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This blog is the full interview of a Q&A we did with WNC Business Magazine. This was completed in Early February 2025.
Interview with Optimist Ventures
WNC Business: What are some of the biggest challenges you anticipate startups facing when balancing sustainable growth with the pressures of the venture landscape, and how does your program address these?
Optimist Ventures: Startups today face the twin pressures of achieving rapid growth while maintaining financial sustainability. Traditional venture funding often emphasizes hypergrowth at the expense of long-term viability, which can push founders to prioritize short-term metrics over sustainable operations. At Optimist Ventures, we take a different approach by providing funding through our Shared Profit Agreement (SPA) rather than traditional equity. This structure allows founders to grow at a pace that makes sense for their business without the pressure of forced exits or unrealistic growth trajectories.
Additionally, our 15-week program is designed not just to help companies scale but to do so in a way that aligns with their values, their market, and their long-term sustainability. We focus heavily on founder resilience, operational efficiency, and capital discipline—all critical factors in growing a business responsibly.
WNCBiz: The Shared Profit Agreement (SPA) is an interesting model. What was the thinking behind choosing this structure over more traditional equity-based funding, and what kind of feedback have you received from founders about it so far?
OV: The Shared Profit Agreement (SPA) was born out of a desire to create a founder-friendly, regionally aligned funding model. Unlike traditional equity investment, where founders dilute their ownership and often feel pressure to exit on an investor’s timeline, the SPA allows startups to retain full control. Instead of giving up a percentage of the company, founders commit to sharing a percentage of revenue or profit, based on a fixed sliding scale.
This structure works particularly well in a region like Western North Carolina, where many businesses are capital-efficient, bootstrapped, and value independence. Founders appreciate that the SPA allows them to focus on profitability and long-term impact, rather than short-term valuations. So far, feedback has been overwhelmingly positive—entrepreneurs love the flexibility, and investors appreciate that it aligns incentives around building sustainable businesses rather than chasing the next funding round.
WNCBiz: Western North Carolina has a unique economic and cultural landscape. What specific opportunities and challenges does this region present for startups, and how does the Optimist Ventures program account for those?
OV: Western North Carolina (WNC) is a phenomenal place to build a business, but it has its own set of challenges. On the opportunity side, we have a thriving entrepreneurial spirit, strong tourism-driven economy, and a growing ecosystem of support organizations (including Venture Asheville, Hatch Innovation Hub, and Mountain BizWorks). The region is also home to founders who prioritize sustainability, social impact, and craftsmanship—qualities that align well with our investment philosophy.
The challenges? Access to capital and talent. While WNC has a strong network of angel investors and local funding sources, it’s not yet on the radar of larger venture capital firms. Additionally, talent recruitment can be difficult outside of certain industries.
Optimist Ventures addresses this by acting as a bridge between local startups and outside investors, while also fostering a tight-knit founder community that helps with talent retention and shared resources. Our SPA model is especially suited to WNC because it de-risks entrepreneurship for founders and provides a funding alternative that works for businesses that might not fit the typical venture capital mold.
WNCBiz: Beyond the financial investment and the 15-week program, what are some of the other benefits that participating startups gain from Optimist Ventures? What kind of long-term support or community will you foster beyond the program's formal completion?
OV: One of the biggest benefits of Optimist Ventures is the network. Startups in our program gain access to a curated group of mentors, investors, and fellow founders who continue to support them long after the program ends.
Beyond financial capital, we provide:
Operational and strategic mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs and investors.
Introductions to potential customers, partners, and follow-on funding sources.
A long-term founder community—Optimist Ventures is designed to be a lasting resource, not just a 15-week sprint.
After the program, we remain actively engaged through ongoing check-ins, founder retreats, and access to our investor network. The goal is to create an ecosystem where founders continue to learn from each other and help the next generation of WNC startups succeed.
WNCBiz: Looking ahead, what are your aspirations for the long-term impact of Optimist Ventures on the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Western North Carolina? What does success look like 5 or 10 years down the line?
OV: We want to see more sustainable, profitable businesses being built in WNC—businesses that aren’t just chasing an exit but are creating long-term value. In five years, I’d love to see Optimist Ventures have:
Invested in 50+ companies through the SPA model.
Helped establish WNC as a hub for innovative, scalable, yet capital-efficient startups.
Proven that alternative funding models like SPA can work at scale.
Success isn’t just about exits or valuations; it’s about seeing more founders build thriving businesses that support our region’s economy and create meaningful jobs.
WNCBiz: How does Optimist Ventures measure the success of its program beyond just the financial returns or job creation numbers? (I'd love some such numbers if you have them, though I suppose it's early in the game!) What other metrics are important to you?
OV: While financial returns and job creation are key indicators, we also measure:
Founder satisfaction and retention (Are founders staying in WNC and growing their businesses here?)
Revenue growth and profitability of portfolio companies (Since we rely on profit-sharing, success means companies reaching sustainable profitability.)
Network strength (Are founders continuing to collaborate, invest in, and mentor each other?)
Capital efficiency (How much funding is required for each company to reach sustainability?)
Since we’re early in the game, we don’t have all the long-term numbers yet, but we’re tracking progress across these key areas.
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