Today, we welcome Haley Sutton, Founder of Box Babe Gift Co., to the podcast.  I first met Haley when she was an intern for Packard Place a few years ago.  She was regularly at Packard Place as we recorded podcasts and showed up for startup/investing events.  So it was awesome to have her on the podcast to talk about her own startup and the path she has taken to get here. The one thing Haley continued to say in our podcast I loved was how it was worth swinging for the fences.  That’s the mentality that has allowed her to flourish and grow as a person and as an entrepreneur.  While she has been selling goods online through Etsy and other platforms since she was 14 years old, her journey as an entrepreneur wouldn’t prepare her for the twists and turns as she launched Box Babe Gift Co.  It took guts and grit to leave Element Brands, a position with health insurance benefits, in the spring of 2020 – right during the early days of the Covid19 pandemic. Yet, her bet on herself paid off.  She started working out of her apartment and quickly moved the business into her boyfriend’s new house for extra space.  She quickly outgrew the house and continues to outgrow each space she moves the company into and the existing one is no different as she is already thinking she’ll have to move again by the end of 2021. But growth hasn’t come easy.  She looks to support small female business owners as they pack their boxes of gifts.  But maintaining a steady supply of product creates challenges for Haley and the company.  As such, Haley had to learn how to make candles from her home as a way to make sure they had plenty of supply.  It was a messy learning process but just demonstrates the mindset of an entrepreneur willing to do what it takes. Listen for the part in the podcast where we talk about Haley’s “Jeff Bezos Moment”.  It’s a great Bezos story and awesome to hear Haley’s version of it too. I hope you enjoy this one.  Haley has an infectious mentality and attitude and she’s using it to build a great company – one that is still swinging for the fences.   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

Charlotte Angel Connection Episode 128: Haley Sutton, Founder of Box Babe Gift Co.

Today we welcome Ben Boyer, co-founder and Executive Chairman of R-Zero Systems, to the podcast.  Prior to March 2020, Ben had worked in Venture Capital – getting his feet wet with Lehman Brothers as he came out of college. After the Lehman bankruptcy, he went to work for Tenaya Capital which was spun out of Lehman Brothers.  At Tenaya, Ben focused on global consumer and related investments, with an emphasis on vertical applications and network effect businesses. He led investments in companies based in four countries and on three continents.  In 2020, he remained a Partner at Tenaya Capital but he stepped away from raising new funds to focus on R-Zero Systems.  Ben now lives in Park City UT. Ben speaks about his early days at Lehman and the fall of the financial business.  He shares in-depth stories of investing in venture capital including some of the success stories. Ultimately, though , as Covid begins to develop in the US it brought back emotions of 9/11 – and what he could do to help.  This led to him to research pathogens, how they are treated and ultimately R-Zero was launched in April 2020. Ben started it with Grant Morgan and Eli Harris to help combat all known pathogens: COVID-19, seasonal flu, Norovirus, E.coli, MRSA, C.diff and whatever COVID-25 might be.  R-Zero designs hospital-grade disinfection solutions for the day-to-day realities of modern businesses. Ben explains UV-C disinfection and their goal to make it better and cheaper.  We discuss the roles and strengths of each of their founders and he shares his story of entrepreneurship. Great podcast and it’s good to see that R-Zero is keeping to their goal to create safer communal spaces, today and forever.   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 127: Ben Boyer, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of R-Zero

