Today we have Cor Hoekstra joining us for the second part of his podcast.  As we learned last week, Cor is the CEO of Amicus Solutions, a local Charlotte startup, who has been through the QC Fintech accelerator program and continues to build momentum.

Last week we got to know Cor and Amicus and he shared with us a little bit of what it’s like to be a startup founder.  In the discussion, he compared it to falling out of an airplane and chasing a parachute.  This week I wanted to dig deeper because the reality is that for at least a little bit there is an initial feeling of ‘I’m flying’ before you realize you are falling.  So how did Cor and his team handle those two different periods?

We also touched base on some of the following:

What is it like to show your kids you are chasing a dream/goal?

How has his wife, Monica, been during the entire process?  Hint, she’s an entrepreneur too as she is the owner of Absolute Pilates in Phillips Place.

What has prepared him most for being a CEO of a startup?

It’s a great overall discussion with Cor as we dig through the personal side of being a startup CEO and what it has been like for him to transition from software sales to CEO of a startup.

Next week we start a two part series with Scott Pope who is working to bring a health care startups to Charlotte.  But Scott recognizes we can’t compete in the traditional health care world like pharmaceuticals and medical devices.  However, we do have very large businesses like Premier, Atrium and others and so Charlotte could very well make a case for health care startups looking to improve the business of medicine.  It’s an interesting view and he has a background and skill set which very well could pull it off.  Listen next week to hear Scott lay out his thoughts.