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 roo ...