Today we welcome Noam Mani, Co-Founder of Quartix.  Quartix is a company combining technology with institutional cash to transform vendor early payments into a true win-win for both the buyer and the vendors.  I met Noam several years ago when he was participating in the QC Fintech Accelerator program (run by RevTech Labs). The company has come a long way since those early days and they are now growing quickly – which is a great testament to Noam, his co-founder (Dror) and the rest of team including his stable of advisors they picked up along the way (some of which he picked up as a result of his participation in in the accelerator program). Noam is originally from Israel but he and Quartix now call Charlotte home.  It’s great to see founders like Noam and Dror come through the QC Fintech program and ultimately decide to call Charlotte home.  It’s a testament to the types of mentors in the program as well as the quality of program Dan Roselli and the rest of the team over there have built. Noam served as an Engineer in the Israel Military and after fulfilling his military duties in Israel he became a consultant.  This is where the idea of Quartix started to brew.  His co-founder Dror was seeing the vendor payments as a real pain point and the two of them teamed up to deliver a powerful solution.  It’s a complex problem for many of us who don’t sit in this space to understand but Noam does a wonderful job walking us through the problem and the solution in today’s podcast. At the end of the day, Quartix is a data and technology driven alternative lender operating in the US and Canada. Their mission is to improve the financial performance of supply chains on the buyer side and reduce the borrowing costs of SME suppliers by offering effective supply chain finance. Noam shares their takeaway from QC Fintech and how and why he Dror Polak, started Quartix what it took to start and how they keep up with the demand.  Noam also explains that working with both sellers and buyers will expand the business. We discuss working with funding partners, and how they add value. At the end of the podcast we discuss the different type of markets that utilize their service and the opportunities that scale the business and what’s on the horizon for them in the future.   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 126: Noam Mani, Co-Founder and CEO of Quartix

Today, we welcome Jim Roberts to the podcast.  Jim is a familiar name in the Charlotte area startup and investor ecosystem.  Today, Jim runs the Wilmington Angels for Local Entrepreneurs (WALE), Network for Entrepreneurs in Wilmington (NEW), and his own consulting firm, Rojo Octo Ecosystem Consulting. Yet, in 2000, he started a non-profit ecosystem in Charlotte before moving to Ashville to start their startup ecosystem and angel network.  From there Jim was recruited to work for the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Division in Raleigh.  In 2013 he moved to Wilmington to start UNCW’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE).  The CIE offers programs, services, and activities to promote and support entrepreneurship and the creation of innovative new ventures in Southeastern North Carolina. Jim has been around the entrepreneur ecosystem since it’s infancy and has helped get several cities off the ground.  It was a great opportunity for him to talk about how Wilmington has – and continues to develop/support the startup ecosystem. Jim talks through the difference of what WALE does verses NEW.  NEW holds free monthly events for a wide variety of entrepreneurs, investors, professional service providers, and community supporters considering entrepreneurship. The mission of NEW is to make the Wilmington region a more nurturing community for local startup entrepreneurs to improve and diversify the regional economy. WALE on the other hand is a platform for local angels to invest in Wilmington area startups.  Jim also dives into the reason why he started WALE, why it is important is to local entrepreneurs and how people (even Charlotte area people) can become members. I also wanted to talk with Jim a little about the differences of working in Raleigh and Wilmington. We also dive into how UNCW’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship built an innovation organization in 8 years that has been globally ranked.  He explains how they started the ecosystem in the Coastal corridor and their success stories of their first conference. Jim discussed his excitement about the PBS Start-Up Series being filmed in Wilmington.  At the end of the podcast, we discuss the future of Wilmington’s ecosystem. Anyone who has talked with Jim knows he has worked tirelessly across NC to build startup communities.  It is great to see the Wilmington area getting more than its fair share of press thanks to Jim’s hard work in putting the city on the map.   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 125: Jim Roberts, Founder of Network for Wilmington Entrepreneurs and much more

  Today we are pleased to welcome Luke Wilcox, CEO and founder of Ethos, to the podcast.  Luke was part of the most recent RevTech Labs program and we got the chance to sit down with him and a few of his classmates to talk about their experience with the world class program as well as learn more about their businesses. Ethos is a first-of-its-kind FinTech platform to align your money with the causes you care about, including racial justice, climate change, LGBTQ equality, and more.  Essentially, it is a tool allowing investors and their advisors identify the causes most important to them and then screen the investment world for opportunities best fitting for them.  Luke started this as he was trying to identify investments whose causes aligned with his own and it has grown rapidly since then.  At first Luke was targeting individual investors only but he has allowed the platform to grow and is working with financial advisors and others to broaden it's reach. Luke started his career with McKinsey and clearly learned a lot about business and growing them.  Luke is bringing that skillset to Ethos as it expands its screening capabilities and continues to grow the number of advisors and investor on the platform.   Listen in to today’s shorter podcast to learn more about the business model and how Charlotte has and continue to help Ethos grow. 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 124: Luke Wilcox, Founder and CEO of Ethos

