Founder Shares

Hannah Weisberg is the founder and CEO of The Women’s Social Club,  a women supporting women platform and community that has expanded from 1 location in Raleigh to 10 locations in 2 years. It’s a movement that’s spreading throughout the southeast and throughout the country. But The Women’s Social Club is not Hannah’s first venture - it all started with a dream that turned into a pandemic nightmare.

Hosted by Trevor Schmidt, Founder Shares is brought to you by Hutchison PLLC and is edited and produced by Earfluence.

As a structural engineer and PhD student at NC State University, Nehemiah Mabry was asked to put together a video for the Stay With It Campaign, which would encourage students to stick with their engineering passion. The video was a smash hit and was even played on MTV, and all of a sudden people started asking Nee to produce videos. So he did, and he had a business.  But how could he take that business from side hustle to scalable?

Dr. Nehemiah Mabry is the Founder and CEO of STEMedia and host of the STEMedia Podcast.

Hosted by Trevor Schmidt, Founder Shares is brought to you by Hutchison PLLC and is edited and produced by Earfluence.

Keith Daniel and Tom Droege saw a problem in the startup and investment community - Black founders are not on equal ground when trying to build a business. They saw it in their interactions with founders and investors, but they also looked at it from a historical context. The oppression of the Black community in America starting with slavery, then barriers to owning land, and barriers to vote. That takes decades to overcome - but Keith and Tom are trying to accelerate that process.

Keith Daniel and Tom Droege are the Co-Founders of Resilient Ventures, a committed capital fund dedicated to disrupting systemic economic injustice by expanding access to capital, networks, and opportunity to African American founders.

Hosted by Trevor Schmidt, Founder Shares is brought to you by Hutchison PLLC and is edited and produced by Earfluence.

At Hutchison PLLC, we specialize in working with startups, so we completely understand that when you’re trying to build a business from nothing, legal isn’t always your top priority. You need to quickly figure out product market fit, cash flow, finding investors, and about a hundred other tasks. But there are some things, like how you work with employees and contractors, that if you don’t get it right initially,  it can have huge tax and equity implications down the road. We are always happy to clean up any mess you may find yourself in, but it’s a whole lot easier to set everything up the right way from the start.  So today we're joined by Employment Law Attorney Ashley K Pittman to help guide us through employment law for startups.

Hosted by Trevor Schmidt, Founder Shares is brought to you by Hutchison PLLC and is edited and produced by Earfluence.

Today's guest Joe Colopy is the co-founder at Jurassic Capital and the Godfather of Grepbeat, which covers all things tech in North Carolina. But before all of that, he bootstrapped Durham-based email marketing software firm Bronto and led it to a $200M exit.  Tune in to hear how it all happened.

Hosted by Trevor Schmidt, Founder Shares is brought to you by Hutchison PLLC and is edited and produced by Earfluence.

Josh Owen never looked at himself as an entrepreneur. He formed his first company Tryon Solutions to do some consulting work, and before he knew it, the company had grown to the point where it had about 100 employees. For Josh, it was time to try another idea, which required funding.  Even after a $2.5M raise to start his new company Cycle Labs, he still doesn't think of himself as an entrepreneur - he's simply someone who likes to solve problems.

Hosted by Trevor Schmidt, Founder Shares is brought to you by Hutchison PLLC and is edited and produced by Earfluence.

As the managing director of VentureSouth, Charlie Banks has invested over $60 million in over 90 companies. Some of them have been amazing success stories - but he’s seen  his share of failures as well.  Today, he talks about what the founder should be looking for in an investment partner, and he shares the one major reason that startups fail.

Hosted by Trevor Schmidt, Founder Shares is brought to you by Hutchison PLLC and is edited and produced by Earfluence.

For entrepreneurs, seeking funding from a venture capital firm can seem intimidating. But, it's important to remember that those investors are entrepreneurs, too. In this episode, learn about what it took to start Leeds Illuminate, a venture fund founded by Susan Cates in 2020.

Hosted by Trevor Schmidt, Founder Shares is brought to you by Hutchison PLLC and is edited and produced by Earfluence.

Today we’re diving deep into what most startups dream about and are striving for - the exit. Hutchison PLLC partner and mergers & acquisitions expert attorney Dan Fuchs shares what both founders and buyers should be looking out for throughout the acquisition process.

Hosted by Trevor Schmidt, Founder Shares is brought to you by Hutchison PLLC, and is edited and produced by Earfluence.

Jessica Mitsch Homes has always been focused on teaching and helping others, but she had no clue that that passion would lead her into a career in tech.  Today, Jessica talks about her company's start in American Underground, why she’s passionate about cultivating talent from underrepresented groups, and what’s ahead for her growing startup.

Jessica Mitsch Homes is the co-founder and CEO of Momentum, a tech training company that provides talent transformation courses for those looking to start their careers or transition from an existing career into tech.

Full video from the Earfluence Podcast Studio at American Underground

Hosted by Trevor Schmidt, Founder Shares is brought to you by Hutchison PLLC, and is edited and produced by Earfluence.