Founderville.vc

Matt Dunbar, CEO of Vicinity Ventures and Venture South, discusses what it takes to build a healthy angel ecosystem. We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

James Oliver, author of Burn Bright, Not Out, discusses the many challenges founders face related to maintaining proper mental health. We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

Jami Mullikin, multi-time founder and CEO of Wonder, on building an AI-forward agency. We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

Nicole Johnson, co-founder and CEO of Boyd Manufacturing, on building a unique manufacturing startups to scale. We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

Andy Kurtz, founder and CEO of Kopis, discusses his startup journey to building Kopis into a leading custom software development company. We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

Eric Weissman, Executive Director of Greenville, SC-based nonprofit NextGen, discusses his journey to helping build Greenville, SC's entrepreneurial ecosystem. We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

Daniel Jeffords reviews his experience in a variety of startup situations. We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

Alex discusses what it takes to build a startup and, in particular, a 2-sided marketplace. We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

Moses and Matty, founders of Pixlmob, discuss how they are incorporating AI tools to ensure long-term expansion for Pixlmob We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

Matt Bell, head of SC Lauch, discusses SCRA's strategy of supporting and investing in South Carolina's entrepreneurial ecosystem We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

Founder of PE-backed Keymark, Jim Wanner, discusses how we built Keymark from scratch to a 100+ person team We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

Founder and CEO of MEO Continuity, Maximillon Glodde discusses how he started a business based on personal experience in a large corporate environment We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

The head of Sterling Sales discusses his life of entrepreneurship and the building of an IPO-bound company. We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

The Founders of BDV Solutions discuss their journey from the brink of catastrophe to a private equity exit We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

John Sterling, multi-time founder and entrepreneur, discusses his theories on building sales and marketing teams while using analysis and testing to judge the right people in the right jobs. We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

Hunter Hodnett, co-founder and CTO of Chipp.ai, discusses his journey with a co-founder to build a leading AI company, Chipp.ai.  He gets deep into the importance of founder partnerships and finding truth when making decisions. We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

Charles Houser, CEO of Strata Platforms, reviews the Herculean efforts of spinning out a SaaS platform from a parent company and then raising capital in this difficult environment. We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

In this episode of the Founderville.vc podcast, hosts Shay Houser and Scott Millwood sit down with Ryan Heafy and Ryan Johnston, co-founders of 6AM City, to unpack the fascinating story behind one of the fastest-growing newsletter-based media companies in the U.S.They take us back to the early days, meeting through Leadership Greenville and bonding over a shared passion for local community development. Fueled by bourbon and bold ideas, they envisioned a new kind of media: one that focused on positive, community-focused content delivered daily via email. Their model rejected divisive, negative news and embraced a brand-safe, advertiser-friendly format that allowed both readers and businesses to thrive.What started as a Greenville-based experiment grew into a powerful content engine serving 31 cities, delivering eight-figures in revenue. They’ve since expanded into “newsletters as a service,” working with major brands and professional sports organizations to help them package, deliver, and monetize content—often using their full-stack newsletter production model.We dive into how AI is accelerating their operational efficiency and enabling the company to scale content creation, development workflows, and client engagements faster and cheaper. Their smart adoption of automation and AI has become a key competitive advantage.We end with valuable advice on raising capital, including their strategy of tranche-based funding, protecting equity, and focusing on traction to build investor confidence. And they reflect on the importance of equal equity in co-founder dynamics and the strength it adds to decision-making and company culture. We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

Mario Brown, founder and CEO of Affordable Upstate, guides us through the founding and scaling of a meaningful social impact venture. We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

Britton Briley, founder and CEO of Ghost Brands, explains why social media is not marketing We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

Didi Caldwell, founder and CEO of Global Location Strategies, discusses her journey to tech entrepreneurship and launching Strata Platforms We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

Capers Easterby, founder and CEO of Medfirst Staffing, discusses his journey to entrepreneurship and why he keeps growing. We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

Marty Osborn, founder of By Design Advisors, leads a great discussion on culture and leadership.Startup Culture We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

Peter Marsh, founder and CEO of Flywheel Coworking, guides us through his entrepreneurial journey We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

Bryan Davis, Executive Director of Furman's Hill Institute, discusses key entrepreneurial lessons We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

Expert corporate attorney, Bo Russell, helps guide startups towards the best legal strategies We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

Thomas, co-counder of Digital Site Box, discusses the founding journey and why they decided to secure outside capital. We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

Keith and Josh, founders of Designli, discuss their founding journey and why they decided to bootstrap and bypass outside capital. We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc

We are experienced founders backing the next generation of founders. Learn more at founderville.vc