On this week’s episode of The Friday Nooner sponsored by Dualboot, Pete, Joe and Chantal talk about when—or whether—most employees will return to a physical office. The conversation was kicked off by two pieces of news: Gov. Roy Cooper encouraging NC municipalities and school districts to end mask mandates by March 7, and New York’s Mayor Eric Adams encouraging all NYC workers to return to the office ASAP. It’s an interesting discussion you don’t want to miss.
Our featured guest is Paul Clark, co-founder and managing director at VentureSouth. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., VentureSouth is a network of angel groups in the Carolinas that invests in startups throughout the Southeast. VentureSouth has invested in at least a dozen Triangle startups, with 40% of the capital it deployed in 2021 going to startups based in North Carolina.
Here are some highlights:
- Joe joined us from his vacation in St. Lucia. He showed his spectacular view of the iconic Pitons, two mountainous volcanic plugs—also known as volcanic spires—that are definitely Instagram-ready.
- NYC Mayor Eric Adams, during a press conference on Wednesday, urged CEOs to bring back their employees to the office within the next few weeks. However, a recent PEW Research Center survey reported that 60% of employees prefer to work remotely rather than return to the office—even after the pandemic. Chantal said it is going to take serious convincing to get people to return, and there are real benefits to working remotely.
- Joe added to the discussion: “I think it breaks down from a worker’s view and an employer’s view.” Workers love the flexibility, while there are a number of CEOs who have found that productivity has decreased.
- Paul has a masters in Medieval History but has always wanted to be an investment banker, which he admitted is a strange thing to say. He told the gang the story of how his path led to him co-founding VentureSouth and its recent launching of an angel group in the Triangle (VentureSouth Triangle).
- VentureSouth’s angel groups—400 members strong—and its accompanying sidecar funds have been investing in Triangle startups for years. One such example is Scot Wingo’s on-demand car service startup Spiffy. In fact, Paul and a few other VentureSouth folks are now the proud owners of a Spiffy franchise in South Carolina.
Thanks again to our sponsor, Dualboot! Watch the full episode on Facebook here or on LinkedIn here.
Or on YouTube:
Audio learners should check out the podcast version:
