By Aubrey Zoodsma
When you hear the term “venture capital” you may think about businesspeople in suits, focused on the bottom line and building profits left and right. You probably don’t think about an angel investment network that leverages its connections to better their local communities and create a greater impact than just a dollar sign. But that’s precisely what VentureSouth is doing, and it’s something I’ve gotten hands-on experience with during my internship.
I had the opportunity to work on one of these community projects with Carolina Women+ in Tech, a group for women and non-binary individuals in STEM, tech, and entrepreneurship fields. This chapter is just starting out in Greenville, SC, and was looking for some support. VentureSouth co-founder Paul Clark met with the Greenville chapter president, Samantha Cooks, to discuss what kind of assistance they needed. Based on that conversation, he felt that I would be a good point of contact for them, as a woman in a tech-centric field, and he connected us.
When I later met with Cooks to help connect her to college students in the area, she told me how helpful the meeting had been. “Coming into Greenville as a remote worker, I didn’t have many professional connections. Paul helped us connect with local professionals in the tech field and gave us advice on how to grow,” she said.
Since then, Carolina Women+ in Tech has hosted events, grown a larger support network, and added new members to their board. And they can’t wait to keep growing! “The chapter curator and board are excited to create a community for individuals that embrace the role tech plays in their careers, businesses, and lives,” said Cooks.
This is a great example of how VentureSouth uses its network to support small businesses in our communities, not just startups looking for seed money. But their investment doesn’t only strengthen local communities and economies; by choosing to invest in these startups, more job opportunities in our communities are created—something very much needed in uncertain economic times like these. In fact, all new net jobs in the United States can be attributed to startups like the ones VentureSouth invests in.
And with VentureSouth’s partnership with Vicinity Capital, a capital-raising company focused on connecting locals with investment opportunities in the area around them, their impact will be even greater. Now called Vicinity Ventures, the partnership will allow a broader selection of local investment opportunities for both amateurs and accredited investors across the southeast.