Charlotte Angel Connection Episode 089: Continuing to Build the Charlotte Startup Ecosystem with Evan Rozantes and Chris Heivly
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.
Investments described herein may be speculative and may involve a substantial risk of loss. Interests may be offered only to persons who qualify as accredited investors under applicable state and federal regulation or an eligible employee of the management company. There generally is no public market for the Interests. Prospective investors should particularly note that many factors affect performance, including changes in market conditions and interest rates, and other economic, political or financial developments. Past performance is not, and should not be construed as, indicative of future results.
Charlotte Angel Connection Episode 088: A Conversation about Investment Crowdfunding with Will McGuire and Mark Easley of CrowdfundNC.com
Today 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 crowdfunding law passed.
Will was introduced to Mark by Lewis Sheats knowing they were both interested in helping grow the NC Investment Crowdfunding space. Over the last year or more, the two of them have been building relationships and talking with startups and local businesses aiming to raise capital to grow their companies while providing returns for investors who support them.
In today’s podcast, we talk with Mark and Will about their backgrounds and how they came to be investors, how CrowdfundNC helps companies become investible and what it’s like for a company who wants to crowdfund using CrowdfundNC.
As part of this, we realize there are really two ways to invest through their platform. One is for non-accredited investors and the other is for accredited investors. I was surprised to learn the platform and business model supported both but learned it’s a perfect combination.
I was also surprised to learn their view on traditional angel funds and groups. Listen to the podcast to learn where they believe these traditional sources of capital will be in 10 years plus lots of other great details on investment crowdfunding.
Enjoy!
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.
Investments described herein may be speculative and may involve a substantial risk of loss. Interests may be offered only to persons who qualify as accredited investors under the Securities Act, and a Qualified Purchaser as defined in Section 2(a)(51)(A) under the Company Act or an eligible employee of the management company. There generally is no public market for the Interests. Prospective investors should particularly note that many factors affect performance, including changes in market conditions and interest rates, and other economic, political or financial developments. Past performance is not, and should not be construed as, indicative of future results.
Charlotte Angel Connection Episode 087: Tyson Baber, Partner at Georgian Partners
Tyson 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 his clients. We also discuss how start-ups can best compete with the “giants” in AI.
We discuss the “Uber effect”, and what drives business valuations in different parts of the US. Georgian Partners looks for companies outside of the Tech Industries. They look for the “Aces in the deck”, which they found here in Charlotte with Stratifyd and PrecisionLender.
You won’t want to miss 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.
Investments described herein may be speculative and may involve a substantial risk of loss. Interests may be offered only to persons who qualify as accredited investors under the Securities Act, and a Qualified Purchaser as defined in Section 2(a)(51)(A) under the Company Act or an eligible employee of the management company. There generally is no public market for the Interests. Prospective investors should particularly note that many factors affect performance, including changes in market conditions and interest rates, and other economic, political or financial developments. Past performance is not, and should not be construed as, indicative of future results.
Charlotte Angel Connection Episode 086: Mark McDowell, Investor and Entrepreneur and Greg Brown, Administrator of the Charlotte Angel Fund
Greg 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) will host the same three entrepreneurs who will pitch to the Charlotte Angel Fund the following night (the traditional meeting for the Charlotte Angel Fund is the second Wednesday of every month at Packard Place).
Mark McDowell and several other Lake Norman area members of the Charlotte Angel Fund were instrumental in getting Greg to take this step. In today's podcast, we wanted to sit down to talk with both of them about this new step.
Listen to our discussion about the differences between the Charlotte and Davidson start-up communities, and the importance of making it about “community and mentoring”. We also discuss the emerging trends - AI, Cryptocurrency, Property Tech, Impact Investing; What creates a better IRR; Charlotte’s possibilities with the TechStars program; Having a fertile ecosystem; and The importance of getting entrepreneurs to stay and grow in the Charlotte/Davidson markets.
Hear about the relationship with Davidson College and their role in the Hurt Hub – a center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship aiming to bring the college’s students together with local business leaders through its co-working, interactive spaces. Mark also discusses the pathways the Liberal Arts school is now creating with start-ups.
