As Kaplan says, “The new story of our founders isn’t who is hustling the hardest. It’s about who is taking the steps of the journey." Jeffrey is the Director of Venture Asheville, an organization which serves as a catalyst for high-growth startups by building entrepreneurs and getting startups funded. Under Jeffrey’s leadership, startups in Venture Asheville’s portfolio created over 285 new jobs, raised over $30M investment dollars, and earned $83M in revenue in the local Asheville area. He is also the local director of VentureSouth’s Angel Investment Group, the Asheville Angels, and advisor to the Pisgah Fund, a $50M digital health innovation fund. Prior to leading Venture Asheville, Jeffrey earned his master’s degree in Entrepreneurship and instructed Entrepreneurship at the University of Florida. He is a published author in Entrepreneurship Pedagogy, launched and sold pet-tech startup Dogphrendly, built a Jewish dating site for moms to play matchmaker for their kids, and cofounded TheE13.com.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx