with the company’s standards for hospitality, culture, and long-term value.

From guiding major capital investments and development initiatives to building teams and refining operational performance, Sydney focuses on sustainable growth rooted in people, place, and purpose. She works closely with leaders across the organization to translate strategy into action, balancing creativity with discipline and innovation with operational excellence.

At the core of her work is a commitment to preserving the integrity of a family business while thoughtfully expanding its impact. She takes pride in building environments where teams thrive, guests feel genuinely welcomed, and Fearless continues to set the standard for distinctive dining and hospitality experiences.

Sydney attended Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration to prepare for her role in the family business and has worked with several premier hospitality organizations, including Hillstone Restaurant Group.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More
Building Strong Teams and Scaling a Family Business with Eric Faggioli (Ep. 15)

Building Strong Teams and Scaling a Family Business with Eric Faggioli (Ep. 15)

By |

Strong businesses are not just built on strategy; they are shaped by relationships, trust, and shared experiences.

What happens when leadership, family, and growth all intersect? And how do you balance speed, alignment, and long-term vision without losing what matters most?

In this episode, Jamie Hopkins and Kate Duffy interview Eric Faggioli, President of Delaware Valley Paving, about scaling a family-run business while maintaining strong personal relationships. He shares how alignment and trust drive decision-making, why early exposure to hard work shapes leadership, and how he navigated stepping into leadership after personal loss. 

The conversation also explores building teams from within, improving service to stand out, and expanding operations nationwide through partnerships and systems.

Key takeaways:

  • How prioritizing alignment and trust over top talent can reduce friction and improve long-term execution
  • Why maintaining friendships within family businesses helps prevent conflict and strengthens collaboration
  • How early exposure to physically demanding work builds resilience and long-term perspective
  • The role of service differentiation and small improvements in creating meaningful client experiences
  • How scaling nationally requires strong subcontractor networks, systems, and consistent execution

Connect with Bryn Mawr Trust: 

Connect with Kate Duffy: 

Connect with Jamie Hopkins: 

Connect with Eric Faggioli: 

About our Guest: 

Eric Faggioli is the CEO of Delaware Valley Companies, the parent organization of Delaware Valley Paving and its expanding family of businesses. This includes the company’s core Paving division, its National Construction operations, its Excavation business, and its growing real estate Development company. As a leader of a third-generation organization headquartered in Philadelphia, PA, Eric brings a unique blend of hands-on experience and long-term vision to every facet of the enterprise.

Having grown up in the paving business, Eric developed an early appreciation for strong relationships, dependable service, and uncompromising craftsmanship. From childhood through adulthood, he worked in every area of the company, gaining practical insight that now shapes his leadership approach. Over the past decade, Eric has played a pivotal role in expanding Delaware Valley Companies’ capabilities and strengthening its reputation nationwide. Under his guidance, the organization has opened new locations, broadened its service offerings, and advanced a comprehensive 10-year strategic plan designed to elevate performance, scalability, and client experience across all business units.

What drives Eric most is developing exceptional leaders and building systems and processes that will stand the test of time. With that mindset, Eric leads Delaware Valley Companies and its expanding divisions with a focus on sustainable growth, strong leadership development, and long-term success.

**Note: The guest featured in this episode is a current client of our organization and did not receive any compensation for their participation in the program.**

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More
Shark Tank, Sustainability, and Scaling Up: The Frozen Farmer Story with Katey Evans (Ep. 9)

Shark Tank, Sustainability, and Scaling Up: The Frozen Farmer Story with Katey Evans (Ep. 9)

By |

Periods of rapid growth can be both exhilarating and overwhelming—especially when new opportunities arrive faster than the plans to support them. So how do family‑run businesses scale without losing their values, identity, or sanity?

In this episode, Jamie Hopkins and Kate Duffy talk with Katey Evans, Founder of The Frozen Farmer, about how she transformed upcycled fruit into a beloved national brand. Katey shares how intentional planning, family collaboration, and building the right advisory team helped her navigate retail expansion, direct‑to‑consumer pivots, and a high‑visibility moment on Shark Tank.

Key points:

  • How fast growth revealed the need for strong financial, legal, and strategic advisors
  • Turning food waste into a scalable business model
  • Lessons learned from launching and adapting during the pandemic
  • The impact of Shark Tank on brand visibility and long‑term planning
  • Why confidence, clarity, and family alignment guided major leadership decisions

Resources:

Connect with Bryn Mawr Trust: 

Connect with Kate Duffy: 

Connect with Jamie Hopkins: 

Connect with Katey Evans: 

About Our Guest: 

An entrepreneur, innovator, and Founder of The Frozen Farmer, Katey Evans appeared on the ABC’s critically acclaimed, Emmy-nominated television show “Shark Tank,” landing a $125,000 investment deal from Lori Greiner for her farm creamery business. Katey is passionate about her platform of reducing food waste by sustainably sourcing “upcycled fruit” in The Frozen Farmer’s line of frozen confections. Evans has taken The Frozen Farmer from a small business started at her Sunday supper table to a national brand that is on the shelf in more than 8,000 stores across the U.S. During the pandemic shutdown, Katey launched d2c sales online, shipping into nearly every state in the U.S. in the first week of sales launch. Named Inc. Magazine’s 2023 Most Dynamic Woman in Business, Katey was recently honored on the magazine’s prestigious Female Founders 200 list for starting one of the fastest-growing private companies, as The Frozen Farmer ranked No. 6 on the Inc. 5000 list. Katey is a recipient of the Kroger Innovative Item placement, a Delaware Business Times 40 Under 40 Awards, has earned a $50,000 USDA Value Added Producer Grant for creating a value-added line of sorbet, ice cream and Frobert, and was a panelist for the Global Food Forum with USDA Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, where she was the only female farmer representing the food production industry. Katey is a member of the Delaware Women’s Workforce Council, aimed to achieve gender equality in the workplace in the First State, and has obtained national certification by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) for The Frozen Farmer. Katey’s most important role of all is being a mom to her four daughters and teaching them that women can do anything.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More