Shows
Speaking of StartupsSpeaking of Startups Episode 163: William Ward Founder and CEO of FlexieWelcome to episode 163 of Speaking of Start-ups where we interview William Ward, founder of Flexie.
Flexie is a talent cultivation platform that helps companies source, hire, and retain quality young talent while giving the job seekers the availability to curate their working experience, build up a reliability score, and showcase their skills for future prospective employers.
William is a survivor of modern civil war. He used his family’s thirst for knowledge and desire to help others to create Smile For Liberia, a program that’s aided over 2,000 of his homeland’s people as well as awarded over 200 scholarships to young...2024-01-1850 minSpeaking of StartupsSpeaking of Startups Episode 155: Peter Marsh Co-Founder of Flywheel and Converge SouthRecently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Peter Marsh, CEO and founder of Flywheel Coworking and Converge South. Peter journey started with cabinet making. After that, he leveraged his contacts in the furniture design space to get into building design. Partnering with his wife, who oversees the interior design aspect of their business, they spotted the co-working space movement early on.
Using the couple’s aptitude for design, engineering, and spotting good opportunities, they built a co-working space that supports the budding entrepreneur in every step of the way. In doing so, they’ve gotten the communities these spaces call home...2023-09-211h 05Speaking of StartupsCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 154: Heather McCullough, Co-Founder of Society 54In this episode of the Charlotte Angel Connection, we talk with Heather McCullough of Society 54. During today’s podcast you’ll learn how Heather took a job and turned it into a business by paying attention to what she liked about her work.
Heather’s marketing expertise and her drive to help lawyers keep their attention on billable hours built the successful platform now employing 11 remote workers spread across the U.S.
Highlights from the episode include:
Carving out company with passion
Finding leaks in the buckets and using your knowledge to offer value
Transitioning from employee to business owner
Why ga...2023-09-0751 min
Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 154: Heather McCullough, Co-Founder of Society 54In this episode of the Charlotte Angel Connection, we talk with Heather McCullough of Society 54. During today’s podcast you’ll learn how Heather took a job and turned it into a business by paying attention to what she liked about her work.
Heather’s marketing expertise and her drive to help lawyers keep their attention on billable hours built the successful platform now employing 11 remote workers spread across the U.S.
Highlights from the episode include:
Carving out company with passion
Finding leaks in the buckets and using your knowledge to offer value
Transitioning from employee to business owner
Why ga...2023-09-0751 minSpeaking of StartupsCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 153: Marcia Dawood, Angel InvestorIn this episode of the "Charlotte Angel Connection", Marcia Dawood, a seasoned angel investor, accomplished TEDX Charlotte speaker, member of the Angel Capital Association and SEC Small Business Capital Formation Committee shares her recipe of "doing good by doing well" by “helping entrepreneurs’ dreams come true’.
Marcia takes us through her journey of becoming an angel investor, how ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) helped her see the true value of investing in start-ups to affect meaningful change, and the value that ALL angel’s bring to the table when investing.
Key Highlights:
Comparing the angel investment environment across the U.S.
Becom...2023-08-2454 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 153: Marcia Dawood, Angel InvestorIn this episode of the "Charlotte Angel Connection", Marcia Dawood, a seasoned angel investor, accomplished TEDX Charlotte speaker, member of the Angel Capital Association and SEC Small Business Capital Formation Committee shares her recipe of "doing good by doing well" by “helping entrepreneurs’ dreams come true’.
Marcia takes us through her journey of becoming an angel investor, how ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) helped her see the true value of investing in start-ups to affect meaningful change, and the value that ALL angel’s bring to the table when investing.
Key Highlights:
Comparing the angel investment environment across the U.S.
Becom...2023-08-2454 minSpeaking of StartupsCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 152: Leo Adams, Co-Founder and CEO of Skye LinkIn the latest episode of the Charlotte Angel Connection podcast, we had the privilege of speaking with Leo Adams, the visionary founder of Skye Link Aerial Imaging. At Skye Link, Leo and his team have harnessed the potential of drones to offer solutions in industries ranging from real estate and construction to renewable energy. They are at the forefront of utilizing drone technology to provide valuable insights, streamline operations, and enhance decision-making processes.
We delve into the importance of systematizing processes for scalability. Leo emphasizes the significance of creating sustainable, repeatable systems within the business to reach new levels of...2023-08-1055 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 152: Leo Adams, Co-Founder and CEOIn the latest episode of the Charlotte Angel Connection podcast, we had the privilege of speaking with Leo Adams, the visionary founder of Skylink Aerial Imaging. At Skylink, Leo and his team have harnessed the potential of drones to offer solutions in industries ranging from real estate and construction to renewable energy. They are at the forefront of utilizing drone technology to provide valuable insights, streamline operations, and enhance decision-making processes.
We delve into the importance of systematizing processes for scalability. Leo emphasizes the significance of creating sustainable, repeatable systems within the business to reach new levels of growth.
Key...2023-08-1055 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 151: Steve Wilcenski, Co-Founder and CEOToday, we have the pleasure of interviewing Steve Wilcenski, the co-founder of BN Nano, a company that specializes in developing nanomaterials with myriad properties and applications. With a focus on creating materials that are stronger, lighter, and more efficient in dissipating heat, BN Nano has captured the attention of various industries, including aerospace, defense, electronics, and clean energy.
During our conversation, Steve delves into the fascinating world of nanomaterials, sharing the challenges he faced during the company's early stages and the strategic approach to expanding their customer base. He sheds light on BN Nano's groundbreaking work in water purification, revealing...2023-07-2855 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 150: David Jones, Founder of Peak 10Today we welcome David Jones to the podcast. David founded Peak 10 (now known as Flexential), a hybrid IT infrastructure provider focused on colocation, connectivity, cloud, and managed solutions.
David started Peak 10 in 1999 after being fired from a previous job. In 2010, he sold Peak 10 to a private equity group. In 2014, they sold again to another private equity group (who is still the majority owner of the company). David stayed on as Chairman until Peak 10 completed its acquisition of ViaWest in 2018, giving the newly formed combined company - Flexential - a national reach. Today Flexential is a multi-billion-dollar company.
We cover many topic...2023-07-0658 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 149: Alan Fitzpatrick, CEO and Co-Founder of Open BroadbandToday we welcome Alan Fitzpatrick to the podcast. Alan is the cofounder and CEO of Open Broadband, an internet service provider (ISP) focused on serving traditionally underserved areas.
Alan and his cofounder, Kent Wenrich, started Open Broadband in 2016. Today, Open Broadband is one of Charlotte’s fastest growing startups, having been named to Charlotte Business Journal’s Fast 50 list each year since 2018.
We cover several topics during our conversation with Alan, including…
How $42B of federal government grants are changing the ISP space
Rural and urban markets both containing underserved segments
Meeting an angel investor through a startup pitch event in Ral...2023-06-2256 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 148: Meggie Williams, Founder and CEO of SkiptownToday we welcome Meggie Williams to the podcast. Meggie is the founder and CEO of Skiptown, an all-in-one ecosystem for bar, park, and pet care services.
Skiptown started as a dog-walking company named Waggle in 2016. Fast forward to late last year when Skiptown closed a $28M fundraising round to expand the concept around the country. By next year, Skiptown will have launched in Atlanta, Houston, and Denver in addition to the Charlotte location (with more coming).
