Tech Leaders Forum of Charlotte

👀 We don't see many unicorns in Charlotte!! Charlotte clean-tech unicorn lands $1.2B in funding Charlotte-based Palmetto, a software company focused on advancing clean energy adoption in residential markets, has raised $1.2 billion in funding. The capital was provided by large financial companies such as Morgan Stanley and Charlotte-based Truist Financial Corp.  Palmetto said it will support its efforts to expand access to affordable rooftop solar and energy storage solutions nationwide. The new funding will bolster Palmetto’s LightReach energy plans, which allow homeowners to transition to solar power and battery storage with no upfront payment. These plans are available in more than 30 states. The initiative aims to save customers money on energy costs from the first year by offering fixed monthly payments that are cheaper than local utility rates. Additionally, they include no-interest financing, zero dealer fees, and lifetime maintenance. Christopher Kemper, Palmetto’s founder, CEO and chairman, highlighted the importance of improving consumer experiences in the clean energy space. "We launched Palmetto LightReach to improve the consumer experience; in our sector, we have seen consumer issues emerge with legacy financial product providers and an antiquated go-to-market motion that can confuse consumers and create a bad name for the clean tech industry," he said. "Palmetto LightReach is a great example of what we're capable of executing." Palmetto is a clean-tech unicorn, a term referring to a company with $1 billion in valuation. It moved its headquarters to Charlotte from Charleston in 2023. Its office is at 1616 Camden Road in South End. The company said last year it plans to continue growing its employee base in the Charlotte region by adding more sales and customer service teams. https://lnkd.in/exFcmPNb

Local startup will use new funding round to double down on Charlotte Craftwork, a Charlotte home-painting startup, recently landed a $7 million funding round, its largest to date, with plans to grow its headquarters operations and expand its team of painters. Craftwork's $7 million Series A funding round was led by Slow Ventures with participation from Lachy Groom, Four Cities Capital, Forerunner Ventures, Pioneer Fund, and Y Combinator, according to the company. Launched in 2023 by Skavroneck, Tim Griffin, Suzanne Griffin and Mike Bifulco, Craftwork aims to modernize the home painting process through proprietary software by providing homeowners with an instant painting quote online to schedule their projects. Read more from Axios Charlotte below! https://lnkd.in/eAn54E73

Tech Friends - Please check out this awesome event next Tuesday! Join us if you can!

Come support many of our Tech Leaders friends as they try their comedian hats on to raise money for Dottie Rose Foundation. February 26th from 7 - 9 PM at the Comedy Zone Many questions to be answered.... 1. Can an investor Mark McDowell be funny? 2. How many dog jokes will Meggie Williams tell? 3. Will Sam Smith steal the show like Christine Nicodemus Lauren Goodell did last year? 4. Will Tyler Traudt do better than Alabama football this year? 5. Can Ramy Serageldin talk about more than FinTech? 6. Can Natasha Pearl Hansen save all these comedians and make them seem funny? Come support these comedians and raise some money in the process. You can buy tickets at: https://lnkd.in/drPPirKV If you have any questions reach out to Todd Buelow.

