Venture In The South

In this interview, David talks with Michael Stevens, CEO of Joi, an ecommerce platform that enables easy live purchasing via Video Chat platforms. Michael started his journey in politics with modest pre-revenue funding for an idea (Crowdr), a video fundraising platform for political candidates. Learning from that experience he pivoted Crowdr to Booster to focus more on ecommerce and spent 12 months in Salt Lake studying multiple ecommerce platforms (which interestingly seem to concentrate in Salt Lake). Learning from that, he pivoted again to Joi which empowers real-time ecommerce on live video chat platforms, sort of like QVC or the Home Shopping Network but live streaming. He raised his initial funding pre-revenue with just an idea and we talk about that as well as his perseverance/resilience on that journey to get to Product Market Fit with Joi. 

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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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Connect On LinkedIn with Paul at

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulclarkprivateequity/

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

In today's show, David interviews Preet Singh about LifeFurnish and their journey into 3D prototyping that is disrupting the design industry. Starting with synthetic image generation of home furnishings and eliminating the need for photo shoots, LiveFurnish has progressed to digital prototyping. They enable non-professional designers to create exquisite high resolution photo renderings that allows vendors to evaluate potential products before even a physical prototype is produced. The home furnishings industry has embraced the technology to reduce cost and increase sales and LiveFurnish is now experiencing exponential growth.

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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/

Follow Paul on X at https://x.com/PalmettoAngel

Connect On LinkedIn with Paul at

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulclarkprivateequity/

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

This show is all about how startup valuations are determined, what the critical metrics are to consider, and the 'Art of Valuation'. Paul talks about his experience negotiating valuations and the strategies he has employed to reach an equitable deal that balances founder and investors interests while maximizing the opportunity for success. We discuss both the math and the art of valuation. 

Support the show

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

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

Follow Paul on X at https://x.com/PalmettoAngel

Connect On LinkedIn with Paul at

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulclarkprivateequity/

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

Legal Tech is a new frontier with entrench legacy systems handicapping lawyer efficiency. Client communication is the top complaint among legal clients and one of the highest demand solutions by lawyers. In today's show, CaseStatus CEO Andy Seavers explains how he identified the communication problem and solved it with the CaseStatus platform for legal case management/communication. Primarily directed at legal providers that are contingency or flat fee based, CaseStatus has successfully completed a $1.7MM Series A raise at a pre-money valuation of $8MM and is seeing dramatic growth. This interview with the CEO tells the whole story and what is coming next for CaseStatus. 

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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/

Follow Paul on X at https://x.com/PalmettoAngel

Connect On LinkedIn with Paul at

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulclarkprivateequity/

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

NFTs are popular investments but are they opportunities for infrastructure investment to play the 'Picks & Shovels' strategy? Part 1 of 3 of our Crypto/NFT/WEB3.0 series with Chris Cummings, CEO of PassItDown/IconicMoments. 

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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/

Follow Paul on X at https://x.com/PalmettoAngel

Connect On LinkedIn with Paul at

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulclarkprivateequity/

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

All about Deal Flow: Why Angels need it, how you get it, and what you do with it. 

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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/

Follow Paul on X at https://x.com/PalmettoAngel

Connect On LinkedIn with Paul at

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulclarkprivateequity/

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

In this interview, we talk with Matt Dunbar, Founding Director of VentureSouth. He was intimately involved with the initial funding for Proterra, an early commercial EV company. Matt reviews the early back story of Proterra's founding and early growth and success in the market. Proterra was the first Unicorn for VentureSouth and one of the few EV companies with significant revenue. Early investors were encouraged by the growth of the company and their eventual exit via a SPAC in the Summer of 2021. However, the initial enthusiasm quickly faded and the share price of Proterra has steadily fallen to a fraction of the IPO price while the early investors were 'locked up' by the SPAC conditions. The end result was a poor result for early investors while the SPAC investors did well. Matt reviews the lead-up to the SPAC in Part 1 and will discuss the dynamics of the poor outcome in Part 2. 

Support the show

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

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

Follow Paul on X at https://x.com/PalmettoAngel

Connect On LinkedIn with Paul at

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulclarkprivateequity/

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

In this interview, we talk with Matt Dunbar, Founding Director of VentureSouth. He was intimately involved with the initial funding for Proterra, an early commercial EV company. Matt reviews the early back story of Proterra's founding and early growth and success in the market. Proterra was the first Unicorn for VentureSouth and one of the few EV companies with significant revenue. Early investors were encouraged by the growth of the company and their eventual exit via a SPAC in the Summer of 2021. However, the initial enthusiasm quickly faded and the share price of Proterra has steadily fallen to a fraction of the IPO price while the early investors were 'locked up' by the SPAC conditions. The end result was a poor result for early investors while the SPAC investors did well. Matt reviews the lead-up to the SPAC in Part 1 and will discuss the dynamics of the poor outcome in Part 2. 

Support the show

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

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

Follow Paul on X at https://x.com/PalmettoAngel

Connect On LinkedIn with Paul at

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulclarkprivateequity/

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

The Power Law of asymmetric distribution of events is the foundation of early stage investing success. In this show, we review the early history of venture that has defined the framework for angel investing today, and we discuss how angel investors can harness the Power Law to increase the probability of success.

Support the show

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

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

Follow Paul on X at https://x.com/PalmettoAngel

Connect On LinkedIn with Paul at

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulclarkprivateequity/

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

What is the ideal early stage startup investment?

Support the show

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

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

Follow Paul on X at https://x.com/PalmettoAngel

Connect On LinkedIn with Paul at

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulclarkprivateequity/

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