Josh Daspit, an associate professor of religious studies in the Department of Philosophy at Texas State University, and Daniel Roy join the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss the Sustainable Cultivation and Advancement of Local Enterprises for Underserved Populations (SCALEUP) program.

SCALEUP is a new initiative at Texas State designed to research the factors restraining minority-owned business growth and develop remedies.

Daspit's research interest is in entrepreneurship and he focuses on issues related to family businesses, innovation and social dynamics. He has more than 40 articles published in outlets such as California Management Review, Corporate Governance, Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Family Business Review, Human Resource Management Review, Journal of Business Research and Journal of Knowledge Management. Daspit currently serves as an Associate Editor for Family Business Review and for Journal of Family Business Strategy. He also serves as the Social Media Editor of Family Business Review and is on the editorial review boards of Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Journal of Family Business Management and other journals.

Roy is a graduate of St. Mary's University in San Antonio where he received a BBA in Corporate Financial Management. After a brief stint in corporate banking, he returned to Texas and embarked on 25-year entrepreneurial journey starting three successful companies each deeply committed to the core values of integrity, caring and excellence. Roy was part of a national effort to develop a certification credentialing program that provides foundational employability skills to help people land jobs and get promoted in retail stores and beyond. To date, more than 50,000 jobseekers have been trained nationally. He has also served on the State Board of Directors for the Texas Association of Business, as chairman of the board for the Greater San Marcos Chamber of Commerce and numerous community and non-profit boards.