During our wide-ranging conversation with Meggie, we cover topics including…
Losing 95% of revenue during the beginning of COVID
Why ‘Riding the Scooter in the Rain...2023-05-1154 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 147: 2U Laundry Co-Founders Alex and DanToday we welcome Alex Smereczniak and Dan D'Aquisto to the podcast. Alex and Dan are the cofounders of 2U Laundry, a laundry subscription service and laundromat franchising company.
Alex and Dan became friends in 6th grade while growing up in Minnesota. Fast forward to today and 2U Laundry recently closed a $20M Series B round to scale their 2U subscription service and LaundroLab franchising model nationwide.
We cover several topics with Alex and Dan, including…
Pivoting before and during COVID-19
How they remain friends while holding one another accountable
Lessons learned from raising and deploying 4 rounds of capital
The benefits of...2023-04-2758 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 146: Sagar Shukla, Co-Founder of ForesightToday we welcome Sagar Shukla to the podcast. Sagar is a cofounder of Foresight, a B2B software company that helps sales and client success teams reduce churn and expand client relationships.
Sagar started his career at Red Ventures and cut his startup teeth as one of DealCloud’s earliest employees. Today, Sagar and his cofounder Nigel are using Foresight’s seed round to help companies (including their former employer DealCloud) create customer-led growth infrastructure.
We cover several topics with Sagar, including…
Why studying abroad in Bolivia prompted an entrepreneurial epiphany
How working at a large company is like the ‘Snap to...2023-04-0554 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 145: Lauren Marturano, Founder and CEO of ZinniaToday we welcome Lauren Marturano to the podcast. Lauren is the founder and CEO of Zinnia, a software company that helps businesses plan in-person events such as offsites, client dinners, and more.
Lauren began her career at Microsoft as an Enterprise Account Executive before joining Salesforce and eventually leaving corporate life to pursue entrepreneurship. Now, Lauren is getting ready to close a seed round that will help grow Zinnia’s team and product.
We cover several topics with Lauren, including why…
Taking a 90% pay cut to pursue entrepreneurship was worth it.
Being an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Atlanta Ventures helped Lauren launch Zinn...2023-03-2349 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 144: Ernest Eich, Founder of ShandokaToday we welcome Ernest Eich to the podcast. Ernest is the founder and CEO of Shandoka, an electric motorcycle company.
Ernest began developing his electric motorcycle concept in 2012, performing custom carpentry during the day to bootstrap research, development, and early tinkering. Today, having received a utility patent in late 2022, Shandoka is successfully into a $12M fundraise and is opening a manufacturing facility in South Carolina.
We cover several steps along Shandoka’s journey with Ernest, including…
Meeting dozens of famous inventors during his time in Colorado
The pros and cons of living in an ecosystem not known for CleanTech
Why Clea...2023-03-0258 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 143: Trey Phills, Co-Founder of GymbleCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 143: Trey Phills
Today we welcome Trey Phills to the podcast. Trey is the co-founder and CMO of Gymble, a software company helping athletic facilities, personal trainers, and athletic trainers better manage their businesses and client bookings.
After graduating from Yale in 2019, Trey played in the NBA G League and launched his TikTok (@tphills), quickly growing to over 800K followers and becoming a TikTok Partner. During 2019 and 2020, Trey and his cofounders (Devon Oakley and Akim Mitchell) began working on the idea that became Gymble. Today, Gymble is participating in Techstars’ Anywhere Accelerator as a member of the 2023 Wi...2023-02-1649 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 142: Natalie Waggett, CEO and Co-Founder of OhanafyToday we welcome Natalie Waggett to the podcast. Natalie is the co-founder and CEO of Ohanafy, a software company that provides end-to-end craft beverage management software for breweries.
After starting out at Bank of America and joining nCino as an early employee, Natalie took a short break from the corporate world. During this break, the inspiration behind Ohanafy came after reading her friend Inez’s book Life After Windows. Natalie reached out to Inez and, while catching up, learned the challenges associated with running a brewery. Shortly thereafter, Natalie (and her co-founders Ian Padrick, Chris Dowling, Davis Bryson, and Matt Ke...2023-01-1957 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 141: Tyler Traudt, CEO and Co-Founder of DebtBookToday we welcome Tyler Traudt to the podcast. Tyler is the founder and CEO of DebtBook, a software company that provides debt and lease management software to government, higher education, and healthcare finance teams.
After a two-year stint in Citigroup’s public finance investment banking team, Tyler spent several years consulting for public finance teams before connecting with his cofounder, Erik Pelletier. They started DebtBook in 2019 and recently closed a $7.5M Series A round.
We cover many topics in this episode, including how Tyler…
Signed DebtBook’s first 15 clients pre-product
Thinks about fundraising (and why they’ve raised 4 seed rounds)
Shaped D...2023-01-0559 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 140: Margaret Kocherga, Founder of MagrikToday we welcome Dr. Margaret Kocherga to the podcast. Margaret is the founder and CEO of Margik, a hardware tech company looking to make organic-based lighting mainstream.
A self-described ‘accidental entrepreneur’, Margaret started Margik while earning her PhD in Nanoscale Science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. After founding the company, Margaret was awarded a NC IDEA grant, completed the Department of Energy’s Chain Reaction Innovation program, and even appeared on Amazon Prime’s Unicorn Hunters television series.
We cover many topics in this episode, including how Margaret…
Immigrated from Kyiv, Ukraine to Charlotte, NC at the age of 15
...2022-12-191h 01Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 139: Matt Beck, Co-Founder and CEO of Hoppy PlanetToday we welcome Matt Beck to the podcast. Matt is the co-founder and CEO of Hoppy Planet, a food sustainability company fortifying everyday snacks with the nutrients and vitamins your body needs.
While working for Google in Chicago, Matt launched the company along with his co-founder and wife, Allie. During the pandemic, they relocated to Charlotte and scaled the business to new heights by taking on additional funding, growing the product lines, and expanding Hoppy Planet’s retail footprint.
We cover several steps along Hoppy Planet’s journey with Matt, like…
Why chocolate chip cookies are the perfect food to make w...2022-11-2257 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 138: Andrew Ashur, Founder of Lucid Drone TechnologiesToday we welcome Andrew Ashur to the podcast. Andrew is the founder and CEO of Lucid Drone Technologies, a YCombinator-backed company building industrial drones for labor-intensive tasks.
While studying Economics and Spanish at Davidson College, Andrew learned mechanical, electrical, and software engineering to create Lucid Drones’ first prototype. Fast forward to today and Lucid Drones is scaling rapidly to alleviate labor shortages in the service economy.
We cover a wide variety of topics in this episode, like how (and why) Andrew…
Increased the company’s “surface area of luck” by cleaning Mercedes Benz Stadium
Flew an early-stage drone into a tree minut...2022-11-0355 minSpeaking of StartupsCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 137: David Jones, General Partner with Bull City Venture PartnersToday we welcome David Jones, General Partner of Bull City Venture Partners to the podcast. BCVP has a great reputation across NC and the southeast and they just finished raising their 3rd fund.
Over the pandemic, David reached out to me twice to check in and see how I was doing – and I’m not an investor in the fund or a company they’ve invested in.
In a recent conversation with David, it hit me how founder friendly he had to be based on my interactions with him. I had also recently been having conversations with founders who seemed timid to...2022-10-2155 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 137: David Jones, General Partner with Bull City Venture PartnersToday we welcome David Jones, General Partner of Bull City Venture Partners to the podcast. BCVP has a great reputation across NC and the southeast and they just finished raising their 3rd fund.
