Headliner event of Charlotte Innovation Week
Based in the "Silicon Valley of the South," Seed The South is the Southeast's largest angel investor symposium. This 2-day conference is hosted by Collective Hustle, a coalition for underrepresented founders & investors, and aims to encourage more funding opportunities for early-stage ideas. Many startups are forced to seek funding outside of the Southeast due to the lack of angel investors, so through this conference, we educate and spotlight rising startups in our pitch competition.
This year was Seed the South's 2nd annual conference which sold out, doubled in size, tripled in budget, and featured notable corporate innovation speakers and sponsors from Truist Investing, Techstars, and Oracle. See press here.
Role - Director
Timeline - August 12, 2019 - January 30, 2020
Launch - January 22-23, 2020
Location - Charlotte, NC
When you see this , you can see inside this event.
You'll want the sound on for this one.
MISSION
Encourage new funding opportunities for early-stage startups by sharing the expertise of seasoned investors and corporate investing professionals.
WORK
CURATE PROGRAMMING
PANEL CONSTRUCTION
STRATEGIC SPONSORSHIP / PARTNERSHIPS
DAY-OF DIRECTION
SPEAKER MANAGEMENT
WEBSITE DESIGN + CONFERENCE BOOKLET
SOCIAL MEDIA & CONTENT
WORKED CLOSELY WITH THE CEO
1 VOLUNTEER DIRECT REPORT
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PROGRAMMING
Angel Rutledge, former COO of SurveyMonkey & Charlotte Angel Fund Investor
on Panel: Angel Investor's Guide to Startup Funding in the South
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Bill D'Alessandro, CEO of Element Brands & Priya Malani, CEO of Stash Wealth
on Fireside Chat: Why Bootstrap?
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STARTUP EXPO
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This good lookin' group is comprised of the Day 1 Startups including PitchBreakfast finalists.
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These tired but excited faces are Day 2 Startups toasting to making it into the Startup Expo and Big Pitch.
I guess 8AM champagne isn't everyone's idea of a good time! (I promise they enjoyed it)
HIGHLIGHTS
Every panel featured at least one underrepresented panelist.
I pushed a corporate innovation focus for this year to highlight that innovation does not only fall on the shoulders of startups. Investment at the corporate level into startups will be advantageous for Charlotte.
Got to meet everyone in person that I had video-conferenced and called. I think I said, "Nice to finally see your face!" at least 70x.
TAKEAWAYS
This event was a ton of work (like a full-time job & a half), and it was instrumental in showing me what Charlotte's identity might become and what it had to offer/how I may play into this space. It paved the way for more... more to get done.
Not everyone looks like their LinkedIn photo. It was tough tracking down people that you have never met in person!