Forbes Columnist Highlights Why the Triangle is Awesome Place to Work and Live

I have been here all my life.  By here, I literally mean in the Triangle of North Carolina.  I grew up outside of Raleigh, spent four of the best years of my life in Chapel Hill and now work at CED, located in downtown Durham.  I could not control where my parents raised me, true, but I've chosen to stay in the Triangle and have absolutely zero intentions of leaving.  

3 Tips for Triangle Entrepreneurs From Triangle Entrepreneurs

Last week, I talked business with two local entrepreneurs, Jayson Humphrey, founder and CEO of LoveItPromoteIt (LiPi for short) and Brad Powell, co-founder of GiftWhen. More accurately, we talked business basics, and the lessons learned through CED’s FastTrac® program, a business-basics course designed to help entrepreneurs rapidly prepare to grow, teaching them valuable skills in the process. 

Humphrey started LiPi, a web and mobile application that helps consumers like you and me support local merchants, in 2010. “I was not sure it would work,” said Humphrey. “The last year and a half, we spent all our time testing the market, learning from consumers, learning from merchants, and trying to identify the needs of the clients and the niche that LiPi could carve out.” Eighteen months in, Humphrey had completed a proof of concept, and was prepared with a few potential paths to take the business. “It was no longer a question of will this work,” said Humphrey, “but a question of which direction do we choose now.” Feeling the need to receive professional feedback on this question, Humphrey began searching the Triangle for answers. And then he found FastTrac®.

Powell only recently co-founded GiftWhen, an online platform which allows people to support and advocate for outcomes through conditional giving campaigns. Think Change.org meet Kickstarter. “When we first came into FastTrac®,” said Powell, “our pitch included broad overtones of ‘influence market’ and letting donors have a real say in the organization’s use of the donated money.” He admitted that he and his co-founder had a few “catch phrases,” sometimes using phrases like “we’re going to democratize influence,” and had “a very broad idea and concept.” They were operating with an incredibly large scope, and knew they needed to become more focused. FastTrac® was that opportunity for the co-founders to streamline. 

 Humphrey and Powell, along with 11 of their peers, will graduate on Wednesday, May 16, 2012, from the spring semester of FastTrac®, and celebrate their businesses.

Here are a few key takeaways from our conversations:

Know Your Market and Narrow Your Focus

Both Humphrey and Powell continually stressed the importance of defining and understanding your target market. Essentially, each entrepreneur needed to understand who would use their product, when they would use it, and how they would engage with it. 

“One of the immediate, and strongest, takeaways that FastTrac® offered us is that it behooves us to have more conversations with anyone and everyone who may be relevant  about the idea, our business model, about the market, about how to set up campaigns, about who to talk to,” said Powell, “And FastTrac® has supported us in that effort.” The third and fourth week, where businesses learn how to take a product to market effectively, were crucial for GiftWhen, said Powell. “As we continued to go through the program, we found ourselves doing a lot of work on this front,” reported Powell, “and understanding the major tasks to build a business was and is critical for us to understand as we develop.”

 

The Community Matters, Particularly Your Mentors

“One thing that FastTrac® provides that might be a ‘make or break’ scenario for entrepreneurs is the connection to mentors,” said Humphrey. Time and time again, we hear that mentoring relationships are the most vital relationships that successful entrepreneurs develop. “CED helps entrepreneurs by ensuring that when mentors are needed, they become available. We’re talking mentors who have been in the industry for years, seen and built successful companies, and can provide extremely valuable feedback and advice. The mentors get to know you and understand your business deeply, and this is vital in providing valuable and actionable feedback on your startup,” said Humphrey.

The Triangle is a GREAT Place to Be an Entrepreneur

“For us, joining a network like CED and completing a curriculum like FastTrac®, especially as a young company, was an extremely smart decision,” said Humphrey, adding that he is continually impressed with the efforts to build the entrepreneurial community of the Triangle. Powell agreed, stating “I can’t reiterate how helpful FastTrac® has been, both for the content of the course and for the networking opportunities.” Powell will be moving into Groundwork Labs, a Durham-based incubator, in a few short days, and is quite excited to do so. 

Humphrey and Powell are right—the Triangle is an excellent place to be an entrepreneur. Whether you’re based in Durham, like Powell, or in Raleigh, like Humphrey, there’s a lot of entrepreneurial activity occurring. We’re building startup communities, and neighborhoods to support them. Our universities attract and train top talent, and though we may fight about the blues and red, ultimately, we’re fueling our local area with the talent and innovative spirit needed to start and grow something big. “It’s time for us to all embrace the Triangle brand of entrepreneurship,” said Humphrey. “Let’s face it—people like to start stuff here—it’s time for us to accept that it isn’t Durham or ATC or NC State or Raleigh, it’s the Triangle that brings us all the attention.”

