What's the Startup?!

Entrepreneurial Lessons from Sprocket’s Board Chair Ines Rivas-Hutchins

• Kaylan Thompson

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Ines Rivas-Hutchins has worn many hats at Sprocket—board member, treasurer, secretary, and now board chair. In this episode, she shares her journey from architecture and construction to leading a startup hub, the lessons she’s learned along the way, and how Sprocket continues to evolve as a resource for entrepreneurs in Western Kentucky.

From navigating pivots to spotting the right opportunities, Ines offers insights every founder needs to hear. Whether you’re launching your first business or scaling an existing one, this conversation is packed with practical advice and inspiration.

💡 Want to be part of a thriving entrepreneurial community? Learn more about how Sprocket supports startups and innovation at SprocketWKY.com

Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/eUNMgclkJRU 

Thank you for tuning in to this episode of the Sprocket Podcast! If you’re ready to dive into the world of startups and innovation, visit us online at Sprocket WKY to learn more about our mission and how we support entrepreneurs like you.

Ready to check out the space? Book a tour with Tiffany, our Community Coordinator!

Got a business idea? Apply for a mentorship session with one of our experienced mentors!

Stay connected and join our growing community on Instagram for the latest updates, inspiration, and behind-the-scenes looks at what’s happening at Sprocket.

Let’s turn your ideas into reality—together!

Sprocket is proud to be supported by Team Kentucky, the Commonwealth's Cabinet for Economic Development. Learn more about their initiatives and resources at ced.ky.gov.

Kaylan:

Welcome, Inez. I'm so excited to have you chat with us. tell us a little bit about your role here at Sprocket and how you got involved here.

Ines:

Absolutely. Thanks for having me, actually. I've been looking forward to this now for a while. So I joined Sprocket back in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic. I was invited to uh, to join the board and I fell in love with the concept of Helping entrepreneurs and helping entrepreneurs and startups in western Kentucky. So, obviously, I joined and I was excited about it. Also, we were able to start renovating this space. So, with my background in architecture and construction, you know, I think that's why Monica actually invited me to join the board, because she wanted me to help her with the renovation, and it was such a great project, because this building, the before and after, it's amazing. It's jaw dropping. Yes, it is great. And yeah, so I've been a secretary, I've been a treasurer of Sprocket, and now this year I'm the chair of Sprocket, which is so exciting. You know, I see Sprocket, I tell this to Monica sometimes, is I see it as a, as a startup itself. From the start of it. To now, if you look at where we've been and what we've learned of what this business is and entrepreneurs and the startups need of Sprocket, we have refined all that. And I think this year, it's going to be a pivotal year, I think, on just cleaning our message, The tools that we are giving the entrepreneurs and startups I think it's gonna make a big difference.

Kaylan:

It's palpable. You can feel it kind of bubbling under the surface. All of our members who co work here too can kind of feel that something's happening So it's really exciting year to be a part of everything.

Ines:

So and I'm excited to have John Truitt to To join, you know, he was on the board, he was chair of the board, and now he's actually on the other side, helping, hands on, helping these businesses, and he has such a, an amazing, clear understanding of what these companies really need to scale up, and just take off. So I'm really excited for all these companies that are able to work with him.

Kaylan:

So Sprocket's a startup itself. How do you think that helps us leverage the support that we give to startups?

Ines:

Because I think we have learned so much, you know, they're having so many lessons learned, and sometimes what you think you need is not, you have to prove it. So what we've done, I think Sprocket had a concept of how to help these companies from the beginning. And as we started helping all these companies, we started actually learning what they needed. And I think that's where we're at. We have proven, what those tools need to be. A lot of times businesses fall in love with their products instead of putting those products to market and see if they're really filling the need, right? And I think that's what we're trying to encourage our companies to do, is to get the minimal viable product so they can test it, and, then they can make those changes along the way. So I think Sprocket in a way has done that. We have had to change a lot of the things that we do and we have now just, I feel like we have become so, efficient with our time, with our programs. All of you that work here in Sprocket have added so much. to, uh, to the organization, too. We've pivoted a

Kaylan:

lot, too, just thinking back to, you know, I hear stories, I've been here for a year and a half, so I hear stories of the workshops we used to do and how this space was originally utilized, and it's crazy to look around and see how it is now. How have you seen Sprocket grow over the years?

