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Q&A: In a challenging time, Charlotte’s tech sector has made big strides but could use ‘a few more success stories’

by Tony Mecia

It’s a curious time in the tech sector: Stock prices are down big. Venture capital and IPOs have dried up. Companies are tightening their belts and laying off workers.

Some of those national cutbacks have rippled down to Charlotte. The city is not often thought of nationally as a tech powerhouse, but there are plenty of tech workers here, as well as a wide range of companies from start-ups to more established players. A 2019 report from the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance found that employment in the Charlotte region’s tech sector has been growing quickly, to 118,000 tech-related workers, which is more than Raleigh.

Tech companies that have cut workers in Charlotte this year include Better.com and Robinhood.

To make sense of it all — and to examine where Charlotte’s tech sector is and where it is headed — we turned to John Espey, the co-founder and CEO of Defiance Ventures, which describes itself a “venture builder” that helps tech startups with expertise as well as funding. He’s the founder of Levvel, a Charlotte IT consulting company that was sold in 2021, and has held a number of executive positions in local tech firms. Today, Defiance Ventures or its founders have investments in a handful of Charlotte-based small businesses, including 2ULaundry, a pick up and drop off laundry service; Skiptown, a dog boarding service that combines dog activities with a taproom (for humans); Lucid Drone Technologies, which uses drones to perform commercial window washing; Rabbu, a short term rental management company; and Rent Ready, which helps manage apartment complexes.

In the latest episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast, Espey analyzed the status of Charlotte’s tech scene, its successes and challenges, and weighed in on hot tech topics including cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence and the Metaverse.

You can find the full conversation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other podcast platforms. Here are a few highlights:

◼️ On how Charlotte stacks up against other cities in tech: “Is the cutting-edge technology of what’s going to be developed next being developed in our backyard? It’d be really hard to argue that. But we’ve got a lot of huge companies — Wells Fargo has a large presence here, we’ve got Bank of America, we’ve got Truist — they spend a lot of money on technology. … Software vendors have to have a presence here because they want to sell to these banks or they want to sell to Duke Energy. We have a tech scene that’s kind of a layer earlier: We have some fabulous homegrown startups that are starting to get national attention — AvidXchange probably being the best known, and then Passport not far behind. And then you’ve got companies like Payzer, who are out there raising a lot of money and really doing interesting things. And then there’s a whole crop of smaller companies that nobody’s heard of. … Some of them [are] gaining success.”

◼️ On whether Charlotte is in the national conversation on tech: “If you’re a [venture capital firm] sitting in New York or Austin or San Francisco, I don’t think you’re saying, ‘I’ve got to have a presence in Charlotte.’ But that doesn't mean that we aren’t making great strides. I think that the access to capital in this city — there’s three or four companies that I have affiliations with who are raising rounds of funding right now in a fairly challenging time. But they’ve built solid businesses, and they’re raising money from outside of Charlotte. So there are investors who know about Charlotte. … We’ve done a very good job. I would say that we have a lot of work to do. But we’ve got some very, very real advantages that are going to be hard for other startup scenes to copy.”

◼️ On what Charlotte’s tech sector needs to flourish: “I think that we need a few more success stories. And I think we need a really big success story. In particular, I think AvidXchange is probably the best example. … We need more of those. And I think we need them to be bigger. I came from D.C. D.C. has had a lot of very successful companies in the internet space. … There’s a certain mindset that people have when they’re around that kind of success: the mindset of somebody who’s been through that and seeing this massive wealth created out of thin air. It’s really hard to explain the way that somebody changes the way they think about solving problems when they’ve been around that.”

◼️ On the future of cryptocurrencies in light of the recent FTX implosion: “We have some clients that are in crypto and blockchain, more generally. There are applications to blockchain that I think are, in the long run, going to be very, very much a game-changer. And I think the same thing within the world of crypto. … If you go back to [around] 2000, there were web companies that raised a lot of money, grabbed a lot of headlines, built amazing teams, and then failed miserably and spectacularly. But the companies that kept at it — Google, Facebook, Amazon — there are plenty of companies that were part of the web’s early rise, and then they got it right. … I suspect the same thing is going to happen inside of crypto. It’s just too big of an asset class.”

