Venture In The South

Entrepreneurship Ecosystems are critical to the success of startups. As the startup ethos has spread beyond Silicon Valley, more communities are seeing the economic and social value of supporting and promoting local entrepreneurship ecosystems. Paul interviews Eric Weissmann , director of NEXT , and Bryan Davis , director of The Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Furman Universi...

In 2023, Early Stage Venture Portfolios experienced a downturn following the robust years of '21 and '22. Media outlets suggest an average decline of around 15% for startup funds in 2023 (though the methodology behind this calculation remains unclear).  David and Paul delve into the nuances of reporting results, focusing on Exit Portfolio outcomes measured through the Distributions to Pa...

E102b Bonus: The Upstate Upstarts List is a new effort to promote innovation and business creation in the seven-county Upstate region of South Carolina. The list aims to highlight the early stage companies doing great things in the region. Paul discusses the effort with Charlie Banks (in his role as Executive Director of VentureCarolina , a non-profit focused on Entrepreneur & Investor Educati...

Carta faced a challenging week as it grappled with customer backlash over utilizing private customer data for a secondary market in private company equity. David interviews Paul Clark to discuss Carta's impact, while our Cap Tables expert, Matt Dunbar , shares insights on how the recent controversy could influence founders, investors, and Carta's service market. If you are interested in...

In this episode, David and Paul explore some highlights of the first 100 podcasts, covering various topics: VitS podcast statistics Key listener locations Standout shows Insights gained from 100 podcasts Reflections on podcasting Understanding our audience Guest experiences Anticipated developments in 2024 Enhancing the investor dashboard Exciting topics for the upcoming year Notable guests on the...

Venture Events unite founders, operators, and investors, fostering networking opportunities, service connections, and facilitating fundraising efforts. The 40th annual Florida Venture Capital Conference (FVCC) is scheduled to take place from January 31 to February 1, 2024, in Miami. The event will showcase 60 growth-phase companies, drawing an estimated 1,000+ attendees. With over 100 funds and 25...

David presents upcoming pods, followed by a discussion with Paul on Startup Boards of Directors. The conversation delves into recent Board of Directors drama at OpenAI, exploring the OAI structure and potential improvements.  They cover: What is a startup board? Why do startups have boards? Typical board structure and roles. Board chairs. Independent directors. Board Observers. Advisory boards. Wh...

2023 has proven to be more challenging than rewarding for Venture, marked by a series of disappointments amidst its noteworthy events. This show critically examines and discusses the implications of key occurrences in 2023 that will shape Venture's trajectory into 2024. I am joined by three distinguished experts in the field: Paul Clark, my co-host and Principal at VentureSouth. John Avey, th...

Host David Grisell conducted his initial interview with Robert Preville , CEO of APPROVE , in August 2022 (E28), during which Preville introduced his groundbreaking equipment financing marketplace, then known as Kwipped. In the past year, the company underwent a rebranding, adopting the name APPROVE, reflective of their leading revenue-generating offering. APPROVE operates as a finance marketplace...

Anti-aging cosmeceuticals represent a competitive yet expansive market. When a new product emerges backed by compelling scientific evidence, it captures attention. Greg Schmergel , CEO of Yuva Bio , shares the narrative of entering the longevity market with a natural product demonstrating efficacy in enhancing cellular mitochondrial function in the skin and scalp, addressing hair loss in both men...

Innovation is a challenging endeavor, and this challenge is amplified within the corporate setting. Recognizing this, many corporations have established dedicated venture arms to infuse innovation into their organizations. Another approach involves creating specialized innovation entities within corporations, providing a space for cultivating ideas and innovation that operates outside the conventi...

Fraud may not be prevalent in the venture landscape, but when it does happen it stands out for its audacity, impact, and, at times, surprisingly evident warning signs. In this episode, David and Paul guide listeners through recent instances of fraud in the venture sector and offer insights on how to identify potential schemes before becoming entangled. The discussion includes a review of the Feder...

Today's episode marks the third and final installment of interviews with the triumphant winners at VentureAtlanta 2023. Rainforest emerged victorious in the Early Stage pitch competition by addressing a significant gap in the Embedded Payments space. Founder and CEO Joshua Silver sheds light on the practical challenges faced by vendors and retailers in the realm of embedded payments and elabo...

