The Fund That Creates the Founders It Invests In | Alan Blakeborough, Launchpad Ignite Fund

Alan Blakeborough is a military veteran and 35-year serial entrepreneur who built startup accelerator Launchpad after discovering South Carolina had no support system for tech founders. People were leaving for Atlanta, Charlotte, and Austin just to find a community. Now he's running the Launchpad Ignite Fund, which primarily invests in companies that stay on after graduating the accelerator.We get into why South Carolina's manufacturing culture creates a blind spot for tech founders, how Alan is converting local real estate investors into their first VC checks, and why the fund's Opportunity Zone status offers a tax advantage no other tech fund has figured out.