What's the best advice you have ever received?

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.

What's the best advice you could give?

Whatever entrepreneurial endeavor you are planning, it will never be the perfect time - so get started right now, and get your company on the Upstate Upstarts list.

What is the stiffest challenge facing your industry right now?

Finding investors to keep up with the demand from the entrepreneurs raising capital across the Southeast, especially in Greenville. That's why we launched VentureSouth in 2014, and the Upstate Upstarts list this year.

Little known fact about your organization:

VentureSouth is one of the top 10 angel groups in the country, from its humble origins here in the Upstate of South Carolina.

What was your first job?

Selling disturbingly lifelike dolls in a tchotchke shop.

Describe your role:

As a cofounder at VentureSouth, I find and analyze companies to invest in, find and educate new angel investors, connect the companies and the investors together, and watch the combination create companies, jobs and wealth by solving problems.

What does your company do?

VentureSouth provides a community to help individuals invest in early-stage technology companies across the Southeast. The Upstate Upstarts list is a collaboration between VentureSouth and many other capital providers and entrepreneur support organizations to particularly assist early stage companies in our region.