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Charlotte’s SpiritedEntrepreneurs

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The entrepreneurs of Charlotte speak many business languages — Web, food, transportation, medicine, finance, to name a few. Their dialogue supports an open and energetic startup atmosphere in a community also known for some of America’s largest companies.

No matter what your startup does, Charlotte is a smart place to locate. Here are a few reasons why.

Charlotte-based leadership expert Sherri Baldwin has worked with the largest and smallest companies in the nation, but she keeps a special place in her heart for entrepreneurs. She says that for them, “It’s about pursuing their passions and applying three defining traits of leadership. They are committed, have deep conviction and courageous.”

Charlotte: Where

Entrepreneurs Take Root

CharlotteChamber.comCharlotte’s Spirited Entrepreneurs4

Baldwin’s company, LeadAdvantage, builds executive success through one-on-one work, leaving a track record of personal growth and leadership. She adds, “Charlotte is a unique venue for leaders to grow. The city has a business confidence and camaraderie. People here know when to collaborate and when to compete. That kind of on-the-job collegiality and respect isn’t taught in a classroom or dictated by a few people. It is built by everyday performance. That kind of business environment builds enduring success.”

Each year, the Charlotte Business Journal recognizes the Fast 50 — the 50 fastest growing companies headquartered in the Charlotte area in terms of revenue. These companies help lead Charlotte’s entrepreneurial engine. Here are a few recent high achievers.

Higher education inspired a successful startup. Campus Crest Communities, Inc. decided that the old model of student housing could be reinvented. Now students across the United States are linked to a fast-growing Charlotte business: a vertically-integrated platform for first-class student housing properties. According to the company, a student-housing surge began in the 1950s when the baby boomers started college. High rises with shared facilities were thus quickly built to meet demand.

Those facilities have aged, and today’s students have different demands, necessitating better student housing. Entrepreneurs Mike Hartnett and Ted Rollins founded Campus Crest Communities with a vision to develop the best “fully loaded” student housing properties in the industry. Their company’s integrated model handles the demand from site selection to construction to management of the property. Today, there are 33 operating properties and six under development for delivery in fall 2012.

Perhaps among the most challenging industries to create innovation after the 2008 financial meltdown is finance, specifically

in mortgages. However, New American Mortgage is thriving, in part because it reinvented the real estate agent and lender relationship, even co-locating in some agent offices. New American Mortgage was started by former Carolina Panthers wide receiver Casey Crawford and mortgage veteran Toby Harris.

New American Mortgage swam against the financial current. The Charlotte Business Journal named the company among the fastest of its Fast 50, saying in December 2011, “After increasing its revenue nearly 300 percent between 2008 and 2009, the company followed that with 223 percent growth the following year. The number of employees, meanwhile, has jumped from six in January 2008 to nearly 400 today, with

offices in 10 states. The growth is the result of expanding into new territory and gaining share in existing markets. … It’s on track to close $1 billion in loans this year.”

AmWINS Group, Inc. is another finance-oriented success. The company has become the largest wholesale insurance broker in the U.S. based on premiums placed according to Business Insurance (October 2011). The firm has expertise across a diversified mix of property, casualty and group benefits products and also support services including product development, underwriting, premium and claims administration and actuarial services. Formed in 1998, AmWINS now has 82 locations across 19 countries including 50 locations in the U.S. AmWINS’ CEO,

Steve DeCarlo, was a 2009 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year winner in the financial services category.

Entrepreneurs know that funding is the grease for the wheels of business. Charlotte business DealCloud brings efficiency to the capital raising and M&A process. The concept was incubated at a private equity firm that needed a higher grade of industry-specific knowledge for its work. “The growing number of firms and professionals participating in the M&A industry has created demand for efficient workflow and organization in sourcing, executing and consummating deals,” says Ben Harrison, a founder of DealCloud. “We provide a secure and interactive platform to execute transactions and manage relationships.”

For investment bankers and advisors, DealCloud is a secure, web-based tool to manage deal marketing, diligence activity and sponsor coverage. Says Harrison, “Our networking features and proprietary database help investment bankers and advisors target relevant buyers and investors. As a financial sponsor or strategic buyer, the right deals can find you.”

