Venture In The South
Venture in the South is about angel investing in the Southeastern United States.We interview founders and thought leaders, sponsor a few panels discussing significant events and share our own experiences with over 100 startup investments. Released every Monday and usually 30-45 minutes long, ~50% of shows are Founder interviews, ~25% interviews with thought leaders and ~25% educational. We invite feedback and suggestions via www.ventureinthesouth.com or email david@ventureinthesouth.com. If you like our show please subscribe and give us a rating with a quick review. Thanks for listening and remember: Our mission is to MAKE MONEY, HAVE FUN AND DO GOOD.
E217 Portfolio Updates on Redbud Labs and Adovate
S5;E217 David interviews the founders of 2 Life Science portfolio companies that have been around for a while and have made significant progress in their GTM strategies. Both have been previously profiled in detail, Redbud Labs for E138 in Sep24 and Adovate for E184 in Aug25. Thus today’s interviews are updates on the progress they’ve made against their GTM strategies. (recorded 2.18.26)
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E216 The Weekly Update in Venture
S5:E216 David details The Weekly Update in Venture and previews Wednesday's E216 interviews with 2 portfolio companies executing on their GTM strategies. (recorded 3.1.26)
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E215 The VentureSouth Annual Summit
S5:E215 David and Paul review the VentureSouth 10th annual Summit, summarizing the What, Who and Why for that event. Then David will preview an upcoming Webinar for GenZ and Millenial investors interested in venture but who do not qualify as accredited investors and finally Paul will review other upcoming events of interest. (recorded 2/20/26)
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<...E214 The Weekly Update in Venture
S5:E214 David delivers The Weekly Update in Venture and introduces the upcoming summary of the VentureSouth 10th Annual Summit for E215. Paul will be summarizing the What, Who and Why for that event, while David will preview an upcoming Webinar for GenZ and Millenial investors interested in venture but who do not qualify as accredited investors and finally Paul will summarize other upcoming events of interest to Angels. (recorded 2.22.26)
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E213 Innovation
S5:E213 What exactly is Innovation? Well, David takes on the meaning using the story of evolution in the waste management business. It turns out that the standardized waste bin was the key innovation the enabled all the other innovations to get where we are today, semiautonomous garbage trucks. This is a common theme for all successful startups: surprising insights and unexpected benefits, sometimes by accident. (recorded 2.17.26)
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F...
E212 The Week in Venture for the week ending on 2.15.26
S5:E212 David summarizes The Week in Venture and introduces a special Innovation Episode for mid week He'll be talking about Innovation in terms of:
What is itWhere it happensWhen to look for itWhy it’s importantHow does it come about?(recorded 2.15.26)
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E211 Venture Connect 2026
S5:E211 David interviews Hunter Young, the Head of Capital at The Center for Entrepreneurial Development based in the Research Triangle Park in NC. We’ll be talking about Venture Connect 2026, one of the leading startup conferences in the Southeast, and how Angels and Founders can benefit from Deal Flow from that event. (recorded 2.6.26)
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<...
E210 The Past Week in Venture for 2.8.26
S5:E210 David summarizes The Week in Venture and then introduces the interview for mid week with Hunter Young, the Head of Capital at The Center for Entrepreneurial Development based in the Research Triangle Park in NC. We’ll be talking about Venture Connect 2026, one of the leading startup conferences in the Southeast and how Angels and Founders can benefit from that event. (recorded 2.8.26)
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E209 GiveBacks Update
S5:E209 GiveBacks (FKA MemberHub) is an inclusive giving ecosystem startup that helps people move more money to the causes they care about. They mainly serve School Districts, PTAs, Booster Clubs, Brands and Non-profits. I first invested in GiveBacks in 20219 and first interviewed the CEO Will Bowen about the company back in Jan 23 for E49. It's been over 3 years since that interview and a lot has happened, so todays interview will update listeners on GiveBacks progress. (interview from 2.3.26)
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E208 The Weekly Venture Update
S5:E208 David covers The Weekly Venture Updata and tee's up the interview segment for mid week. Tune in on Wednesday for an interview with GiveBacks CEO Will Bowen and an update on their growth over the last few years and his view of their exit trajectory. I first invested in GiveBacks in 2019 and last interviewed him for E49 of the Pod in January 2023, so there’s a lot to catch up on. (Update recorded 2/1/26)
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E207 The Weekly Update on Venture and a brief update on Healthcare Reform
S5:E207 David provides The Weekly Update on Venture and then closes with a brief update on the problem no one seems able to solve, Healthcare Reform. (recorded 1.25.26)
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E206 The Venture Update and Controversy in Data Center Power Demand
S5:E206 David provides The Weekly Update for Venture and then hosts a discussion with Karl R. Rábago, a power Utility expert, on the current facts about powering Data Centers and a discussion of the consumer backlash over rising electricity rates popularly attributed to the Data Center Boom. (recorded 1.17.26)
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E205 Exit Planing for Founders, Boards and Angel Investors
S5:E205 David summarizes The Week in Venture and then Matt Dunbar of VentureSouth joins David to co-host a discussion of Exit Planning for Founders, Boards and Angel Investors. While we frequently talk about the need for early Exit Planning, we've not really offered any detail on what that exactly means. So, this review provides a step-by-step outline of a rational Exit Planning Strategy. (interview recorded 1.9.26)
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E204: David updates The Week in Venture and then we discuss our 2025 Startup Investment Results.
