Kami Harris(right) taught third grade and worked as the I-READ Grant Coordinator and Family Living Facilitator for Nicholson Elementary school, Crawfordsville, IN.  After moving to Indianapolis, Kambria was expecting her first child and worked part-time as a nanny knowing that she would soon be staying home to raise her own family.  Once her daughter was born, Kambria worked part-time in a gourmet popcorn shop in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Her time spent in the shop was very enjoyable and she learned quite a bit about the business.  When she and her family moved to Durham, NC she stayed at home with her two children.  With extra time on her hands she began to write a business plan, believing that the Triangle area was the perfect place to open her own gourmet popcorn shop.  However, with her husband’s busy schedule, she was unable to do it on her own.  A firm believer that everything happens for a reason, she patiently waited for the right timing.

Stephany Heckman(left) worked as a mechanical engineer for Alion Science and Technology, in Pittsburgh, PA for four and a half years.  While working full time she obtained her MBA, hoping to eventually move away from engineering design.  During her MBA program she focused on Entrepreneurial Ventures, Marketing and Consumer Behavior, knowing that she would one day love to own her own company.  Upon moving to Durham, NC, Stephany worked part-time as a waitress at Rockfish Seafood Grill while job hunting.  Similarly, she longed to start up her own business, but was not interested in doing it alone.

As fate would have it, Kambria was a frequent customer at Rockfish, and by chance, Stephany waited on her nearly every time she would visit.  Learning that they had a lot in common, they got together outside of Rockfish and soon found that they shared the same vision.  Shortly after, they set to work, and four months later The Mad Popper was born!