FastTrac® is a comprehensive business planning program that addresses the needs of start-up entrepreneurs who are refining their business ideas, writing their business plans and seeking to grow sustainable high-impact companies. The next FastTrac® program begins September 27, 2012 and runs through December 6, 2012. Applications are now being accepted.

3 Reasons to Become an Angel Investor

Entrepreneurship is exciting; investing in entrepreneurs is exhilarating. And the press has started to notice. Now, local communities are pushing their success stories, and in many cases, there’s a bit of a frenzied market to run programs or support services for entrepreneurs. In short, we’re in an up-cycle. Entrepreneurship is occurring, and the environment into which entrepreneurs are launching their businesses welcomes them to the game and encourages their ideas, growth, and products. And this is excellent.

This is one way innovation occurs. We need entrepreneurs to go out and start something, to build a company and to innovate new products, services, and technologies. Entrepreneurship is happening. It’s incredible to see the investment so many regions are making in their entrepreneurial communities. The Triangle isn’t different. Our community is evolving, growing, and innovating. 

Entrepreneurial communities require three fundamental items—beyond the entrepreneurs themselves—in order to grow and expand. First, they require the support organizations, like CED, to facilitate connections, provide mentorship, provide training, and host community events. Second, they require talent. A community cannot grow without constantly attracting and retaining talented individuals. Third, they require a funding environment. This is what we’ll discuss today. 

It’s Never Been a Better Time to Become an Angel Investor

With the economy on the rebound and entrepreneurship a central focus for growth within small, medium and large cities, angel investment is a fantastic way to create additional wealth. An angel investor provides early-stage or seed-money to entrepreneurs and their startups in order to facilitate early growth. Angels choose to invest as little as $10,000 in promising companies, generally before the company is wildly successful. It’s a gamble, sure, yet angel investments can, and often do, yield high returns on the initial investment. Why would you want to become an angel investor?

Angel Investments are a Profit Opportunity

Here’s how this works. An investor finds a startup or entrepreneur in which they are interested in the product, the service, or the people running the company. Assuming the investor believes in the future success of the startup team, a deal is negotiated. In this deal, there are two numbers that matter: the amount of the investment, and the valuation of the company in which the investment is made. This determines the total amount of equity stock the investor will receive. If you put $50,000 into a company at a pre-investment (sometimes called ‘pre-money’) valuation of $1 million, the company is worth $1.05 million post-investment (or ‘post-money’) and you now own .05/1.05 x 100 percent of the company, or 4.76% of the company’s stock.

Now suppose that four years later the company has an exit, either through IPO or an acquisition, of $10 million. Your 4.76% of the company is now worth $476,000. This is the simplified version, of course, because of dilution of stock which occurs if the company takes on any additional investors after your initial investment. Dilution is normal, and even if your stake in the company dropped to 4%, you are still returning eight times your investment. That’s a great return on your initial investment. Of course, nothing is guaranteed, which is why it makes sense to diversify your investments across an angel portfolio rather than betting big on one company. The opportunity for profit is large.

Joining the Angel Investing Community Makes You a Better Investor

My father always told me that the most important part of an investment decision is being positioned to make a quick and decisive decision about the investment. That means being prepared to identify an opportunity or to make a call when an opportunity presents itself. One can’t make a good decision if one isn’t prepared to decide.

Joining an angel investing group allows the whole to be more efficient than the sum of its parts, thus yielding better identification of potential investment targets, a quicker and more comprehensive due diligence process where the startup is considered, and access to potentially larger deals. The community of angel investors is a lot like you: smart, lucky, passionate, persistent and capable. An angel I often work with describes the angel community as “a positive interaction off the golf course,” by which he means that business gets done, and market knowledge is shared. Angel investing is, in many cases, an educational opportunity. Who wouldn’t want to become a better investor? The power of the group helps clarify investment decisions, strategies, and portfolios. Sure, there are successful angels who operate on their own, yet the value of an angel investment community is in interacting with your peers.

Angel Investing is Tons of Fun

What are you passionate about? In what areas or industries are you an expert? Angel investing gives you an immediate tie-in to the emerging innovations within that area or discipline. Your active involvement in the startup community yields first-looks at new and emerging technologies, local entrepreneurs, and potential deals. And this is really quite fun.

