Posts by Blake Coleman
Founder Friday: Serena Ventures
In August, at 40 years young (and just shy of her birthday), Serena Williams retired from tennis as arguably the most dominant career the women’s sport had ever seen. Yes, she might not have been quite as dominant as years past, but she was still a force to be reckoned with on the court. With so much…
Read MoreInternal Stakeholder Alignment
One of the keys to hiring is ensuring everyone is on the same page. A big part of that is internal stakeholder alignment. In today’s post, we look at what we mean by internal stakeholder alignment and the benefits to your organization. What is internal stakeholder alignment? The key components of internal stakeholder alignment are……
Read MoreFounder Friday: Southern Logistics & Supply Chain Startups
Greenville and the state of South Carolina are heavily focused on manufacturing, especially manufacturing tied to the automotive industry. In addition, while our state only ranks 23rd in size, South Carolina Ports ranks 9th in container volume (and the bordering Port of Savannah, which also feeds SC manufacturing, ranks 4th). Really, as a region, the…
Read MoreThe Lost Art of the Post-Interview Thank You
Most of our team has been in the agency recruiting world for 15-20 years each. Think about how many people we’ve helped find jobs during that time (hint, it’s thousands). One thing that candidates used to do regularly that seems to now often go overlooked; is the post-interview thank you. We’ve seen it tip the…
Read MoreFounder Friday: The Startups Recognized in CB Insights Top 12 Tech Trends of 2022 Report
In January, CB Insights produced an amazing 70-page report on tech trends titled “12 Tech Trends To Watch Closely In 2022.” It has tons of great insights and is free to download. And a belated congratulations to the startups highlighted by CB Insights… Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)/Telehealth Huma Element Science Biofourmis Qure4u Somatix Crypto Security BitMart…
Read MoreFounder Friday: How Startups Can Navigate Losing Key Team Members
No one company likes to lose key team members, but it can significantly hurt startups that don’t have the layers in place or succession plans in place to handle the loss of cornerstone employees easily. What should your startup do if you find yourself in this unfortunate situation? Identify Your Stars You probably already have…
Read MoreFounder Friday: Top Online Influencer & Creator Startups
Recently, we came across the Wired article “Meet the Lobbyist Next Door.” It covers the Alexandria, VA startup Urban Legend and describes how their platform uses online influencers to advocate various causes, much like they do when pushing brands/goods. It’s a fantastic read. However, it got our wheels turning, and we decided to dig and identify some of the…
Read MoreFounder Friday: Debt Financing vs. Equity Financing
On August 17, PitchBook published the article “Venture lending flourishes amid VC funding pullback.” In that piece, PitchBook discusses the increased interest by startups in venture debt to solve growing capital needs instead of doing another equity round where they would have to sell shares at lower valuations. They also highlight how players like Blackstone are entering the venture…
Read MoreFounder Friday: 2022 Triangle Tweener List
Research Triangle Park, RTP, Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, the Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill market has long been one of the South’s leading tech mechas. One of The Triangle’s serial startup founders is Scot Wingo. Since 1995, Wingo has successfully started four startups, had three exits, and his recent venture, the on-demand car washing (and now brake service) startup Spiffy, announced a…
Read MoreFounder Friday: Raising Capital in a Tight Market
If you follow startups and VC deal flow, it’s hard not to read something on money getting tighter, startup layoffs, etc. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t funding available, but it does mean that there will be greater scrutiny as to what VC firms choose to invest in. So how do founders navigate raising capital…
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