Check out the full interview here:

Related Ledger articles:

“20 years later, a big bet on tech pays off” (🔒, Oct. 8, 2021)
“Surprise: Charlotte is passing Raleigh in tech jobs” (June 17, 2019)

Today’s supporting sponsors are Landon A. Dunn, attorney-at-law in Matthews…

… and T.R. Lawing Realty:

Sales price for 46 acres in South End/LoSo: $110M; gain of $100M in 9 years

Since it went on the market this spring, the South End Business Park seemed destined to fetch a high price. Now, we know how high: about $110M for 46 acres.

Records filed with the Mecklenburg County Register of Deeds last week show that Florida-based Ram Realty Advisors bought 4 parcels totaling 45.7 acres for $110,250,500, or a little more than $2.4M per acre.

And you thought the teardowns in your neighborhood were pricey.

When The Ledger broke the news this spring that the land was for sale, we quoted brokers who told us that the price was expected to surpass $100M.

The business park, north of Clanton Road between I-77 and South Tryon Street, consists of a series of older single-story buildings. It’s home to tenants including The Map Shop, Charlotte Martial Arts Academy, Dress for Success Charlotte and the Carolina Esports Hub. Although it is just a few blocks from the Scaleybark light rail station and assorted new breweries, restaurants and luxury apartments, you would be hard-pressed to call its existing location South End or “LoSo” — but give it a few years.

A Ram official told the Charlotte Business Journal earlier this month that the site would be redeveloped into a “true mixed-use (project), with office, hotel, residential, retail and green space” and that the company is still figuring out the specifics. Ram filed for a rezoning on the site this month to a transit-oriented designation, which does not require a site plan. Conceptual plans developed for the property when it was being marketed said the site could support more than 1,500 apartments, 1.2 million s.f. of office/commercial property and a 200-room hotel, with 4,400 parking spaces.

Windfall for seller: The deal seems to have worked out well for the business park’s former owner, Stockbridge Capital Group. Property records show it bought the park, formerly known as 77 Corporate Park, for about $10M in 2013. —TM

Related Ledger article:

“For sale in South End: 46 acres of land” (April 29)

Cone for the holidays

Someone at Charlotte’s airport has a sense of humor, with the airport last week putting up Christmas trees made out of traffic cones. A Ledger reader sent us this pic and said the cone trees are by baggage claim and upstairs by departures.

Parents organize on south Charlotte school assignment changes: online petition, Facebook group for ‘rational feeder pattern’

South Charlotte parents are starting to mobilize to make their opinions known about an upcoming school assignment battle.

The Ledger has been reporting for the last few weeks about Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ development of new student assignment boundaries in the Myers Park, Ardrey Kell and South Mecklenburg high zones because of a new high school under construction in the Ballantyne area.

A school board vote is expected in February, though the district is still working on several scenarios that have not yet been released.

Some of the recent developments:

Parents at Sharon Elementary, which under some proposals would shift from Myers Park to South Meck, have launched an online petition called “Keep Sharon Elementary students zoned for Myers Park.” More than 300 people had signed the petition as of this morning.
Parents at Olde Providence Elementary, which under some proposals would shift from Myers Park to South Meck, have started a private Facebook group called “Voice for Rational OP Feeder Pattern.” It had nearly 250 members as of this morning.

District officials, who have been meeting with small groups of parents this month, are expected to release several revised assignment scenarios in the next week or two. —TM

Related Ledger articles:

“South Charlotte parents raise concerns on CMS boundary reshuffle” (Nov. 21)
“Have a peek at CMS south Charlotte draft maps” (Nov. 19)
“CMS eyes shake-up of south Charlotte school boundaries” (🔒, Nov. 11)

Nourish your brain with new Charlotte-themed crossword book

Did you know that doing crossword puzzles builds your vocabulary, relieves stress and helps prevent dementia by making your brain healthier?

Good news: The Charlotte Ledger Crossword Puzzle Collection is now available! You can order today — just $12.99 plus tax — and get it delivered to you before Christmas. Details and link here:

The Charlotte Ledger

Ledger crossword book — available now!

Now available to order, just in time for the holidays: The Charlotte Ledger Crossword Puzzle Collection, with 35 original crossword puzzles that have Charlotte clues and themes. Is it the perfect stocking stuffer for the puzzle-lover in your life? Is it the first-ever printed collection of crosswords with Charlotte clues and themes…

2 months ago · 3 likes

You might be interested in these Charlotte events: Networking over coffee, tool sale for a cause

Events submitted by readers to The Ledger’s events board:

TUESDAY: Coffee with the Chamber. 8:30-9:30 a.m., First National Bank, 401 S. Graham St., Charlotte. Join the Charlotte Area Chamber of Commerce for an hour of informal networking. Enjoy some coffee and make some new connections! Free.
SATURDAY: Tool Rush 2022 - “Tool Sale for a Cause.” 7-11 a.m., Charlotte Community ToolBank, 2513 S. Tryon St., Charlotte. Think about the coolest garage sale ever! We sell new (and gently used) tools marked at 50% off retail prices. Plus: “Santa” will take photos with you. Click to RSVP. Free.