Ines:

Oh, absolutely. For example, we were more involved, in the middle schools and high school with the coding league Well, we realized, because the thought process is, let's help. Our community from the high school of middle school up to kind of get in the mindset of coding and the digital workspace and, and I think what we realized that we're overreaching. That was really not what we needed to focus on. So again, you start with this big idea and we have refined that to how can we be more successful and more helpful to our businesses. So I think that's what we're doing.

Kaylan:

Tell us about your own story. I hear you have an incredible origin story and how you built your company. And so tell us a little bit about your journey.

Ines:

Yes. So I'm from Venezuela originally. I come from a family of entrepreneurs, my mom, my dad, they both, I call it the hustles, they always had something going on. my dad was an engineer, but he had a cattle ranch on the side. And when I was a teenager, that was my first job, actually. My dad was, making cheese at the ranch. And, one day he brought it home and we all tried it and my grandmother loved it. I was like, wait a minute, let's go in business together. Bring me the cheese. I'll weigh it. I will pack it. I will find, I'll sell it and I'll keep the profit easiest job and easiest business I've ever had in my life. So back then I thought, well, that's it. That's what business is all about. It's just an opportunity. And then, you just capitalize on it. And how easy is that? So I moved to the United States. I lived in Florida for almost 10 years. Started working as a construction manager in the residential and then commercial, um, construction. And then 2008 happened, which, you know, I always say 2008 and people remember, we had a big recession and we had, I had to pivot. So Florida, construction market was, dead stop. I moved to Kentucky after I found a job with a company here in Paducah. That's what brought me to Paducah. And, they were doing government contracting. I didn't have any government contracting experience, but they took me on and I was very excited about that. And I loved it. It was, to me, it was one of those, when you're getting to a business that you're just like, gosh, I'm so good at this. And I just like it. Right. A lot of people despise working for the government. I love it. I think is my favorite customer. They pay on time every time. And you know what happened, I learned so much from working for this company, and in 2014, I had a mentor that came to me and said, why don't you have your own company? You should have your own company. And that's what really changed the course of my life, because at first actually I said no. I didn't think. I did, I had the tools, and if we go back, to the story, when I first moved to the United States, I was living in Florida, and I was working for one of these residential contractors, mid 2000s, before the recession, there was this boom in construction, right? Residential construction, especially. So what I was seeing as an opportunity was there's so much real estate in the market. I started, Going after real estate agents and sellers and said hey, I will state your house I will get it ready for To expedite the sale right and in my mind. I was a great business I'm like this is gonna work and I was really good at it and I had some clients Money failed. That business failed completely. It was a side job anyway. It wasn't my main job. I was glad I had a main job, but I really thought that was going to be a good business. Because it was, it was a good idea. It was a good opportunity. I knew there was a market for it. And when I go back and I think about that, It was, I was more worried about business cards. I was more worried about my branding. How pretty the name was going to be. And I was not really thinking about Cash flow, all the sustainability around a business. So when 2014 comes about And he says that, Hey, why don't you start your own business? You would be so good at this. I was like, no, I don't know about that. I I've done that. I failed before. I don't think I'm a good business owner. I just think I'm good at what I do and I should stick to that. And then he said, well, obviously he was like, Come on, I can help you, and,, you can do it. And also I was concerned about funding. I did not, I was not independent wealthy, to, fund a business. I, I just thought you needed all this money to get started with a construction company. He said, no, there are ways that you can get loans and you can get this. And if you're interested, just let me know. And then, I don't know, I think it took me like three weeks. And I went back and I said, okay, about that business. Why don't we sit down and we talk about this? So obviously he was, he still is to this day, one of my, more important mentors. What do you think it is that he saw in you that, what he said was, and again, he's still to this day, he is very important. in my life, he is retired. He lives in Florida, he splits between two places, but we still talk regularly, He just thought I was, I was good at what I did. I was a good, project manager. I, handled the company, the financials. I was, I had a really good record on the financial side. And I was able to get clients and, and good business development. So, and obviously There was an opportunity because the government, in government contracting, if you are a woman, you can get certain contracts, set aside to you, same as Hispanic, which, I am, so I can capitalize on some of these contracts that are set aside, from, the U. S. government. And,, and that's what, he's like, Hey, there is an opportunity and you should definitely capitalize on that.