S5:E204 David summarizes the past week in Venture and then Paul and I present for discussion the VentureSouth and my own personal Startup Investment Results for 2025. (discussion recorded 12.30.25)
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E203: The Week in Venture and the significant events in Venture for 2025 with strategic planning in 2026.
S4:E203 David summarizes the past week in Venture and then looks back at the most significant events in Venture for 2025. He then follows with some strategic planning ideas for Angels and Founders in 2026.
(recorded 12.28.25)
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E202: A Holliday Venture Update and then a discussion on Tokenization of Real World Assets
S4:E202 David gives a Holliday Venture Update, then I’m joined by Andrew Elliott and William Trible, formerly of Crypto startup RoundlyX. They both have substantial industry experience with Blockchain as a product tool and we’ll be discussing some of the practical and technical aspects of using Blockchain technology for Tokenizing Real World Assets. We’ll be focusing specifically on alternative investments like private equity and real estate that do not have liquid markets like public equities, bonds and commodities. (recorded 12.14.25)
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E201: An AI Bubble Update and the Southeastern US investment thesis.
S4:E201 David gives an AI Bubble Update, then an encore presentation of The Southeastern US Investment Thesis from E123. That thesis is critical for Southern Investors to keep their eye on the investment ball and is worth repeating. What I mean by ‘keeping your eye on the investment ball’ is that IRR, rather than Multiple on Invested Capital or MOIC, is the most meaningful metric for startups. And because startup investments in the Southern US are different from the West Coast and the Northeast, it makes sense to approach them in a fundamentally different way. Those West Coast and...
E200: The Venture Update and an update on past interesting companies and topics.
S4:E200 David gives The Venture Update, then Paul and David updates listeners on some of the Startups and topics reviewed in the last 100 shows. (recorded 11.25.25)
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E199: The Venture Update and a short story on Healthcare
S4:E199 David gives The Venture Update and then shares a 'What-If' story about how innovative healthcare could replace our broken and unsustainable Health Industrial Complex. (recorded 11.30.25)
Consumer Directed Healthcare, An Innovative Solution To Our Current Unsustainable Healthcare System
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E198: The Venture Update and a special episode on Tokenization of Real World Assets.
S4:E198 David gives The Venture Update, then Paul joins with a special segment on Tokenization of Real World Assets. Paul and I thought we’d spice up your Thanksgiving with a technical challenge: Tokenization. This is a rapidly developing innovation in FinTech that is likely to touch all investors in the future, particularly younger investors. It offers investors the promise of maximum liquidity, ROI on tokens held and near instant transaction settlement, all recorded on the block chain. We warm up the topic to help you start a good argument over Turkey.
(discussion recorded 11.21.25)
Fol...
E197: The Venture Update and a special episode on Data Center Power
S4:E197 David gives The Venture Update and then introduces a special segment with Guest Co-Host Karl Rábago, a utility lawyer, who shares his perspective on the issues contributing to the Data Center Power Struggle and how winners and losers will emerge. (review recorded 10.29.25)
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E196: The Venture Update and an update on recent changes to the QSBS tax exclusion.
S4:E196 David gives The Venture Update with a special segment on the potential impact of Quantum Tokens on the blockchain. Then Paul provides a brief update on the current status of Capital Gains Tax Exclusion for gains on Qualified Small Business Stock or QSBS with Ben Glenn, an accountant specializing in startups. The One Big Beautiful Bill substantially updated the QSBS rules, solidifying one of the key incentives for startup investing for stock issued on or after July 5, 2025. (review recorded 10.1.25)
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E195: The Venture Update and review of BIP Venture’s 2025 report on the ‘State of startups in the Southeast’.