Over the pandemic, David reached out to me twice to check in and see how I was doing – and I’m not an investor in the fund or a company they’ve invested in.
In a recent conversation with David, it hit me how founder friendly he had to be based on my interactions with him. I had also recently been having conversations with founders who seemed timid to...2022-10-2155 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 136: Matt Hudson, CEO and Founder of BilditToday we welcome Matt Hudson, founder and CEO of Bildit (pronounced Build It), to the podcast. Bildit has created a “rapid mobile app development platform for ecommerce brands”. It’s a concept Matt has had for quite some time and it’s really excited to see him bring it to life.
After spending years helping Belk build their mobile app and experience for their shoppers, Matt became acutely aware of the issues companies face when they are trying to deliver content and a shopping experience. So as any good entrepreneur would do, he left Belk to create the business that could solve...2022-09-011h 04Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 135: Rich Camacho Founder and CEO of Blue RecruitToday we welcome Rich Camacho, CEO and Co-Founder of BlueRecruit. BlueRecruit is a startup based in Raleigh NC. They match blue collar skilled workers to hiring companies based on experience and certifications desired by the hiring company.
Rich is a graduate of West Point. Cattle ranching and military service runs in the blood of Rich’s family. Thus, he followed in the family footprints and served in the Army as a Black Hawk helicopter pilot. Following his military service, Rich helped fellow veterans make the transition into corporate America. While helping many of America’s top companies, he recognized that the rec...2022-05-0658 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 134: Landon Glenn, Founder of ASAToday we welcome Landon Glenn, CEO and Founder of ASA. I met Landon at the RevTech Labs fall Venture 135 Conference. We ended up sitting at the same table together and quickly started talking about ASA and his background.
Landon was a key component of scaling Banzai (an online financial literacy application for kids). During that time (about 5 years) Landon was attending 10 - 12 fintech conferences a year and kept hearing about fintech startups struggling to integrate with banks and the financial institutions. ASA came about when Landon realized the difficulties of Fintechs partnering with financial institutions. ASA has developed a solution that a...2022-02-1748 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 133: Paul Clark, Managing Director of VentureSouthToday we welcome Paul Clark, Managing Director at VentureSouth, to the podcast. Prior to co-founding VentureSouth, Paul was Senior Vice President of M&A at a multi-billion-dollar bank in South Carolina. Paul has extensive private equity investment and fund experience in New York and London. In 2013 Paul, along with Matt Dunbar and Charlie Banks formulated the Venture South Plan.
We’ve had Paul on the podcast before with portfolio company, Threatswitch, but this time we wanted to purely focus on the VentureSouth story and what they are doing. As such, we turned to how Paul ended up in Greenville, South Carol...2022-01-2856 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 132: Dmitry Norenko, CEO and co-founder of upSWOTToday we welcome Dmitry Norenko, CEO and founder of upSWOT, to the podcast. Dmitry and the team at upSWOT have been hard at work building a platform to help small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) make better decisions based on insight, personalized advice, and cashflow insights from within their banking portal.
Dmitry and his team moved to Charlotte back in the summer of 2020. Originally from Ukraine, they had moved out to California to take their business through an accelerator program on the west coast. But upon completing those and being thrown full force into a pandemic, they relocated to Charlotte to...2022-01-1352 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 131: BJ McAndrews, CEO and co-founder of FlypToday, we welcome BJ McAndrews, co-founder of Flyp, to the podcast.
BJ was introduced to me by Todd Buelow from Dualboot Partners (who was on Episode 95). I always enjoy meeting startup founders in our introductory calls. BJ and I hit it off right out of the gate. Like so many founders, he has an infectious happiness about him. After all he spends every day building his company - a company he wants to see change the way banking is delivered to millions of people.
BJ is the kind of entrepreneur I've often thought Charlotte was creating but didn't know about. He wa...2021-12-1657 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 130: Blake Wood, Co-Founder of APAYToday, we welcome Blake Wood, co-founder of APAY, to the podcast.
Blake reached out to me back in 2018 to discuss the beginnings of what would become APAY and asking for advice. At that point, Blake and his co-founder, Owen Brady, were still working in the bank and trying to figure out how to build their company. They had a little bit of seed money but were trying to map their path forward to helping people better understand and manage their student loans.
Fast forward to now and APAY was acquired this fall by Ramsey Solutions – Dave Ramsey’s company. It’s a great...2021-12-021h 01Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 129: Justin Adams and Pat Morrell, Co-Founders of AnduinToday we welcome Justin Adams and Pat Morrell, co-founders of Anduin. Many of you know this is their second startup together as they sold Digitize.ai back in 2019 – which is now part of Waystar. So, this is our first podcast dealing with co-founders in Charlotte who have built and sold and are now building again, together.
For that reason, we get to dive into some great topics with them. We didn’t ask them, “what would you do differently”, we asked, “what ARE you doing differently?” This dynamic allows us to cover some great aspects of their entrepreneurial journey. We dove into the con...2021-11-111h 06Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 128: Haley Sutton, Founder of Box Babe Gift Co.Today, we welcome Haley Sutton, Founder of Box Babe Gift Co., to the podcast. I first met Haley when she was an intern for Packard Place a few years ago. She was regularly at Packard Place as we recorded podcasts and showed up for startup/investing events. So it was awesome to have her on the podcast to talk about her own startup and the path she has taken to get here.
The one thing Haley continued to say in our podcast I loved was how it was worth swinging for the fences. That’s the mentality that has allowed her to...2021-10-0158 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 127: Ben Boyer, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of R-ZeroToday we welcome Ben Boyer, co-founder and Executive Chairman of R-Zero Systems, to the podcast. Prior to March 2020, Ben had worked in Venture Capital – getting his feet wet with Lehman Brothers as he came out of college.
After the Lehman bankruptcy, he went to work for Tenaya Capital which was spun out of Lehman Brothers. At Tenaya, Ben focused on global consumer and related investments, with an emphasis on vertical applications and network effect businesses. He led investments in companies based in four countries and on three continents. In 2020, he remained a Partner at Tenaya Capital but he stepped away from...2021-09-101h 03Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 126: Noam Mani, Co-Founder and CEO of QuartixToday we welcome Noam Mani, Co-Founder of Quartix. Quartix is a company combining technology with institutional cash to transform vendor early payments into a true win-win for both the buyer and the vendors. I met Noam several years ago when he was participating in the QC Fintech Accelerator program (run by RevTech Labs).
The company has come a long way since those early days and they are now growing quickly – which is a great testament to Noam, his co-founder (Dror) and the rest of team including his stable of advisors they picked up along the way (some of which he pick...2021-08-271h 03Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 125: Jim Roberts, Founder of Network for Wilmington Entrepreneurs and much moreToday, we welcome Jim Roberts to the podcast. Jim is a familiar name in the Charlotte area startup and investor ecosystem. Today, Jim runs the Wilmington Angels for Local Entrepreneurs (WALE), Network for Entrepreneurs in Wilmington (NEW), and his own consulting firm, Rojo Octo Ecosystem Consulting.
Yet, in 2000, he started a non-profit ecosystem in Charlotte before moving to Ashville to start their startup ecosystem and angel network. From there Jim was recruited to work for the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Division in Raleigh. In 2013 he moved to Wilmington to start UNCW’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE). The CIE o...2021-07-161h 03Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 124: Luke Wilcox, Founder and CEO of EthosToday we are pleased to welcome Luke Wilcox, CEO and founder of Ethos, to the podcast. Luke was part of the most recent RevTech Labs program and we got the chance to sit down with him and a few of his classmates to talk about their experience with the world class program as well as learn more about their businesses.
