Charlotte Angel Connection Episode 018: Part II with Justin Witz of Catapult, Jason Aspiotis of Finsophy & John Zettler of Commandiv
In today’s session, we continue our interview with three very impressive companies and founders: Catapult (with Justin Witz), Finsophy (Jason Aspiotis) and Commandiv (John Zettler).
As a quick reminder from our last episode, we mainly discussed what it’s light to be part of an incubator, what they gave up to move here and what an incubator program offers young founders.
Catapult is streamlining the RFP (request for proposals) process using a blockchain environment which secures the documents sharing process.
Finsophy is a platform for transparence and mission oriented banking products. It allows consumers to direct their deposits into the missions they care about rather than being invested/lent to undesirable causes and companies.
Commandiv is a stock trading platform with automated investment advice built in. It’s a turnkey asset management product allowing consumers to use hedge-fund level strategies in their own portfolios – a more personalized robo investment platform.
Today, we explore the following topics with Justin, Jason, and John:
Are they raising money?
What is their target market?
How do they monetize the business model?
What are the founders currently working on in their products?
Unfortunately this interview was cut a few questions short. As you’ve probably learned over the last few episodes these founders are extraordinarily busy building their platforms, meeting with advisors and potential investors, and an unbelievable amount of other tasks on a daily basis. So while I wanted to explore more about their underlying businesses, we were not able to do so. I hope to stay in touch with Jason, Justin and John over the next 6 to 9 months and give you an update on their businesses. There are all working on great companies.
Our next podcasts will be an interview I did earlier this year with Walt Frye. Walt is a fantastic advocate for the startup and angel community in Charlotte. At the time of this interview, Walt had recently stepped into a new role with the Charlotte Regional Foundation for Entrepreneurship (CRFE). It’s a great interview where Walt walks us through a host of different issues. It’s going to be a little longer of a podcast as it wasn’t quite long enough to break into two podcasts. The reason for the delay in releasing this was some technical, sound issues I had in the recording that I hope to have alleviated.
Charlotte Angel Connection Episode 017: Justin Witz of Catapult, Jason Aspiotis of Finsophy & John Zettler of Commandiv
In today’s session, we interviewed three very impressive companies and founders: Catapult (with Justin Witz), Finsophy (Jason Aspiotis) and Commandiv (John Zettler).
Catapult is streamlining the RFP (request for proposals) process using a blockchain environment which secures the documents sharing process.
Finsophy is a platform for transparence and mission oriented banking products. It allows consumers to direct their deposits into the missions they care about rather than being invested/lent to undesirable causes and companies.
Commandiv is a stock trading platform with automated investment advice built in. It’s a turnkey asset management product allowing consumers to use hedge-fund level strategies in their own portfolios – a more personalized robo investment platform.
Our topics range but mainly focus on what it’s like being in an incubator program.
What brought them to the HQ Charlotte Incubator program?
What’s it like to be part of an incubator program?
What do they need or expect from HQ Charlotte?
Does competition exist within the program?
What did the founders leave behind in order to come here and start their companies?
What are they getting from program?
Next week, we will explore the each company and their product or service. It’s a great part two of the interview where you will continue to learn more and gain confidence in the founders of these companies. Remember, none of these three are serial entrepreneurs so they are learning all of this on the fly and from QC Fintech, their advisors, mentors and each other. They are building an entrepreneurial network and that is really hard and really fun.
Come support these founders at QC Fintech Demo Day on June 21. We’ve heard from two founders that they are absolutely considering moving to Charlotte – show them the Southern hospitality by registering for QC Fintech’s Demo day at www.qcfintech.co or by registering directly on Eventbrite here.
Thank you for tuning into the Charlotte Angel Connection. We look forward to having you back again next week!