Enjoy today's 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.
Investments described herein may be speculative and may involve a substantial risk of loss. Interests may be offered only to persons who qualify as accredited investors under the Securities Act, and a Qualified Purchaser as defined in Section 2(a)(51)(A) under the Company Act or an eligible employee of the management company. There generally is no public market for the Interests. Prospective investors should particularly note that many factors affect performance, including changes in market conditions and interest rates, and other economic, political or financial developments. Past performance is not, and should not be construed as, indicative of future results.
Charlotte Angel Connection Episode 085: AJ Ratani, Entrepreneur, World Traveler, Former President and CTO at Red Ventures
AJ 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. He started as a software engineer and grew within the organization to run Red Ventures' largest and fastest growing businesses. We discuss the opportunities and challenges in working with a start-up company of 25, growing to a large world-wide corporation of 3,000. We also discuss what to look for when hiring, changes in the work environment, and the advantages and disadvantages of growth.
In 2017, AJ left Red Ventures, and along with his wife and child, embarked on a journey around the world, visiting six continents – a life expanding and changing type of trip. Traveling with a young infant in tow inspired them to start a blog and eventually write a book to help other families travel with their children– it’s called The 2 Idiots Travel Blog (www.2idiotstravel.com). It’s a passion project for him now – a very different concept than when he was at Red Ventures.
AJ is also actively involved with advisory roles with start-ups and in mentoring programs in the Charlotte area. He discusses the importance in building relationships with others to connect with the right people for referrals in advisory roles.
Listen to today’s episode and hear about AJ’s passion and his desire to always jump on the rocket ship.
Local Notes and Thoughts
QC Fintech has Class 10 in the building already. The Demo Day for Class 10 is set for Tuesday June 11 and culminates in an full day event. You can register for the full day conference – known as Fintech Generations here (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fintech-generations-tickets-55658964461). The Demo Day for the Class 10 Cohort follows and is free. You can register for that event also here https://www.eventbrite.com/e/queen-city-fintech-class-10-demo-day-tickets-58991659642. Come out and support our local accelerator program and show them the southern hospitality Charlotte is known for. If nothing else, come out to see AvidXchange’s building and growing campus – it’s beautiful too.
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.
Investments described herein may be speculative and may involve a substantial risk of loss. Interests may be offered only to persons who qualify as accredited investors under the Securities Act, and a Qualified Purchaser as defined in Section 2(a)(51)(A) under the Company Act or an eligible employee of the management company. There generally is no public market for the Interests. Prospective investors should particularly note that many factors affect performance, including changes in market conditions and interest rates, and other economic, political or financial developments. Past performance is not, and should not be construed as, indicative of future results.
Charlotte Angel Connection Episode 084: Keith Luedeman, Founder of GoodMortgage.com, Investor, and Executive Director of Innovate Charlotte
Keith 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 get acclimated and also get a sense of where things are heading.
The first part of this podcast focuses a lot on Innovate Charlotte and where it is today and turns to look toward the future. The MIT Mentoring program was launched under Walt Frye and it is having great success. They are working to match entrepreneurs with mentors to help launch startups. As we hear, Innovate Charlotte is actively looking for mentors and founders and Keith does an excellent job talking about what they are looking for in both groups of people.
The second part of the podcast talk about the future of Charlotte and the future of where Keith where will be. In this we discuss the BB&T and SunTrust merger, the announcement of a potential medical school and other aspects of where the startup and innovation hubs in Charlotte are going to be.
Given Keith’s background as a founder and current role with Innovate Charlotte, he’s got great insight into the future of Charlotte and how it has to merge with old Charlotte. We weave some of this discussion into a really good podcast exploring Charlotte, startups, and life here in this great city.
Local Notes and Thoughts
MapAnything sold this week to Salesforce. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed yet, but Salesforce Ventures was a lead investor in MapAnything’s Series C round last fall where they raised $42.5 million. Congrats to all the founders and employees over at MapAnything and for continuing to advance the Charlotte startup ecosystem.