Ethos is a first-of-its-kind FinTech platform to align your money with the causes you care about, including racial justice, climate change, LGBTQ equality, and more. Essentially, it is a tool allowing investors and their advisors identify the causes most important to...2021-06-2525 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 123: Nish Krishna, Founder and CEO of Lend-GrowToday we are pleased to welcome Nish Krishna, CEO of Lend-Grow, to the podcast. Nish was part of the most recent RevTech Labs program and we got the chance to sit down with him and a few of his classmates to talk about their experience with the world class program as well as learn more about their businesses.
Lend-Grow is an online lending marketplace connecting borrowers with community banks to offer the best deals on loans. Borrowers can check their rates in less than two minutes and get matched with the lender that has the best deal for their needs. Nish a...2021-06-2424 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 122: Lennox McNeary, Co-founder and CEO of ArchiveCoreToday we are pleased to welcome Lennox McNeary, CEO of ArchiveCore, to the podcast. Lennox was part of the most recent RevTech Labs program and we got the chance to sit down with her and a few of her classmates to talk about their experience with the world class program as well as learn more about their businesses.
ArchiveCore is a creating a simplified credentialing process for complex industries. Lennox understands this well as she is a physician as well as a co-founder and grew frustrated with the process of hiring in her profession. The typical delays of 90 days or mor...2021-06-2322 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 121: CFV Ventures with Nat Clarkson and Dan RoselliToday, we are fortunate to have Nat Clarkson and Dan Roselli join us on the podcast to talk with us about CFV Ventures. We all know Dan and Nat from their work at RevTech Labs/QC Fintech.
We wanted the opportunity to sit down and explore what CFV Ventures has been up to since closing their first fund. Since this is our first time talking with Nat on the podcast we spend a good bit of time learning more about his background before we shift the discussion over to the fund. Once we dive into the fund discussion we get int...2021-06-181h 02Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 120: Jonathan Kite, CEO of Rent ReadyToday, we are fortunate to have Jonathan Kite join us on the podcast to talk with us about Rent Ready. Jonathan and the Rent Ready team (including co-founders Ryan McMillan and Will Brugh) completed a $10 million Series A in March 2021 - another great raise for a Charlotte based company.
Jonathan grew up in Charlotte and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Jonathan started out leading the IT and marketing functions for Rent Ready to ensure their technology platform is constantly adapting to meet customer and Service Pro’s needs. He co-founded Rent Ready after a 6-year tenure at...2021-05-211h 02Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 119: Matt Potere, CEO of Sunlight FinancialToday, we welcome back Matt Potere, CEO of Sunlight Financial, to the podcast. Matt joined us early in the days of the podcast with Episode 20 and Episode 21. Back in these days, Sunlight Financial was growing rapidly and in the process of moving into their new office space as they 'graduated' from the halls of Packard Place. Fortunately, Matt and the rest of his team have continued to see growth over the last couple of years - so much growth they will be going public through a merger with a SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) later this year.
Given this is ou...2021-05-0655 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 118: Mike Murphy, CEO of ProctorFree and Kevin Eckert, Partner with TFX CapitalToday we welcome Mike Murphy, CEO and Co-Founder of ProctorFree and Kevin Eckert, Partner with TFX Capital to the podcast.
Mike served in the Army and later worked as a defense contractor. Prior to starting ProctorFree, Mike worked as marketing director for Everblue Training Institute, a startup focused on marketing environmental sustainability and green building (Jon Boggiano – Founder of Everblue was on guest #3 on the podcast – listen to it here).
ProctorFree is an on-demand, convenient, and cost-effective online proctoring solution for education and corporate environments. The ProctorFree platform allows organizations to elevate their credibility and reputation while providing convenient learning opport...2021-04-161h 03Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 117: Juan Garzon, Executive Director of Innovate CharlotteToday, Juan Garzon jumps back on the Charlotte Angel Connection – his second time and first since his appearance as the 4th guest (listen to Juan’s first podcast here). Juan is the Executive Director at Innovate Charlotte.
Most of us have known Juan, or known of Juan, for nearly a decade now as he has been an integral part of the startup ecosystem. Between his work over the years with Pitch Breakfast, launching the Start Charlotte newsletter (now Charlotte Inno), or any number of other things Juan has done to help startups over the years, Juan has been a tireless advoca...2021-03-261h 04Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 116: Bundle Founders, Eric Mager, CEO, and Marco Burgarello, Head of GrowthToday, Eric Mager and Marco Burgarello, of Bundle join the podcast. I’ve been a fan of Marco’s since I met him while he was working with Dan Roselli at Packard Place. And when I saw Eric pitch Bundle at a Charlotte Angel Fund meeting I knew he was a founder and Bundle was a company worth watching. Bundle sits at the crossroads of privacy, technology, personalization, and a great user experience. Considering the mortgage industry doesn’t deliver any of that, I figured it had a decent shot at success.
But listen to the podcast today and you’ll hear for...2021-03-121h 06Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 115: Gunnar Cuevas, CEO and Co-Founder of CARLToday we welcome Gunner Cuevas, CEO and Co-Founder of CARL. I met Gunnar a few years ago as he was coming through the QC Fintech Accelerator Program. His desire to bring unique quantitative strategies to a broader population caught my attention.
CARL is the first to provide easy access to hedge funds through a simple to use mobile app. By taking advantage of new regulations and advances in analytics and computing technologies they offer investment opportunities not previously available to most investors. .
Hedge funds have gotten a bad rap over the years as they are reported to continue underperforming the m...2021-02-261h 03Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 114: Chris Langford, Partner with IDEA Fund PartnersToday, we welcome Chris Langford, a Partner at IDEA Fund Partners, to the podcast. Chris has been active in the Charlotte startup scene since at least 2015 when I joined the Charlotte Angel Fund. His education events, support of local founders, and availability to the ecosystem at large has been helpful getting the Charlotte startup community to where it is today.
In this podcast, we wanted to learn more about Chris and how he ended up being in Venture Capital. Chris has a great story of the journey he has taken and what he has learned along the way. He shares tha...2021-02-061h 02Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 113: Daniel Gouldman, CEO and co-founder of TernioToday we welcome Daniel Gouldman, CEO and Co-Founder of Ternio, to the podcast. Daniel is a big picture CEO who has the skillset to get down into details and who very much understands where his business is and where they are going to take it.
Ternio is a global fintech platform built on blockchain. Their global banking platform, BlockCard, is fundamentally changing the way people interact with their money. The BlockCard, currently live in the United States, allows customers frictionless use of their cryptocurrencies in their account - connected to a Visa card.
Ternio is a Visa Fast Track Partner an...2021-01-211h 07Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 112: John Dillard, founder and CEO of Threatswitch and Paul Clark, Partner with Venture SouthHappy 2021!
On today's podcast, we have John Dillard, founder and CEO of Threatswitch, joining us. In addition to John, we brought Paul Clark from VentureSouth as they have been an investor in Threatswitch for the last couple of years.
As you'll hear John discuss, they just closed a $1.7 million capital raise in late 2020 and VentureSouth - in the middle of the global pandemic.
"Threatswitch is transforming the way security and compliance teams work on security. They make it easier to comply with strict regulations by radically simplifying and automating high volume, data intensive and administrative tasks."
