Local entrepreneur Sam Wilhoite is getting national attention as one of the participants on the newest season of The Blox, a reality competition show for business owners.
Wilhoite is the founder of full-service digital marketing agency Wremix, which he launched in 2018 with the goal of helping businesses maximize growth.
On The Blox, Wilhoite is among 60 entrepreneurs — including a mix of startup founders and small business owners — from throughout the U.S. and Canada in the show’s fourth season. The show follows the group as they live together and compete against each other in a series of challenges.
“It’s like The Real World meets Shark Tank,” he told Pacific Business News.
“It was an amazing, one-of-a-kind experience,” he added. “It was six straight days of 12-14 hours of filming per day, which was grueling and energizing all at the same time. It was educational, inspirational, entertaining, and above all else a world-class network of diverse entrepreneurs.”
The Blox was created by reality TV star Wes Bergmann, who has appeared on numerous competition shows and runs a startup incubator and accelerator program called BetaBlox in Kansas City.
In addition to competing, participants on The Blox also went through educational sessions and consultations guided by Bergmann and a panel of judges.
When asked about his favorite part of the experience, Wilhoite said it was the people.
“In the short time of six days, I was able to make lifelong friendships and business relationships,” Wilhoite said. “I was able to earn new business from the show, as well as give and receive valuable support and expertise to and from other contestants and judges.
“Being an entrepreneur can often be a lonely and scary experience,” he continued. “This gave us all an unparalleled level of camaraderie, community and inspiration to re-energize ourselves and our businesses.”
Wilhoite describes himself as a “lifelong entrepreneur.” After graduating from Kalaheo High School, Wilhoite studied finance and marketing at University of Hawaii at Hilo, before returning to Oahu to join his dad in the family business, Ohana Lawn Service. While he worked to grow the landscaping company, Wilhoite also ran his own venture offering marketing and consulting to other businesses.
With Wremix, Wilhoite provides services including digital marketing, media planning and distribution, social media, SEO and business coaching, with a focus on small- to- medium sized businesses, as well as artists, startups and nonprofits.
Most recently, he has begun to specialize in AI-powered technology.
“Marketing, especially in the digital age, is always changing quickly. So staying on the cutting edge is important,” he said.
Wilhoite said his company’s AI-powered sales and marketing tools enable follow-up and appointment setting with prospective clients. That's particularly useful, he said, for “high-ticket sales operations, typically anyone who sets appointments to sell over the phone or in person,” including contractors, real estate agents, insurance agents, and more.
“We are able to maximize ROI on ad spend and marketing budgets by automating 80% of the follow-up process,” he said.
Wilhoite said the exposure and networking opportunities from his time on The Blox have provided “valuable momentum” for Wremix, and looking ahead, he aims to scale the business in the coming months. He said he plans to hire two full-time employees by the end of the year, and he’s targeting to generate seven figures in revenue by the end of 2023.
Beyond his own company, Wilhoite said his larger mission is to help bolster Hawaii’s economy, and diversify local job opportunities beyond tourism and the military.
“It has always hurt my heart to see the brain drain and so many people who leave for financial reasons when they really want to stay. … There is a healthy community of accelerators, incubators, venture capital and entrepreneurs that has been growing over the past decade,” he said. “These organizations are making great strides in sectors such as tech, agriculture, consumer goods and more. I want to do my part to help and contribute to building this third leg of our economy.”
The first episode of season four of The Blox premiered Oct. 5. The show is available on Facebook Watch.
