Southeast VC

Interview with Sasson Darwish, Bank of America

Here is a recent interview I did with Sasson Darwish, Managing Director in the Technology Investment Banking Group at Bank of America.

Worth reading if you're thinking about an exit for your company. He talks about the M&A/IPO activity in the market, M&A bidding wars, valuation trends and mistakes he sees companies get into when looking to exit.

Upcoming VC/Entrepreneur Events in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic

If your company is in the Southeast or Mid-Atlantic regions, there are two events hosted by national law firms that you should be aware of and keep on your quarterly calendar. Interesting, that they are both scheduled on the same day next month, September 13.

1) DLA Venture Pipeline Presentation

Just got an email yesterday from DLA Piper announcing their inaugural DLA Venture Pipeline presentation. A panel of Harry Weller from NEA, Tim Meyers from Updata, John Hurley from DLA and Jeff Leavitt also from DLA will discuss challenges facing company fundraising and how companies can best overcome them.

The morning event is exclusively for VCs and entrepreneurs seeking funding over the next 12 months.

It is invite only so if you're not on the invite list, here is the person to contact: [email protected]. The event is co-sponsored by the ATDC.

2) Cooley Godward Capital Call

This event in Reston, VA is well established, always attracts a good crowd of VCs. Only a handful of 4 or 5 companies present to an attentive audience over lunch.

Co-sponsors include: PWC, SVB, Comerica and Deloitte.

Attendance is just for VCs, accredited investors and private equity investors.

If you have a company that would like to be considered to present at a future lunch (they are very selective), here is the person to contact: [email protected].

UPDATE: One of my readers very nicely suggested I add to this list and include the ION Venture Forum, hosted by the Atlanta High Tech CEO Council 10/17-18. The event's goal is to showcase the hottest startups in Georgia. Thanks for the tip Leslie.

Relocating to RTP? Looking for a Job Here? This Could Help.

The number of people looking for jobs and contacting us has jumped pretty significantly over the last few months. Obviously, I'm real excited to see this. I always welcome more smart people to move here!

Based on all the interest, I thought it might be helpful to create a post of some basic resources that will help job seekers get better acquainted with North Carolina, build their network and learn more about local job opportunities. Let me know if you find this useful.

1) News sites to learn more about local companies

These are good sites to stay plugged into to see what companies raised $$$, what companies might be expanding/hiring. All updated daily:

TechJournal South

Local Tech Wire

Triangle Business Journal

2) Recruiters in RTP:

Both firms are real plugged into the local market

The Select Group

HireNetworks

Carlyle & Conlan

3) Organizations and networking events to get plugged into:

CED - largest non-profit support organization for entrepreneurs in the country. All entrepreneurs, tech and life science companies are connected to CED in our market. If you are an exec or entrepreneur and thinking about moving here, becoming a member for $195 ($35 for a student) is a no brainer just for the network. You need to attend some of their upcoming events to really make it worthwhile.

TechJournal South Deck Party - very informal events run by TechJournal South. Usually held outside with free beer. The last few have been hosted by NC State and get a crowd of entrepreneurs and some VCs.

4) Companies in the area:

I've been trying to keep this updated for years and originally had a list, but here is a good place to find a list of local companies. These guys keep it updated.

Also, check out some of the NC jobs on Craigslist.