We kick of this p...2021-01-081h 05Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 111: Bianca Padilla and Jonathan Magolnick, Co-Founders of CarewellOn today's podcast, we are fortunate to have Bianca L. Padilla and Jonathan Magolnick, co-founders of Carewell. Carewell is a Charlotte-based, family-led ecommerce company with a mission to improve the lives of caregivers and their loved ones.
Their story began with one goal: to find a way to provide better care for loved ones through easy, personalized service. Carewell’s story began in 2015, when its founders were among the 20% of Americans who act as informal caregivers. They were unable to find the guidance and selection they needed in one place. Knowing the impact it could have, they formed Carewell to be a...2020-12-151h 01Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 110: Trent Hawthorne Founder of Standup Pro and COO of RabbuTrent Hawthorne, COO at Rabbu, joins us on the podcast today.
Trent is a Charlotte native, and he thinks of himself as a builder, who always wanted to be an entrepreneur. Early in his career he worked for Kyck because he knew he wanted to start his own startup one day and was looking to learn while doing it with another company. Kyck's founder, Mac Lackey, has mentored many local entrepreneurs over the years and several startups have since spun out of Kyck (including the Rabbu who was on the podcast several years ago - click here to listen).
While wi...2020-12-041h 05Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 109: Will McGuire and Anya Johnson of CrowdfundNCAnya Johnson and Will McGuire with CrowdfundNC join us for the podcast today.
Will joined us a few years ago to talk about crowdfunding and his own company, CrowdfundNC. I wanted to circle back around and talk with Will and Anya about the crowdfunding initiatives in North Carolina as well as what the industry in general looks like. I have long been a believer that local entrepreneurs are good investment opportunities as potentially investment opportunities for people willing AND able to take the risk.
Companies like CrowdfundNC make it easier for local people to invest in local businesses. As Charlotte in...2020-11-061h 07Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 108: Alex Smereczniak, Co-Founder and CEO of 2ULaundryToday we welcomed Alex Smereczniak, co-Founder and CEO of 2ULaundry, to the podcast. Many of you know the story of 2ULaundry as they have been operating out of Charlotte since 2016 (and we had his co-founder, Dan D’Aquisto as a guest on episode #7).
Click here for the video version of the podcast.
Yet, this was our first-time having Alex on the podcast where we learn he is originally from Redwing, Minnesota and went to college at Wake Forest. While he was at college, Alex and some friends started a laundry business catering to college students but they sold it as they...2020-10-2359 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 107: Desmond Wiggan, Co-Founder and CEO of BatteryXchangeThis week we welcome Desmond Wiggan, a co-founder and CEO BatteryXchange to the podcast. Like many entrepreneurs Desmond’s business model was disrupted as a result of Covid19. As an African American entrepreneur, he also engaged in the community promoting equality for minority founders and changing the narrative for minorities in technology. He’s also a new father.
You’ll quickly learn that tackling all these things is just what Desmond does – he’s a fantastic person with great drive and self-awareness.
Desmond was kind enough to talk through his journey with us. In many regards, it started out with him running tr...2020-09-2400 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 106: Lee Farabaugh, President of Core10 and Joe Maxwell Managing Partner with FINTOP CapitalLee Farabaugh and Joe Maxwell join me on the Charlotte Angel Connection today to discuss Core10.
Lee Farabaugh is the Co-Founder and President of Core10. She is a technology design, operations and innovation expert with over a decade of experience in fintech and health care IT – and she’s been fortunate to call Charlotte home before!
Joe Maxwell is the Managing Partner with FINTOP Capital. FINTOP Capital, is a venture capital firm managed by a team of seasoned operators, based in Nashville, TN. In addition, to being an investor in Core10 FINTOP capital was an earlier investor in DealCloud – a Charlott...2020-09-0300 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 105: Jordan Schindler, CEO and Founder of NuFabrxWe are really pleased to have Jordan Schindler, CEO and Founder at Nufabrx (previously known as Textile-Based Delivery, Inc) on the podcast today (watch our podcast on Youtube).
Much like our last podcast with Chris Wright from Whystle (click here), Jordan had to deal with a big change to his business model during March. While he was in the midst of launching into Walmart and had just finished a capital raise, the need for more masks in the US was/is directly in their line of work. As such, we explore this pivot and the impact with Jordan in detail.
Be...2020-08-0600 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 104: Chris Wright, Founder of WhystleChris Wright, founder of Whystle, joins us today on the podcast.
Chris is an entrepreneur obsessed with learning and relentless personal improvement. Chris is from Indiana, grew up in upstate New York and attended University of South Carolina. After college he had a job with Deloitte and was fortunate to have a few months prior to his official start date. During his time off, Chris started two businesses which was where he knew he wanted to come back to. One of the businesses, which he still co-owns, sells private label men’s accessories thru an Amazon FBA (fulfillment by Amazon). You’ll...2020-07-151h 04Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 103: Scott Pope and Eric Kirsch, Co-Founders of Mito StationWe are exploring the world of video podcasting so please feel free to watch today's podcast here - https://youtu.be/Fn4NpldmZhQ
Scott Pope and Eric Kirsch join the podcast today to discuss Mito Station and the health care startup space in Charlotte. Mito Station is a co-working space built specifically to meet the needs of innovative healthcare start-up companies. In addition to getting this unique concept off the ground both Eric and Scott hold down other jobs in the health care space in Charlotte. They’ve been dedicated to building a network in the medical community over the last s...2020-06-2600 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 102: Hall T. Martin, Founder and CEO of TEN Capital NetworkToday, we welcome Hall T. Martin to the podcast. Hall is the Founder and CEO of TEN Capital Networks, formerly known as the Texas Entrepreneurial Network. He has been involved in the Texas angel investors community since at least 2006 when he became the director of the Central Texas Angel Network. Since then, Hall has gone on to start or run the Wilco Angel Network, the Austin Entrepreneur Network, the Baylor Angel Network and several others.
Hall was kind enough to have me on his podcast to talk about what's happening in the Charlotte startup/angel community a few weeks ago. In t...2020-05-211h 00Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 101: Don Rainey, General Partner with Grotech VenturesToday Don Rainey, Partner with Grotech Ventures, joins us on the Charlotte Angel Connection. Don is an experienced venture capitalist with a track record of successful enterprises. He has been involved with internet-based companies building large audiences and businesses for over 20 years. Over that time, he has made investments in ecommerce, fintech, networking technology and social media-related startups.
Don moved to the Lake Norman area in 2013. He is part of a growing number of Lake Norman area residents who have experience in the venture/startup space. They are increasingly utilizing Davidson’s Hurt Hub as a place to meet, network and...2020-04-171h 02Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 100: Tana Greene, Co-Founder and CEO of MyWorkChoiceToday, Tana Greene shares her story as a successful entrepreneur and mentor.
At the age of 17, she wrote a goal on a piece of paper: “own my own business by the age 30.” It was a far cry from where she was but you’ll hear why it wasn’t a long shot at all. With each passing year, her purpose beat louder and grew stronger. Along the way, the business became clear – she wanted to help others by finding them employment. Owning her own business became a reality in 1988, when she co-founded a national staffing company that grew to operate in more than...2020-03-311h 01Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 099: Dalton Shaul, Founder and CEO of OmniLifeDalton Shaull is the Founder and CEO of OmniLife. He is originally from Iowa and was born in an intense football family. He played football for the University of Iowa, but his football career ended due to a motorcycle accident.