Charlotte Angel Connection Episode 016: Curu Co-Founders David Potter and Abb Kapoor
As you may remember, we are continuing our interview with Curu Co-Founders David Potter and Abb Kapoor today. Last week, we learned about their decision to leave the University of Maryland at College Park to come to Charlotte for QC Fintech and pursue their startup. We learned they have clear vision to focus on the task at hand and we also learned the mentorship program at QC Fintech has been tremendous for these young founders.
This week we turned our attention to Curu (www.curucredit.com). What does it do and how does it work? How are they going to make money? What focus does each co-founder currently have? And why Midwood Smokehouse (www.midwoodsmokehouse.com) may single handedly keeping this co-founder tandem in Charlotte.
We will also learn the eventual target market will be millennials and older consumers but their first target market is really more specific to the 18-25 year old demographic. This initial target market struggles establishing and understanding credit. Fortunately, these users don’t have as much credit history so Curu can be more beneficial and have a more profound impact.
I remain impressed with David and Abb. They are smart, hard-working and focused.
Dan Roselli and his team at QC Fintech are doing amazing work for the future of Charlotte. Come on down to see them at their Demo Day on Wednesday June 21. For information on how to register, please visit www.qcfintech.co. I’ve been the last two years and it is a great experience and a fantastic way to show support for this amazing group of entrepreneurs.
Next week, we will continue our series of interviewing entrepreneurs as we talk with more QC Fintech founders. Once again, we will have a two part series interviewing Co-Founders from three different companies: Justin Witz from Catapult (www.catapulthq.com), John Zettler from Commandiv (www.commandiv.com), and Jason Aspiotis from Finsophy (www.finsophy.com). It’s a great discussion among the three of them.
Charlotte Angel Connection Episode 015: Curu Co-Founders David Potter and Abb Kapoor
In today’s session, we interviewed two very impressive founder of Curu (www.curucredit.com) who are entrepreneurs in this years’ QC Fintech class (www.qcfintech.co). Abb Kapoor and David Potter are young entrepreneurs who left the University of Maryland at College Park earlier this year to focus on their startup and join the impressive Class 6 of QC Fintech. And focus is a word you will hear them mention numerous times in our two part interview with these two impressive young men.
Once again, we made a trip uptown to interview David and Abb at QC Fintech’s headquarters – HQ Charlotte. As our discussion lingered on, we broke podcast into two separate 25 minute sessions. The first session focuses on David and Abb as entrepreneurs and on the QC Fintech Accelerator program. The second session will look more into their Company – Curu Credit – and the problem they are solving.
In today’s episode, we learn the following:
- Where were they 1 year ago?
- What’s the like telling your parents you are dropping out of college with 2 years left and leaving behind a well-recognized scholarship to launch your own startup?
- How do you select QC Fintech as your accelerator amongst all the others out there?
- What’s been the most surprising aspect of the program so far? Hint – we are city of nice people.
- How do they balance advice from mentors when the recommendations are opposite or different?
- How does the fact that we are a banking town impact the attractiveness of Charlotte as a Fintech town?
- How QC Fintech has benefitted them both as growing their ‘founder capacity’ and ‘building the product.’
- And more.
Hopefully you walked away as impressed with Dave and Abb as I was. In next week’s episode, we learn more about Curu and how they are tackling their market. Also learn whether or not David and Abb plan on making Charlotte home and other areas where they are currently focusing.
Charlotte Angel Connection Episode 014: Venture for America Part II with Niki and Natalie
Welcome back to the Charlotte Angel Connection – the Charlotte Area Podcast linking entrepreneurs, investors, and the broader Charlotte community. Our goal is to interview the individuals who are building, shaping, and influencing entrepreneurship in the Charlotte region so you can be invested in Charlotte’s growth.
We pick up where we left off last week with Niki Chimburg and Natalie Vick – two Venture for America Fellows (www.ventureforamerica.org).