The easiest way to describe DealCloud is to compare it to other more generic technology platforms. Harrison drew the analogy, “DealCloud is salesforce.com meets LinkedIn and a virtual Data Room specifically for the M&A industry. The M&A process is cumbersome, and our customers are excited about the efficiency and ROI they are experiencing with DealCloud.” DealCloud is

“Charlotte is a unique venue for leaders to grow. The city has a business confidence and camaraderie. People here know

when to collaborate and when to compete. That kind of business environment builds enduring success.”

— Sherri Baldwin, LeadAdvantage

DealCloud’s offices are in Packard Place.

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David Jones, president & CEO of Peak 10. Jones co-founded Peak 10 in March of 2000.


only one way that Charlotte entrepreneurs have leveraged technology for successful startups.

Skookum Digital Works is in the heart of Charlotte’s uptown and at the heart of web-tech. Skookum formulates, builds and packages mobile apps, webapps, custom software and data visualizations as business products and services for its customers to own and resell. “All Web developers like the first 80 percent of this business. We actually like the last 20 percent, too. We want to launch your product. We want to hand over our hard work and see it live. We want your business to

generate its first revenues. We want your boss to give you a promotion,” says Bryan Delaney, vice president and co-founder. Why did Skookum locate in uptown? “In addition to a strong, skilled technology base, there is a ripe investor community and a contagious local entrepreneurial spirit. We’re also fortunate to have great weather and a lower cost of living compared to other technology hubs,” says Josh Oakhurst, creative director at Skookum.

Peak 10 Inc. is another tech success story. Peak 10 aims at mid-sized firms that need to store data securely off-site, using managed services and cloud providers with data centers. David Jones, president and CEO, recently announced an expansion in Charlotte. A new 62,000 square foot facility in the University Research Park area, north of uptown, takes Peak 10’s footprint to more than 129,000 square feet. The company has its headquarters facility in south Charlotte.

A third of Peak 10’s 350 people are in Charlotte. Peak 10 has 23 data centers in 10 markets in the U.S. The Charlotte Business Journal reports that in 2010, Peak 10 “was sold to a private-equity fund in a deal valued at more than $400 million, giving Peak 10 the highest valuation of all data center companies in the U.S.”

Charlotte tech startup YAP Inc. was sold to Amazon in 2011. Started by brothers Victor and Igor Jablokov, YAP developed an advanced, cloud-based mobile speech recognition platform. The company was a finalist in Silicon Valley’s elite TechCrunch

event and was awarded North Carolina’s Early Stage Company of the Year. Igor is also a founding member of the Speech Technology Consortium, which is dedicated to growing the market and increasing innovation in speech recognition technology and applications. With well over a dozen patents pending, he was named an industry luminary by the editors of Speech Technology magazine.

Tech takes on a different dimension in this healthcare company — Prodigy Diabetes Care. The World Health Organization states that one in 10 adults worldwide has diabetes, costing billions of dollars to treat and creating risks of heart disease, kidney failure and blindness. In response to this, Richard Admani and brother, Ramzi Abulhaj, founded the company, which has become one of the fastest-growing companies in the Charlotte area. Says Admani, “My brother and I have watched members of our family suffer the effects of

“In addition to a strong, skilled technology base, there is a ripe investor community and a contagious local entrepreneurial spirit. We’re also fortunate to have great weather and a lower

cost of living compared to other technology hubs.” — Josh Oakhurst, creative director at Skookum.

Charlotte’s Spirited Entrepreneurs8 CharlotteChamber.com

diabetes and related complications. Ramzi has had Type 2 diabetes for years, and our grandfather was diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy. This led to our commitment to create innovative, high-quality diabetes products to improve the health care of all people living with diabetes, especially those with low-vision and blindness.” The Prodigy® product line offers talking meters, which are especially beneficial to low-vision or blind diabetic patients. The Prodigy Voice® is the only meter of its kind to earn awards from both the National Federation of the Blind and the American Foundation for the Blind.