After the accident he lost feeling in his arm and ended up having to have a nerve transplant to regain feeling in his arm. Throughout his recovery, Dalton tried several ventures and ultimately decided he really liked to create things (artistic prospective). As a result of his injury, he knew he wanted to get involved in the Medtech business. It was d...2020-03-1200 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 098: Haley Bohon, Founder and CEO of SkillpopOn today’s podcast, we have Haley Bohon, Founder and CEO of SkillPop. I’ve known about SkillPop since nearly its inception but have never had the opportunity to sit down with Haley and talk about the business. For those of you who don’t know, SkillPop is a company facilitating ‘pop-up classes in your community’. They advertise that it’s for ‘creators, dreamers and lifelong learners’.
I think you can make the case it’s for anyone who wants to continue to grow.
And speaking of growth, SkillPop has grown tremendously since its first class. They now offer classes in Atlanta, Charlotte...2020-02-141h 05Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 097: Dan Ariely, Author, Founder, InvestorToday we welcome Dan Ariely to the Charlotte Angel Connection. Dan is the Principal for Advanced Hindsight and Founder of Startup Lab at Duke University. He is also Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University (Fuqua School of Business, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Economics, School of Medicine). Dan is also a Co-Founder, advisor and investor in numerous startups over the last decade. Many of you have probably seen one of Dan’s TED Talks which are based on Predictably Irrational and some of his more recent books.
I read Predictably Irrational in 2010 and became an instant fan of Dan’s...2020-01-3058 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 096: Stratifyd Founder and CEO, Derek WangToday, we welcome Derek Wang, founder and CEO of Stratifyd, to the Charlotte Angel Connection.
Derek was raised in Beijing and moved to the United States to obtain his Ph.D. from UNC Charlotte. While attending UNC he spent time on the West coast working with Microsoft Research and PARC. Derek became a Professor at UNC Charlotte and realized AI was being controlled by large companies. He wanted to deliver the same benefits the large companies were exploring to companies of all sizes.
Stratifyd is a startup headquartered in Charlotte, NC. The company has been designed to equip business leaders wor...2020-01-1658 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 095: Dualboot Partners: Todd, Daniel and BenToday we welcome the Principals of Dualboot Partners to the Charlotte Angel Connection.
Dualboots mission is to partner with seasoned business leaders and entrepreneurs to build and transform businesses. If you’ve been to any startup event over the last 12 months you’ve seen someone from the dualboot team there. seasoned technology veterans with a long and proven track record of building new products and re-platforming legacy systems. There is no question they have a goal to be an important fabric, in not just Charlotte but, the southeast startup community.
They are building a nice team and have already worked with s...2019-12-191h 03Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 094: Wolfpack Investor Network (WIN) Managing Director, Brett Danforth and Ghazale Johnston WIN MemberToday we have Brett Danforth, Managing Director of the Wolfpack Investor Network (WIN), and Ghazale Johnston, WIN member/investor, joining us to discuss angel investing.
“The Wolfpack Investor Network (WIN) brings together the NC State entrepreneurial community, NC State alumni network, and innovative private companies to empower the businesses that drive our future.”
It is operated as a subscription service with direct ties to the University. The annual membership is $1,500 with no requirement to invest (think of it as a fee to see deal flow with the potential to invest in each company). As of our interview in September 2019, they have 1...2019-11-151h 00Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 093: Richard Maclean, Co-Founder of Frontier CapitalToday, we have Richard Maclean joining us on the podcast. Richard is a co-founder of Frontier Capital – a Charlotte area growth equity firm he co-founded in 1999 with Andrew Lindner.
Richard has seen Frontier Capital grow quickly over the years. Their second fund raised $115 million in 2007 and Fund V raised $700 million in 2017. They have started the process of raising capital for Fund VI and it will be exciting to see where they finish given their strong team and track record.
So where do you start with a co-founder of a growth equity firm whose seen success for many portfolio companies as well...2019-10-3159 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 092: Spiracle Media Co-Founders Jarod Latch and Tim BaierToday, we have Jarod Latch and Tim Baier joining us on the podcast. Jarod and Tim are co-founders of Spiracle Media – a video content agency working with businesses to craft a better story to share.
Jarod and Tim started Spiracle Media in 2011 while still working at different local news stations. They lived in a house together with a couple of other guys – Funday Monday was not a welcome addition to their neighborhood. It took time living together but they finally came to a decision to start what is now Spiracle Media.
Not surprisingly, the business started off with a different idea/c...2019-10-181h 07Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 091: Jason Tuttle, Principal Nova Capital PartnersToday, we have Jason Tuttle joining us on the podcast. Jason is a Principal and a co-founder of Nova Capital Partners – a local real estate investment firm.
Jason is a different guest for us. At Nova Capital Partners, they’ve spent the last 8 years (2011 – 2019) identifying under-appreciated real estate in the Carolina’s and raising money from investors to purchase each property - in a special purpose vehicle (SPV) type entity.
After successfully doing it over 11 properties and continually providing income to investors, Jason and his business partner, Andy English, made the decision late last year to raise a real estate investmen...2019-09-0656 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 090: David Stunja, COO of Petscreening.comToday, we have David Stunja joining us on the podcast. David is the COO of Petscreening.com which recently completed a Seed Round led by Grotech Ventures.
Many of you know David, but for those that don’t he took the corporate America route before he joined Petscreening.com.
David spent most of his career in Washington, DC before relocating to Charlotte and was a VP of Corporate Strategy for Bank of America. All along, he knew he wanted to work with a fast-growing startup company. He just had to find the right one for him. To aid in his search...2019-08-161h 05Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 089: Continuing to Build the Charlotte Startup Ecosystem with Evan Rozantes and Chris HeivlyToday our guests are Evan Rozantes and Chris Heivly. By the end of the podcast, you will clearly understand their passion and the importance of building a strong innovation ecosystem in the Charlotte and Raleigh areas.
Chris Heivly began his career in DC, then Lancaster, PA then Chicago and moved to the Raleigh/Durham area in 2005. Chris is an entrepreneur (MapQuest Co-Founder), early-stage investor and now serial startup community builder. He’s spent time building up the ecosystem in Raleigh/Durham as well as other cities and joined up with Techstars in 2017 to continue that mission on a global basis. In that ro...2019-08-011h 08Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 088: A Conversation about Investment Crowdfunding with Will McGuire and Mark Easley of CrowdfundNC.comToday we welcome Will McGuire and Mark Easley to the Podcast. Will and Mark are building CrowdfundNC – an investment crowdfunding ecosystem in North Carolina. North Carolina is one of 38 states who have enacted legislation allowing for anyone to become an angel investor.
Will McGuire has been an investment crowdfunding investor and advisor since 2016.
Mark Easley has been an active advocate, advisor, and investor in the investment crowdfunding space since 2012. Mark was the leader of the NC PACES Act Team which was recently honored with the 2017 WRAL Techwire Editor’s Choice Award for their work in getting the NC PACES investment crowdfund...2019-07-121h 08Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 087: Tyson Baber, Partner at Georgian PartnersTyson Baber went to college at the University of North Carolina. Early in his career he worked for IBM as an M&A Business Development Executive. In 2014, he relocated to Toronto and became a Partner at Georgian Partners. Georgian Partners is a growth-stage fund focused on companies who provide unique business value through machine learning and artificial intelligence applied to unique data.
Tyson loves helping companies navigate through the growth stage and making them more valuable.
