Venture In The South

E123: The Southern US is a distinct geographic market for Startups and Startup Investors with specific strengths and weaknesses.

David and Paul discuss the general thesis of startup investing and then dig into the specific thesis for investing in Southern Startups. We review the southern startup ecosystem, capital formation, valuations, and exit potentials -- and particularly how the fundamental differences between the southern ecosystem and the US west coast might guide your "investment thesis"

If you are interested in an independent resource regarding southern startup economics, check out the BIP State of Startups Report. (recorded 5/28/24)

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We invite your feedback and suggestions at www.ventureinthesouth.com or email [email protected].

E122: Economic Development is at full throttle with the Florida Opportunity Fund (FOF). They are focused on Seed and Series A tech startups with ~$150M+ deployed to date. FOF is currently pursuing four specific efforts: 

1. The FLORIDA VENTURE CAPITAL PROGRAM (FLVCP),  founded in 2011, invests in emerging Florida companies in sectors with strategic importance to the state. FLVCP typically invests $1M - $3M into Seed through Series B stage companies. 
2. The FUND OF FUNDS PROGRAM (FOFP) invests into venture capital funds with significant operations and track record investing within Florida.
3. The CLEAN ENERGY INVESTMENT PROGRAM (CEIP) invests directly into companies enabling the adoption of energy efficient and renewable energy products and technologies.
4. The EQUITY CAPITAL PROGRAM (ECP), Founded in 2023, invests in emerging
   Florida companies in sectors with strategic importance to the state. ECP has the  additional objective in supporting companies owned by Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Individuals (SEDI). 

Together FOF has 43 active portfolio companies and invested in 14 Venture Funds for a total of $150M+ capital committed/Invested and $5.5B private capital mobilized with
5,000+ jobs created. David interviews Robert Harvey, the President and Executive Director of the FOF, about the FOF's investing strategy and future plans. (recorded 5/31/24)

Erratum: Robert Harvey received his undergraduate degree from  Eastern Illinois University. It was incorrectly stated as from Southern Illinois University.

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Follow David on X at https://x.com/DGRollingSouth

Connect On LinkedIn with David at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidgrisell/

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We invite your feedback and suggestions at www.ventureinthesouth.com or email [email protected].

E121: Fundraising terms are critical to successful startup growth and to successful exits for Founders and Investors.

Arguably the most important term for Founders may be the Vesting terms that determine their take at exit. For Investors, it's the Liquidation Preference that determines their position in the line to get money after a liquidity event (and even which line(s) they are are in).

With such critical downstream effects, these terms warrant awareness and careful scrutiny. David and Paul discuss the principles and precedence that guide these terms and explain how they can work for or against Founders and Investors. We review some of the pitfalls are illustrated in The FanDuel Exit Fiasco as explained in detail by Chris Harvey, Emerging Fund Lawyer. Have a question or comment? (Recorded 5/28/24.)

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We invite your feedback and suggestions at www.ventureinthesouth.com or email [email protected].

E120: VentureAtlanta is one of the largest and most reputable venture conferences in the US, with over 1,500 annual attendees, 450 funds, and $17B in successful exits. It is a starting point for deal flow for Startup Investors of all stripes: Angels, VCs, private equity and large cap acquirers.

David interviews Allyson Eman, the CEO of Venture Atlanta, about this year's event on October 8 & 9, 2014, and how founders and investors can participate.

David also interviews Paul Lopez, Board Chair at TiE Atlanta, about their innovative VentureAtlanta mini-fund that leverages Angel Investments into a larger fund of 3-5 of the top participating companies at VentureAtlanta each year. The mini-fund allows Angels to meaningfully participate in what can be an overwhelming event showcasing 80 or more Startups. (recorded 5/14/24 and 5/23/24)

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Follow David on X at https://x.com/DGRollingSouth

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We invite your feedback and suggestions at www.ventureinthesouth.com or email [email protected].

E119: Startups at various stages struggle with HR. Some use a professional such as a Professional Employer Organization (PEO), an Administrative Services Organization (ASO) or a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company. Others do everything "in house".

Paul interviews Gia Wiggins, a seasoned HR professional who is Founder and CEO of Auditocity, a platform that can give you clear insights for HR compliance and best practices, no matter the size of the business.

They discuss the biggest mistakes early stage companies make when they do their on HR. (recorded 4.30.24)

The information presented herein is not intended to serve as a substitute for legal advice. It is recommended that listeners seek the advice of their own legal counsel to address specific legal matters.