QC Fintech has Class 10 in the building already. The Demo Day for Class 10 is set for Tuesday June 11 and culminates in an full day event. You can register for the full day conference – known as Fintech Generations here (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fintech-generations-tickets-55658964461). The Demo Day for the Class 10 Cohort follows and is free. You can register for that event also here https://www.eventbrite.com/e/queen-city-fintech-class-10-demo-day-tickets-58991659642. Come out and support our local accelerator program and show them the southern hospitality Charlotte is known for. If nothing else, come out to see AvidXchange’s building and growing campus – it’s beautiful too.
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.
Investments described herein may be speculative and may involve a substantial risk of loss. Interests may be offered only to persons who qualify as accredited investors under the Securities Act, and a Qualified Purchaser as defined in Section 2(a)(51)(A) under the Company Act or an eligible employee of the management company. There generally is no public market for the Interests. Prospective investors should particularly note that many factors affect performance, including changes in market conditions and interest rates, and other economic, political or financial developments. Past performance is not, and should not be construed as, indicative of future results.
Charlotte Angel Connection Episode 083: Brian Pope, Managing Director of Alternative Investments at Barings
Brian 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 fortunate to have them in Charlotte. Today, though, I sat down with Brian to explore the alternative investment landscape from his perspective.
We talk at length about the private equity, venture capital and growth equity markets which is an active private investment space where Brian spends his time. He takes a long-term professional approach on how to invest in these asset classes. Listening to him discuss the nuances of the return potential and risk aspects of early stage investing is very interesting. Surely it’s nice to have a very large portfolio to take a disciplined and calculated approach to managing across these private markets.
We took a quick detour to talk about the Charlotte startup scene to hear Brian’s first hand views on the positives in the community relative to the global opportunity set. The momentum and increased local resources are hard to miss these days and is clearly at the top of mind of many people.
We also dove into the discussion of why companies are waiting longer to go public and the continued support companies have from private market investors. It was a topic I’ve wanted to discuss with Brian since we booked this interview in late 2018. He didn’t disappoint as it really leads us through the final 30 minutes of the interview – including a look into what else the Charlotte startup community may have to offer in addition to Fintech.
Thanks to Brian and his team for everything they do for the Charlotte Startup community. We are fortunate to have them in the community and loved having Brian on the podcast.
Local Notes and Thoughts
Dan Roselli and Packard Place are continuing to build their Public House/Keg-Side Chat event. Come join me on Wednesday March 20 as I sit in/drink in for Dan as a guest host and welcome Derek Wang from Stratifyd. Derek and his team have done phenomenal things here in Charlotte and I can’t wait to sit down and discuss some aspects of their growth over the last 4 years.
QC Fintech is also in the process of interviewing for their spring class and after speaking with Dan recently they are seeing some really good companies. Be on the lookout for announcements for the spring class and the opportunities you will have to meet them and ultimately support them as they come to Charlotte for 12 weeks to incubate their ideas and companies.
Barings Streaming Income is a new podcast which has recently launched on iTunes. Tune in to learn more about their insights.
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.
Investments described herein may be speculative and may involve a substantial risk of loss. Interests may be offered only to persons who qualify as accredited investors under the Securities Act, and a Qualified Purchaser as defined in Section 2(a)(51)(A) under the Company Act or an eligible employee of the management company. There generally is no public market for the Interests. Prospective investors should particularly note that many factors affect performance, including changes in market conditions and interest rates, and other economic, political or financial developments. Past performance is not, and should not be construed as, indicative of future results.
Charlotte Angel Connection Episode 082: Emir Dukic and James Strong, Co-Founders of Rabbu
Emir 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 rentals. Two things became apparent: (1) it was a highly profitable business model and (2) it was taking a lot of work.
Having worked with Mac Lackey at Kyck, Emir knew he needed technology to scale the business so he formally brought on his co-founder, James Strong who also worked at Kyck, and the tech and development efforts have gone full steam ahead since then.
Fast-forward and they are fresh off raising $1.5 million from investors to ramp up their efforts and quickly grow the business.