Kaylan:

I want to dig a little bit into the concept of discovering opportunities. What are some green flags that maybe indicate that this is a good opportunity to leverage?

Ines:

I just think there is a need. It's an opportunity, right?, if you think the market is In need of something. It could be a product. It could be a service. I think obviously there is an opportunity, but not all opportunities are good businesses. So that's where, testing that whatever it is, the product or your service early, then you can make the, refine it and change it. Because like I was telling you, Just research and, reading,, there's a great book that John Truitt and Monica got me to read, it was the Run and Lean. And they were talking about how many founders and, entrepreneurs fall in love with their products and their services more than really is this what the market needs. so I do think that there are, many opportunities out there for us and even in a market that already has probably a solution, for that need. But I think there's just so many ways that we can serve, the market in different ways.

Kaylan:

Well, obviously the two businesses are very different now, but what do you think is so different, in terms of what created the success? Back then when you were starting in Florida and then now with this other company

Ines:

Well, I do think Especially in the second one. It was having mentorship. Okay, I was mature To listen to advice because I knew I didn't know everything So I think that failure early in my life humbles you And also just to know, Hey, I'm not good at everything. And I knew I didn't want, to fail again, obviously. So I spent a lot of time talking not only to him, to other business owners, I,, other mentors in my life. And also the, all the experiences that, you just go through in your life from working from other companies and knowing, how many times this happens to so many people. You're working and you see the CEO of the company you're working for doing something that you're like, I would never do that. Or Hey, if I had to come a company one day, I will definitely do that. So I think you start creating your own list of things that you think you want to do and the ones that you definitely don't want to do. and that I think shapesyour leadership style and the, and, your must do's or must don'ts, once you have this company. So to me, it was. I knew I was good at forming teams. I knew I was good about making people work together, I was really good at project management and working contracting and so I was not worried so much on the operating side or the construction side. I was really worried more on the financial side, cash flow. How am I going to make this company make money? And the funny thing is one of the first things that DR said to me when we were meeting, he said, so I was estimating a job, right? So different when I was estimating as a project manager, I was, I was estimating to make money, but the moment I started owning I own the company, I was really thinking about, I want this job. I didn't care about not making that much, as much money, but I felt like I needed to have backlog. I felt like I needed to have this contract in my, in my portfolio. And he's like, no. No, you shall make money. Rule number one in business is you shall make money. And to this day, I remind myself every time. And then rule number two is, see rule number one, you should always make money. And that gives you the mindset that, you know what, it's not about your revenue, it's about your profits., this is the number one thing I've learned, in business is, you know, you hear people saying, I have a 50 million company, I have a 100 million company. I'm like, I don't care. What's your profit? Cause, so many big companies are running so low and then you have, you know, I'd rather be a smaller company, less risk and then making a lot more profit. So.

Kaylan:

Were there any must do's or must don'ts that you had on your list that in practice you realize, Oh, I need to reverse that or tailor some things.

Ines:

I don't know. I don't think so because things for me that were must do's, it was treating people, right? I wanted always to treat my employees right. Like family. I wanted people just to feel appreciated. I think especially when, you start running bigger companies, you start treating people like just, an employee, just a number. And to me it was important for them to all know, and to this day they all know, I mean they have families and if their kid has a, a school, function, they know that they can just go without a problem. to me that was very important, treating people right. And I think that was really one of the big things for me, and running a smart business when it comes to overhead was another, I worked for another company in the past where they were running overhead that was so big, the company actually ended up failing after, so that was one of, and to this day it's been one of my main focus when I look at running, what, how we run the company, where the overhead is, and just to make sure that you're running as lean as you can. So then you can, again, have more profits.

Kaylan:

So over the years, you've been slowly learning about your own leadership style and curating it almost. How are you continuing to grow in this season? What new things are you discovering about yourself, even though you've been in business for so long? So I think it's just

Ines:

the stories of failure. To me, we always hear about entrepreneurs, just how do they make it. And that's great, but I think I really now look back at the failures in my life is what really prepared me for the success, so I do want to kind of dig in into that and and what that made me, you know, what shaped my outlook later on in life. Um, There were some hard times, you know, especially with the recession. I was a single mom, Sebastian, which is now 19. He was just 2, 3 years old, you know, when we moved to Peruca and I was, you know, I was driving back with, from Florida with a dog and my kid. and so there's so many stories, fun stories now, but back then they were very scary. but again, I think it's always the message I give entrepreneurs is about just be ready for that pivot and be ready to adapt because that if you're not ready for it, then that's when you stay behind, but if you are always ahead of it. And you know what? Things happen. Just don't dwell on it. Just do what you need to do to keep moving forward. And I think that's where success comes. It just meets you along the way.