Business runs on information flow, but the right information has to be monitored. Finding the information needle in the haystack can be a challenge. Qualitech Solutions, Inc., a software company, helps capture strategic information and extract critical tasks to a single portal for a variety of world-wide industries such as nuclear, energy, health care, government, manufacturing, professional services, transportation, technology and banking. With an early emphasis on providing mission-critical software to the highly regulated energy industry, Qualitech built itself on a foundation of exacting quality and safety standards. That lays the base for business process improvement success in other industries.

Stealth Components built success on getting key parts — sometimes hard to find parts — in the hands of its customers. It is an around the clock global supply chain partner for technology-driven companies. Its 85.5 percent order fill rate proves Stealth’s capabilities to source and deliver hard to find parts —that is 35 points better than the industry average. “Whether it is one part or thousands, long-lead-time or simply hard to find electronic parts, we are here to augment the current process to help customers stay on track,” says Bernie L. Smith, CEO.

InVue Security Products Inc. provides security solutions to protect hand-held

electronic merchandise on display at top global retailers. InVue’s objective is to increase the profitability of its customers by helping increase their sales while decreasing the theft of their merchandise. InVue does business in over 60 countries and has the industry’s largest sales and service network.InVue was founded in 1972 as Alpha Enterprises Inc. in Canton, Ohio. The company relocated to Charlotte in 2002. In 2007, InVue Security Products was formed by Jim Sankey after the divesture of the Alpha product line to Checkpoint Systems.

Utilipath designs and builds networks for many of the largest companies in

the world. The company is providing intelligent building systems, enterprise networks, wireless, carrier services, network outsourcing, data center, and outside plant services to projects in 45 U.S. states and in Canada. The company counts 5 of the 5 largest telcos, 4 of the 4 largest CATV providers, and 3 of the 5 largest global systems integrators in its customer base.

Founded in 2003 with minimal financial capital and a massive customer service attitude, Utilipath recently differentiated itself from the other 27 million private companies registered in the U.S. with 112 percent sales growth over three years, which happened to be some of the toughest years in the U.S. since the Great Depression. AT&T was the first customer to take a chance on the company and signed a $1 million contract within weeks of Utilipath’s founding. Since then, Utilipath has set a standard for results.

Lindon Hayes, CEO, says that Charlotte has a “secret sauce” for entrepreneurs: “What you will find in Charlotte are people with ethics, intelligence, loyalty, and a work ethic. Moreover, you can afford to hire them. What else do you need to build a business?”

RED F, a full-service advertising agency based in Charlotte, has a reputation for helping its clients “Join Life.” National company clients including UnitedHealthcare, Time Warner Cable, TIAA-CREF, Norton and Fifth Third Bank have gained from RED F’s expertise in both general market and multicultural strategies and creative executions. CEO Sara Garces says, “Diversity is

not a trend — it’s today’s reality. Messages need to speak many languages and connect with people on a personal, culturally-relevant level. We continue to get the most out of traditional marketing channels, but we’re also seeking out new ways to help our clients and their brands join consumers’ lives.” As a result, MWBE-certified RED F continues to grow and has been named to the Inc. 500|5000 list of the fastest growing companies four times.

Multi-cultural and multi-lingual issues are critical. Through its global network providing communication solutions in 176 languages, Choice Translating makes the world a smaller, more connected place through customized brand analysis, translating and interpreting services. It is a full-service linguistic agency headquartered in Charlotte. “We maximize global corporate opportunities as we reduce risk due to miscommunication. Our slogan is, ‘Because meaning turns on a word™’ and it’s true,” says founder and CEO, Michelle Menard.

“What you will find in Charlotte are people with ethics, intelligence, loyalty, and a work ethic. Moreover, you can

afford to hire them. What else do you need to build a business?”

— Lindon Hayes, Utilipath CEO

William Henry Belk opened the first Belk store in 1888. Belk is now comprised of more than 300 stores.

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When Choice Translating opened in 1995, the only languages offered were French and English. Now, Choice leverages a team of multilingual project managers, a cloud platform and virtual team of linguists in more than 80 countries. “The variety of industries and 950-plus foreign-owned firms operating here means that Charlotte has diversified well past finance. I personally found a strong entrepreneurial support system that has made a huge impact in the success of our business,” says Menard.