Startup investing is a potentially rewarding venture, but, as with all things in life, it requires a combination of time, money, and sound judgment. In today's episode, the focus is on the crucial element of judgment. David takes a deep dive into his 'Cheat Sheet' for startup investing, shedding light on nuanced issues and offering guidance on how to strategically plan startup inves...

Enrichly emerged victorious in the Seed Stage pitch competition at VentureAtlanta 2023, securing a substantial $500k investment award. The company is dedicated to addressing the pervasive issue of low self-esteem among youth, a challenge linked to poor educational outcomes, social conflicts, and crime. In an engaging interview, David sits down with Margo Jordan , the CEO and Founder of Enrichly, t...

Cloud Range tackles the prevalent issue of limited real-world exposure to cyber attacks for cybersecurity teams. In a recent interview, Debbie Gordon , the CEO and founder of Cloud Range, introduces their state-of-the-art cybersecurity attack training platform, establishing itself as a global leader in cyber range training. Debbie's success in the growth category at the VentureAtlanta 2023 pi...

SAFE, an acronym for Simple Agreement for Future Equity, represents a widely adopted investment instrument, with the current industry-standard forms available on the YCombinator website. In this insightful interview, David engages in a discussion with Matt Dunbar , a Managing Director at VentureSouth and an expert on SAFEs.  The conversation delves into the origins and purpose of the SAFE, and pro...

Additive manufacturing is not a novel concept, but Trio Lab's groundbreaking micro-scale metal additive manufacturing technology has established a new benchmark for precision, speed, cost-effectiveness, and quality, specifically catering to parts less than 1/14th the diameter of a penny. The Resin Infused Powder Lithography (RIPL) process, exclusive to Trio Labs, utilizes standard metal injec...

Digital Therapeutics are software-based medical solutions engineered to prevent, manage, or treat various medical disorders or diseases. Leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and machine learning, these platforms provide personalized treatment and support to patients. CEO Robyn Hussa Farrel co-founded Sharpen with her husband, propelling it to a growth sta...

ATDC is one of the original startup incubators and accelerators in the US. Founded in Atlanta, GA 40 years ago it is supported by the State of Georgia and hosted by Georgia Tech. ATDC Director John Avery walks us through the history and strategic vision of ATDC as Georgia’s technology business incubator, assisting entrepreneurs throughout the state. Using a unique blend of coaching, curriculum, co...

When TendoNova inventors and co-founders at Georgia Tech and Emory solved a big tendon problem in sports medicine, the NFL Players Association decided to invest. That was the starting point for launching the Ocelot Nano, an innovative medical device for treating tendenopathy, a chronic non-healing tendon injury. A minimally invasive device for outpatient treatment for chronic tendon injuries that...

Existing predictive models for drug behavior in the human intestine have been hit or miss, leading to unpredicted failure of drug development at the cost of billions. Altis Biosystems has developed a proprietary intestinal model with human stem cells that dramatically improves the predictive capability of drug effects and toxicity in the intestine and thus can substantially reduce the cost of drug...

Nirvana Sciences has innovated traditional flow cytometry, a longstanding cellular diagnostic tool, in a unique and powerful way to dramatically increase the efficiency and utility of this tool for a wide range of diagnostic problems. Through development of proprietary bright narrowband fluorescent markers (or dyes), NS has enabled a magnitude increase in the number, fidelity and efficiency of cel...

As an epicenter for innovative startups, the  Central Texas Angel Network is the largest angel network in all of Texas. CTAN Chairwoman Laurie Cercone gives us a tour of CTAN detailing their modus operandi, geographic reach, and deal flow process.  Now expanding beyond Texas and offering virtual memberships to capitalize their deal flow, we are excited to see how the Central Texas Angel Network co...

Modern Ritual is developing an innovative approach to teledermatology, connecting primary care providers to dermatologists to review high quality images of suspicious skin lesions. CEO and Co-founder Elianna Goldstein explains that MR is focused on 2 innovations in providing a simple and easy process for expert dermatology opinions on skin lesions seen by your primary care provider. The first inno...