Charlotte Angel Connection Episode 078: Ben Harrison and Rob Cummings, Co-Founders of DealCloud
While working together at Falfurrias Capital, Rob Cummings and Ben Harrison experienced a need for vertically-focused software for the deal making industry. What ensued was an 8-year growth story that achieved a significant milestone when DealCloud was sold to Intapp, Inc. in August 2018. Make no mistake, DealCloud is still growing at a rapid pace and is a critical component to the Intapp growth story. But for Rob and Ben, getting to an exit event capped an incredible run together from when they started as a 2-man operation inside of a “closet” at Packard Place.
Now that the company has been sold – making legends out of Ben and Rob in Charlotte’s still young startup scene – I wanted to sit down and talk with Ben and Rob about their experience. Sure AvidXchange and Red Ventures and even Lending Tree have made it big but DealCloud signals new times for Charlotte’s entrepreneurs.
This feels different. It was a homegrown team who raised money through multiple rounds and sold the business at life changing terms.
Listen to Ben share a few stories of the early days. How they had to hustle for deals and stay with friends and relatives on trips to Atlanta to save costs. It’s funny to hear Rob talk about where he was when the deal was announced and how that day fell into place. It all worked out in the end and they are here to tell you more than you’ve probably heard them tell before. It’s a great episode and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did recording it.
Local Notes and thoughts:
This is a time of year to be grateful for what we have in our lives. As a community of people interested in watching Charlotte succeed as a startup hub, 2019 has been a very positive year and something we can all look back on as phenomenal year of growth. Let’s look back on the positive things to celebrate from 2018 in Charlotte:
DealCloud becomes a true exit story (read the story from the Charlotte Observer here).
Passport raises $43 million from Bain Capital and is well on its way to being another unicorn startup here in Charlotte (read the story here).
Tresata raises $50 million and joins Avid and Red Ventures as recent Charlotte unicorns (read the story here).
Venture for America introduces another group of motivated fellows for Charlotte area startups (read the full story here).
StartCharlotte and Innovate Charlotte both received $100,000 grants from NC Idea – propelling their growth and cementing their place in Charlotte’s startup ecosystem.
Local startups like Skipper and Rabbu – among others raise money locally and from afar.
Collective Hustle is founded by four women to make entrepreneurship and investing more accessible in Charlotte.
Sam Smith announces the first Seed the South – highlighting Charlotte’s entrepreneurial ecosystem – will be January 9, 2019.
Scott Pope launches the NC Health Innovators – which is working to put Charlotte on the map as a healthcare as a business startup ecosystem (read about their latest event here).
Charlotte Angel Connection Episode 077: Meggie Williams, Founder and CEO of Skipper
Ride the Scooter in the Rain - it's a a core value of Skipper. It also serves to remind CEO/Founder Meggie Williams of where the business started. Early on in the business she took a scooter to walk the dogs. Inevitably some days it rained. It's a way for her to remember who she and who the company is.
Skipper is after the trust of the Trust of the clients. It's something you won't question or doubt after listening to Meggie's interview today.
Sebastian Williams - or as she refers to her husband, Seb - and Meggie have been on a wild ride since they first met in college. Back then they were working as a team for Senior Class President at UNC Chapel Hill and really haven't stopped working together since then. Their skills complement each other well and they have an ability to put work at the door step before going home every night.
Their partnership has taken them from Chapel Hill to NYC, backpacking around the world on a shoe string budget, to Charlotte, down to Austin for the Techstars incubator program (where they roomed with fellow Charlotte startup couple Haley Bohon and her husband - Founders of Skillpop - and Dina Carey, CEO of Milkful, also a local CLT company).
Most importantly for Charlotte, though, it has led them to start Skipper (formerly The Waggle Company). They are one of a handful of Charlotte area companies the Charlotte Angel Fund has invested in. They are now in three cities - Charlotte, Austin and Dallas - and will be launching in Atlanta soon. They are very aware of their competition and are quite comfortable at how they are going to be able to win.
Before my interview, I had heard many people sing the praises of Meggie and Sebastian. Today I know first hand they are a team that is building something great. Now you get to hear about it too.
A few other local notes and comments:
Sam Smith of Vishion (local startup) and Collective Hustle is organizing a fantastic event called Seed the South. The goal with this effort is to bring investors and entrepreneurs in Charlotte and beyond together to begin to show off what’s here. The event is going to be on January 9 at the Foundation for the Carolinas and Sam is working on building a terrific list of speakers. There will be a pitch competition for 4 – 8 startups and other startups will have demo tables there too. It’s going to be a great way to start 2019 and I hope to see you there.