Today we are pleased to welcome Nish Krishna, CEO of Lend-Grow, to the podcast.  Nish was part of the most recent RevTech Labs program and we got the chance to sit down with him and a few of his classmates to talk about their experience with the world class program as well as learn more about their businesses. Lend-Grow is an online lending marketplace connecting borrowers with community banks to offer the best deals on loans.  Borrowers can check their rates in less than two minutes and get matched with the lender that has the best deal for their needs.  Nish and his team are having success building out a marketplace which is a tough thing to do.  But they are creating that success by partnering with local community banks who are looking to expand their reach.  It's a great concept to serve a very large niche. Nish started his career with Capital One which is a very data intensive company and he is bringing that skillset to Lend-Grow as it scales up the number of loans it can and will provide through its marketplace.   Listen in to today’s shorter podcast to learn more about the business model and how Charlotte has and continue to help ArchiveCore grow. 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 123: Nish Krishna, Founder and CEO of Lend-Grow

  Today we are pleased to welcome Lennox McNeary, CEO of ArchiveCore, to the podcast.  Lennox was part of the most recent RevTech Labs program and we got the chance to sit down with her and a few of her classmates to talk about their experience with the world class program as well as learn more about their businesses. ArchiveCore is a creating a simplified credentialing process for complex industries.  Lennox understands this well as she is a physician as well as a co-founder and grew frustrated with the process of hiring in her profession.  The typical delays of 90 days or more are costing hospitals money and reducing access to care for patients. ArchiveCore is building a software - utilizing blockchain technology - and a process to help the process become much more efficient.  Listen in to today's shorter podcast to learn more about the business model and how Charlotte has and continue to help ArchiveCore grow.   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 122: Lennox McNeary, Co-founder and CEO of ArchiveCore

  Today, we are fortunate to have Nat Clarkson and Dan Roselli  join us on the podcast to talk with us about CFV Ventures. We all know Dan and Nat from their work at RevTech Labs/QC Fintech. We wanted the opportunity to sit down and explore what CFV Ventures has been up to since closing their first fund.  Since this is our first time talking with Nat on the podcast we spend a good bit of time learning more about his background before we shift the discussion over to the fund.  Once we dive into the fund discussion we get into what types of companies they are investing in and where they are investing. It's great to hear the relationships they are creating and the awareness this fund is having on the world's perception of Charlotte.  Listening to Nat and Dan talk I realized how far Charlotte's ecosystem has come and yet how much further it can continue to go.  Fortunately, Charlotte continues to recruit good companies and talent - in large part to the work of Dan, Nat and many others have had in supporting the ecosystem. Next week, I'll publish interviews with several of the companies from the recently graduated class of RevTech Labs.  These podcasts are short 20 minute versions meant to get a quick understanding of young startups and their founders.  I really enjoyed the opportunity to talk with each of the founders - I think you'll find them interesting and full of opportunity too.

Charlotte Angel Connection Episode 121: CFV Ventures with Nat Clarkson and Dan Roselli

Today, we are fortunate to have Jonathan Kite join us on the podcast to talk with us about Rent Ready. Jonathan and the Rent Ready team (including co-founders Ryan McMillan and Will Brugh) completed a $10 million Series A in March 2021 - another great raise for a Charlotte based company. Jonathan grew up in Charlotte and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Jonathan started out leading the IT and marketing functions for Rent Ready to ensure their technology platform is constantly adapting to meet customer and Service Pro’s needs. He co-founded Rent Ready after a 6-year tenure at Microsoft working as a technical account manager, operations consultant, and program manager. Jonathan has a passion for technology and how it unlocks new potentials. Rent Ready is a rapidly growing services platform that uses technology to help coordinate the process of getting vacant apartment homes ready to rent (“turn”). Built to eliminate the frustration of typical apartment turns, Rent Ready utilizes a proprietary logistics platform to connect communities to skilled professionals. Rent Ready is transforming the apartment turn process. They are a B-to-B model and Jonathan explains their processes of what communities need to do to get a unit ready.  They are in the process of releasing a mobile app. Rent Ready currently is in Charlotte, Raleigh and Atlanta and they have 35 employees. They just recently completed the Series A round and Jonathan discusses raising the capital and the importance of staying in touch with people who can add value and the network affect of building connections. We talk about the importance of keeping communication open with vendors and investment group.  Jonathan also shares their success of a new service line they launched because of the pandemic which has scaled to a national level and how they capitalized on it. At the end of the podcast, we discuss the roles of the three Co-Founders at Rent Ready, the diverse mind set it brings to lead the team, and the vision and importance of future product development.   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 120: Jonathan Kite, CEO of Rent Ready