Kaylan:

What does pivoting look like, especially in this space? I hear a lot of terms and people talk about always be ready to pivot, but how do you know and how do you quickly make decisions?

Ines:

So, for me personally, so let me put it in context. So 2008, I, I was working at the time, Rob Miller, fantastic guy. He's a Palm Beach, very, very wealthy. He was a developer. He had, several, shopping centers and, all over Florida. We had built a marina together, so I was his owner representative, and I was in charge of his construction department, in the development side, and I love working for the man, and I was happy, I was just like, I am where I need to be, and one day he calls me in, and he said, Ines, I am just going to stop, the development side, I'm just going to focus right now on with this recession, we're just going to sit back and I'm just going to wait, for good opportunities for land. So this is where he said when the recession happens, that's when he picks up a lot of his land and a lot of it through bankruptcies and, it's just what it will happen. And he was like, so I'm not going to be developing now for the next couple of years at least. So. This is the first time I haven't had a job. I was, again, I had a little kid at home, a single mom. What am I going to do? I didn't even know how to file for unemployment. Like it took me a week or so. I don't know. Somebody told me, but you can file for unemployment. I was like, how do I even do that?, and then I started applying for jobs. So I applied to every single job. I don't know how many resumes I sent out. Every company in Florida that I could think of that did construction and then I started expanding and I'm like, okay, maybe just construction. So maybe I need to start looking at a little bit more, again, more owner representatives, more, developers, I started like expanding and expanding. And zero, nothing is happening. I had a conversation with a human resources guy and he's telling me that he has a pile of about 50 to 60 resumes and almost every single one on that has at least 10 years more, more experience than I did. So that to me was that eye opening moment that said, okay, we have to do something different. And that's what I call my pivoting moment is because I realized that if I stayed in Florida. I was not going to be able to stay in my business, right, in that industry that I loved. So I had to make the decision and started looking somewhere else. So that's where I started expanding and looking, I applied for jobs in Nashville, had applied jobs and in other places around the United States. And then I got that call to, come to Little Paducah and, and meet with his company and just have an interview. And at the time. I didn't have a lot of offers, so obviously I just got to take it. So sometimes you have to, to me pivoting means, changing, the direction that you're looking and maybe the solution is somewhere else. And just take that, take the opportunity. And in business that can happen any day if it's, let's say that I, My example, intake group specializes in government construction for the government, Department of Defense. Okay, well, let's say that I am getting, I'm not getting contracts then you start really, where are the contracts, you know? So then you start looking for that. And that to me, it's another pivot. You just have to, even this is what I know, this is what I love. Sometimes the solution is somewhere else and, it might be, housing or it might be,, Department of Commerce or, you know, something else., I just think we need to sometimes just be ready to look somewhere else, even when we don't want to because it's hard because we were used to doing things, in a certain way, and it's really hard to start over or be uncomfortable for a while. But I think that is the only way that we can just. Just remain positive and just, you know,

Kaylan:

thriving. So you pivot when an opportunity runs out. So it's not really a bad thing, it's just, I used this opportunity and now it's done. I need to find another one. So, when you reflect on your career and your journey, what's something that you are most proud of? proud of, even if it's not like the biggest win, but something that you took away and file away for the rainy days. I

Ines:

think all these stories of failing and just overcoming it because it's resilience, right? It's just the ability to, to just making it through the ups and downs. I am super proud of my kids. I'm super proud of, especially I see my 19 year old. I mean, he was resilient right next to me, he had to move to wherever I had to go. We had some hard times early on, but he's thriving. And so as a mother, it makes you feel really happy, and just accomplished, that you did a good job and that you see your kids thriving. My company, obviously, it's just, it gives me immense pleasure and seeing my employees happy. So many of my employees have been with me for 10 years since the beginning. And I think that's a testament of, they're happy where they are. I have a few that are actually in their 70s and, um, they still, they don't want to leave I just keep telling them I'm going to have to hire somebody to push them on a wheelchair. And again, I mean, that kind of runs into the problem that we're having on getting younger people. to come into the industry. And I would say that if I could get more women interested in, in doing what I do, even younger people to wanting to get into the trades, I think the industry needs it and it's such a great business right now. So I do think it is starting to pick up. I think we have a lot of smart kids. They're start seeing that, Hey, that's. It's something, I'd rather do that than going to to college and, I'm going to start making money right away. They will do really well.