In today’s podcast, we talk about GDPR and how it will be enforced in the US. Tyson discusses the importance of building trust with...2019-06-281h 02Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 086: Mark McDowell, Investor and Entrepreneur and Greg Brown, Administrator of the Charlotte Angel FundGreg Brown is the President of Cardinal Finance, LLC, and Administrator at Charlotte Angel Fund. Mark McDowell is a Partner at RealVentures, Co-Founder at Acta Wireless Capital and Chairman at LaunchLKN. LaunchLKN is a collaborative community of entrepreneurs, mentors, and community leaders dedicated to sharing knowledge and motivating growth in the Lake Norman/Davidson area startup community.
Earlier this year, Greg Brown made the decision to host a second monthly meeting of Charlotte Angel Fund up in the Lake Norman area (at The Hurt Hub at Davidson). This second monthly meeting (which will be the second Tuesday of every month) wil...2019-06-071h 09Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 085: AJ Ratani, Entrepreneur, World Traveler, Former President and CTO at Red VenturesAJ Ratani grew up in Dubai and came to America to attend college in Arkansas.
His first experience in the US was flying in a propeller plane and seeing a lot of green as he landed in Arkansas – something new to someone living in a desert. After his college years in Arkansas and Florida, he began his career with a company in Virginia, but he was not satisfied.
He wanted a position that would offer him opportunity and growth. In 2005, pursuing a Monster.com lead, he was “lucky” and was offered a job in Charlotte with a start-up firm, Red Ventures...2019-05-101h 04Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 084: Keith Luedeman, Founder of GoodMortgage.com, Investor, and Executive Director of Innovate CharlotteKeith Luedeman is the Executive Director for Innovate Charlotte and a name you’ve heard a lot of over the last 12 months (if not before as he also was the founder of GoodMortgage.com).
When Keith and I sat down to this interview I told him I had a very simple concept for it. In our interview last spring, he indicated he wanted to take a year to get his feet wet before he committed to making investments or being overly active. I wanted to cover what the past year has been like now that he has had his chance to g...2019-04-2646 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 083: Brian Pope, Managing Director of Alternative Investments at BaringsBrian Pope is a Managing Direct for Barings Alternative Investments. Barings is a name you have heard more from over the last couple of years here in Charlotte. They have hosted the 1st and 2nd Southeast Fintech Venture Conference on the 26th Floor of the Barings building in downtown Charlotte. They have also been active in the community from a community service perspective. We are also seeing Barings more frequently in the business press as their employees are great resources for the local and national media.
Click here to listen.
All of that is great for Charlotte and Barings. We are fortunat...2019-04-2055 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 082: Emir Dukic and James Strong, Co-Founders of RabbuEmir Dukic purchased a home with a detached garage. He wanted a man cave but his wife thought differently. Naturally, the man cave lost and as a result the seed for Rabbu was born. The alternative was to rent it out through Airbnb and it didn't take long for them to realize the power of Airbnb and passive income. The room above their garage was essentially paying their mortgage.
Rather than purchasing new properties, they negotiated with existing property owners to rent their property and turn them into Airbnb rentals as well - essentially collecting a rent arbitrage through short-term...2019-02-141h 09Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 081: Sam Smith, Founder of Vishion and Collective HustleToday we share Sam Smith’s story. Sam came to our first Charlotte Angel Connection event last February (where we first met) and has been back to each one since. She has a thirst to be part of and leading the Charlotte entrepreneurial scene. It’s led her to start Vishion, Collective Hustle and put on the 1st Seed the South event in January 2019. All three are great getting great traction and we're excited to see them grow and the impact they will have on Charlotte!
Vishion is her startup. It’s the only mobile app that uses a product’s true colo...2019-01-311h 07Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 079: Bill D'Alessandro Founder and CEO of Element BrandsToday on the Charlotte Angel Connection, we are fortunate to have Bill D'Alessandro join us. Bill is the founder and CEO of Elements Brands which is a consumer products company he started while he was in Colorado and brought back to Charlotte to grow and evolve. Bill wants to make Elements Brands the home for consumer products companies.
By 2025, Elements Brands wants to be in a place where they are doing 12 acquisitions per year.
By 2050, they want to be the Proctor and Gamble of consumer product businesses.
Those aren't small goals. And Bill isn't going to back down from them.
...2019-01-101h 06Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 077: Meggie Williams, Founder and CEO of SkipperRide the Scooter in the Rain - it's a a core value of Skipper. It also serves to remind CEO/Founder Meggie Williams of where the business started. Early on in the business she took a scooter to walk the dogs. Inevitably some days it rained. It's a way for her to remember who she and who the company is.
Skipper is after the trust of the Trust of the clients. It's something you won't question or doubt after listening to Meggie's interview today.
Sebastian Williams - or as she refers to her husband, Seb - and Meggie have been on a...2018-11-291h 00Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 076: Mac Lackey, VentureSouth Partner, Serial Entrepreneur and InvestorMac Lackey is a Charlotte kid. He grew up here, returned after playing soccer in college and professionally to start his career. He started his first businesses and began raising his family here. Ultimately, he decided to return here after spending several years overseas.
He’s returned to a startup ecosystem vastly different than the one he left. And he is in the middle of it through his work mentoring companies, leading the VentureSouth efforts here in Charlotte and being an active speaker at startup and investor focused events.
Listen to our podcast with Mac today as we explore his first...2018-11-151h 06Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 075: QC Fintech Class Members iTrust, Mimble, and AMUSQC Fintech Class 9 is getting ready for its demo day which coincides with the Southeast Fintech Venture Conference on November 14. In preparation, we had the opportunity to talk with three different founders companies who are part of Class 9:
iTrust – (www.itrustinc.com) - Trevor Horwitz
Mimble (www.mimble.co) – Chad Huber
AMUS (www.askmyunclesam.com) – Busayo Ogunsanya
After getting to know each of the companies and their founders on the podcast, we dive into the topic of what allows them to come back to Charlotte in 5 years and celebrate their success as entrepreneurs. After all, every startup city is littered with grea...2018-11-011h 05Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 075: Angel Rutledge, SignUp GeniusSignUp Genius was born out of the frustrations of a couple, Dan and Angel Rutledge, who were struggling with the same tasks we labor through every week as parents and volunteers – coordinating who does what and when. It was born in 2008 – the worst economic period we’ve had in at least 30 years – in a growing southern city not known for its entrepreneurial grit, Charlotte.
Dan had been recruited to Charlotte to work with an entrepreneur (Michael Vadini) to build an entertainment company and a website design/implementation company. Angel is a former middle school English teacher and a mother of four who s...2018-10-191h 01Charlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 073: Part II with Michelle Buelow, Founder and CEO of Bella Tunno"Start with Why".
Something Michelle Buelow clearly had done helped propel Bella Tunno to the next stage several years ago. But reading the book and using it to define the following year of the business (she chooses a book every year to help frame the next 12 months) was just another step in Michelle's evolution from passion, to entrepreneur, to CEO.
Michelle has a clear vision of who she is and what Bella Tunno has become and is still becoming. She's learned to manage and measure the business. She speaks of margins and expenses in a product based world with extreme co...2018-10-0433 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 072: Michelle Buelow, Founder and CEO of Bella TunnoToday we welcome Michelle Buelow, Founder and CEO of Bella Tunno. Over the last decade, Michelle's success and the success of Bella Tunno has helped deliver nearly 1.6 million meals to the hungry as part of their buy one product, give one meal program. She's also raked in numerous personal accolades including EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women in 2009. The path she carved wasn't one she chose yet she's embraced it and created a legacy in the process.
Today, we learn Michelle:
Moved to Charlotte (with her boyfriend, Todd Buelow - way out of his league but that's another podcast).