Today, we welcome back Matt Potere, CEO of Sunlight Financial, to the podcast.  Matt joined us early in the days of the podcast with Episode 20 and Episode 21. Back in these days, Sunlight Financial was growing rapidly and in the process of moving into their new office space as they 'graduated' from the halls of Packard Place.  Fortunately, Matt and the rest of his team have continued to see growth over the last couple of years - so much growth they will be going public through a merger with a SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) later this year. Given this is our first podcast guest to take his company public, we wanted to sit down with Matt to get an update of what the company has been doing and what it sees ahead. As a quick reminder, Sunlight Financial is co-headquartered in NY and Charlotte.  They have recently expanded into home improvement financing and they continue to offer consumer loans for residential solar.  They are also expanding to new products, including energy storage and energy efficiency. Sunlight partners with leading solar installers nationwide to help homeowners save money and protect our environment. The company’s front-end tools and back-end credit expertise simplify and streamline home energy lending, enabling Sunlight’s channel partners to provide homeowners with the benefits of system ownership. At the beginning of the podcast we discuss the saturation of the solar market, or lack thereof.  In 2020, 3% of homes in the US have solar power. So while Sunlight has surpassed $4 billion in funded loans it translates to about 125,000 homes - meaning they have lots of opportunity ahead of them as a company if they just stayed in the solar installation market.  Naturally, we discuss a lot of what it has taken to get the company ready for the next stage, how Matt and his team have worked with their investors to position the company, and the culture they have worked hard to create for a 100 year company. Matt and I discuss some of their challenges during the 2020/2021 Covid pandemic. As we near the end of the podcast, we discuss the Charlotte energy and financial eco-system and what’s happening. It will be great to see what the future holds for Sun Light Financial.   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 119: Matt Potere, CEO of Sunlight Financial

Today we welcome Mike Murphy, CEO and Co-Founder of ProctorFree and Kevin Eckert, Partner with TFX Capital to the podcast. Mike served in the Army and later worked as a defense contractor. Prior to starting ProctorFree, Mike worked as marketing director for Everblue Training Institute, a startup focused on marketing environmental sustainability and green building (Jon Boggiano – Founder of Everblue was on guest #3 on the podcast – listen to it here). ProctorFree is an on-demand, convenient, and cost-effective online proctoring solution for education and corporate environments. The ProctorFree platform allows organizations to elevate their credibility and reputation while providing convenient learning opportunities for a global audience. Kevin is originally from Update New York and joined marines before ultimately ending up in Charlotte. He worked for a private equity firm where he got the start-up bug.  In 2018, he joined TFX Capital.  TFX Capital is a founder focused venture capital firm led by former military leaders, investing in seed and early-stage Veteran-led businesses and startups. ProctorFree has been through successes and challenges over its years as a business and TFX Capital has been right there with them for almost the entire time.  As such, we dive into what those successes have been and how they’ve had to tackle the challenges.  This means the tough discussions and decisions Mike has had to have with his investors, the hard decisions he had to make to keep the business afloat at its low point and how they have been able to grow through the pandemic.  All this brings us back through the core vision of TFX Capital investing in former military leaders and why they see those founders as great CEOs. This is a great podcast with founder and investor.  It shows the strength of good relationships between the two and how making tough decisions can lead to results over time. Mike shares the stories how they recognized problems in testing, staffing and their milestones, as well as the actions they took during the pandemic.  Kevin shared what the focus for TFX Capital and their portfolios companies was in 2020 and how they executed it throughout the year. We also here from Kevin on the importance of the start-ups knowing when it is time to raise the next round of capital. At the end of the podcast, Mike describes the four customer segments of ProctorFree (1) higher education institutions (2) on-line courses and training (3) professional certifications and (4) brand name dedicated companies.     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 118: Mike Murphy, CEO of ProctorFree and Kevin Eckert, Partner with TFX Capital