One reason Charlotte has entrepreneurs across varied industries is its longtime culture of business generation. Dan Roselli heads Packard Place, a renovated auto dealership from the 1940s that is now a location for startups to find their footing with office space and support systems. Dan developed his marketing expertise with Bank of America, Mars, Colgate-Palmolive and General Mills. Dan is a serial entrepreneur who uses his startup

knowledge to help others. According to Dan, there is an entrepreneurial strength when large and small firms are side-by-side. “I think that helps to understand that it’s fantastic to have Bank of America in Charlotte, to have Duke Energy, SPX, Nucor and Chiquita here. Those smart companies provide credence to the city for business. However, a vast majority of jobs come from companies of less than 500 people. Packard Place provides the interface for businesspeople to bring all their skills together for success.”

The phrase, “Where the rubber meets the road,” takes on new meaning at Camber Ridge LLC,

a company fueled in part by the motorsports industry here in Charlotte. A look at the company name provides some clues about its mission: “Camber” is an engineering term used to describe the tilt of a tire, and “Ridge” packs a double meaning, conjuring not only the image of a tire on its edge but of a distinct divide in landscape such as a mountain ridge or a new way of thinking.

Camber Ridge CEO Jim Cuttino has a tight relationship with the racing industry; he has designed the most advanced and accurate tire testing facility in the world. But why would someone want to test tires? Though

Michelle Menard, founder and CEO of Choice Translating.

“Charlotte has diversified well past finance. I personally found a strong entrepreneurial support system that has

made a huge impact in the success of our business.” — Michelle Menard, Choice Translating


we depend on tires every day with personal cars, agriculture, airlines and in commerce, most of us do not think about them. However, deep within the confines of the transportation industry are those who live and breathe tires. To those folks, Cuttino’s vision is revolutionary.

Tires are a complex amalgam of rubber, steel and fabric, making them difficult to manufacture and thus more difficult to understand. Cuttino’s team of worldwide experts knows that making tires requires a gourmet recipe — a careful mixture of ingredients and the skills of a master chef. Camber Ridge is the ultimate taste test, a method to determine whether the recipe meets safety, endurance and performance standards.

Transportation is the basis of another successful Charlotte entrepreneur. Jetpool is the trusted aviation partner

of high performing companies and businesspeople. Its team can get an executive to 60 percent of U.S. business centers in the time it takes to watch a good movie, about two hours. Jetpool is an aircraft management, charter and shares firm headquartered at a private, executive terminal at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The firm’s aircraft become in-flight offices for clients, providing the ability to be fully productive while flying.

Jetpool’s executive and operational team includes seasoned corporate pilots, former military pilots and officers who know how to run a tight ship. “As businessmen ourselves, we understand the value of creating physical connections with customers, suppliers and key employees in what is normally a digital workplace,” says Ryan Stone, chairman of Jetpool. “Our services help our clients outperform their competitors by being more

effective and efficient in how they conduct business.”

“You can’t put a price on the flexibility Jetpool offers. Having our top people where they need to be at a moment’s notice — on time — has been invaluable for growing and servicing our business,” says Dan DiMicco, chairman and CEO of Nucor Corporation, a Jetpool Fortune 500 client headquartered in Charlotte.

Food-and-diet oriented startups as well as nonprofit organizations grow

Food-and-diet oriented startups have grown. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, “Changing tastes and interest in healthy living have made the food and beverage industry ripe for startups.” Charlotte has served up its share of foodie companies.

Dan Roselli of Packard Place.

Ryan Stone, chairman of Jetpool.

CharlotteChamber.com12 Charlotte’s Spirited Entrepreneurs

“The labor force here is amazing … highly educated people … I have gotten more bang for the buck in terms of labor.”

