Venture In The South
Business & Finance
About
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.
Episodes
- E236 The Week In Venture
David provides an update on recent venture capital news, focusing on AI. He also sets up an upcoming interview with Investment Banker Frank Williamson, who will discuss exits and the role of investment bankers.
- E235 How Battery Tech is Changing the Energy Landscape with Karl Rabago
In episode E235 of Venture In The South, host David Grisell and energy consultant Karl Rabago discuss the transformative role of battery technology in the energy sector and identify potential investment opportunities.
- E234 The Week In Venture
David provides the weekly update on venture capital, highlighting AI as the dominant trend. The episode was recorded on May 3, 2026, and listeners are invited to tune in on Wednesday for the regular interview show.
- E233 An Update On The Brickyard
In episode E233, David interviews Cam Doody of The Brickyard, an 'in-residence' foundry for early-stage startups. Doody provides an updated perspective on the startup ecosystem, discussing The Brickyard's investments and portfolio performa…
- E232 The Week In Venture
In E232, David discusses The Week In Venture and previews an upcoming show featuring Cam Doody of The Brickyard. The Brickyard foundry supports early-stage startups, having invested in 54 companies since 2021.
- E231 Making The Tax Code Work for Angels
In episode E231, David and Paul discuss K-1 reporting and how angel investors can utilize tax codes for their benefit.
- E230 The Weekly Venture Update
In this episode, David provides a weekly update on venture capital events and outlines an upcoming discussion with Paul regarding how angels can navigate the K-1 maze.
- E229 The Charlotte Angel Fund
In episode E229, David interviews Greg Brown of The Charlotte Angel Fund. They discuss the fund's operations, investment strategy, and performance, as well as the potential impact of revising the Accredited Investor definition and the tren…
- E228 The Week In Venture
Episode 228 of Venture In The South discusses the week in venture capital, highlighting energy and space technology. It also announces an upcoming interview with Greg Brown of the Charlotte Angel Fund to discuss Southeast angel fund dynami…
- E227 More on Innovation
In episode E227, the host shares a personal story about innovation, illustrating both successful and unsuccessful examples from their investment portfolio. The episode was recorded on April 7, 2026.
- E226 The Week In Venture
In episode E226 of Venture In The South, David reviews The Week In Venture, with a special focus on The AI Bubble Watch and Space Tech. The episode was recorded on April 5, 2026.
- E225 it's All About Battery Tech
This episode discusses the use cases and investment potential of battery technology that has reached the 500 Wh/kg energy density milestone. This advancement is considered a major breakthrough, opening up new possibilities in the energy se…
- E224 The Week In Venture and it's all about BatteryTech
This episode of Venture In The South focuses on innovation in battery storage, particularly solid-state batteries. These batteries are approaching a key performance threshold that could offer significant cost and performance advantages, po…
- E223 The Tweener Fund of North Carolina
In episode E223 of Venture In The South, host David interviews Scot Wingo, GP at The Tweener Fund. Wingo discusses the fund's inception, its development, and its investment strategy.
- E222 The Weekly Update on Venture
David shares the weekly venture update and previews an interview with Scot Wingo, GP at The Tweener Fund. Wingo will discuss the fund's beginnings, investment strategy, and its expansion to cover startups throughout North Carolina.
- E221 Updates on Seal the Seasons and Vbase Oil
In episode E221 of Venture In The South, host David interviews Patrick Mateer, CEO of Seal the Seasons, and Jeff Dimaio, CEO of Vbase Oil. They provide updates on their companies, including the problems they address, their customer base, r…
- E220 The Weekly Update on Venture
In episode E220 of Venture In The South, David Grisell presents the weekly venture update and previews portfolio news for Wednesday, March 18, 2026. The episode features interviews with two portfolio companies: Seal the Seasons, introducin…
- E219 The Atticus Pharma Update
In episode E219 of Venture In The South, Scott Pancoast, Executive Chairman of Atticus Pharma, provides an update on the company's drug candidates and recent developments as they prepare for a liquidity event.