If you are a startup looking to learn more about the Seed the South opportunity, please register for the informational session on December 11 at Hygge. https://collectivehustle.us/events/participate-seed-the-south/
Thank you to Dan Roselli and his team at Packard Place for our first sponsorship. They have hosted more than 2 dozen of our interviews over the last couple of months and have offered one of their used Yeti’s for us to use with guests when we go offsite. They are a great community supporter for all things startup in Charlotte.
Speaking of Packard Place, come out to Packard Place Public House - December 4th 5:30pm - to listen to Dan & Alex, Co-Founders of 2ULaundry. It's free but please register here:
https://www.meetup.com/packardplace/events/jwvczpyxqbzb/
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 076: Mac Lackey, VentureSouth Partner, Serial Entrepreneur and Investor
Mac Lackey is a Charlotte kid. He grew up here, returned after playing soccer in college and professionally to start his career. He started his first businesses and began raising his family here. Ultimately, he decided to return here after spending several years overseas.
He’s returned to a startup ecosystem vastly different than the one he left. And he is in the middle of it through his work mentoring companies, leading the VentureSouth efforts here in Charlotte and being an active speaker at startup and investor focused events.
Listen to our podcast with Mac today as we explore his first startup in the late 90s and expand all the way through his latest venture with Kyck. We dive deep into Internet Soccer (Mac’s 3rd) startup to explore how he was able to sell an internet company with little money left in the bank to a European company.
Listen to which company Mac would like to have back and why. And found out what some of Mac’s key guidance is to founders as they look to build their own startups here in Charlotte.
I found it really interesting to find the lessons within his stories. He’s got a great comfort around telling who is and what’s he’s done and is trying to accomplish. He’s sold businesses at fantastic numbers and talk freely about it. But how often do you hear someone admit they lost 90% of their ‘winnings’ in a market downturn.
Mac’s has a lot to offer Charlotte entrepreneurs and investors. Listening to him talk about it in this podcast is a great way to get started. You can also learn more about Mac and what he is doing at www.maclackey.com.
A few other local notes and comments:
Sam Smith of Vishion (local startup) and Collective Hustle is organizing a fantastic event called Seed the South. The goal with this effort is to bring investors and entrepreneurs in Charlotte and beyond together to begin to show off what’s here. The event is going to be on January 9 at the Foundation for the Carolinas and Sam is working on building a terrific list of speakers. There will be a pitch competition for 4 – 8 startups and other startups will have demo tables there too. It’s going to be a great way to start 2019 and I hope to see you there.
Dan Roselli and his team at QC Fintech and Packard Place did a fantastic job hosting the 2nd Annual Southeast Fintech Venture Conference yesterday along with the Demo Day for Class 9 from QC Fintech. There was a great showing of both the Charlotte community AND investors/investor funds there looking at and talking with companies. Caroline Hudson with the Charlotte Business Journal covered the event well. She’s doing a great job getting coverage for local startups and events.
Thank you to Dan Roselli and his team at Packard Place for our first sponsorship. They have hosted more than 2 dozen of our interviews over the last couple of months and have offered one of their used Yeti’s for us to use with guests when we go offsite. They are a great community supporter for all things startup in Charlotte.
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 075: QC Fintech Class Members iTrust, Mimble, and AMUS
QC Fintech Class 9 is getting ready for its demo day which coincides with the Southeast Fintech Venture Conference on November 14. In preparation, we had the opportunity to talk with three different founders companies who are part of Class 9:
iTrust – (www.itrustinc.com) - Trevor Horwitz
Mimble (www.mimble.co) – Chad Huber
AMUS (www.askmyunclesam.com) – Busayo Ogunsanya
After getting to know each of the companies and their founders on the podcast, we dive into the topic of what allows them to come back to Charlotte in 5 years and celebrate their success as entrepreneurs. After all, every startup city is littered with great ideas which never gained traction, found investors or made it through the difficult path of success.
We also dive into the discussion of investors. What’s it like to talk with investors as young companies and how soon is too soon to start the discussion.
One interesting topic we discuss is what success means for each founder. Is an IPO the only way to go for these founders or is there something before?
Local notes and thoughts:
- Thank you to Dan Roselli and his team at Packard Place for our first sponsorship. They have hosted more than 2 dozen of our interviews over the last couple of months and have offered one of their used Yeti’s for us to use with guests when we go offsite. They are a great community supporter for all things startup in Charlotte.
- NC IDEA recently issued two $100,000 grants to Charlotte entities – StartCharlotte (led by Juan Garzon) and Innovate Charlotte (with Keith Luedeman currently serving as interim leader of the organization). It should be very exciting for the Charlotte Startup community that both of these local organizations have some fresh capital to continue serving the ecosystem?