— Lynn St. Laurent, co-founder of Amélie’s

Amélie’s Bakery was born from three restless businesspeople: a serial entrepreneur with a passion for good food and a knowledge of information systems, a professional in decorative arts and a retired IBM executive. Amélie’s has become a Charlotte icon and a hotspot for early birds and night owls alike since it is open 24/7 with award-winning French pastries, desserts and café fare and a homey “Paris Shabby-Chic” living room. Amélie’s’ 21,000+ fans on Facebook say that there is something special here. The magazine Elle-Decor recently said, “The quirky eatery teems with students, artists, and creative types, and, though lively, always has a free seat — French doors open to reveal charming tucked-away spaces. Designed by Brenda Ische, the bakery is full of special details like a chandelier made

entirely from mismatched silverware, cookware, and utensils, and the café’s broken dishes are used to create mosaics on tables.”

The right ingredients were in place for this entrepreneur’s success. Says Lynn St. Laurent, Amélie’s co-founder and owner, “As a startup I found the folks in Charlotte that I needed. They had a willingness to ‘be enrolled’ in what I was trying to accomplish. The labor force here is amazing … highly educated people … I have gotten more bang for the buck in terms

of labor. Our customers make a difference, too. They are also quite educated and world-traveled, which means there is a level of sophistication we enjoy.”

Damon and Veronica DeCristoforo began Lindy’s Homemade, LLC, based on a family secret: recipes for Italian ice. “My father, Mario Lindbergh DeCristoforo, ‘Lucky Lindy’ as he was known to friends, used to make Italian ices for the kids of our neighborhood as I was growing up,” says Damon. The company, which began

with fresh fruit, original recipes and a dream to sell Italian ice by street cart, has become a nationally selling product line of ices, sorbets and gelatos in large grocery chains such as Harris Teeter, Farm Fresh, Wal-Mart, BI-LO, and Lowes Foods. The gourmet ices are also sold at sports and entertainment events, and street carts are still operated during festivals and special events.

The DeCristoforos cite the region’s strong labor force as a benefit for growing companies, and “travel through Charlotte Douglas International Airport is very convenient to anywhere in the country and abroad.” They add, “Wonderful weather, a moderate four season climate and proximity to the mountains and the beaches are ideal. It’s a great place to raise a family and at the time we decided to begin our company.”

Honey Butter Bakery feeds the soul with sweet potato, red velvet and banana pudding cheesecakes; chocolate pecan and blueberry

pies; or something as familiar as oatmeal cookies. This is a scratch-made, family-owned dessert company in Charlotte that also serves the wholesale market. Brandi Jones, its founder, says, “Fresh out of culinary school I started my bakery business journey. While I knew how to handle food, I needed to learn more about business and leaned on startup resources at Central Piedmont Community College and a women’s entrepreneur program at Johnson C. Smith University.” Brandi’s initial sales were through markets, friends, family and restaurants, but when her business was

featured on a national radio show, Honey Butter Bakery got the boost it needed.

Thinking of food, the next time you enter a hotel lobby and smell chocolate chip cookies or walk through a shopping area and notice a scent of waffle cones enticing you into an ice cream store, think of Charlotte’s ScentAir entrepreneurs.

ScentAir pioneered scent marketing, creating signature scents to go along with a brand name experience. It’s more than the scents of food, though. There are special places for scents: “White Tea” is a refreshing scent that welcomes guests at Westin Hotels; a rainforest scent helps set the stage at one children’s museum exhibit about the age of dinosaurs; a woody scent helps reinforce a minimalist approach to a high-end retailer space; a eucalyptus-mint combo creates a sense of rubdowns and exercise and sells more memberships. TIME, Forbes, Fast Company and the Today Show have all featured


Amélie’s Bakery has two locations in Charlotte.


ScentAir, which now has 2,000 available scents in more than 40,000 placements. ScentAir works well beyond the retail trade. For instance, a major defense contractor makes sure that helicopter simulators have the scent of diesel to make the pilot experience more realistic.

There are also Charlotte startups that have developed from market niches found outside the traditional workplace. Lisa Huntting brings entrepreneurism home. She founded MirrorMate® frames in 2003 because of a decorating problem she had. “I thought I was finished decorating my master bath, but the most dominant features were those huge, bare mirrors above the twin vanities. They cried out for frames. But framing them would be way too expensive. And I didn’t even want to think about taking them down and replacing them.”

