The Think Small Podcast Live: Washington DC
Oluwatobi (Tobi) OSOBUKOLA-ABUBU, Owner, Fritters and Roast LLC
por The Think Small Podcast
In this episode of The Think Small Podcast, Oluwatobi "Tobi" Oshobuka-Abubu share the inspiring journey of founding Fritters and Roast LLC. What began as a search for sustainable income while caring for a child with special needs evolved into a thriving beverage business. Tobi discusses how she leveraged numerous local resources—including the DC Public Library, the Latin Economic Development Center, and the Union Kitchen accelerator program—to transition from catering to a licensed consumer packaged goods (CPG) brand.The conversation focuses on the company’s signature hibiscus juices, a nutritional recipe inspired by Tobi's mother and her Nigerian heritage. As the 2026 DC Maker of the Year, Tobi details her experience scaling the brand into 15 stores across the DMV area and securing a USDA grant for new bottling equipment to meet growing demand. This episode highlights the power of community support and the dedication required to build a certified "Made in DC" business from the ground up. Connect: Website: https://frittersandroast.com/
In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Madeleine Odendahl, co-founder of Merry Pin, shares the unlikely story of how a community economic development professional who spent years watching small businesses struggle decided to open one anyway, and built something that defied every skeptic who gave her a strange look at the bank. Tucked into Washington D.C.'s Shepherd Park neighborhood on Georgia Avenue, Merry Pin is a craft store, café, and community space rolled into one 3,300 square foot storefront, a business model so unusual that Madeline and her co-founder Megan proved its demand first by raising $47,000 from 355 strangers on Kickstarter before signing a lease. Opening on 65% of the capital they actually needed, working full-time jobs while building the business, and doing nearly everything themselves, the two founders created a space rooted not in foot traffic projections but in a deeply held belief that people are hungry for community, creativity, and a place to belong. The conversation explores how Merry Pin's philosophy of radical accessibility, from free crafting nights and protest art workshops to $2 coffee for furloughed federal workers during the government shutdown, has become both its greatest competitive advantage and its most honest financial risk. Madeline shares how a group of NOAA employees who had never met each other found each other at a table during the shutdown and became regulars, and why giving things away for free is actually the most effective customer acquisition strategy the business has. She also reflects candidly on what it means to build something meaningful while undercapitalized, chronically short on space, and navigating real personal hardship alongside the daily chaos of running three businesses under one roof, and closes with the kind of hard-won wisdom that only comes from two years of everything going wrong and somehow still being exactly where you want to be. Connect: Website: https://www.marypindc.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marypindc LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madeleine-odendahl