Today, Juan Garzon jumps back on the Charlotte Angel Connection – his second time and first since his appearance as the 4th guest (listen to Juan’s first podcast here).  Juan is the Executive Director at Innovate Charlotte. Most of us have known Juan, or known of Juan, for nearly a decade now as he has been an integral part of the startup ecosystem.  Between his work over the years with Pitch Breakfast, launching the Start Charlotte newsletter (now Charlotte Inno), or any number of other things Juan has done to help startups over the years, Juan has been a tireless advocate of all things startup related in Charlotte. We wanted to catch up with Juan to discuss his new role as Executive Director at Innovate Charlotte.  We’ve spoken with Walt Frye and Keith Luedeman as they lead the organization in the past and wanted to hear from Juan how it will expand/grow as the ecosystem continues to build up strength and momentum. As you may know or recall, Innovate Charlotte is a nonprofit organization with a mission to enhance, elevate, and accelerate entrepreneurial success in the greater Charlotte region. Their focus is on cultivating an intentionally inclusive and high impact ecosystem that stimulates innovation, economic growth and societal change. Juan explains the VMS and Navigator Program along with other initiatives they offer to the Charlotte’s startup ecosystem.  We discuss the growth of entrepreneurship making Charlotte a destination as well as creating more opportunities for home-grown entrepreneurs. We also dive into how the City of Charlotte is getting involved to help grow entrepreneurship – with a goal of building a more diverse start-up community. Juan shares opportunities for other non-profit organizations. NCIdea, which supports entrepreneurs/mentor programs throughout North Carolina. Pitch Breakfast, which is a platform for companies to practice their pitch, has continued to operate throughout the pandemic and is waiting for guidance and when and how it can get back to being an in person event. At the end of the podcast we talk what it takes to have entrepreneurs stay engaged.  It’s a great 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 117: Juan Garzon, Executive Director of Innovate Charlotte

  Today, Eric Mager and Marco Burgarello, of Bundle join the podcast.  I’ve been a fan of Marco’s since I met him while he was working with Dan Roselli at Packard Place.  And when I saw Eric pitch Bundle at a Charlotte Angel Fund meeting I knew he was a founder and Bundle was a company worth watching.  Bundle sits at the crossroads of privacy, technology, personalization, and a great user experience.  Considering the mortgage industry doesn’t deliver any of that, I figured it had a decent shot at success. But listen to the podcast today and you’ll hear for yourself why they are gearing up for more success.  Their platform provides a simple way for borrowers to compare current mortgage rates while staying anonymous. They provide a place where the borrower controls the process, not the lenders bidding for the business.  As you’ll hear in the interview, Bundle guarantees to never sell or give away client contact information to banks or lenders, ever. The tough thing is Bundle is building a two-way market.  They have to sign-up mortgage brokers on their site to compete for the business.  And they also have to get consumers to the site to request bids.  In a year like 2020 when every mortgage broker was slammed with business regardless of what they did you would think Bundle would struggle to differentiate and build out a strong proof of concept. But that thinking would be wrong. Eric and Marco raised a small seed round in early 2020 to test the concept.  They had been through the QC Fintech Accelerator program – where they met.  But their seed round last year gave them the funds they needed to launch.  And now after the seed round validated their business model, they are back at it raising a larger Series A round to expand the ground game. But listen in to the podcast to hear the back stories.  I love hearing how Marco pitched Eric to be on the team.  For all you founders and people wanting to partner with founders take notes.  Marco took a bold move to position himself with Eric.  And just as importantly, Eric was humble enough to listen.  Hearing them talk back and forth you can see how they may have lightning in a bottle. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of competition in the mortgage industry.  Yet this duo has carved out their space and they are going to go after it with bold strokes and lots of industry expertise in their corner.  It’s going to be a really exciting company to watch over the next couple of years as more millennials come online to buy and refinance their houses. 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 116: Bundle Founders, Eric Mager, CEO, and Marco Burgarello, Head of Growth

