As Pete enjoys his annual football weekend with his college buddies—this year they’re at Notre Dame—Jason Caplain of Bull City Venture Partners joins Joe to help co-host. They talk about everything tech in the Triangle and beyond, from the upcoming Venture Atlanta conference to VentureSouth’s new Triangle group.
Our featured guest is Michael Jones, the CEO of Spoonflower (and a former Download subject). Durham’s Spoonflower—which was recently acquired by Shutterfly—is a digital textile company that prints custom fabric, wallpaper, and home decor.
Here are some highlights from today’s episode:
- Jason, who was also on the company selection committee, is attending the 14th annual Venture Atlanta conference held in—you guessed it—Atlanta on Oct. 20-21. The conference helps connect primarily Southeast startups with resources, networking, clients, partnerships, and talent they need to grow. Jason also mentioned that 30 percent of the growth stage companies are out of North Carolina. Some examples are CureMint and K4Connect.
- VentureSouth, a network of angel groups based in South Carolina, has launched a new offshoot in our area called VentureSouth Triangle. The firm has previously invested in 15 local companies, such as Spiffy and Baebies. Jason said he is excited that they are here and are more committed to the area.
- Pete, who was styling a Williams College t-shirt and LSU football hat, entered the live stream from Notre Dame’s campus. The trio talked about Pete’s Wikipedia page that, at some point, incorrectly said he was a BIG FAN of Duke Athletics. As Joe said, “If it’s on the internet, that means it’s true.”
- Michael Jones, CEO of Spoonflower, joined to talk about his workout routine (in fairness, he wasn’t the one who brought it up) and Spoonflower being acquired. He said Shutterfly has “brought a whole lot to the table,” and that it’s been great. Michael also mentioned their new production facility on Alston Avenue in Durham and the concern for cybersecurity.
This was definitely the most people The Friday Nooner has had to date during the stream!
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