Founder Shares

How can leaders foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture - even when their business is first starting out?  When every dollar and every minute matters, culture can be secondary to everything else that needs to be done to keep the business afloat. So today, Donald Thompson shares how he created an affordable solution to DEI with his startup.

Donald Thompson is the CEO of The Diversity Movement and regular contributor to WRAL Techwire.

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

After decades of writing business ideas down, Philip Freeman decided to start Murphy's Naturals so he could solve a simple problem: his wife kept getting bitten by mosquitos. And then when that business grew too big for his garage, he founded The Loading Dock to solve his new problem - and help other entrepreneurs along the way.

Philip mentioned several charitable organizations, and here are those links - Earth Share North Carolina, Activate Good, Triangle Land Conservancy, and 1% for the Planet. 

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

Trevor Schmidt is guesting today to talk all about intellectual property - the different kinds of IP, mistakes he sees startups making, and the IP steps you should take when founding a company. If you have questions on patents, trademarks, trade secrets, or copyrights, Trevor has answers.

(Usually) hosted by Trevor Schmidt, Founder Shares is brought to you by Hutchison PLLC, and is edited and produced by Earfluence.

Back in 1991, Tom Finegan was working for a consulting firm that was doing very well - except he felt like the firm cared more about the bottom line than the success of their clients. So Tom made the scary leap to entrepreneurship, and he now has 30 years of startup and leadership lessons to share.

Tom Finegan is the founder and CEO of Clarkston Consulting, and author of the Wall Street Journal best-selling book, Amplifiers: How Great Leaders Magnify the Power of Teams, Increase the Impact of Organizations, and Turn Up the Volume on Positive Change.

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

Moise Khayrallah grew up in Lebanon, and saw firsthand what real danger looks like as bombs exploded nearby during the Lebanese Civil War. Upon coming to America, Moise had already seen the worst that could happen, so difficult decisions or tense conversations - things that might stress out some entrepreneurs - that all came easy to him.

Dr. Moise Khayrallah is the CEO of Emergo Therapeutics, and Founder of The Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies at NC State University.

GIVEAWAY: Inspired by the Robbie Hardy episode where she shared the unbelievable story about how she used a magic 8-ball to help her decide whether or not to sell her company, we are giving away a Hutch 8-ball to anyone who writes a Founder Shares podcast review. All you need to do is write a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen - and let us know by sending an email to [email protected].

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

Elevation Oncology has raised nearly $200M since its launch just two years ago. $200 million! That sounds like an enormous amount of investment capital, but when the company is potentially changing cancer treatment as we know it - you can see why investors are excited about Elevation's potential. Today, founder and CEO Shawn Leland tells us all about the raises, challenges, and excitement of growing his company.

GIVEAWAY: Inspired by the Robbie Hardy episode where she shared the unbelievable story about how she used a magic 8-ball to help her decide whether or not to sell her company, we are giving away a Hutch 8-ball to anyone who writes a Founder Shares podcast review. All you need to do is write a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen - and let us know by sending an email to [email protected].

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

As a startup founder, raising money can feel like an enormous mountain to climb. Many go through dozens or hundreds of pitches before they find the investors that will say yes - and are truly the right fit.  And when the deal comes and the cash hits the bank account, the time spent and stress involved are all worth it.  But what about the legal ramifications of raising capital?  How do you know that you're set up the right way and that you're protected?  On today's episode, Hutchison PLLC's Anna Tharrington provides tips on the legal side of taking investment money.

GIVEAWAY: Inspired by the Robbie Hardy episode where she shared the unbelievable story about how she used a magic 8-ball to help her decide whether or not to sell her company, we are giving away a Hutch 8-ball to anyone who writes a Founder Shares podcast review. All you need to do is write a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen - and let us know by sending an email to [email protected].

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

Entrepreneurs are always looking for the next big idea, something that doesn't exist yet.  The next Facebook. The next Uber. The next Netflix.  But the reality is that the next million dollar idea is a company that simply solves a problem that exists in the world.  And for Rent Ready CEO Jonathan Kite, he saw that turnover at apartment complexes was too complicated - the painting, the carpeting, the deep cleans - and he set out to solve that one problem.  With a recent Series A round of $10M, he's well on his way.

GIVEAWAY: A few episodes back, Robbie Hardy shared the unbelievable story about how she used a magic 8-ball to help her decide whether or not to sell her company. All signs pointed to yes for her, and she had a successful exit. Well, we all have major decisions to make every day, so Hutchison thought it would be fun to give away one magic 8-ball each month in a drawing. And to enter the drawing, all you need to do is write a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen - and let us know by sending an email to [email protected]. 

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

Rainway CEO Andrew Sampson doesn't have a conventional path. He's been underestimated throughout his life, has experienced overt racism, been told no more times than he can count, and his doubters continue to believe that he can't.  And yet, he's been through Techstars, grown his team to 15+, successfully achieved funding, and built Rainway to revenues over $10M.  You won't want to miss his story.

GIVEAWAY: A few episodes back, Robbie Hardy shared the unbelievable story about how she used a magic 8-ball to help her decide whether or not to sell her company. All signs pointed to yes for her, and she had a successful exit. Well, we all have major decisions to make every day, so Hutchison thought it would be fun to give away one magic 8-ball each month in a drawing. And to enter the drawing, all you need to do is write a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen - and let us know by sending an email to [email protected]. 

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

Aleksander Levental jokes that the first Board Meeting he ever led was the first Board Meeting he ever went to. Before co-founding Feathr, Aleks was a researcher in the physics department, a delivery driver, and a waiter. So fresh out of college, he had to quickly learn how to grow a company and navigate relationships with employees (Feathr now has about 100) and investors (who have put in over $11M). Find out how he did it and lessons he's learned along the way on the latest episode of Founder Shares.

GIVEAWAY: A few episodes back, Robbie Hardy shared the unbelievable story about how she used a magic 8-ball to help her decide whether or not to sell her company. All signs pointed to yes for her, and she had a successful exit. Well, we all have major decisions to make every day, so Hutchison thought it would be fun to give away one magic 8-ball each month in a drawing. And to enter the drawing, all you need to do is write a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen - and let us know by sending an email to [email protected]. 

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