Charlotte Angel Connection Episode 078: Ben Harrison and Rob Cummings, Co-Founders of DealCloud

While working together at Falfurrias Capital, Rob Cummings and Ben Harrison experienced a need for vertically-focused software for the deal making industry.  What ensued was an 8-year growth story that achieved a significant milestone when DealCloud was sold to Intapp, Inc. in August 2018.  Make no mistake, DealCloud is still growing at a rapid pace and is a critical component to the Intapp growth story.  But for Rob and Ben, getting to an exit event capped an incredible run together from when they started as a 2-man operation inside of a “closet” at Packard Place. Now that the company has been sold – making legends out of Ben and Rob in Charlotte’s still young startup scene – I wanted to sit down and talk with Ben and Rob about their experience.  Sure AvidXchange and Red Ventures and even Lending Tree have made it big but DealCloud signals new times for Charlotte’s entrepreneurs. This feels different.  It was a homegrown team who raised money through multiple rounds and sold the business at life changing terms. Listen to Ben share a few stories of the early days.  How they had to hustle for deals and stay with friends and relatives on trips to Atlanta to save costs. It’s funny to hear Rob talk about where he was when the deal was announced and how that day fell into place.  It all worked out in the end and they are here to tell you more than you’ve probably heard them tell before.  It’s a great episode and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did recording it. Local Notes and thoughts: This is a time of year to be grateful for what we have in our lives.  As a community of people interested in watching Charlotte succeed as a startup hub, 2019 has been a very positive year and something we can all look back on as phenomenal year of growth.  Let’s look back on the positive things to celebrate from 2018 in Charlotte: DealCloud becomes a true exit story (read the story from the Charlotte Observer here). Passport raises $43 million from Bain Capital and is well on its way to being another unicorn startup here in Charlotte (read the story here). Tresata raises $50 million and joins Avid and Red Ventures as recent Charlotte unicorns (read the story here). Venture for America introduces another group of motivated fellows for Charlotte area startups (read the full story here). StartCharlotte and Innovate Charlotte both received $100,000 grants from NC Idea – propelling their growth and cementing their place in Charlotte’s startup ecosystem. Local startups like Skipper and Rabbu – among others raise money locally and from afar. Collective Hustle is founded by four women to make entrepreneurship and investing more accessible in Charlotte. Sam Smith announces the first Seed the South – highlighting Charlotte’s entrepreneurial ecosystem – will be January 9, 2019. Scott Pope launches the NC Health Innovators – which is working to put Charlotte on the map as a healthcare as a business startup ecosystem (read about their latest event here).