Charlotte tech company T1V, Inc. sells key business unit to German firm, KARL STORZ T1V, a Charlotte-based visual collaboration software company, has sold its medical business to Karl Storz. The acquisition deepens an already strong partnership between T1V and Karl Storz, a global medical technology company. Their relationship began with T1V helping Karl Storz develop its CollaboratOR system, a tool designed to enhance operating room efficiency. Financial terms of the deal, announced Jan. 8, were not disclosed. The integration of T1V's medical business into Karl Storz will occur over the next year. Ten T1V employees will transition to Karl Storz. Adam Loritsch, T1V CEO, told CBJ that the partnership with Karl Storz has been a natural evolution. The two companies have worked together for years. The acquisition allows Karl Storz to fully integrate and expand the CollaboratOR platform as part of its long-term vision to advance digital surgery and health-care outcomes worldwide. "Their commitment to this product has done really well for them, and it reached sort of a crescendo where it allowed them to sort of take this product and make it their own, and allows us to focus on our other two markets that we do really well in, which is higher education and our enterprise markets," Loritsch said. The CollaboratOR suite integrates hardware and software into a seamless cloud-based ecosystem, accessible via a large-format touch display. The innovation provides surgical teams with access to essential clinical data, imaging and workflow tools, improving the peri-operative process and advancing collaboration in surgery. Jim Morris, T1V's chief technology officer and co-founder, said the company's partnership with Karl Storz was unique from its other customers. "We were developing this as an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) solution for them to resell to all of their customers," Morris told CBJ. "It just kind of naturally leads to, at some point, it's going to get large enough ... that they're going to want to just bring it in house and grow it themselves." In addition to a stronger focus on T1V's higher education and enterprise markets, the sale enables the company to focus exclusively on core offerings such as ThinkHub. The tool serves as a digital workspace platform. Founded in 1945, Germany-based Karl Storz is a leader in endoscopy and surgical technology, with a portfolio of over 13,000 products. T1V was founded in 2007 by Morris and Mike Feldman, who was fatally shot in 2023. "Charlotte's our home, and we look forward to continuing to grow here," he said. https://lnkd.in/dn2wbMSN

How a TikTok ban would impact these Charlotte businesses As the possibility of a TikTok ban looms in the U.S., businesses across the country, including in Charlotte, are bracing for the potential disruptions. For Ashlyn Greer, CEO and founder of the digital-first fashion consulting company Fashivly, the stakes are high. Short-form video-sharing platform TikTok has been instrumental in driving the company's growth and global reach, serving as a key app for customer discovery and engagement. "It definitely would be a miss for us," she said. "We love the channel. We've had so much growth, mostly in 2022 and 2023 from TikTok, specifically. All of our international business is due to that channel." TikTok, launched in 2016, is widely used by small businesses for customer growth, marketing and direct sales. TikTok estimates small businesses would lose over $1 billion in monthly revenue if a ban is imposed. The U.S. Department of Justice has ordered TikTok's Chinese parent, ByteDance, to sell the app by Jan. 19 due to security concerns, with the Supreme Court set to address the issue today. In 2021, Charlotte-based Fashivly created a TikTok presence that now has more than 131,000 followers and about 1.4 million total video likes. The page is used to provide personal styling tips. Fashivly has used the platform to showcase its brand through a robust content strategy. She said TikTok has acted as a "first touchpoint" for many customers, introducing them to the company and its services. Posting two to three videos daily, Fashivly leveraged the platform’s unique algorithm to reach customers in the U.S. and internationally. “Eighteen percent of our business is international, and there's pockets of clients that we have in Australia, Canada and Europe, which are completely thanks to that channel," Greer said. Greer is optimistic that new platforms will rise to fill the void if TikTok disappears. She cited YouTube Shorts as one of the alternatives Fashivly has begun exploring. Additionally, she’s seen growth on Instagram Reels and Substack, both of which are becoming central to Fashivly’s diversified content strategy. Adair Kennedy, chief creative officer at Charlotte-based boutique VESTIQUE, said the company is also prepared to adapt to the potential elimination of TikTok nationally. Vestique uses the app as a sales channel, which helps generate a large portion of its annual online sales. "TikTok, for us, is a six-figure channel that in 2024 surpassed Instagram as a marketing sales channel," Kennedy said. "Losing this channel will have an impact on our business." With TikTok's big impact on the economy, she said its hard to envision that the app will abruptly go away. However, Kennedy's role, which includes being the head of marketing, requires her to adjust constantly. https://lnkd.in/eXrSkdAf