In addition, once you make an investment, you get to be a part of the development process for that company. You’re involved—maybe not in the day-to-day, yet you get to work with the technology or innovation about which you are passionate, and work beside a team in which you fully believe. If you’re only considering angel investment because it is an opportunity to earn revenue, you may want to reconsider. The most successful angel investors are the ones who truly enjoy the companies in which they invest, love and use the products or services that the company develops, and takes an interest in the successful development of the people on the team (particularly the entrepreneur).

Successful angel investing is a vehicle for continued revenue growth. The key word in that sentence was “successful.” Angel investors who perform well are prepared, trained, and connected to the community. They are, as my father may say, positioned well to quickly make an investment decision. They’ve put the work into understanding their investment strategy (might I recommend “invest in what you know well”), the types of companies in which they are interested, and how to diversify their angel portfolio to maximize potential results. How do you become successful? An investor becomes successful by doing many of the items that put them in the position to become an accredited angel investor in the first place:  working hard, networking, learning new skills, building a community, and staying involved.



Have you considered angel investing as a mechanism for revenue growth? Intrigued by the discussion points in this article and want to learn more? CED is offering an introductory seminar on angel investing on May 23, 2012, which will teach you how to become a successful angel investor and introduce you to the angel investing community. You made it this far in the article—you’re clearly interested—why don’t you register today?

Love Startup Communities and Entrepreneurs? CED is Hiring.

It's true, we're expanding our team! See below for more details and position descriptions

Associate Director of Programs for Business Basics

The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED), the nation’s oldest and largest entrepreneurial support organization, based in Durham, NC, is seeking an Associate Director of Programs for Business Basics.  The Associate Director is responsible for creating and implementing programs and services for high-growth, high-impact early and growth-stage entrepreneurs in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina to help them succeed in building and growing their companies.

The preferred candidate will be an experienced program officer with deep understanding of the needs of early and growth stage entrepreneurs and those in the network who support them. The candidate will have excellent interpersonal skills and a demonstrated history of working with mentors and entrepreneurs.  A position description and application information is available online.  First review of candidates is scheduled for May 24, 2012.

Senior Programs Manager, Technology

The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED), the nation’s oldest and largest entrepreneurial support organization, based in Durham, NC, is seeking a Senior Technology Programs Manager. This position is responsible for creating and implementing programs and services, working with advisors and experts, to meet the changing needs of technology entrepreneurs.

The preferred candidate will be an experienced program officer with deep understanding of the needs of technology entrepreneurs and those in the network who support them. The candidate will have broad knowledge of the technology industry, including sources of capital, talent, and market intelligence, and will enhance CED’s role as an essential resource for technology entrepreneurs. A position description and application information is available online. First review of candidates is scheduled for May 31, 2012.

Senior Programs Manager, Life Sciences

The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED), the nation’s oldest and largest entrepreneurial support organization, based in Durham, NC, is seeking a Senior Life Sciences Programs Manager. This position is responsible for creating programs and services, working with advisors and experts, to meet the changing needs of life sciences entrepreneurs.

The preferred candidate will be an experienced program officer with deep understanding of the needs of life sciences entrepreneurs and those in the network who support them. The candidate will have broad knowledge of the life sciences industry, including sources of capital, talent, and market intelligence, and will enhance CED’s role as an essential resource for life sciences entrepreneurs. A position description and application information is available online. First review of candidates is scheduled for May 31, 2102.


CED is an equal opportunity employer that offers a comprehensive benefits package and competitive salaries.

CED Announces 2012 North Carolina Companies to Watch Award Recipients

 25 recipients created 936 jobs and represent $191M in revenue for North Carolina

Durham, N.C., May 7, 2012—CED, the Southeast’s largest entrepreneurial support organization, today announced the 25 recipients of the third annual North Carolina Companies to Watch award. The award honors growth oriented, second-stage companies headquartered in North Carolina that demonstrate high performance in their market, exhibit innovative products and display other unique qualities that make them “worth watching.”

The 25 recipients collectively added jobs at an annual rate of 35 percent between 2008 and 2011, totaling 936 new jobs, and grew revenue by an annual rate of 41 percent during the same period, totaling $191 million in revenue.

Liquidia Founder Elected into National Academy of Sciences

Liquidia Technologies today announced its founder, Dr. Joseph DeSimone, was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for his excellence in original scientific research in the field of chemical engineering. Membership in the NAS is one of the highest honors given to a scientist or engineer in the United States. Among the renowned NAS members are Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Orville Wright, and Alexander Graham Bell. Nearly 200 living Academy members have won Nobel Prizes. Dr. DeSimone will be inducted into the Academy next April during its 150th annual meeting in Washington, D.C.