Ecosysteming

What does it take to turn a scientific discovery into a thriving startup? In this episode of Ecosysteming, host Thom Ruhe sits down with Ellora McTaggart, Co-Founder and CEO of Carolina Instruments, to discuss her journey from neuroscience research at UNC Chapel Hill to building a company using eye-tracking technology to better understand the brain. Ellora shares why she traded academia for entrepreneurship, the challenges of being a young founder, and how North Carolina's entrepreneurial e...

We are celebrating 50 episodes of the Ecosysteming podcast with Sophie Dagenais, President and CEO of the New Hanover Community Endowment, for a conversation about how philanthropy, entrepreneurship, and innovation can work together to strengthen communities. Sophie shares how her career has shaped her approach to leadership and investment, and why The Endowment, valued at more than $1.8 billion, has made entrepreneurship and innovation a priority in New Hanover County. Host Thom Ruhe and Sop...

What do you do after building and selling a hugely successful software company? If you’re David Cummings, you put the vast majority of your wealth back into helping build the next generation of entrepreneurs. On this episode of Ecosysteming, Thom Ruhe sits down with David, Founder and CEO of Atlanta Ventures, Founder of Atlanta Tech Village, and Co-founder and Chairman of SoDo Atlanta. His entrepreneurial journey started years earlier at Duke University and eventually led to building Pardot, ...

What happens to a successful business when its owner is ready to retire, but there is no one prepared to take over? On this episode of Ecosysteming, host Thom Ruhe sits down with Darryl Lindie, Co-Founder of New Majority Capital and President of AA Sign & Awning, an 80 year old company he acquired and now operates. Darryl makes the case for entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA), a path that allows aspiring entrepreneurs to buy and grow existing businesses rather than starting from sc...

At just 18 years old, Arnav Chauhan is already challenging the traditional path from high school to college to career. In this episode of #Ecosysteming, host Thom Ruhe talks with Arnav about leaving the traditional high school experience behind, spending time working with startups in San Francisco, using AI to build and learn faster, and preparing for his next chapter as a Meritocracy Fellow at Palantir. Arnav shares how growing up in an entrepreneurial household shaped his mindset and why ...