- E218 The Weekly Venture Update
In E218, David provides the Weekly Venture Update and introduces Scott Pancoast, Executive Chairman of Atticus Pharma. The discussion focuses on Atticus Pharma's strategy to innovate within Immunodermatology using a platform model for drug…
- E217 Portfolio Updates on Redbud Labs and Adovate
This episode features updates from Redbud Labs and Adovate, two life science companies previously profiled. Founders discuss their Go-To-Market strategy progress since their last features on Venture In The South.
- E216 The Weekly Update in Venture
In episode E216, David discusses The Weekly Update in Venture. He also previews upcoming interviews featuring two portfolio companies that are executing their go-to-market strategies.
- E215 The VentureSouth Annual Summit
This episode features a review of the 10th annual VentureSouth Summit, covering its key aspects. Additionally, it previews a webinar focused on venture investing for non-accredited Gen Z and Millennial investors and mentions other upcoming…
- E214 The Weekly Update in Venture
In E214, David shares the Weekly Update in Venture and introduces the upcoming summary of the VentureSouth 10th Annual Summit. The episode also previews a webinar for Gen Z and Millennial investors and highlights other upcoming events for…
- E213 Innovation
E213 of Venture In The South discusses innovation using the waste management industry's evolution, highlighting the standardized waste bin as a key innovation. The episode draws parallels to startup success, noting surprising insights and…
- E212 The Week in Venture for the week ending on 2.15.26
In episode E212, David summarizes The Week in Venture and introduces an Innovation Episode. He discusses the concept of innovation, covering its definition, location, timing, significance, and origins.
- E211 Venture Connect 2026
In E211, David interviews Hunter Young from The Center for Entrepreneurial Development about Venture Connect 2026. They discuss the conference's significance for startups in the Southeast and how it benefits angels and founders through dea…
- E210 The Past Week in Venture for 2.8.26
In episode E210, David Grisell recaps the past week in venture capital and interviews Hunter Young from The Center for Entrepreneurial Development. They discuss the upcoming Venture Connect 2026 conference and its benefits for both angel i…
- E209 GiveBacks Update
This episode provides an update on the startup GiveBacks (formerly MemberHub), which operates an inclusive giving ecosystem for school districts, PTAs, brands, and nonprofits. The interview focuses on the company's progress since its last…
- E208 The Weekly Venture Update
This episode features David's Weekly Venture Update, along with a preview of an interview with GiveBacks CEO Will Bowen. The conversation will cover the company's growth since 2019 and its future exit trajectory. The update was recorded on…
- E207 The Weekly Update on Venture and a brief update on Healthcare Reform
In episode E207, David provides the weekly update on venture capital and discusses the persistent issue of healthcare reform. Contact information for hosts David Grisell and Paul is included.
- E206 The Venture Update and Controversy in Data Center Power Demand
David presents the weekly Venture update and discusses the facts surrounding data center power demand with expert Karl R. Rábago, addressing consumer concerns about rising electricity rates.
- E205 Exit Planing for Founders, Boards and Angel Investors
In episode E205 of Venture In The South, David and Matt Dunbar discuss exit planning for founders, boards, and angel investors. The episode provides a detailed, step-by-step outline of a rational exit planning strategy.
- E204: David updates The Week in Venture and then we discuss our 2025 Startup Investment Results.
In episode 204 of Venture In The South, David provides a weekly venture update. Paul and the host then discuss their 2025 startup investment results.
- E203: The Week in Venture and the significant events in Venture for 2025 with strategic planning in 2026.
In episode E203 of Venture In The South, David reviews the past week in venture capital. He then looks back at the significant venture events of 2025 and provides strategic planning insights for angel investors and founders for 2026.
- E202: A Holliday Venture Update and then a discussion on Tokenization of Real World Assets
In episode 202, David Grisell shares a Holliday Venture update. He is joined by Andrew Elliott and William Trible to discuss the practical and technical aspects of using blockchain technology for tokenizing real-world assets, focusing on i…
- E201: An AI Bubble Update and the Southeastern US investment thesis.