Kaylan:

What's so beautiful that I see in your story is that you took one opportunity and you turned it into hundreds for, other people. Oh, thank you. What are you most proud of

Ines:

in Sprocket's journey so far? I think it's just this moment. I am so proud of where we are today. I think we, Talked earlier about the growth that Spryka has gone through. and we have established ourselves as the hub to be part of. That, yeah, that the companies that, that we're able to help out are really scaling up, and moving on up. I am very proud of Monica. Monica is such a unbelievable visionary. She had this idea so many years ago, and it's definitely what it is because of her vision and, and all that she's done. So yeah, I'm just, I'm very just proud of the journey and that we're still here and that we're stronger than ever. So as board chair,

Kaylan:

what are you most excited for this coming year?

Ines:

I think it's just really helping all these companies to scale up to a new level. I think, we have had really good companies that made through sprocket, with first, the 50 K and next. 50K programs, but I do feel that the best is yet to come and, and the support that we get from everyone from the state, from the city, the county, and a lot of the businesses, local businesses that are able to be, business sponsors and, continue to support. I think SPROC is here to stay. I'm very excited about that.

Kaylan:

If you could give one piece of advice to any entrepreneur out there who's listening, in western Kentucky who's maybe just getting started or they've been hustling for a couple years now, what would you say to them?

Ines:

My advice to an entrepreneur, any entrepreneur starting a business. Obviously you have a passion, they have a passion for what they do or they're creating because if now they wouldn't be doing, a business is a big deal. I mean, there's a lot of, positive and a sense of accomplishment and it's like your baby, but there's a lot of stress. There's a lot of stress that goes into it, I remember the first couple of years I will just wake up in the middle of the night, thinking about. Again, every single one of my employees thinking that you could get moments of anxiety, like you're thinking they all feed families and their kids and their kids are going to college and they need the health insurance they get, you know, and it's like, Oh my gosh, you know, you get so worried about it. So yeah, having a business is a big deal, super rewarding, but I will tell them don't fall in love with so much of what you're. You are providing if it's a service or if it is a product, I will still say, find advice for, know what you're good at and know what you're not good at. I knew how to run the business from the operational side. I was really good at a lot of things, but I was not obviously very good on the financial side to be sustainable. I knew how to read financials. I knew how to read, obviously, a balance sheet. And I knew that I needed to make profit, and I needed to spend less money on my overhead to make money. That is a no brainer. But to forecast, just make sure you have a viable, sustainable business. Sometimes take somebody else and just don't be afraid to looking, for mentors, that can really help you get there. I think the more advice that you get, the better you'll be. I created this team of advisors around me, and it was, my banker, my bonding company,, again, I had mentors like DR, others, or your accountant, for example. I mean, he's still, now my accountant is actually in my team. He wanted to retire and I told him, no, I'm going to hire you, now he's my CFO, my controller. The stronger team that, you build around you, the better you're going to be. So don't be afraid of reaching out to other people that are better than you at what you don't know how to do. We don't need to know everything, you know? That is very important for entrepreneurs starting And, just continue to just move forward, love what you're doing and, it's going to be a lots of ups and downs, but if you stay the course and, risk management is a big part of having a business too, just, just I am very risk averse. And again, there's a lot of people that like risk and they like the big payouts. I just wanted to have a business for a very long time. So I knew that I wanted to, to scale up. But in construction companies, I think they say, I believe it's about 80%. They'll make it to year two or three. Wow. So once you make it up, yeah, past that. And I don't know the percentage to year 10. So in a construction company, I think, there's a saying that you're only about one bad job away from being bankrupt. It's just to make sure that you're controlling your costs, your expenses, and that you're making money so that you can be sustainable.

Kaylan:

Thank you so much for taking some time out of your day to spend with us. It's been a great conversation. Thank

Ines:

you.