What does affirmative consent law reform, university sex education, and AI-powered law enforcement tools have in common? They're all part of Stefanie Hammett's ambitious startup, HMS.
HMS (Have More Safety · Have More Sex · Have More Space) is a consent education company with a bold 2036 goal: insert affirmative consent into all 50 state criminal codes. But getting there means building a real business — with a direct-to-consumer product line, a university B2B pilot program, and a law enforcement tech partnership with Clipper AI.
Stefanie breaks down:
- The "drip effect" strategy for getting consent education into university campuses
- Why selling to law enforcement requires showing up 17 times before they trust you
- How she balances a world-changing mission with the mechanics of actually building a startup
- Her advice to founders: presence, biohacking, and trusting your own clarity
- And more!
🎙️ Startup Junkies is a podcast celebrating the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Northwest Arkansas and beyond. Subscribe for more!
🔗 CONNECT WITH STEFANIE HAMMETT & HMS:
Book (Consent Codes): Available on Amazon
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⏱️Chapters
00:00 — Intro: Selling to Law Enforcement Is a Relationship Game
00:21 — Welcome & Introducing Stefanie Hammett of HMS
01:06 — Steph's Origin Story
02:45 — A Decade in Fortune 500: Kellogg's & Smithfield Foods
04:30 — Moving to Bentonville & the Amazon Startup World
05:10 — Exiting Charge Card to Carbon Six
07:11 — The Mission: Affirmative Consent in All 50 State Criminal Codes by 2036
07:47 — Why NJ & Colorado's Consent Laws Actually Worked
10:33 — Go-To-Market Strategy: DTC, Universities & Law Enforcement
14:21 — Prevention Over Reaction
17:25 — Lessons from Corporate to Startup
19:32 — Selling to Universities: Long Cycles, Warm Intros & Meeting Users Where They Are
26:33 — The Law Enforcement Arm: Partnering with Clipper AI
33:29 — "Asking Is Hot": What People Misunderstand About HMS
35:32 — Presence, Biohacking & Trusting Your Clarity
What is The Startup Junkies Podcast?
Candid conversations with the founders, operators, and investors building companies in Northwest Arkansas and beyond.
The Startup Junkies Podcast is hosted by Jeff Amerine, founder of Startup Junkie, a Northwest Arkansas organization that has provided no-cost consulting, programs, and events to entrepreneurs for more than 15 years. Each week Jeff and the Startup Junkie team sit down with people who have actually done it: first-time and serial founders, small business owners, investors, accelerator alumni, and the ecosystem builders working alongside them.
Expect real stories, not lectures. How they got started, how they found their first customers, how they raised money or chose not to, what nearly broke them, and what they would do differently. Topics range from validating an idea and finding capital to hiring, marketing, leadership, scaling, and selling the business.
With more than 450 episodes since 2015, the back catalog covers nearly every stage of building a company in Arkansas and the Mid-South. If you are starting something, growing something, or helping founders do either, this show is for you.
This feed also carries Querido Emprendedor, our Spanish-language founder series, and the Fuel Podcast, featuring companies from Startup Junkie's Fuel Accelerator.
New episodes weekly. Show notes, transcripts, and the full archive at startupjunkie.org/podcast.
Startup Junkie's mission: improving lives through innovation and entrepreneurship, from Northwest Arkansas around the globe.