Like the best entrepreneurial ideas, Lisa created a simple solution to a problem no one else defined before. She turned a bare mirror into a work of art. “It’s the custom frame kit that’s press-on easy. We custom cut the frames to fit mirror measurements. Customers assemble the four frame legs with push-in connectors and then press the pre-taped frame right onto the glass.” MirrorMate has more than 60 styles and drastically reduces the cost of bathroom renovation.

A family-oriented Charlotte idea gained national attention. The headline from the Charlotte Observer read, “Charlotte man jumps into the ‘Shark Tank’ — Charlotte man to toss idea for fully recyclable kicks to TV investors.” The story is this: Gary Gagnon’s inspiration was a pile of his kids’ beat-up sneakers. He was taking out the trash and saw a pile of them ready for the garbage. That led to a line of fully recyclable sneakers and his company, Remyxx, pitching its idea on “Shark Tank,” a prime-time entrepreneur reality show on ABC-TV.

“It’s a sneaker with a purpose,” he says, because they are produced with materials that can be tossed into a recycling bin when they wear out. The colorful shoes make a statement and draw attention to the recycling theme. Gary

aspires to have the shoes sent back to him for recycling.

According to the Kauffman Foundation, the world’s largest foundation devoted to entrepreneurship, “Nonprofit entrepreneurs are no less ambitious, passionate, or driven to make an impact than any other type of founder is. They simply measure their success in terms of social goals rather than profit.” Charlotte has progressive nonprofit entrepreneurs.

Mike Spencer co-founded Doing My Part, Inc. (DMP), an alternative solution to online fund-raising. Participants provide a $3 per

month contribution to help fund important projects that have received their due diligence from the DMP staff. When one project gets fully funded, the next project comes up on the website. Also on the site is the “Wall of Heroes.” Contributors can add their photo to the countdown to complete a project. Spencer says, “There’s no doubt that people want to help out, but because of the obstacles in the current process of giving, we as individuals are held back. Doing My Part is breaking down those obstacles to give everyone the chance to make a real difference. We all need each other, and with one simple action we will transform the way the world gives back.”

Queen City Forward (QCF) is a nonprofit organization formed to increase the creation, scale and impact of social ventures in Charlotte. “The social challenges facing our city and country can outpace solutions if we don’t work together,” says Charles Thomas, executive director of QCF. “We are a hub for entrepreneurs to create positive social and economic change. Social thoughts leaders gather and grow their idea with our help.” QCF connects social entrepreneurs to the resources and relationships they need to successfully grow and scale their business through space, talent, capital, advocacy and visibility and knowledge development. The organization provides affordable space in

Packard Place, connects enterprises to local talent and mentors and offers Lunch-n-Learn sessions, among other things.

“Cultivating and creating the right conditions for social entrepreneurs and social enterprises to thrive is a key element to the economic and community development strategy of Charlotte. Queen City Forward provides the resources needed for social entrepreneurs to grow to the next level,” says Charlotte’s Mayor Anthony Foxx. As the nation folded onto itself in a financial heap, nonprofits felt the sting too. The CEO of Charlotte’s Crisis Assistance Ministry cranked-up entrepreneurial thinking to address


Gary Gagnon pitched the idea for his recyclable sneaker company, Remyxx, on the TV show “Shark Tank.”

community issues. Crisis Assistance provides poor families and individuals with emergency assistance for utilities, heat and clothing. “We tapped federal stimulus funding as a temporary, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build an innovative solution with long-term legs,” says Carol Hardison.

“Project Hope” was the result. Hardison says the goal is to create a new system to deliver comprehensive assistance and not continue to “take government grant money and just follow the rules.” Project Hope unifies the way human service needs are met — homelessness, hunger, personal safety in distressed times.

The Huffington Post picked up the story about Hardison’s work: “With many other nonprofits struggling, Crisis Assistance Ministry helped coordinate charitable efforts in the area to make up for $2.4 million in cuts to the social services agency’s budget. A flood of private donations, sparked by a wealthy resident’s million-dollar

contribution, seeded an emergency fund with $2.7 million.