  Today we welcome Gunner Cuevas, CEO and Co-Founder of CARL.  I met Gunnar a few years ago as he was coming through the QC Fintech Accelerator Program. His desire to bring unique quantitative strategies to a broader population caught my attention. CARL is the first to provide easy access to hedge funds through a simple to use mobile app. By taking advantage of new regulations and advances in analytics and computing technologies they offer investment opportunities not previously available to most investors. . Hedge funds have gotten a bad rap over the years as they are reported to continue underperforming the market.  But Gunnar saw how hedge funds can win.  He also saw how he could help investors win. This is CARL – the way to bring hedge funds to individual investors.  It’s clean and simple and has an opportunity to democratize this part of the investment industry. Gunnar is no stranger to startups. His first startup got off the ground when he was back home in Chile. After spending time traveling the world snowboarding, he met his wife and went back to school.  Gunner obtained his BS and MS from George Mason University.  After college he moved to NY and began working in a proprietary trading company where he built routing algorithms for market making. Gunner shares what he learned in his previous positions before founding CARL. In 2015, he started Eight Two Capital, a quant hedge fund. It was a result of this that he met his current business partner and together they founded CARL, a new technology platform for investing in quant hedge funds. Today’s podcast weaves these stories through along with the successes and challenges Gunnar and the team have had getting this up off the ground. Gunner explains CARL’s concept, investing in alternative investments and the hedge fund space.  CARL is currently in beta mode and we discuss the strategies currently on the platform and upcoming strategies that will join. We discuss the minimum investment and CARLS reporting tools which adds value to the space. We discuss the simplicity of the platform and how to invest or take money out - it is 100% digital.  He shares stories about the Beta testing and the growth of the platform thus far – they are having strong growth month over month. It’s a great podcast where we discuss the ins and outs of the platform and what it takes to be a startup founder and grind through successes to the next level. 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 115: Gunnar Cuevas, CEO and Co-Founder of CARL

Today, we welcome Chris Langford, a Partner at IDEA Fund Partners, to the podcast.  Chris has been active in the Charlotte startup scene since at least 2015 when I joined the Charlotte Angel Fund.  His education events, support of local founders, and availability to the ecosystem at large has been helpful getting the Charlotte startup community to where it is today. In this podcast, we wanted to learn more about Chris and how he ended up being in Venture Capital.  Chris has a great story of the journey he has taken and what he has learned along the way. He shares that information readily with local founders and investors too. Chris now leads the Charlotte office for IDEA Fund partners.  IDEA Fund Partners is one of the oldest and most active early-stage investment firms in the Southeast, their investment philosophy has been honed from years of experience.  They invest in entrepreneurs who are applying technology and business model innovations to industries in the earliest stages of digital disruption with an emphasis on underserved people, places, and stages. Chris did not start out wanting to be in this space though.  After college he spent some time as a financial advisor at T. Rowe Price before going back to the University of Florida to get his MBA. Obtaining his MBA led him to Investment Banking where Chris got an appreciation for companies being acquired.  From the investment banking world, Chris relocated to Charlotte and worked for Lowe’s in New Development and Strategic Development before he eventually founded and led Lowe’s Ventures.  With Lowe’s Ventures, Chris sourced and invested in transformative companies in the housing innovation sector. Chris has been a keynote speaker and panelist for major industry conferences and events. He sits on several Boards.  It is from this experience we discuss what Chris thinks makes a good board and why startups should have them.  Chris shares some success stories of the coolest investments he has made and what makes them amazing. Listen to the podcast and you will understand why Chris is a fanatic about technology and its impact on homes and the housing value chain. On a separate note, we wanted to mention the Charlotte Angel connection was recently listed as one of the Top 40 Angel Investor Podcasts out there (see full list here).  It’s pretty cool given this podcast started out as a way to see if we could help grow the number of Angel Investors in the greater Charlotte market.  Thank you to all our listeners, guests, and friends of the show.  We have really enjoyed it. 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 114: Chris Langford, Partner with IDEA Fund Partners

Charlotte Angel Connection is a means to connect those both in Charlotte and across the country to Charlotte’s fast growing startup and angel investing community.

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Charlotte Angel Connection

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