In episode 201 of Venture In The South, David Grisell provides an update on the AI bubble and re-presents the Southeastern US investment thesis. He argues for a focus on Internal Rate of Return (IRR) over Multiple on Invested Capital (MOIC…
- E200: The Venture Update and an update on past interesting companies and topics.
In episode 200 of Venture In The South, hosts David and Paul provide an update on past interesting companies and topics, revisiting startups and subjects covered in the last 100 shows.
- E199: The Venture Update and a short story on Healthcare
In episode 199 of Venture In The South, David Grisell provides an update and shares a speculative story about how innovative, consumer-directed healthcare could offer a solution to the existing healthcare system.
- E198: The Venture Update and a special episode on Tokenization of Real World Assets.
In episode E198 of Venture In The South, David provides The Venture Update. Paul joins to discuss the tokenization of real-world assets, a FinTech innovation offering potential benefits like increased liquidity and faster settlement record…
- E197: The Venture Update and a special episode on Data Center Power
In episode E197 of Venture In The South, David Grisell presents The Venture Update. He then welcomes guest co-host Karl Rábago, a utility lawyer, to discuss the factors driving the Data Center Power Struggle and predict its outcomes.
- E196: The Venture Update and an update on recent changes to the QSBS tax exclusion.
In episode E196, David provides the Venture Update, including a segment on Quantum Tokens' impact on blockchain. Accountant Ben Glenn joins Paul to discuss recent changes to the Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) tax exclusion, particul…
- E195: The Venture Update and review of BIP Venture’s 2025 report on the ‘State of startups in the Southeast’.
In episode E195 of Venture In The South, David provides an update before he and Paul review BIP Venture’s 2025 report on the State of Startups in the Southeast. The review examines the report's findings on strengths, weaknesses, and what w…
- E194: The Venture Update and an interview with Mike Carnes of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center
In episode E194 of Venture In The South, David presents The Venture Update. Paul interviews Mike Carnes from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, focusing on the Foreign Risk constraints faced by US Biotech Startups receiving SBIR gran…
- E193: The Venture Update and an interview with Dan Haight, an entrepreneur and experienced Angel Investor.
In episode E193 of Venture In The South, David provides The Venture Update. Host Paul interviews experienced Angel Investor Dan Haight, who shares his personal journey and insights on successful and unsuccessful Angel Investing strategies.
- E192: The Venture Update and an interview with Runbin Dong, Founder of Scale Social
David covers The Venture Update and interviews Runbin Dong, Founder of Scale Social. Scale Social is a social marketing platform using short video testimonials to validate authentic customer reviews for multi-site service businesses and re…
- E191: The current state of AI with Josh Miller, CEO of Gradient Health and the Venture Update
In episode E191, David provides the Venture Update. Guest co-host Josh Miller, CEO of Gradient Health, joins for a discussion on artificial intelligence, covering its definition, future trajectory, current effectiveness, and business model…
- E190: The Weekly Insights in Venture and then David gets an update on HealthyCell from CEO Doug Giampapa
In episode E190, David reviews weekly venture insights and interviews Doug Giampapa, CEO of HealthyCell, a neutraceutical provider. Doug discusses their direct-to-consumer metrics, plans for retail presence, and his personal approach to st…
- E189 The Weekly Insights into Venture and then David and Paul discuss Exits
In E189 of Venture In The South, David and Paul analyze the year's startup exits, discussing both successes and failures. The episode also includes David's weekly insights into the venture capital landscape.
- E188 The Weekly Insights into Venture and Paul interviews Grady Johnson, Executive Director at the Harbor Entrepreneur Center
In this episode, David discusses weekly venture insights, and Paul interviews Grady Johnson, Executive Director at The Harbor Entrepreneur Center. They explore the growth of Charleston's startup ecosystem, the types of companies supported,…
- E187 The Weekly Insights into Venture and David interviews Tacilent.ai CEO Ron Johnson
In episode E187 of Venture In The South, David interviews Ron Johnson, CEO of Tacilent.ai. The discussion covers Tacilent.ai's AI-native enterprise risk management platform, its recent emergence from stealth, growth trajectory, and recogni…