- Go support high school area entrepreneurs at the Techstars Startup Weekend Charlotte Youth. It starts on Friday November 2 with the demo day on Sunday afternoon at Johnson C. Smith University (Stem Hall). Buy Demo tickets here - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/techstars-startup-weekend-charlotte-youth-november-2018-tickets-50613935644
- Don’t forget to register for the Southeast Fintech Venture Conference on November 14 (click here). If you don’t have the time, or the money, to come to the full day event please come support the QC Fintech Class 9 companies at the end of the day. It’s FREE and starts at 5pm (click here).
- Collective Hustle is an investor and startup coalition looking to improve the Queen City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. They meet monthly and their next event is coming up on November 7 – you can register by clicking here. It’s a great panel discussion with the topic of “How to land a meeting with an investor.”
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 074: Angel Rutledge, SignUp Genius
SignUp Genius was born out of the frustrations of a couple, Dan and Angel Rutledge, who were struggling with the same tasks we labor through every week as parents and volunteers – coordinating who does what and when. It was born in 2008 – the worst economic period we’ve had in at least 30 years – in a growing southern city not known for its entrepreneurial grit, Charlotte.
Dan had been recruited to Charlotte to work with an entrepreneur (Michael Vadini) to build an entertainment company and a website design/implementation company. Angel is a former middle school English teacher and a mother of four who stepped in to help Dan in 2011.
At that time, Dan just needed help with hiring and extra help on marketing. A little more than a year later, SignUp Genius was growing by over 40% per week during October 2012.
Coming out of that period of strong growth, they realized they had something important to the world and valuable as a company. It wasn’t until 2016, however, when Dan and Angel, and Michael Vadini (Dan’s co-founder) realized it was important for them to raise capital. Given their rapid growth over the previous 8 years, they had plenty of firms lining up to make the investment. They had choices about what they were going to do and how they were going to do it. Great choices at the right time.
Over the years, through all the challenges (and we discuss a few of them) and successes (we talk about those too), they have never deviated from their core mission – to empower people to change the world by making it simple to organize groups.
Listen to this local success story with Angel. They had no accelerator program, no outside capital until nearly 10 years old, they were NOT in San Francisco and yet they’ve carved out a very nice niche for themselves.
Learn when Angel finally told Dan, “you have to fire me from doing something.” Find out her favorite role, their view of the responsibilities of having investors? Listen to what she tells her daughters about their own lives and much more in this interview with Angel.
Then come find Angel in the growing entrepreneur and investor scene here in Charlotte. You’ll come away impressed and thankful we have more and more people like Angel coming out to grow and share on a regular basis.
Local notes and thoughts:
- Congratulations to SignUp Genius for celebrating their 10-Year Anniversary this week (October 2008 - October 2018).
- Thank you to Dan Roselli and his team at Packard Place for our first sponsorship. They have hosted more than 2 dozen of our interviews over the last couple of months and have offered one of their used Yeti’s for us to use with guests when we go offsite. They are a great community supporter for all things startup in Charlotte.
- Please register to attend and/or support the Charlotte High School Startup Weekend - http://communities.techstars.com/usa/charlotte/startup-weekend/12714 - November 2 - 4, 2018 at Johnson C. Smith University.
- Seth Twery and I host a quarterly event to help educate people on the ins and outs of being an early stage investor. Our next event is Tuesday October 23 at the new Junior Achievement facility at Camp North End. Please email me if you’d like to attend. We are going to have Greg Brown of the Charlotte Angel Fund and Mac Lackey of VentureSouth there to discuss common terms and phrases you’ll hear when talking to startups and investors.
- Register now for the Southeast Fintech Venture Conference on Wednesday November 14, 2018. This is also the Demo Day for the QC Fintech Class 9 Cohort. You can find out more details and register here (https://www.sefintechvc.com/).
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 073: Part II with Michelle Buelow, Founder and CEO of Bella Tunno
Something Michelle Buelow clearly had done helped propel Bella Tunno to the next stage several years ago. But reading the book and using it to define the following year of the business (she chooses a book every year to help frame the next 12 months) was just another step in Michelle's evolution from passion, to entrepreneur, to CEO.
Michelle has a clear vision of who she is and what Bella Tunno has become and is still becoming. She's learned to manage and measure the business. She speaks of margins and expenses in a product based world with extreme confidence. She delegates out things she's willing to accept aren't her strengths.
In what other ways has Michelle grown to become who she is today and what resources have allowed her to do that? We discuss it in today's podcast?