Found a job s...2018-09-2732 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 070: Eric Kirsch, Health Care Serial Entrepreneur and InvestorEric Kirsch started out running basketball camps as a 17-year old which mostly paid his way through college and ultimately became a physician's assistant. In 2003, he moved down to Charlotte to start his life in the medical community. After several years as an employee, he started his own specialty/niche practice, grew it to four locations (Charlotte, Mooresville, Asheville, and Cary) and ultimately sold those practices.
In the process, he learned how to code in order to build solutions for his own practice. As he has re-started his entrepreneurial journey after taking several years off his knowledge of technology has ser...2018-09-1431 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 067: Walt Frye Part II, Past Executive Director of Innovate CharlotteWalt Frye has been a friend of the startup community for the last several years. A little more than 18 months ago, Walt took on a new challenge as the Executive Director of a somewhat stagnant entity – the Charlotte Regional Fund for Entrepreneurship (CRFE).
As you heard last week, Innovate Charlotte has sprung out of CRFE and has a clear vision Walt helped to establish. Listen to Walt continue his thoughts on the Charlotte startup ecosystem - past, present and future - and his time as Executive Director of Innovate Charlotte.
In what I consider to be bad news for the Cha...2018-08-1641 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 066: Walt Frye, Executive Director of Innovate CharlotteLast time we spoke to Walt Frye (summer 2017 here) he was working on reinventing the Charlotte Regional Fund for Entrepreneurship (CFRE). Fast forward a year and Walt has made tremendous strides as Innovate Charlotte has become the execution arm for CRFE.
Walt has taken on a job few probably wanted or truly understood since CRFE was initially funded by the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce and the city of Charlotte. As such it's a political juggling job looking to balance the desires of the Chamber and the needs (political and other) of the city - along with other stakeholders. Yet Walt ha...2018-08-0940 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 065: Part II with Robert Reddick, Co-Founder of GateStaffLinkedIn member 1,434. It goes to show how Robert has been plugged into the startup scene for a long time. Listening to and joining social networks. He visits trade shows and finds value in the conversations that can develop in those discussions.
He's failed in previous startups, he's worked side hustles while working with companies. Essentially, Robert has continued to build knowledge to be ready to build his next startup - Gatestaff.
Yet, when a Venture Capitalist calls his baby ugly he listens and ultimately changes the direction of his company based on the feedback. Does that mean this startup is the...2018-08-0338 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 064: Robert Reddick, Co-Founder of GateStaffWe welcome Robert Reddick to the Charlotte Angel Connection today. Robert is a Co-Founder with GateStaff and has been a part of the Charlotte startup scene for nearly 20 years.
Throughout the next two podcasts, you will learn Robert was one of the first people to sign up on Linkedin (listen in to find out his number and then go try to find yours) and has a passion for seeing entrepreneurship take off in Charlotte. As part of his involvement in the startup scene for the last 20 years - or more - you will hear his opinion on what we can do...2018-07-2734 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 062: Part II with Scott Pope, Founder of In Scope VenturesToday we have Scott Pope, founder of In Scope Ventures, back on the Charlotte Angel Connection. As we learned last week, Scott is working to bring a health care angle to the Charlotte startup scene – not necessarily in the traditional pharmaceutical or the medical device space but in medicine as a business.
I attended the first Health Innovators meeting in July 2018 and it was full – standing room only at the back. There is certainly an interest from people in the medical community to support Scott right now, so it will be exciting to see where this Scott and the community can ta...2018-07-1937 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 062: Scott Pope, Founder of In Scope VenturesToday we have Scott Pope, founder of In Scope Ventures, on the Charlotte Angel Connection. Scott is working to bring a health care angle to the Charlotte startup scene – not necessarily in the traditional pharmaceutical or the medical device space but in medicine as a business. It’s an effort gaining support with some key folks in the Charlotte area and I wanted to bring the concept out to the listeners of the podcast.
In today’s interview we dive straight into what In Scope Ventures is so we can get a better concept of what Scott’s working on. From there...2018-07-1333 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 059: Aru Anavekar, Co-Founder and CEO of botsplash, Part IIToday we have Aru Anavekar back joining us on the podcast. As we learned last week, Aru and her husband Ramu Pulipati are the Co-Founders of botsplash – “a software as a service messaging platform aimed at improving communications between consumers and businesses.” We focused mostly on Aru and Ramu and how they got to this point. This week I wanted to focus more on botsplash, the business.
So this week, we wanted to talk more about the business and how it’s developing. We learned last week Ramu is the developer behind the business and Aru is running the business and drumming...2018-06-2136 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 058: Aru Anavekar, Co-Founder and CEO of botsplashToday we are excited to have Aru Anavekar join the podcast. Aru and her husband, Ramu Pulipati, are the Co-Founders of botsplash – “a software as a service messaging platform aimed at improving communications between consumers and businesses.” I saw Ramu pitch this as a very early beta in 2016 at 1 Million Cups in Charlotte. It has come a long way since then with intense work by Ramu and Aru.
In today’s podcast, I wanted to get to know Aru and learn more about the backstory. As an entrepreneur and investor, I think the background is so important. It helps bring out the chara...2018-06-1433 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 057: Dan Roselli and Sara Smith from QC FintechThis week we welcome Dan Roselli and Sarah Smith back to talk about Class 8 from Class 8 of the QC Fintech Accelerator program as well as about Fintech Generations (their upcoming conference on June 13) - presented by Oracle and Carolina Fintech Hub.
Dan and Sarah have somewhat been regulars on the podcast over the last two years and we are glad to have them back. This episode I wanted to dive further into Class 8, talk about some of the successes previous class members have had over the last 3 -6 months and learn more about the upcoming conference.
QC Fintech is a w...2018-06-0736 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 055: Keith Luedeman, Founder of GoodMortgageThis week we continue our two part interview with Keith Luedeman, founder of GoodMortgage. Last week, we spent most of our time talking about Keith and GoodMortgage in a really exciting interview. This week, we wanted to turn the page and talk to Keith about his newfound role as startup advisor and angel investor. Since he is new to this space/role, we were fortunate to get some really good insight into where Keith is in the process and I think we get a glimpse into where he will be in the future too. It’s an awesome discussion with someo...2018-06-0132 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 055: Keith Leudeman, Founder of GoodMortgage.comIt may be because I’m not from Charlotte – then again very few people are - but GoodMortgage was another local success story I hadn't heard much about until recently. Fortunately, I met Keith Luedeman at a Charlotte Angel Fund meeting and was able to grab coffee with some soon thereafter to learn more about Keith and GoodMortgage.
Our discussion was far ranging as we talked about the early days of GoodMortgage all the way to how he’s gotten involved in the startup and investor scene in Charlotte over the last couple of months. It was a great discussion and you...2018-05-2435 minCharlotte Angel ConnectionCharlotte Angel Connection Episode 054: Founders of Credpal and Invoira – Class 8 members of QC Fintech AcceleratorFor this episode of the Charlotte Angel Connection, we continued our interview with two of the founders of Credpal (they have 4) and one of the founders with Invoiro (they have 2). In keeping with tradition, the first episode is primarily dedicated to their companies and the second episode will target their experiences thus far (about 1/2 way into the program at the time of the recording).
These two companies are part of the QC Fintech Accelerator Program Class 8 – a world class accelerator program.
As a reminder, you can come see these two companies and their classmates on June 13 at the Fintech Generations con...2018-05-1837 min