ICYMI: It was great seeing everyone who came out to the GrepBeat Happy Hour last Thursday night at Lonerider’s Durham location. Here are some pics if you missed it (or would like to relive it). Plus: The guest of the latest Friday Nooner(sponsored by Big Pixel) was John Gordon, the Founder and CEO of self-guided career development platform Whomi.
Pendo At 10
On this last day of October, it’s a great time to note that Pendo launched 10 years ago this month. Our Kaitlyn Dang (virtually) sat down with CEO Todd Olson to take stock on the first decade of the Raleigh-based unicorn. Last week, Pendo also held the seventh edition of its Pendomonium conference, which drew 1,000 attendees to downtown Raleigh.
We are on the penultimate episode (the ninth of 10) in Season Four of our Exit Stories podcast, sponsored by Robinson Bradshaw. This week the guest is Brice Englert, the Founder and CEO of Carrboro-based TradePending, which builds software for buyers and sellers in the automobile market. This week’s unique spin is that Brice can talk about not just being majority-acquired by a private equity firm, but continuing to operate the company with said PE money behind them to grow through multiple acquisitions—a classic move from the PE playbook.
Read some show highlights here, then listen (and subscribe!) here.
Startup, Or No?
Yesterday’s N&O had an interesting story addressing the question “When does a startup stop being a startup?,” and I don’t say that (just) because I’m quoted in the story. As you might guess, there is no hard and fast rule for when a startup “graduates” to being just a regular company, or even what qualifies as a startup in the first place. The story shares the views of Triangle tech boldface names like Jes Lipson, Scot Wingo, Jessica Mitsch Homes and Bill Spruill.
Regime Change
Cam Hosie, the former CEO of Durham-based cleantech investor 8 Rivers Capital, is suing the company, reports TBJ. Cam spent 11 years at 8 Rivers, including a stint as CEO from February, 2021 through this August; he is still a board member. Most of the lawsuit is under seal, but the broad outlines aren’t that hard to guess. Last year, South Korean conglomerate SK Group made a $100M investment in 8 Rivers, and then earlier this year its subsidiary SK Materials announced it would invest $300M to acquire management rights to 8 Rivers. So this dispute is between Cam and the new owners, who (we're betting) made him a "former" CEO.
8 Rivers has developed tech to decarbonize natural gas. NET Power—a company built on that tech—recently went public via a SPAC deal.
Fun Facts
TBJ’s Executive Voice series recently featuredKrista Covey, the President and CEO of RTP-based incubator First Flight Venture Center. A few things I learned: Krista has a dog named Beethoven who yodels, apparently, and (arguably more to the point) she has some very practical tips for giving pitches. Krista has also been aFriday Nooner guest and a Download Q&A subject.
Peak 25
Another TBJ series with a tech tie-in is its second annual Peak 25 series, which looks at execs who became CEOs, presidents, executive directors or whatever else an organization titles its top spot over the past two years. One of the 25 is Michael Collins, the new-ish CEO of Durham-based adtech Adwerx. No word on if Michael has a dog, never mind if it can sing, but you will learn who his three fantasy dinner guests would be.
Build Great Software
Founded by serial entrepreneurs, Dualboot is a software and business 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 years of 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
GrepBeat is looking for a Director of Business Development to help future-proof our ability to fulfill our mission to lift the Triangle tech startup community. For the right candidate, we’d be willing to throw in not one but two GrepBeat mugs. Here is the LinkedIn posting. Good luck!
Real talk: doing our best to serve you costs money. Businesses and organizations that would like to support our efforts should see our sponsorship opportunities here.