Today we are fortunate to have both Emir and James on the podcast so we dive into the business, the technology and their backgrounds. From there we leap into what opportunities lie ahead for a company with the wind at its back and plenty of road ahead.
Local Note and Thoughts:
The Charlotte Angel Connection's next quarterly event is scheduled for February 27 from 5:30pm to 8pm. John Cambier and Lister Delgado from IDEA Fund Partners will be in Charlotte to do an on-stage Partner Pitch (the pitch will be from 6:30 to 7:30pm) with Alex Smereczniak from 2ULaundry. Come see the process of professional investors as they work through a due diligence process with a strong founder. Click here to register and join us for what I hope will become an annual event.
Also SeedSpark – a technology
and digital solutions company – is going to sponsor our first ever
Entrepreneur Date Night Award. We will have the startups in attendance
(demo tables) vote on the entrepreneur they think is most worthy of a
$100 gift certificate to a Charlotte area restaurant. It’s a small token
to the countless spousal/significant dinners founders must give up as
they bring their projects to life.
Dan Roselli and Packard Place are continuing to build their Public House/Keg-Side Chat event. They are having Ryan Stone join them on Wednesday February 20. Ryan is the President, a Director, and co-founder of SmartSky Networks, a private-equity backed company that will be the first to provide 4G LTE-based wireless connectivity to business jets and airlines.
QC Fintech is also in the process of interviewing for their spring class and after speaking with Dan recently they are seeing some really good companies. Be on the lookout for announcements for the spring class and the opportunities you will have to meet them and ultimately support them as they come to Charlotte for 12 weeks to incubate their ideas and companies.
William Bissett is an Investment Advisor Representative with Secrest Blakey & Associates, 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 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.
Investments described herein may be speculative and may involve a
substantial risk of loss. Interests may be offered only to persons who
qualify as accredited investors under the Securities Act, and a
Qualified Purchaser as defined in Section 2(a)(51)(A) under the Company
Act or an eligible employee of the management company. There generally
is no public market for the Interests. Prospective investors should
particularly note that many factors affect performance, including
changes in market conditions and interest rates, and other economic,
political or financial developments. Past performance is not, and should
not be construed as, indicative of future results.
Charlotte Angel Connection Episode 081: Sam Smith, Founder of Vishion and Collective Hustle
Today 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 color data, fashion trend and user preferences to help shoppers find the ideal color. The concept came to her after her own frustrating experience after falling in love with the blackspash in the bar at Kindred on a date night with her husband. Sam’s the type of person who once she latched onto her idea, she just never let go.
Collective Hustle is a Charlotte investor and startup coalition looking to improve the Queen City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. She started it last year with Aru from botSplash. They host invitation only events with a focus on inclusion and ways to assist female and minority entrepreneurs in Charlotte.
Seed the South was last month. It took a huge effort from Sam and her team to get it off the ground and served as Charlotte’s first non-Fintech Demo Day.
Check out our podcast with Sam today to hear more about how the last couple of years have shaped who she is. It’s a great podcast as we sat down and had a couple of Triple C beers one Friday afternoon.
Local Note and Thoughts:
Stay tuned for Emir and James – co-founders of Rabbu – on the podcast next week. Rabbu recently wrapped up a $1.5 million funding round and they are ready for the next stage of growth. Listen in next week to learn how they got here and where they plan to go.
Finsiders had their annual awards earlier this week. Sam Smith won the Dan Roselli Community Organizer award. Derek Wang, CEO and Founder of Stratifyd won for Best Innovation. Tim Griffin, CEO and Founder of Cloosiv, won for Risk Taker/Fail Fast. Mark Mahoney, CEO and Founder of Jack Rabbit Technologies won the 2019 Change Champion. Congrats to all the winners.
The Charlotte Angel Connection next quarterly event is in the works – though the date may be changing to accommodate the company. John Cambier and Lister Delgado from IDEA Fund Partners will be in Charlotte to do an on-stage Partner Pitch (the pitch will be from 6:30 to 7:30pm) – which means they are going to go into detail with an entrepreneur about their company as though they are interested in investing – and they may even be. I hope to have the company named by the podcast for next week. Stay tune and come see a professional team in due diligence.