S4:E195 David gives The Venture Update and then Paul and David review BIP Venture’s 2025 report on the ‘State of startups in the Southeast’. We cover the strengths, weaknesses and what's not included. (review recorded 10.22.25)
Tim Higgins' WSJ article "Is OpenAI Becoming Too Big To Fail"
Chris Mims WSJ article on Small Model AI
State of Startups in the Southeast
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E194: The Venture Update and an interview with Mike Carnes of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center
S4:E194 David covers The Venture Update for the week and then Paul interviews Mike Carnes of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center about recent challenges in dealing with the Foreign Risk constraints for US Biotech Startups that win SBIR Grants. (interview recorded 9.29.25)
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E193: The Venture Update and an interview with Dan Haight, an entrepreneur and experienced Angel Investor.
S4:E193 David covers The Venture Update and then Paul interviews Dan Haight, an experienced Investor who tells his personal story of Angel Investing, what works for him and what doesn’t. (interview recorded 9.23.25)
Mothering Across ContinentsSM (MAC) a 501c3 non-profit
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E192: The Venture Update and an interview with Runbin Dong, Founder of Scale Social
S4:E192 David covers The Venture Update and then interviews Runbin Dong, Founder of Scale Social, an innovative social marketing platform that harnesses short video format testimonials for multisite service businesses. Scale Social validates authentic customer reviews while avoiding fake reviews and doesn't require customers to provide personal information. It has gained significant market traction in the first year of operation and successfully closed a Seed Round of financing. (discussion recorded 9.30.25)
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E191: The current state of AI with Josh Miller, CEO of Gradient Health and the Venture Update
S4:E191 David gives the Weekly Update on Venture and then guest co-host Josh Miller, CEO of Gradient Health which is a data provider for Medical AI Model developers, joins David in a wide ranging discussion of what is AI, where is it going, what works about it and what doesn't, and how will it make money. (discussion recorded 9.23.25)
David's Consumer Directed Healthcare (CDH) solution White Paper
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<...E190: The Weekly Insights in Venture and then David gets an update on HealthyCell from CEO Doug Giampapa
S4:E190 David summarizes The Weekly Insights in Venture and then gets an update on HealthyCell from CEO Doug Giampapa.
HealthyCell is a neutraceutical provider of a proprietary supplement gel that is easier to swallow than multiple pills and provides far better absorption. Doug updates listeners on their current primary channel, DTC with metrics. He also talks about aspirations to gradually develop a national retail presence. Then finally, Doug talks a bit about his own startup investing and how he does it. (interview recorded 9.18.25)
Rodney Brook's post on Humanoid Robots
David's comparison of S...
E189 The Weekly Insights into Venture and then David and Paul discuss Exits
S4:E189 David covers The Weekly Insights into Venture and then David and Paul discuss the Good, the Bad and the Ugly in the Startup exits we’ve had this year. It’s the goal of every startup investment to exit for a princely sum but the journey is frequently a winding path with many detours, hopefully leading to an attractive reward at the end of the journey. (interview recorded 9.12.25)
The Jeremy Blum article from Seeking Alpha on AI Valuations
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E188 The Weekly Insights into Venture and Paul interviews Grady Johnson, Executive Director at the Harbor Entrepreneur Center
S4:E188 David covers The Weekly Insights into Venture and then Paul interviews Grady Johnson, Executive Director at The Harbor Entrepreneur Center in Charleston, SC. He talks about the dramatic growth of the startup ecosystem in Charleston, the kind of companies they attract, their Mentors and how Harbor supports them. (interview recorded 9.4.25)
Rebecca Szkutak's article on The Golden Age of Robotics at TechCrunch
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E187 The Weekly Insights into Venture and David interviews Tacilent.ai CEO Ron Johnson
S4:E187 David covers The Weekly Insights into Venture and then interviews Tacilent.ai CEO Ron Johnson. Tacilent is an AI-native enterprise risk management platform that turns risk management into continuous resilience with predictive risk intelligence. They came out of Stealth in September of ‘24 and are on track to hit over $1M in ARR by Q1 of ‘26. They have bootstrapped this growth to date and were recognized this year as one Georgia’s top 40 most innovative companies. Ron explains the business, their market and what the future looks like for Tacilent. If you’re an accredited investor and would like a w...
E186 The Weekly Update in Venture and David and Paul review the 2025 Angel Funder's Report from an investor perspective
S4:E186 David covers The Weekly Update in Venture followed by David and Paul's review the 2025 Angel Funders Report from an investor perspective. We talk about what the data in the report means, what is not there, what we would like to see in the future and how this data influences Seed Stage Startup Investing. (interview recorded 8.26.25)
The ACA's 2025 Angel Funder's Report
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E185 The Weekly Update in Venture and Paul interviews John Harbison, a Board Member of the Angel Capital Association in Part 1 of the 2025 Angel Funder's Report
S4:E185 David provides The Weekly Update in Venture and then Paul interviews John Harbison, a Board Member of the Angel Capital Association and early advocate for hard data for startup investing.
