Southeast Shoutouts | New fund in the Upstate and something called “medtailing”
A new program from the Louisiana Economic Development organization aims to accelerate business growth for minority- and woman-owned companies in the state.
From Greenville, SC:
The Upstate Business Journal reports that there’s a new Greenville-based venture fund that invests exclusively in start-ups located in the region that build software for other businesses. Founderville, as the new fund is known, was launched by Shaler Houser and Scott Millwood who are described as founders first and venture capitalists second.
With the help of Tony Nolte, the fund’s Vice President, the leadership team at Founderville expects to invest in five local start-ups by the end of the year. Houser said the plan is to use the fund’s money over a two-year period and hopefully raise another fund in the future.
From Research Triangle Park, NC:
WRAL TechWire reports that VentureSouth has named a new Director for its Triangle operations. It is Jonathan Heigel, a Duke University graduate, who operated a Greenville, SC-based consulting firm at one time in his career that includes stops in Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, California, and Georgia before recently relocating to Raleigh.
VentureSouth has more than 500 members and has made more than 100 investments across the southeast, including 25 in the Triangle.
From Raleigh, NC:
Converting a former big box retail store into a health or life-sciences building is known as “medtail,” and Raleigh is one of the top four of five rapidly rising markets in this “medtail” trend, according to commercial realtor CBRE as reported in this article from WRAL TechWire. New construction can take between three to five years, while a conversion can be finished in about 14 months. “Medtail” facilities have opened in former Kroger, K-Mart, and Sam’s Club locations.
From Baton Rouge, LA:
The Diversity in Entrepreneurship Initiative from the Louisiana Economic Development organization, delivered in partnership with the Edward Lowe Foundation, aims to accelerate business growth for minority- and woman-owned companies in Louisiana. With the unique challenges minority- and woman-owned entrepreneurs face, program participants will be able to identify what scaling means for both their companies and their communities. They will then move on to develop and refine their business strategy and will be connected to the right tools and expertise to execute the strategy.
Applicants must be a Chief Executive Officer, business owner, or key decision-maker inside the company. The enterprise must have its principal place of business in Louisiana, employ at least five but not more than 100 employees, or have annual revenue between $600,000 and $50 million. The company should deliver products and services outside of their local markets or demonstrate the capacity to do so.
Applications are open through the end of September.
From Tampa, FL:
Tampa Bay Inno reports that Tampa International Airport has signed a seven-year contract to implement and update the campus with “state-of-the-art” devices. That means it’s likely one of the first airports to implement LIDAR, “light detection and ranging” sensors. on a large scale.
The technology is the same that autonomous driving cars use to “see” their surroundings. It will make concession lines, Transportation Security Administration wait times. and safety protocols more efficiently through an analyzed, 3D imaging of the airport.
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