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.

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, short term rental management company
Rent Ready, which helps manage apartment complexes

In a 30-minute conversation with The Ledger’s Tony Mecia, Espey analyzes the status of Charlotte’s tech scene, including its successes and challenges, and weighs in on hot tech topics including cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence and the Metaverse.

The Charlotte Ledger Podcast is produced by Lindsey Banks.

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The Charlotte Ledger

Understanding Charlotte's tech sector, with…