➡️ List your event on the Ledger events board.

In brief:

War on worms almost won? The city plans to put anti-cankerworm bands around 500 trees this year, down from the 5,000 at the height of the worm infestation in 2015 and 2016, and the number of worms has plummeted, too. Arborists attribute the drop in worms to cold nights in 2017 and 2018. Residents can probably skip banding trees this year unless they saw cankerworms in the spring, the city’s arborist says. (WFAE)
In memoriam: Longtime Charlotte sports radio broadcaster Gerry Vaillancourt, known as “Gerry V,” passed away Sunday morning. His daughter said in a Caring Bridge post that he was diagnosed with a heart condition 25 years ago and that “in true Gerry V fashion, he defied all odds, and we have gotten many more good years with him than was expected.” Vaillancourt appeared on Charlotte Hornets TV and radio broadcasts from 1990-2002 before moving to New Orleans with the team. He returned to Charlotte radio in 2017. (WBTV)
Meteorologist remembered: The widow of WBTV meteorologist Jason Myers, who died last week in a helicopter crash, remembered him as a loving husband and father at a memorial service on Saturday. “I love you’s were never left unsaid. Humble apologies were never withheld,” Jillian Myers said. The couple’s 15-year-old son said: “I know the man I’m becoming will reflect the father he was for me. I love you, Dad.” The memorial service for helicopter pilot Chip Tayag is scheduled for Wednesday. (WBTV)
New gallery for local art: Carolina Fine Art, a gallery selling original paintings and pottery from local artists, has opened at Cotswold Village. “We are pleased to help provide a venue to celebrate local artists’ work,” said founder Amy Murphy Curlis.
Atrium merger done by end of year? Atrium Health expects that its proposed merger with Advocate Aurora will be completed in the next few weeks, CEO Gene Woods said. Atrium’s board also approved spending $55M toward construction of the 14-story building near uptown that will be home to the Wake Forest School of Medicine’s Charlotte campus. (Winston-Salem Journal)
Belk drops suit against its ex-CEO: Belk reached a settlement with its former CEO, Nir Patel, over claims that Patel poached Belk employees to go work for him at his new post as CEO of GameStop. Terms weren’t disclosed. (Observer)
Charitable donations surge: North Carolinians donated $47.5M to in-state charities in the year ending in June 2022, a 40% increase from the previous year, according to a report from the N.C. Secretary of State’s office. (WRAL)
Discouraging FTX inquiry: U.S. Rep. Ted Budd was one of eight members of Congress who wrote to the Securities and Exchange Commission in March, asking that the agency hold off on requesting information on “cryptocurrency and blockchain industry participants.” At the time, the SEC was seeking information from cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which filed for bankruptcy protection this month. Budd, a Republican who was elected to the Senate this month, received $500,000 from a political action committee backed by FTX’s co-CEO. (American Prospect)
Grant for the ACC: The Charlotte City Council is holding a public hearing tonight on plans to give the Atlantic Coast Conference a $41,000 business investment grant, part of an economic development package to attract the ACC headquarters here. The athletic conference has said it will create 50 jobs with an average wage of $95,000 and make a capital investment of $4.9M.
Christmas tree inflation: The cost of Christmas trees is forecast to be up 10%-15% this year. Owners of local tree lots say they’re passing along higher costs. (WCNC)

Taking stock

Unless you are a day trader, checking your stocks daily is unhealthy. So how about weekly? How local stocks of note fared last week (through Friday’s close), and year to date:

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The Charlotte Ledger is a locally owned media company that delivers smart and essential news through e-newsletters and on a website. We strive for fairness and accuracy and will correct all known errors. The content reflects the independent editorial judgment of The Charlotte Ledger. Any advertising, paid marketing, or sponsored content will be clearly labeled.

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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Contributing photographer/videographer: Kevin Young, The 5 and 2 Project

The Charlotte Ledger

Understanding Charlotte's tech industry