Does it need capital to grow? Of course she is aware of that. But what is the cost and the opportunity? I thought the exit would be the hardest part for her - knowing capital would all but guarantee she'd eventually need to sell a business she founded with passion and purpose after the loss of her brother. An exit would actually allow her to accelerate her work in those areas.
So does she want to raise capital? It's a question we explore in pretty good detail.
Michelle has won awards and built a successful business. She's watching her two daughters grow up in a world where they understand what she's doing and they've embraced all that comes with it.
How does she view the impact of her entrepreneurship on her daughters and girls everywhere? Listen in to hear Michelle's own view.
Listen to Michelle in her own words tell her story of growth and what she thinks of the 26 year old version of herself.
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 072: Michelle Buelow, Founder and CEO of Bella Tunno
Today we welcome Michelle Buelow, Founder and CEO of Bella Tunno. Over the last decade, Michelle's success and the success of Bella Tunno has helped deliver nearly 1.6 million meals to the hungry as part of their buy one product, give one meal program. She's also raked in numerous personal accolades including EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women in 2009. The path she carved wasn't one she chose yet she's embraced it and created a legacy in the process.
Today, we learn Michelle:
Moved to Charlotte (with her boyfriend, Todd Buelow - way out of his league but that's another podcast).
Found a job she loved and traveled the world.
Got married (yes, to Todd) and got pregnant.
Lost her brother to addiction.
Quit her job and started sewing cute baby gear to raise money to finish her brother’s doctorate research project.
Started her business - Bella Tunno - making children's accessories with a core focus on philanthropy.
Pitched her products to 11 Charlotte area stores in a day with her baby in tow and had 10 say yes (do you think the other one comes around?).
Got called to Minneapolis to see the red bullseye (by now you can guess the outcome).
But that's far from the complete picture - it's actually just the first 10 minutes of the podcast. She continues to surpass every goal she develops. That's Michelle Buelow.
Listen to today's episode to hear her full story. It's one you will find yourself cheering for as soon as we get started.
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 070: Eric Kirsch, Health Care Serial Entrepreneur and Investor
Eric Kirsch started out running basketball camps as a 17-year old which mostly paid his way through college and ultimately became a physician's assistant. In 2003, he moved down to Charlotte to start his life in the medical community. After several years as an employee, he started his own specialty/niche practice, grew it to four locations (Charlotte, Mooresville, Asheville, and Cary) and ultimately sold those practices.
In the process, he learned how to code in order to build solutions for his own practice. As he has re-started his entrepreneurial journey after taking several years off his knowledge of technology has served as a springboard. He's created a holding company where he tests ideas for the medical community and if it starts to gain traction he raises money to help launch those companies. So he has done this with three of the four companies/ideas and hopes to travel down that path with the fourth soon.
He is currently excited about his roles with the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs which he started in Charlotte and Beacon Healthcare Benefits . With the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs starting here, he is launching an event here in Charlotte - the NC Healthcare Innovation Conference - September 21 from 8:00am to 5:00pm. If you are interested in attending, you can purchase tickets on Eventbrite by clicking here.
Listening to Eric you learn he's constantly tinkering with different ideas and concepts. You also get the sense that Scott Pope's podcast from a few weeks ago talking about Charlotte becoming health care startup city has legs.
Listen in next week as we spend more time focusing on Eric's startup which just launched - Beacon Healthcare Benefits. It's a bold concept in a market that is rapidly changing. It's crazy enough that it just may work and I think you'll enjoy hearing more.
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 069: Seth Twery Part II, a successful corporate life leads to angel investing and entrepreneurship
Last week, we spent time with Seth Twery - who led a successful corporate career prior to leaving in 2011 to seek “growth opportunities.”
Can you execute? That’s the thing Seth sees being the reason behind success of a startup team. He cites the fact that IDEA Fund looks at over 1,000 ideas per year, more than a few with overlap. If there are that many ideas in the NC region (and further) then how many ideas are being incubated across the US and the world? If you can’t execute against that type of volume and competition it is highly unlikely the founding group is going to create success.
We also continue discussing the opportunity ahead of Seth as he is about to start his new role with Tookitaki – the Singapore based company looking to use Artificial Intelligence to solve. Fortunately for Charlotte, we learn they are looking to hire a development/technical team here.
From there, we transition into a discussion on early stage investing and Charlotte. Here Seth thinks out loud about the investing and entrepreneurship scene here in Charlotte. We touch base on the recent exit by DealCloud and the impact it may have versus the impact of a bigger exit along the lines of AvidXchange.
Along the way, we veer off course and discuss all things startup and investing. Hopefully, you’ll find a few nuggets by listening in.