Today 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 role, he is an Entrepreneur in Residence as well as a VP of Innovation. His passion is to help other communities grow their start-up scene, not just in North Carolina but around the World.

Evan Charles Rozantes started his career in Boston working in Private Equity at Bain Capital prior to moving to DC to work in private equity and distressed lending at Capital Source Finance. In 2006 he got the entrepreneur “bug” and started a promotional products company which he successfully exited. Thereafter he went full steam into entrepreneurship without a net, co-founding a pediatric health care company in Boston. A lifetime learner himself, in 2012 he co-founded Launch Academy – one of the first coding schools in the world.  Evan relocated to the Davidson area in 2018 with his family where he subsequently met Chris in his effort to bring a TechStars program to Charlotte.

Chris has been using the principles laid out by Brad Feld, Co-Founder of Techstars, in his book, “Start-Up Communities” to build startup ecosystems. Chris is now working with Brad on a sequel to the book, hopefully to be published by the end of this year.

Together, Chris and Evan are working to bring those three principles to Charlotte. As you’ll hear Evan mention several times during the hour, the goal is to bring an entrepreneurial mindset of experimenting often and failing fast to Charlotte and help further ignite the many excellent things members of the community are already doing.

During the Podcast, we also discuss what it takes to create an innovative ecosystem, to create collaborative programs that work within communities, and what it takes to be a good entrepreneur.  We discuss the commonalities that exist between Charlotte and Raleigh and how both communities can work together to build a strong ecosystem. Chris and Evan discuss the importance of community participation in building an environment where people will succeed.

We hope you enjoy this podcast!

 

William Bissett is the owner of and an Investment Advisor Representative of Portus Wealth Advisors, a Registered Investment Adviser. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Opinions expressed on this program do not necessarily reflect those of Portus Wealth Advisors. The topics discussed and opinions given are not intended to address the specific needs of any listener. 

Portus Wealth Advisors does not offer legal or tax advice, listeners are encouraged to discuss their financial needs with the appropriate professional regarding your individual circumstance. 

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