We stay incredibly busy at VentureSouth. We’re on another record-breaking pace for investments this year. We’re adding two additional locations in Wilmington, NC and Hilton Head, SC. We’re hiring additional positions that need proper training and onboarding. Venture Carolina, our educational non-profit, is growing and attracting significant potential grant funding, etc., etc., etc.
Matt, Paul, and I truly love what we do, so we typically except the fact, with smiles on our faces, that we’re constantly in a state where our personal bandwidth is stretched to the max. The three of us are also devoted fathers and husbands, so a family-oriented culture within VentureSouth is a big deal to us.
Last week, our investors, staff, and families got together for a night at Fluor Field for a Greenville Drive baseball game. It was a fantastic event! It truly epitomized the type of culture we are striving for at VentureSouth. Tim Reed and JB Holleman, two of our founding board members, were the honorary game captains. Dan Haight, our current board chair was the ceremonial “Play Ball!” guy, and Matt threw out the first pitch (it wasn’t a strike, but that’s another story). It really was fantastic.
Brody at the Greenville Drive
However, the thing that stands out the most to me is a comment that Caroline Efird, our Controller, made to me that night. Caroline’s son, Brody, a super cool 8-year-old boy, got to be a bat boy that night along with Matt’s son, Coleman. To say Brody was excited is the understatement of the year. He was PUMPED! Caroline’s comment to me was “Brody will remember this for the rest of his life.”
I honestly hope Brody does.
This isn’t a blog post to pat our own backs for building a company with a family-oriented culture. It’s a call to action for any entrepreneurs who are building companies to remind them that the culture you weave into the fabric of your company matters, and in some cases, can provide life-long memories.
Play Ball!
Charlie Banks, Managing Director