Invest Local

Live entertainment management rock star Michael Grozier joins the Invest Local Podcast to share his vision for Greenville's burgeoning music scene. Steeped in 3 decades of work with the country's top live entertainment brands such as Live Nation and House of Blues, Michael is pouring all his learnings into his latest project, Trueline. In this episode, we talk about the importance of venue variety for a thriving music city. We dig into lessons learned about creating experiences and caring for artists. We also talk about why Michael is excited about this location specifically and he shares his strategic recipes for maximizing experience and revenue for the new venue.

Tune in to hear all the details and check out Trueline's investment page here: https://marketplace.vicinitycapital.com/offers/51

Bryan Beal and Nate Tomforde join the Invest Local podcast giving a peak behind the curtain on their new development Trade Street Social. Hear how Bryan's real estate chops and Nate's food and bev expertise combine to create these unique development projects they're calling "Crafted Community Concepts"

With 3 Crafted Community Concepts already under their belt this crew makes it look easy. Don't be fooled though, hearing the complexity of each site and the strategy that goes into each one, makes it clear that these projects are best left to the pros. Pros with 60 years of combined industry experience...

Chris Babcock and Spencer Elliott join the Invest Local podcast to share the story of The Pool at Hollingsworth Park, the latest deal to go live on Vicinity. The residents of Hollingsworth Park were all set to welcome a YMCA to the area but in a sad change of plans, the proverbial pool got ripped out from under them. Before they could even say "It's fun to stay at the..." the neighborhood was left with nearly 1000 homes and no summer swimming hole.

That's when a group of neighbors said "there's no need to feel down" and decided to take matters into their own hands. Developer Chris Babcock (not to be confused with a construction worker) went to work lining up the available real estate and verifying interest. Meanwhile, finance expert Spencer Elliott teamed up with three neighbors to form the board of directors that would spearhead bringing a pool to the neighborhood.

Tune in to the podcast to hear the plans for the pool and learn how memberships will work for those who jump in on the deal.

Check out the campaign page for all the details on the deal and see why the neighbors are excited to bring this project to life.

Matt McPheely, the Developer the Founder behind Union House joins the podcast to explain how and why this unique real estate project came to be. Union House is the first set of single-family homes specifically designed for communal living. Matt shares how this project has the potential to create cost-conscious workforce homes close to downtown without the typical drawbacks of affordable housing construction. Tune in to hear how these units function and why Matt plans to incorporate a startup-style equity pool for tenets.

Johnny Hackett, Founder, and CEO of Black Dollar Corp joins the podcast to share his journey into entrepreneurship and give advice for small businesses looking to outgrow the kitchen table. Johnny might be building a collection of ventures around small business, but he leans on his experience in corporate America and his training as a Six Sigma Black Belt. Tune in to hear how he’s marrying his big business background with a big heart for entrepreneurship.

Steph and Brandon Prime are reinventing the greeting card experience. They're on a mission to murder the card aisle with their new invention: on-demand printing from customized kiosks. Their card kiosks are outfitted with high-quality paper, high-powered printers, and high-touch ipads, designed to make beautiful cards with local art instantly available with the tap of a touchscreen. Tune in to hear how they're planning to take over the $8 billion greeting card market while pumping dollars back into their local economy.

This week Jason Johnson joins the podcast to share how HUBB Kitchens is helping small and new businesses through their fractional rental model. Hear how Jason has structured his tenant revenue model to create flexible leasing options for their clients while maintaining steady cash flow for the business. HUBB’s mission is to create a network and community for food businesses of all sizes that gives access to the resources they need to be successful.

Wesley Johnson joins the podcast to share how Grain Dealers Brewery is helping write the next chapter in Dunn North Carolina's history. From idea to execution, Grain Dealers has been the brainchild of the collective community. Wesley walks through how they settled on the idea of a brewery/restaurant/event space combination, and how the project is reclaiming an historic site in downtown Dunn. Tune in to hear Wesley's story and why he believes Grain Dealers is poised to play a pivotal role in the redevelopment of his community.

This week the team tackles a popular topic in investing: Liquidity. The private markets have long been largely illiquid, posing an increasingly stark contrast to now easy-to-trade public securities. As more and more investors gain access to private investments, the demand for cash-out options has grown as well. In this episode, we cover the good, the bad... and yes, the ugly of liquidity. What does it have to do with Vicinity's vision for the future? Tune in to find out!

This week we dig into the Maryland Neighborhood Exchange thanks to a tip from local investing guru Michael Shuman. Shuman mentions in his recent newsletter that the exchange has attracted 6,000 investors who have invested in 44 businesses in less than 3 years. The total capital raised has topped $3.3M and shows no signs of stopping. We discuss several insights from the results so far and explain how the changing regulations have set the stage for this new rush on local investing.