One county official notes, “Crisis Assistance Ministry helped secure the last safety net for these people, before they fell through the cracks and hit the ground.”

This kind of collaborative spirit is woven into Charlotte’s DNA, including pragmatic educational and training resources for entrepreneurs.

Central Piedmont Community College, together with its Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Center, combined resources to assist the Charlotte community, helping entrepreneurs and business owners navigate the region’s evolving business environment. The Institute for Entrepreneurship offers training for entrepreneurs and experienced business owners. Topical seminars cover a variety of

foundational business subjects, including business plan basics, choosing your legal structure, funding your business, negotiation skills and market research tools. For more information contact the executive director, Lori Day, at (704) 330-6776.

Entrepreneurism is nothing new in Charlotte. Yesterday’s entrepreneurs created concepts that are now mainstream and have become some of the well-known brand names of today.

For instance…Generations of Southern shoppers have relied on their local Belk department stores for the latest fashions, quality merchandise, friendly service, fair prices and a satisfaction-guaranteed policy. It is a retail tradition built on humble beginnings. Twenty-six-year-old William Henry Belk had been a store clerk for 12 years when on May 29, 1888, he opened a small bargain store in the rural farming community of Monroe, N.C. Now in the third generation of

16 CharlotteChamber.comCharlotte’s Spirited Entrepreneurs

Central Piedmont Community College has many programs including its Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Center.


family leadership, Charlotte headquartered Belk is the nation’s largest privately owned, mainline department store company with more than 300 fashion stores in 16 contiguous southern states devoted to delivering modern, Southern style to customers.

Most people have heard about taking lemons and making lemonade, but how about this? In 1913, Philip L. Lance, a Charlotte food broker, was stuck with 500 pounds of unwanted raw peanuts. Instead of backing out of his bargain with the peanut farmer, Lance decided to roast and sell the nuts for a nickel a bag on the streets of Charlotte. The freshly roasted peanuts were an immediate success, and Lance soon expanded his line to include peanut butter. That humble start evolved into crackers, cookies and other snacks.

No matter what you crave, Snyder’s-Lance has it — pretzels, sandwich crackers, potato chips, cookies, tortilla chips, restaurant style crackers, nuts and more. The company

offers the popular brands Snyder’s of Hanover, Lance, Cape Cod, Krunchers!, Jays, Grande, Tom’s, EatSmart Naturals, Stella D’oro, and Archway as well as private label foods. Products are widely distributed through grocery and mass merchandisers, convenience stores, club stores, food service outlets and other channels.

In 1936, W. T. Harris borrowed $500 to open his first grocery store in Charlotte. Meanwhile, Willis L. Teeter and his brother, Paul, borrowed $1,700 to open their first Teeter’s Food Mart in Mooresville, N.C., in 1939. Harris Teeter was formed in 1960. Through new store growth and mergers, the operation now has more than 200 stores in eight states and the District of Columbia, plus grocery, frozen food and perishable products distribution centers in Greensboro, N.C., and Indian Trail, N.C., and a dairy in High Point, N.C. The company is headquartered in Charlotte suburb Matthews and has approximately 25,000 associates.

In November 1959, Leon Levine opened the first Family Dollar store in Charlotte with a simple concept, “The customers are the boss, and you need to keep them happy.” This concept for a self-serve, cash-and-carry neighborhood discount store in low to middle income neighborhoods proved so successful that today Family Dollar is a chain with over 6,800 stores from Maine to Arizona.

Finally, one well-established company still makes the Charlotte Business Journal’s fastest growing list. Bojangles. One way to recognize long-time Charlotteans is their love for Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits. “Think inside the box,” is the motto of this successful restaurant chain. Bojangles’® began in 1977 as the dream of operators Jack Fulk and Richard Thomas. They saw an opportunity to develop a quick-service restaurant chain based on three attributes: a distinctive flavor profile; wholesome, high-quality products made from scratch; and a fun, festive restaurant design with fast, friendly service. Bojangles’® core menu is the same now

Snyder’s-Lance was started by Philip L. Lance in 1913.


as it was then — distinctive, flavorful chicken made with a special blend of seasonings and served with hot, fresh buttermilk biscuits and one-of-a-kind fixin’s like Bojangles’ Dirty Rice® and Bojangles’ Cajun Pintos®.