Remember in our last episode we learned Niki keep an idea book with more than 175 business ideas stored away and is in the process of starting her first company right here in Charlotte after spending two years with Versame (www.versame.com). We also learned Natalie landed a great opportunity with a group of VFA fellows by joining Rob Cummings and DealCloud (www.dealcloud.com). Like Niki, the pursuit of the typical Ivy League investment banking career sounded dreadful and her path lead her to Venture for America – where she will likely one day follow in Niki’s footsteps by starting her own company.
In this episode, we continue our interview by learning what Venture for America does to support and develop its fellows, what benefit the companies receive from having fellows for the two-year period, where Natalie and Niki thing they will end up in the entrepreneurship scene and more.
Millennials get a bad rap sometimes but I think you’d be hard pressed to not see a bright future for both Niki and Natalie – and after meeting the rest of the fellows here in Charlotte I can assure you that quality runs through the program.
When I set out to do this interview, I wasn’t intending on having it be a two part series but it carried on for about 50 minutes. As such, there isn’t a true set up as I really just picked what I thought was a good stopping and starting point. So we are going to go straight back into our discussion with Niki and Natalie.
Charlotte Angel Connection: Episode 013 with Venture for America Fellows, Niki Chimburg and Natalie Vick
In today’s session, we interviewed two very impressive recent college graduates who are working with startups in Charlotte as part of the Venture for America program (www.ventureforamerica.org).
If you are not familiar with Venture for America, be prepared to become educated on this fast growing initiative across the country with a growing presence in Charlotte. Today you will learn how this impressive set of college graduates are and will continue to shape Charlotte’s future.
Niki Chimburg just wrapped up her two year stint with Versame and Natalie Vick is just starting her second year with DealCloud. I’ve wanted to interview VFA candidates for the last couple of months and Niki and Natalie were gracious enough to join me for what turned out to be a nearly 50 minute recorded session. Rather than doing an hour long podcast, I’ve broken this down into a two part series with each being under 30 minutes.
Niki has always known she wanted to start something. She’s been collecting ideas for companies and has an ‘idea book’ with over 175 ideas. Now she’s ready to start using what she learned in her two year internship with Versame (www.versame.com), under the leadership of local entrepreneurs and brothers Jon and Chris Boggiano, to start her own company. Versame makes wearable technology for early education and is located up in Davidson is great startup with offices in Davidson and Menlo Park, CA (Jon Boggiano was interviewed on Episode 003 of the Charlotte Angel Connection).
Natalie, on the other hand, didn’t immediately gravitate towards entrepreneurship but found her path during her time at school. She’s been with DealCloud (www.dealcloud.com) who is a CRM, deal management and business development for principal investing and M&A professionals. She’ll eventually strike out on her own too but right now she’s still learning and growing under the guidance of a great, maturing Charlotte startup built by Rob Cummings and Ben Harrison (Rob was Episode 008 on the Charlotte Angel Connection)
Things we discussed in today’s podcast:
- What is the process to become a VFA Fellow?
- What’s the dinner conversation like when you break the news to your parents that you are going to take the entrepreneurship program through VFA?
- What were their expectations of working for startups versus what has been the reality?
- What’s the network of VFA? What are the benefits of the network?
What’s up next in the second part of this series? You’ll have to listen in to find out what their plans are next, how VFA supports the fellows in their own startup ideas, what’s the benefit for the companies they work for, and other questions.
Hope you enjoy Part I of this two part series!
Charlotte Angel Connection: Episode 012 with Steven Groves, Partner with ProRelevant Marketing
In this episode with Steven Groves (https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevengroves/), we covered a range of topics. The first area I really wanted to explore with Steven was his involvement with 1 Million Cups in Charlotte. Steven was new to Charlotte and almost immediately sought to bring in the areas first 1 Million Cups. It’s a national ‘pitch’ platform with over 100 chapters across the country. It’s unique because after a 6 minute pitch it solicits the input of the audience to help entrepreneurs learns and grow with their pitch.
Steven is involved in all kinds of efforts to grow entrepreneurism here in Charlotte and beyond through both the Kauffman Foundation, the National Center for Economic Gardening, and the Edward Lowe Foundation. He clearly has a passion for supporting local entrepreneurs and his knowledge and contacts in this space should be helpful for Charlotte for the coming years as he gets more involved.