Charlotte software company raises $113M to transform accounting technology Aiwyn, a Charlotte-based technology partner for certified public accounting firms, has closed on a $113 million funding round. The round was spearheaded by global investment firm KKR and venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners, further solidifying Aiwyn’s position as a frontrunner in accounting technology. KKR’s funding contribution comes primarily from its Next Generation Technology III Fund. The newly secured funding will accelerate Aiwyn’s plans to expand its offerings, including the creation of a universal client experience portal. The platform will enable CPA firm clients to seamlessly access their engagements through a single interface. "Our vision has always been clear — to set a new standard for both client and firm experiences," an Aiwyn spokesperson told CBJ. "With this funding, we’re excited to bring that vision to life and establish a new benchmark for excellence in the industry." The investment will fuel the development of Aiwyn’s advanced practice management platform and a cutting-edge tax solution, leveraging artificial intelligence and cloud technologies to execute the projects. The company spokesperson said Aiwyn is preparing to launch new technology such as PracticeOS with its beta cohort this year. It's also introducing its Client Experience Portal at a top 100 firm this summer. That's as the company is focused on improving its existing solutions — payments, collections and engagement letters — by adding new features and integrations to better serve CPA firms. "We built PracticeOS with the future in mind for firms that, as new technologies arise like AI and other new tools, PracticeOS can easily work with those tools and future proof firms," Aiwyn's spokesperson said. Aiwyn, founded in 2020, keeps its Charlotte headquarters within Pfeiffer University's campus at 1515 Mockingbird Lane. The company supports 130 of the top 500 CPA firms, offering advanced automation tools that enhance the revenue management lifecycle for accounting professionals. "Our goal is to empower CPA firms to take control of their data, freeing them from the constraints of outdated legacy systems," the spokesperson said. "We are committed to building an ecosystem that evolves with their needs, driving innovation and success for the entire profession." https://lnkd.in/e-HXVJYn

Registration is open for our Q1 program on February 26: Tech M&A – Opportunities & Challenges for Tech Companies in 2025 (Feb 26 from 7a-9a) Please check your inbox if you're on our mailing list! If you're interested in joining us but didn't receive an invitation please reach out to one of the sponsors for help (John Yates, John Christenbury, Todd Buelow, Juan Garzón, Brandon Martin, CPA, David Kelbaugh, William Bissett, Matt Butler or John Binkley) Please note that TLF events are strictly limited to C-Level Executives of Charlotte area Tech/Tech-Enabled companies and Tech Investors from across the country. Our guests range from Early-Stage founders to seasoned, multi-exited entrepreneurs and a wide range of investors from Angel/Seed to Growth Funds. Find out more at tlf-charlotte.com

Charlotte's Fashivly joins ⚡️Primordial Ventures! "We’re excited to announce Fashivly as the latest startup to join the Primordial community! Based in Charlotte, Fashivly is a personalized styling platform designed to streamline the online shopping experience. Learn more at fashivly.com. Ashlyn Greer spent 10 years in the retail fashion space, and realized the industry as a whole has not seen much innovation in the styling department. She took the founder leap during COVID with a styling session and curated look book with personalized outfits for a friend who shared it on social media. She teamed up with Mollye Rivera and Taylor Coil to bring the full solution to life and quickly built a following of customers who desperately wanted a more personalized styling solution than what the market has to offer. We were introduced to Ashlyn back in April of 2024 and were immediately impressed by the unique, asset-light idea and their incredible traction. After we switched Primordial’s focus to cover all North Carolina-based tech startups, our friend Greg Brown of the Charlotte Angel Fund reconnected us to Ashlyn. Their team has the perfect background to succeed in this space - Ashlyn and Mollye have years of experience working within fashion retail and styling and Taylor brings product strategy and growth marketing experience. They’ve reimagined the shopping experience and it shows with their incredible traction and growth. We are looking forward to supporting them as they continue to grow! https://lnkd.in/ebsucUr5

Congrats to the teams at MedShift and PetScreening for being recognized as one of the 2024 Technology Fast 500 winners by Deloitte ~ "Recognizing growth and innovation" John R. Bradford, III, David Stunja, Ellen Sondee, Brian Phillips, Joe Gasque, Carol Sartori and Jeffrey Andrews Cheers! https://lnkd.in/ev8PTq8