Welcome back from the holiday weekend! Now let’s keep those good feelings going at Thursday’s GrepBeat Happy Hour from 5-7 p.m. at Raleigh Founded’s Gateway location (2409 Crabtree Blvd). The beer taps will be flowing for free thanks to our great sponsor, Wyrick Robbins. Register now!
Postcard From...
We’re back with another edition of the Postcard From... series in which we periodically check in with other startup ecosystems across the state. Today we visit Wilmington, because while it’s not beach weather—it certainly wasn’t this morning, anyway—there’s plenty going on at the terminus of I-40.
We hadn’t actually done a Postcard... in 2021 but were helpfully reminded by Wilmington-based Jim Roberts, who not so subtly pointed out that the two previous versions he wrote for us clocked in among GrepBeat’s most-read stories in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Who are we to argue against such metrics? So please read today’s edition to help it make GrepBeat’s 2021 list.
Serving Others
There are plenty of ways to invest money, but not many (any?) good ways to do so in a way that also lifts up one’s local community. Francene Chadwick, the Co-Founder and CEO of Holly Springs-HQ’d Serve, think she may have found a solution. Serve has developed what it calls “digital purpose trusts” that individuals can create around a local cause, like supporting local restaurants or investing in affordable housing projects, with trust members sharing in the equity and any revenue. The startup is close to launching its MVP. Read our full story here.
Catching Up
You may have (understandably) missed it in a tryptophan-induced haze, but we had quite a number of news links in Thursday’s edition. Among the headlines were Adwerx’s $14.5M fundraise; Epic Games’ intriguing acquisition of Harmonix, the video game company behind Rock Band; and a Q&A with Nasrin Azari, the CEO of Cary-based Floodlight Software, which we profiled last February.
TechWire also shared first-person “what we’re thankful for” accounts from the likes of Courtroom5 CEO Sonja Ebron; NC IDEA CEO Thom Ruhe; Gerald Cohen, chief economist, Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise; Rachael Classi, Founder and CEO, Tiny Earth Toys; Brooks Raiford, President and CEO, NC TECH; Alex Lassiter, Founder and CEO, Green Places; and Clark Rinehart, Interim Executive Director of Innovate Raleigh.
Money Talk
Adwerx’s isn’t the only recent fundraise in the Triangle’s startup ecosystem. Triangle Inno has a quick recap that includes a $4.2M raise by Raleigh-based Murphy’s Naturals for its less-pesticide-y mosquito repellants, while Apex-based investment fund Front Porch Venture Partners closed on $4.1M.
Peak Ability
GrepBeat typically trumpets the high points of being a startup founder—the excitement of launching, the milestone of raising money, the thrill (and $$$) of a big exit. One thing we likely don’t talk about enough is the mental health challenges that inevitably arise while running a startup, no matter how well-adjusted one is. Startups are super-stressful, full stop.
That’s why Emily Finkelstein is launching Peak Ability—to help entrepreneurs thrive personally as well as professionally as they deal with the pressure of building a business. Emily is currently the Founder/CEO of VentureXpert Advisors. Before that she was, among other things, the COO of Raleigh-based NextLot (a white-label online auction platform for auction houses) and co-founder of a live music streaming platform called Tourpedo. For Peak Ability, she’s partnered with Founders First, a leader in entrepreneurial wellness that’s spearheaded by Aaron Houghton, best known in these parts as the former Co-Founder of Durham’s iContact.
You can find more info on Peak Ability here. Those interested in joining can contact Emily to attend a short informational session on Dec. 16 at 8 p.m.
Top Carrot
Any GrepBeat reader knows (or has heard) how tough it is for employers to find enough tech talent. HCL Technologies is now offering a debt-free college education to lure high school grads to essentially become apprentices, with the promise of fulltime employment at the end of the program. HCL is a $10.8B IT services company based in India, but it piloted the apprenticeship program at its large Cary campus—which has 2,200 employees and is actively hiring. TBJ has more details.
My “excuse” for running late this morning is that as an LSU fan, I am still recovering from the loss of sleep from last night’s stunning news that LSU has hired Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly as its next football coach. But I actually found a legitimate reason to mention that in this newsletter. The news broke last night before BK (we’re already on a nickname basis) had a chance to tell his Notre Dame players in person. So he did so with a message at 10:08 p.m. on the football program’s Teamworks app. That’s right, the same Teamworks that is based across the street from where I’m typing this right now. Social media reaction generally found BK’s note in questionable taste, but it was great publicity for Teamworks.
Build Great Software
Founded by serial entrepreneurs, Dualboot is a business and software development company. Their clients include tech and non-tech founders as well as Fortune 500 companies, so they can start small or scale fast depending on what you need. Every client is assigned a U.S.-based Product Director with at least 10 years experience bringing products to market, and they can manage the entire development process. They focus on how the software fits into your company to drive revenue and build the business. At Dualboot, they don’t just write your software—they help you grow your business. Intrigued? Email them here.
Extra Bit
A reminder that GrepBeat Godfather Joe Colopy will be counter-programming our own Happy Hour on Thursday when he will be part of a panel discussion at UNC titled “The Future of Tech in the Triangle, and the Impact on Our Region’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem.” In addition to Joe, the panel features Bandwidth Chief Information Officer Kade Ross; Ray Trapp, the VP of Strategic Engagement at the Research Triangle Foundation; and Dr. Jason Doherty, a professor at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. The event runs from 4:30-5:30 p.m., followed by “casual networking” until 6:15. You can register here.
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