By Allan Maurer
RALEIGH, NC – About 15 entrepreneurs heard feedback from Southern Capitol Venture’s (SCV) Partner Jason Caplain and ChannelAdvisor founder and CEO Scot Wingo Thursday in the latest “Calling All Entrepreneurs” event. Caplain says he now sets aside a two-hour block every Monday morning to meet with entrepreneurs at the Brueggers Bagel and Coffee shop near the SCV Raleigh office.
SCV has held the “Calling All Entrepreneurs” events in Raleigh, Charlotte, Northern Virginia and Atlanta. An event is scheduled for next month in Greensboro, NC.
Appointments must be scheduled in advance, but the only restriction is that entrepreneurs must be creating companies in e-commerce, software, or digital media.
Yesterday, Caplain says, entrepreneurs came from Greensboro and Wilmington as well as the Research Triangle area.
After several years of holding the events, Caplain says he sees one difference now: “Entrepreneurs are coming with ideas aimed at addressing a real pain point of customers they’re going after rather than just an interesting idea. They’re really trying to go after a critical need in the market.”
SCV invited three of the presenting entrepreneurs back for additional meetings. Presenters ranged from those with just an idea to those who already had raised small amounts of angel money and had customers, Caplain says.
“We may not invest in the three we invited back, but we want to keep up a dialog with them and track them,” says Caplain. Venture capitalists often track startups on their radar for months or years before investing, if they do.
Yesterday’s event was held at ChannelAdvisor’s offices and Caplain says serial entrepreneur Scot Wingo offered presenters insightful ideas.
“He’s patient, has seen it all through multiple market cycles, really digs in and gives good, feedback,” says Caplain.
There are no rules for the 20 minute presentations, so they differ widely, says Caplain. Some entrepreneurs use Powerpoint presentations, some bring just a handout.
Caplain says if there is one piece of advice that many entrepreneurs could benefit from it is to have a better understanding of the market they are trying to address, such as its actual size, competitors and so forth.
Caplain says SCV is holding the new Monday morning two hour slot open for entrepreneurs who sign up and adds that “Any of the companies we’ve met with over the past couple of years can always get another meeting with us.”
Caplain’s blog at www.southeastvc.com includes links to the Monday morning events, his twitter account and alerts to when new “Calling All Entrepreneurs” events will be held as well as useful information about the entrepreneurial and venture capital scene.
Online: www.southeastvc.com; www.channeladvisor.com
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