Also SeedSpark – a technology and digital solutions company – is going to sponsor our first ever Entrepreneur Date Night Award. We will have the startups in attendance (demo tables) vote on the entrepreneur they think is most worthy of a $100 gift certificate to a Charlotte area restaurant. It’s a small token to the countless spousal/significant dinners founders must give up as they bring their projects to life.
QC Fintech is also in the process of interviewing for their spring class and after speaking with Dan recently they are seeing some really good companies. Be on the lookout for announcements for the spring class and the opportunities you will have to meet them and ultimately support them as they come to Charlotte for 12 weeks to incubate their ideas and companies.
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.
Investments described herein may be speculative and may involve a substantial risk of loss. Interests may be offered only to persons who qualify as accredited investors under the Securities Act, and a Qualified Purchaser as defined in Section 2(a)(51)(A) under the Company Act or an eligible employee of the management company. There generally is no public market for the Interests. Prospective investors should particularly note that many factors affect performance, including changes in market conditions and interest rates, and other economic, political or financial developments. Past performance is not, and should not be construed as, indicative of future results.
Charlotte Angel Connection Episode 079: Bill D'Alessandro Founder and CEO of Elements Brands
Today 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.
Bill raised money in 2016 when he made the decision to go for it and really work to growing to a large company. He used a great quote from a friend of his when talking about his decision - "you can only coast downhill." He raised money from a small group of 5 investors who also serve on his board. He didn't want to raise institutional capital because of the typical demands that comes with that type of money. Instead Bill - not surprisingly - was very intentional about how and from whom he raised money. His investors have a broad array of skills they bring to the company in helping Bill grow to their goal of being the Proctor and Gamble of 2050.
Yet Bill has a keen focus on the culture of his company and takes great pride in the fact no employee has voluntarily left the company since Bill brought it back to Charlotte. They've also been highlighted as a "Best Place to Work" for several years now and I'd be surprised if they don't keep that streak alive for quite some time. When I asked Bill where the nap room was he had a great response - "People think that culture is ping pong tables but ping pong tables are the result of good culture."
The recent acquisition - the Natural Dog Company - will look more familiar to those who follow Elements Brands going forward. This acquisition brought in 7 employees to the company and became its second largest brand upon acquisition. Bill has spent nearly 8 years working on the business getting it ready to scale and absorb consumer product companies. The size and value of future acquisitions will increase as their capacity does but also as founders see what a great place their company can land when they sell to Bill and his team at Elements Brands.
Bill stated mid-way through the interview that Elements Brands has a results based culture. I think those results are going to be pretty dang good in the next 10 to 20 years. Enjoy today's show and don't forget to share it with your friends and colleagues so they can learn more about Bill and his team too.
Local Note and Thoughts:
Seed the South - which happened January 9, 2018 - was a big success. Lots of really good startup companies were there promoting what they are doing. Sam and her team with Collective Hustle did a fantastic job and I expect we will have another Seed the South and more events like these going forward right here in Charlotte.
StartCharlotte is having their annual StartCharlotte Live event on Tuesday January 22. They will have awards for various things such as startup of the year, innovation award, investor of the year and servant leader award. Please vote for those awards by clicking here. You can register for the StartCharlotte Live event here.
Finsiders is also having their annual awards on Wednesday January 23 (click here to register). You can vote for their awards by clicking here.
QC Fintech is also in the process of interviewing for their spring class and after speaking with Dan recently they are seeing some really good companies. Be on the lookout for announcements for the spring class and the opportunities you will have to meet them and ultimately support them as they come to Charlotte for 12 weeks to incubate their ideas and companies.
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.
Investments described herein may be speculative and may involve a substantial risk of loss. Interests may be offered only to persons who qualify as accredited investors under the Securities Act, and a Qualified Purchaser as defined in Section 2(a)(51)(A) under the Company Act or an eligible employee of the management company. There generally is no public market for the Interests. Prospective investors should particularly note that many factors affect performance, including changes in market conditions and interest rates, and other economic, political or financial developments. Past performance is not, and should not be construed as, indicative of future results.