Some of the things Steven discussed in the podcast call are highlighted below.
1 Million Cups – brought to you by the Kauffman Foundation out of St. Louis Missouri celebrated its one year anniversary in Charlotte in March 2017. Steven and Todd Sivers (https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddsivers/) started the local Chapter operating out of Industry Co-Working (www.industrycharlotte.com). It meets the 1st Wednesday of every month from 8:30am to 10:00am and has two presenting companies at each meeting. The format is a 6 minute pitch followed by 20 minute audience feedback. In essence it’s a community oriented effort to support early stage entrepreneurs.
National Center for Economic Gardening (https://nationalcentereg.org/) which is supported by the Edward Lowe Foundation (http://edwardlowe.org/entrepreneurship-programs/economic-gardening/)
Favorite quotes – "As a serial entrepreneur myself, I genuinely see entrepreneurship as this path for both personal and financial independence."
"Not only has entrepreneurship been a tremendous force in my life but in my work with the national center and working with successful second stage companies, I’ve come to understand and see just how important entrepreneurship is to us on this planet and here in our culture."
"Entrepreneurship is what has made America great…. And this is my contribution to that."
ProRelevant Marketing Solution (https://prorelevant.com/) – His company provides the Preznc Report “which is a competitive assessment platform providing highly relevant, strategically important information to executives and marketers who need to manage and improve the ROI on marketing investments…. We are the ROI guys in marketing.”
Difference between Colorado and North Carolina – Colorado is working harder to push economic development and businesses into smaller communities such as Pueblo and Grand Junction. There doesn’t seem to be as much of a push yet here in North Carolina – but he suspects that is coming.
What does Steven think is necessary to grow entrepreneurism in North Carolina? Education of focusing on existing North Carolina and Charlotte businesses.
Go to a website called goodjobsfirst.org is a website focusing on educating about how a community should invest in growing a businesses and building a city.
www.stevengroves.com, www.prorelevant.com
Charlotte Angel Connection: Episode 011 with Aaron Galloway, Founder of InfiniGift
Today’s episode of the Charlotte Angel Connection features young entrepreneur, Aaron Galloway. To give you an idea of the type of go get ‘em mentality Aaron has he is the only entrepreneur to date who sought me out and asked to be on the podcast. He’s got a fire to create a successful business and is smart enough to do it. Keep your eyes on him as he develops InfiniGift over the coming quarters.
In this episode, we learn Aaron has been writing business plans since the age of 8 – his first business plan was for a jean company. He was always waiting for the perfect business plan but while having beignets with his dad at Cajun Queen he was encouraged just to take the leap. One thing led to another and InfiniGift emerged as the winner of Charlotte’s City Startup Labs in the fall of 2016. He’s working through the development of the website and other necessary steps to launch the business soon.
Listening to Aaron you quickly hear his confidence and wisdom that he has created by preparing to launch a startup for 20 years. It’s a great honor to introduce you to Aaron today.
What is InfiniGift (www.infinigift.com)? Infinigift is a tool that allows you to turn your life events into the building blocks of a financial future and a financial legacy for future generations. It is a web-based platform turning gift registries from life events into the building blocks of a financial legacy. In essence, it allows people to register for gifts of stock in companies in addition to the physical gifts at major milestones (weddings, births, etc.).
What has Aaron learned about writing business plans? “Sometimes you just have to jump.”
What made Aaron ‘jump’? His first business was an organic athletic recovery product. It failed and that helped him get more ready for launching InfiniGift.
City Startup Labs (http://citystartuplabs.com/) run by Henry Rock and Greg Brown with Charlotte Angel Fund (www.charlotteangelfund.com) have been tremendous resources for Aaron. With Dan Roselli and HQ Charlotte (http://packard.place/) and others, Aaron doesn’t feel there is a shortage of support for entrepreneurs in Charlotte.