These few pages have provided a brief look at some Charlotte entrepreneurs. Charlotte-based McKinsey and Company consultant Ronak Bhatt observes an important feature about this base of business: “A broad range of entrepreneurial activities is important in a region. Charlotte provides a supportive

The Levine family has grown Family Dollar into a chain with over 6,800 stores.


environment for entrepreneurship in all its forms and across various industries: from high-tech to construction, and from energy to food service. It’s important to maintain diversity in the local economy to be responsive to emerging opportunities and to absorb possible disruptions to any given sector.”

These entrepreneurial companies, both small and large in Charlotte, create a community-wide force for success. Cathy Maday is president of Wingspan Coaching, a Charlotte company that adapts its name from the Bald Eagle and honors Cathy’s Native American heritage. She comments on the spirit of individual, yet communal success so evident in Charlotte. “Having an entrepreneurial spirit includes learning how to initiate and cultivate a group of mentors. Seasoned leaders in Charlotte realize the significance of entrepreneurs and innovation. They make strong, deliberate commitments to support our entrepreneurs and make room for small business. Seasoned leaders are listening, and our emerging leaders are leveraging opportunities to participate and contribute on a meaningful level.”

A history of entrepreneurs provides ongoing smart dialogue across entrepreneurial generations in Charlotte. It creates constructive dialogue and outreach … a welcoming atmosphere for new businesses and businesspeople. Choice Translating says it best in just a few of its almost 200 languages.

Published by: Charlotte Chamber of Commerce330 South Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC 28202 U.S.A.(704) 378-1300www.CharlotteChamber.com

Copyright 2012 by Charlotte Chamber Services Inc. All rights reserved. No part of the publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Charlotte Chamber. The information in this publication is carefully gathered and compiled in such a way as to ensure maximum accuracy. The Charlotte Chamber and Charlotte Chamber Services cannot, and do not, guarantee either the correctness of all information furnished them nor the complete absence of errors and omissions. Hence, responsibility for same neither can be, nor is, assumed.

Chair: Frank Emory, Jr. President: Bob Morgan, CCESenior V.P., Economic Development: Jeff Edge, CEcDDirector, Economic Development Marketing: Andrea WareV.P., Public Relations & Research: Natalie DickSenior Director, Research: Erin WatkinsDirector, Research: Andrew BowenResearch Associate: Madeline CarylWords: Scott Carlberg Design: Andrea WarePhotos: PatrickSchneiderPhoto.com

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Charlotte is an excellent place for business. English

Arabic

Charlotte adalah lokasi perniagaan yang ideal. Bahasa Melayu

夏洛特为您提供卓越超群的商务环境。 Chinese (Simplified)

夏洛特為您提供卓越超群的商務環境。 Chinese (Traditional)

Charlotte je skvělé místo k podnikání. Czech

Charlotte is een prima plaats voor zaken. Dutch (Netherlands)

Charlotte on loistava liiketoimintapaikka. Finnish

Charlotte est le lieu idéal pour les affaires. French (France)

Charlotte ist ein idealer Geschäftsstandort. German

Hebrew

Hindi

シャーロットは米国でのビジネスに最高の場所です. Japanese

샬럿은 비즈니스하기에는 최적의 장소입니다. Korean

Charlotte è fantastica per gli affari! Italian

Charlotte é um lugar excelente para negócios. Portuguese (Brazil)

Charlotte. Ваш незаменимый деловой партнер. Russian

Charlotte es un excelente lugar para hacer negocios. Spanish (Mexico)

Charlotte är en perfekt plats för att göra affärer. Swedish

Charlotte là một nơi lý tưởng cho việc kinh doanh. Vietnamese

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Charlotte is one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation. With our great location, world-acclaimed international hub airport,

professional sports, low energy costs, diverse and talented labor, and a nationally ranked education system, it’s easy to see why

more businesses are flocking here every year.

Visit CharlotteChamber.com

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PDF: Charlotte's Spirited Entrepreneurs

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