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Follow David on X at https://x.com/DGRollingSouth

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Connect On LinkedIn with Paul at

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We invite your feedback and suggestions at www.ventureinthesouth.com or email [email protected].

E118: The Central Texas Angel Network in Austin has been a focus for Angels there since 2006.

Gary Forni is the new Chair of CTAN and brings his own perspective and some innovation to the group. We discuss CTAN's deal flow, their approach to diligence, their industry agnostic approach and their impressive investment results. 

Both Angels and Entrepreneurs will be interested in CTAN's unique approach to incentivizing deal flow by offering a 'Start-Up Success Package' of benefits just for making it through screening, regardless of whether they receive funding. They have an influential and experienced membership that brings real startup investing talent to the table for the benefit of both Founders and Angels. (recorded 5/2/24)

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We invite your feedback and suggestions at www.ventureinthesouth.com or email [email protected].

E117: David interviews Shannon Denton, Co-founder and CEO of Wripple, which is a two-sided marketplace that helps brands build a modern marketing team, hiring by role or hiring by project. 

A proven talent supply is screened and curated as individuals and as teams while agencies and enterprise brands  can shop the marketplace with cost transparency and confidence in the talent skill sets. This solves a big problem for talent: how to get the best gigs while staying independent with less hustling and more doing. 

This also solves a big problem for enterprise CMOs: how to control costs and fit talent to jobs without expanding FTEs. CMOs can extend their team with individual experts across more than 45 marketing roles to curate a team that meets their exact needs. Or, they can select from over 35 digital projects with configurable ready-made teams and deliverables, for a fixed price. 

With 150+ enterprise clients under contract, Wripple has been growing Quarterly Net Revenue at ~18% QoQ for the last 5 quarters. Currently on track to be EBITDA positive in Q4 of 2024 with projected net revenue for 2024 >200% of 2023, Wripple will add two new products with independent revenue streams in 2024. And, independent market research forcasts 92% of marketing leaders plan to INCREASE freelancer engagements in 2024. (recorded 4/30/24)

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We invite your feedback and suggestions at www.ventureinthesouth.com or email [email protected].

E116: Non-competes and TikTok are banned, maybe capital gains too. 

The FTC flexed its muscle this week by imposing a federal ban on employee non-compete agreements, with some exceptions. Congress flexed its muscle too, with legislation banning TikTok. We discuss those events and how they could affect the Startup Ecosystem. 

We also talk about the potential budget ratcheting up the capital gains tax to the regular income rate, and potentially even more significantly changing the capital gains definition to include unrealized capital gains as income, threatening all startup investing. (recorded 4/26/24)

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Follow David on X at https://x.com/DGRollingSouth

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Connect On LinkedIn with Paul at

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We invite your feedback and suggestions at www.ventureinthesouth.com or email [email protected].

E115: uMed was a marketplace platform for self-insured employers to shop for healthcare services that David started with his son Dan in late 2019. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic brought business to a halt, they pivoted to a COVID-19 testing business to solve the overwhelming demand problem for timely and convenient testing. Competing in a market dominated by large hospital systems and state health departments, they discuss how uMed beat these incumbents at their own game by providing better, cheaper and faster testing at scale. (recorded 4/19/24)

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Follow David on X at https://x.com/DGRollingSouth

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Connect On LinkedIn with Paul at

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We invite your feedback and suggestions at www.ventureinthesouth.com or email [email protected].

E114: ICONIC is a digital platform at the intersection of Art and the Digital Economy.

Founded eight years ago, Iconic is a global pioneer in expanding the reach of cultural institutions and the arts. It partners with museums, digital artists, and brands to produce incredible digital and physical art for cultural collectors around the world. They offer a marketplace for digital art integrated with physical art and a SaaS product for cultural institutions and brands that allow them to display their entire collections in a virtual curation.

David previously interviewed Founder and CEO Chris Cummings in E2 in 2021 so there is a lot of catching up to do. Iconic grew their YoY revenue in 2023 by 2.7X and are on track for even greater growth in 2024. With customers like the Norman Rockwell family agency, the Jackson Pollock Studio, the Universal HipHop Museum, and the White House Historical Association, their pipeline is full with internationally recognized institutions, artists and brands. (recorded 4/11/24) 

Support the show

Follow David on X at https://x.com/DGRollingSouth

Connect On LinkedIn with David at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidgrisell/

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Connect On LinkedIn with Paul at

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We invite your feedback and suggestions at www.ventureinthesouth.com or email [email protected].