Nate Dapore: People Matter

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April 28, 2015: Nate Dapore, President and CEO of People Matter spoke to our club. People Matter is venture backed workforce management software company headquartered in Charleston. Nate was a principal at Battery Park Ventures, and VP of Enterprise Sales at Benefitfocus previously. He also sits on the Board of Directors of the Charleston Digital Corridor, Youth Entrepreneurship of South Carolina (YESCarolina) and on the Board of Trustees of Hampden-Sydney College.

He started his talk about the rapid growth in the technology sector in Charleston. 2 years ago, there were about 100 technology start-ups in the Charleston area, now there are over 300 in the region. This area is attractive to young college educated workers and is the second most popular destination for movers as the areas traffic would corroborate. Jobs in the technology sector have increased over 45% in the last few years. With the average per capita wage at approximately $39,000.00 and $42,000.00 for South Carolina and Charleston respectively, the salary for the technology sector is $70,000.00. The sector in this region keeps growing.

Mr. Dapore went on to describe the 3 major components for technology growth in the area, Infrastructure, Talent and Capital.

Infrastructure

People Matter started at Flagship 1, the technology incubator. There are about 50 companies now in Flagship 1 and 2 and Flagship 3 is coming. Along with this growth will come density. With technology companies looking at Morrison drive for location, the buildings will need to be taller.

Talent

Talent is the biggest governor to growth of technology in the Charleston Region. The Colleges and Universities offer opportunities but there also exists Code Camps, and training centers such has the Harbor Entrepreneurship Center and Iron Yard training programs. About 65% of People Matter employees come from out of the area, often through internships that allow them to get a foot in the door. Although he would like to hire more SC talent, Charleston competes with Charlotte, Atlanta and Greenville for that talent. The region needs 250-300 software engineers per year to meet the growing demands.

Capital

Capital is a big driver for growth and more capital is coming into the area including angel funds and even the relocation of small venture capital funds.

He concluded with mention of the Dig South technology conference kicking off that day. Only 3 years only, it had 1000 attendees 2 years ago, this year it will be 5000.

— Don Baus