My favorite quote from Aaron about juggling the roles of entrepreneur, husband, employee, etc. “You make time for what you want to make time for.”
Listen to Aaron and you’ll be as impressed as I am. Any recommendations or questions for Aaron can be directed to him (agalloway@infinigift.com).
Charlotte Angel Connection: Episode 010 with Erica Madden
You are in for a real treat today with Erica Madden who is now the Executive of Launch LKN – an initiative started by Mark McDowell and brothers Chris and Jon Boggiano to bring founders, mentors and investors together in Lake Norman area. While new to the Startup and investment world, Erica has spent years working with non-profits who also display a high level of passion and run on a tight budget.
Once it was announced that Launch LKN was getting off the ground, I thought it was important to do a podcast with Erica for several reasons. First, she’s becoming a fantastic resource for entrepreneurs in Lake Norman – and broader Charlotte. Next, Lake Norman looks to have a huge untapped talent pool to help entrepreneurs and investors and I wanted to get Erica’s sense on how it develops. Finally, due to her involvement with Launch LKN she’s started to work with a local Charlotte area startup – meaning local startups are in the market for top talent. Highlighting all three of those while letting you get to know Erica seemed like a win for listeners.
What is Launch LKN (www.launchlkn.org)? Building a community in greater Charlotte and Lake Norman to match the members – founders – with mentors who are serial entrepreneurs and executive leaders.
The ‘hidden talent’ in the Davidson/Lake Norman area is largely untapped. First event was held in late January and more than 60 or 70 people attended and since that time even more people are visiting the website to sign up as mentors or offer to support.
Why is now the time for the Lake Norman community to develop and flex its entrepreneur community?
A very beneficial plug for Start Charlotte (www.startcharlotte.com) – an initiative by Juan Garzon – as the resource or central location for all things startup Charlotte. Listen to Juan’s podcast here on the Charlotte Angel Connection.
What is the future or vision for Launch LKN?
What role is Davidson College having in the startup and entrepreneur scene in Davidson? One big initiative is being led by brothers and serial entrepreneurs Chris and Jon Boggiano. Jon was on Episode 3 of the Charlotte Angel Connection.
What are the similarities between the non-profit space and startups – including Erica’s first introduction to the startup/venture capital space, working with Brandon Shelton of Task Force X (www.tfxcap.com).
An introduction to a young startup in Charlotte – Fit to Rent (www.fit2rent.com) – which is designed to benefit both renters and landlords through an interactive and thought providing course. Be on the lookout for a podcast coming soon with Founder of Fit to Rent, Sean Healy.
Charlotte Angel Connection: Episode 009 with Mark McDowell (Entrepreneur and Investor)
Episode 009 with Mark McDowell touched on a broad range of important topics. Mark’s experience as a telecom entrepreneur in the late 90s set him up to become an angel investor over the last nearly two decades. Now residing in the Lake Norman area with his wife and family, he has great insight into the startup and investing community.
Our interview with Mark touched on the following items:
1) Whether or not it is necessary to have been an entrepreneur in order to be a good angel investor.
2) What does it take to be an early stage investor – hint, it depends on you.
3) Why Charlotte doesn’t have more of an established angel community given the high net worth pool around the area.
4) The fear of failure – and talking about our failures in the Charlotte investment community.
5) We also explored briefly the trend in the tech world – alternative intelligence – and the impact it can have globally.
6) The new community of entrepreneurs and investors in the Lake Norman area developing under the leadership of Mark, Jon and Chris Boggiano, and Erica Madden – www.launchlkn.org
7) I was surprised to learn Mark isn’t a fan of daily news tied to twitter or Techcrunch – rather most of his reading is tied to classic books (his book at the time of this interview was, The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius) and the Wall Street Journal.
There’s a lot to this podcast where we could have dived much deeper. I hope Mark will be a frequent visitor on the podcast.
I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.