Today we welcome back John Espey, Co-Founder and CEO of Levvel. Levvel has started getting some much deserved press locally for the fast growth track they have burned over the last 5 years. Last week we spent the majority of our time talking about the track of Levvel over the last 6 to 7 years as it morphed from Reward Summit and into Levvel.
This week I wanted to spend some time with John exploring entrepreneurship in general and specifically in Charlotte. He’s been with several successful companies and several that weren’t so he’s seen success and failure in Charlotte. As such, he’s got great perspective and insight into doing things here.
Stay tuned to the end as John and I discuss why Charlotte can’t seem to promote its own startup successes like Avid, Passport, DealCloud, MapAnything, Stratifyd, etc.
What is necessary to grow Charlotte’s entrepreneurial community: more investors or more entrepreneurs?
How do you get more entrepreneurs into Charlotte?
Do we need home grown talent or do we need to import a bunch of millennials and future founders to come to Charlotte and start companies?
What does John say to a younger version of himself – the 36 year old John who started Reward Summit (which eventually became Levvel)?
What advice does John have for the young entrepreneur in Charlotte trying to raise capital?
What does John have to say to potential Charlotte area investors who are interested in venture capital or angel investments?
Charlotte doesn’t have a huge research presence yet – though UNCC is making big inroads – and we don’t have a medical university. What does John think we have as a community to promote as great for entrepreneurs?
Does John have a hard time finding talent in Charlotte given everyone says there isn’t enough talent in Charlotte?
Hopefully you enjoyed our podcast interview with John today. I thought it was a great discussion on entrepreneurship in the Charlotte area and entrepreneurship in Charlotte in general. I thought was it was a really good two part interview. Next week, we welcome Curtis Watkins, CEO of BovaMetrics to the podcast to talk about his company – delivering a virtual assistant to help financial advisors add value to your portfolio through use of performance harvesting.
William Bissett is an Investment Advisor Representative with Secrest Blakey & Associates, a Registered Investment Adviser. Opinions expressed on this program do not necessarily reflect those of Secrest Blakey & Associates. The topics discussed and opinions given are not intended to address the specific needs of any listener.
Secrest Blakey & Associates 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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