Hey, entrepreneurs, if you can’t find investors (local or especially from out of town), then what about attending an event where the VCs are brought to you? That’s what is happening on Friday.
HQ Raleigh, the Council for Entrepreneurial Development and the Flatiron Law Group are teaming up to bring four out-of-state venture capital firms to the Triangle where the investors will huddle with select startups. The day-long event also includes networking and a panel discussion to which you are invited.
“We are on the cusp of having something really awesome here,” says HQ Raleigh’s Natalie Noel, “so we wanted to showcase it as much as we can.”
Although the Triangle does better than most parts of the southeast and North Carolina when it comes to securing venture capital, funding is not abundant as any entrepreneur (other than established serials) already knows. So Flatiron, which recently opened an office in the Triangle, worked with HQ Raleigh, which is a fast-growing provider of shared office space and other services, as well as the CED to invite VCs to town.
Edison Partners, Lattice Ventures, Rubicon Venture Capital, and IoT Capital Partners will be attending. (See full profiles below.)
The event somewhat resembles the annual VC event put on by Bull City Venture Partners in which VCs and angels from around the country and locally are brought in for a half-day program. But the HQ Event is making sure local startups get some face-to-face investor time.
VCs will be meeting individually with several Triangle startups. The organizers aren’t disclosing who made the presentation list. “It’s a broad spectrum of companies,” Noel explains.
However, a panel discussion and networking later in the day Friday will offer entrepreneurs a chance to at least meet-and-greet the headline guests.
Christopher Gergen, a co-founder of HQ Raleigh, says “we will give the investors an overview of the RTP market and introduce them to some of the best start-ups in the area.”
Miriam Wilson, vice president of investor relations at CED, notes that the “event is a wonderful opportunity for out-of-state investors to see what our entrepreneurial community has to offer, and to develop relationships with our local investors.”
Timothy McNeill, a partner at Flatiron Law Group who recently opened the RTP office, pointed out that the event also is a chance for the firm “to introduce ourselves to the Triangle and to help local entrepreneurs by introducing them to our investor friends from other parts of the country.”
HQ Raleigh plans more VC-related events in the future, Noel adds.
“We understand that we need more venture capital,” she points out.
Get tickets and more info online at:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/venture-panel-tickets-33096387185?platform=hootsuite
Who is coming: The investors
- Edison Partners: Greg Michaelson
Greg is an Operating Partner of Edison Partners, one of the most active growth stage venture capital funds in the Mid-Atlantic. Greg is responsible for sourcing investment opportunities and advising companies in the Edison’s Healthcare IT and marketing tech practices. Greg brings over 20 years of experience leading global health and wellness media organizations. Greg currently serves as a director of Lincor Solutions, the leading patient engagement software platform provider to hospital systems worldwide and LookBookHQ, which provides B2B marketers with the only content marketing automation platform proven to engage and convert prospects. Prior to joining Edison, Gregg served as CEO of Linkwell Health a leading consumer engagement company in the healthcare industry, where he built a proprietary content marketing system and significantly scaled the business during his tenure.
- Lattice Ventures: Brittany Laughlin
Brittany is a General Partner and Co-Founder of Lattice Ventures, a New York City based venture capital fund which provides seed stage funding to entrepreneurs with a particular focus on social media and social network companies. Prior to launching Lattice, Brittany served for several years as General Manager of Union Square Ventures, a leading New York City venture capital fund with a long track record of high profile exits, including Etsy, Twitter, SoundCloud, Tumblr, Lending Club, and Kickstarter. Her entrepreneurial endeavors include founding VetsinTech NYC, transitioning military veterans into technology jobs, and founded gtrot, a social travel recommendation engine sold to Groupon. Originally from the Raleigh area, Brittany is keen on supporting the entrepreneurial community in RTP.
- Rubicon Venture Capital: Joshua Siegel
Joshua is a General Partner and Co-Founder of Rubicon Venture Capital, a bi-coastal venture capital fund that provides late stage seed and Series A and B funding principally for companies that sell to the enterprise (Saas,B2B, fintech, RE tech, insurance tech, mobile, Iot, big data, hospitality tech, marketing tech). Joshua leads Rubicon’s New York City office. Prior to forming Rubicon, Joshua acted as a General Partner of Georgetown Angels, a global angel investment group which he cofounded with Andrew Romans. He was also board member of The Founders Club, a venture capital equity exchange fund and broker of secondaries providing liquidity to entrepreneurs and early investors.
- IoT Capital Partners: Roger Krakoff
Roger is a General Partner of IoT Capital Partners, the venture capital division of IoT Impact Labs, the Massachusetts based IoT accelerator that helps innovators in a wide range of markets capitalize on the growth in demand for Internet of Things capabilities. IoT Capital Partners provides early stage funding exclusively for companies that are developing Internet of Things capabilities for the enterprise and for consumers. Prior to joining IoT, Roger was the Founder and Managing Partner of Cloud Capital Partners, a venture fund focused on investments in the cloud including software, business intelligence and analytics. Roger serves as an Advisor at i-Hatch Ventures LLC and Work Market Inc. He has over 25 years professional experience as entrepreneur, venture investor and business innovator.
Source: HQ Raleigh
