David Rose

First they don’t take cold calls. No e-mails either. The only way you can get your foot in the door and your start-up in front of a venture capital firm is to have a connection.    They need to hear about you—rather than hear from you.    That’s why the two-day Southeast Venture Conference in Charlotte last week was such a terrific event for North Carolina entrepreneurs. Of the 50 young companies chosen to present this year many, including FilterEasy, KnowledgeTree, Reveal, RivalHealth, Stealz, Windsor Circle and my company PRSONAS, were from the Triangle. No real surprises there. Those of us who live in the Triangle already know that the start-up culture is...

David Rose is a veteran entrepreneur, music lover, tech enthusiast and CEO of Durham-based PRSONAS. Showing your product at a high end trade show can jumpstart business like a dream come true. But before you start seeing dollar signs, you’re going to see a wash of red ink. Most startups just can’t afford the $10,000 price tag that comes with that kind of event. Thank goodness angel investors are sometimes real angels – or at least miracle workers. The miracle in this case was an introduction by local angel Jan Davis to the CEO of RetailNext. Some fast talking...

David Rose an entrepreneur, music lover, tech enthusiast, mountain biker and the CEO at PRSONAS. Follow David on Twitter @davidbrose It’s a little like the Final Four, only the brackets aren’t packed with college basketball teams. They’re packed with North Carolina startup companies. No whistles, or cheerleaders either, but Thursday’s Charlotte Venture Challenge still had lots of high drama. Unlike most startup competitions, CVC was an opportunity for me to get my company in front of important corporate eyes. Just about all other startup competitions have you pitching to potential investors. And you do that in Charlotte, too. But...