Paul and John discuss some of the highlights from the ACA's 2025 Angel Funders Report. Next week, Paul and I will share our own insights from the report in Part 2 on The Angel Funder's Report and discuss how the report helps Angels invest smarter. (interview recorded 8.11.25)
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E184 The Weekly Update in Venture and Paul interviews Adovate CEO William Stilley
S4:E184 David provides The Weekly Update in Venture and then Paul interviews Adovate CEO William Stilley about their innovative drug development platform to exploit adenosine receptors involved in multiple major diseases. He explains their strategy of focusing on a single drug candidate with favorable physiochemical characteristics and distribution kinetics that treats a common disease with few to no side effects. They will be initiating their phase II trial of their candidate drug this year and if successful, will plan to sell the drug to a major Pharma company. (interview recorded 8.6.25)
The Data Center Power post by...
E183 The Weekly Venture Update and Paul interviews 2 VentureSouth Market Leaders About Their Startup Markets
S4:E183 David starts out with The Weekly Venture Update and Paul interviews 2 VentureSouth market leaders about their startup markets, Jay Shaffer in Chattanooga, TN and and Eric Thome in Charleston, SC. They talk about what brought them to those markets and the kind of startups and investors they see. (interviews recorded 4.26.25 & 6.17.25)
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E182 The Weekly Update On Venture and Part 2 of What The Heck With Healthcare?
S4:E182 David closes out the most economically eventful week of the Summer with Inflation down, GDP up and short-term interest rates headed lower in September. With each show, I’m hoping to give you an information edge on investing in general and Venture Investing in particular. After updating you on the notable happenings in venture for the past week, I then bring you Part 2 of my 2 Part Series on the broken US Healthcare system and a proposed pilot solution to fix it right now by making the Healthcare Consumer the Payor. (Part 2 recorded 8.2.25)
Get the written gu...
E181 David brings the weekly update on Venture and then Paul interviews Rob Rodrigues, CEO of MP Cloud
S4:E181 David brings the weekly update on venture and then Paul follows with an interview with Rob Rodrigues, CEO of MP Cloud, a software startup focused on Revenue Cycle Management for EMS providers. The EMS industry is being acutely compressed by the Medicaid Cuts but MP Cloud expects to gain market share by offering better tools to improve cash flow, streamline operations, and reduce errors in providers' everyday work. (interview recorded 6.13.25)
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E180 David brings the latest insights into Venture and then interviews Cam Doody, GP at the Brickyard
S4:E180 David brings the latest insights into Venture and then has a follow up interview with Cam Doody of the Brickyard, a different kind of Seed Fund. I first interviewed Cam in Februrary 2024 for E105 and now I’m getting an update on the Brickyard. They have a truly unique approach to recruiting founders from across the US and across business verticals to their Fund Residency in Chattanooga, TN. (interview recorded 7.8.25)
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E179 David offers the latest insights into Venture and then Paul interviews Leigh Hsu, CEO of Atticus Pharma
S4:E179 David offers the latest insights into venture and then Paul interviews Leigh Hsu, CEO of Atticus Pharma, a specialist BioTech Startup focused on Immunodermatology therapeutics. Atticus is utilizing a unique proprietary sustained-release skin delivery technology to address 2 specific skin conditions for which there is no good treatment. Atticus was spun out of Zylo Therapeutics who developed the skin drug delivery technology that Atticus is using for FDA regulated candidate drugs, one for cutaneous Lupus and the other for Alopecia (localized hair loss). (interview recorded 6.11.25)
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E178 The Notable In Venture For The Past Week And Then I’ll be Talking With Stijn Van de Velde, Founder And CEO of Drobot In Part 2 Of My Series On Robotics And AI
S4:E178 First the notable In Venture for the past week and then Part 2 of my series on Robotics and AI. I’ll be Talking With Stijn Van de Velde, Founder and CEO of Drobot, an innovative yet simple mobile Co-Bots-as-a-Service industrial solution to the Find & Fetch problem for tools, parts, inspection and more. They are leveraging existing Real-Time Locating Systems (RTLS) to on-board their Co-bots in as little as one day and using reinforcement learning to fine tune tasks and navigation. Think of them as a shop assistant that will do the walking, Finding and Fetching for a hi...
