Top fintech startup investors in north carolina

The fintech sector is crowded with hundreds of companies. Every founder believes his/her startup will be the next big thing in the industry. But!

Does it happen?

Not really….

This is because out of all those hundreds of new ideas, only a few founders can:

1. Find the right investors
2. Pitch their idea and secure funding

To ensure you won't be lacking at either of these, we've created a list of top 7 North Carolina investors looking to fund fintech startups.

This guide shows who these investors are, what kind of companies they like to invest in, and how to reach them.

Find Out The Top 7 Startup Investors in North Carolina (Fintech Special)

SJF Ventures

• Website: sjfventures.com
• Focused Sectors: Fintech, Sustainability, Health & Wellness, and Education Technology.
• Funding Stages: Early to Growth Stage Investments.
• Notable Investments: Tive, Solera Health, and TemperPack.
• Total Investments: Over 50 companies.

SJF Ventures is a Durham-based venture capital firm dedicated to investing in high-growth companies that are working for a smarter and cleaner future.

Over its 24-year history, SJF Ventures has invested in 84 companies, with 28 successful exits.

The firm invests in companies with proven customer validation and annual revenues exceeding $1 million. The investors usually focus on startups that are solving modern fintech problems such as enhancing payment processing efficiency or improving security protocols.

The investment range of SJF Ventures can go up to $15M.

Hatteras Venture Partners

• Website: hatterasvp.com
• Focused Sectors: Life Sciences, including Biopharmaceuticals, Medical Devices, Fintech, and Healthcare IT.
• Funding Stages: Seed and Early-Stage Investments.
• Notable Investments: G1 Therapeutics, Clearside Biomedical, GeneCentric Therapeutics.
• Total Investments: 183 investments.

Hatteras Venture Partners is a venture capital firm specializing in early-stage investments within the life sciences, healthcare, and fintech sectors.

Since its founding, Hatteras has invested in 118 companies, averaging five new investments annually over the past decade.

Hatteras Venture Partners focuses on early-stage investments, primarily participating in Series A and Series B funding rounds. Their team of investors prioritizes founders who have at least 5-10 years of relevant experience in the industry.

The investment range of Hatteras Ventures Partners depends upon the startup, ranging up to $50M.

Bull City Venture Partners

• Website: bullcityventurepartners.com
• Focused Sectors: Software, E-commerce, Digital Media, and Fintech.
• Funding Stages: Seed and Early-Stage Investments.
• Notable Investments: Spoonflower, Windsor Circle, Bronto Software.
• Total Investments: Over 30 companies.

Founded in 2012 by Jason Caplain and David Jones, Bull City Venture Partners is a North Carolina-based venture capital firm.

The firm focuses on B2B software and tech-enabled businesses. They emphasize backing people who are uniquely qualified to build solutions for the world’s most acute problems.

Moreover, BCVP hosts an annual event called "Founders First," formerly known as the "Entrepreneurs’ Series." It's a famous event, bringing together over 700 top investors, entrepreneurs, and others in the tech ecosystem.

The investment range of Bull City Venture Partners is around $2M.

Excelerate Health Ventures

• Website: exceleratehealth.com
• Focused Sectors: Healthcare IT, Digital Health, and Fintech.
• Funding Stages: Seed and Early-Stage Investments.
• Notable Investments: Apervita, Healthify, Noteworth.
• Total Investments: Over 20 companies.

Founded by Bobby Bahram, Excelerate Health Ventures is a Durham, North Carolina-based venture capital firm that funds startups at the early stages.

Ever since its founding, Excelerate Health Ventures has achieved eight successful exits, including Availity Clinical Solutions in August 2022 and NurseGrid in March 2020. The firm focuses on seed and early-stage investments, primarily in the United States, with an average round size of $4 million.

Excelerate Health Ventures invests in startups with innovative solutions. They prefer startups with well-experienced and capable management teams that can scale a business.

Ryan Wooten

• Focused Sectors: Real Estate, Technology, and Fintech.
• Present In: Raleigh, North Carolina.
• Notable Investments: Clinical Ink, Mesoblast, BioCritica, Mileutis, PreCision Dermatology, Arvelle Therapeutics

Ryan Wooten is a Managing Director at NovaQuest Capital Management. Before joining NovaQuest in 2013, Wooten worked as an investment banking associate at Citigroup in New York City from 2009 to 2013, focusing on mergers and acquisitions.

Moreover, Ryan Wooten likes to invest in startups with proven technologies or products that require capital for scaling operations, clinical trials, or market expansion. He also partners with founders who have personally been involved in the finance sector and have first-hand experience.

The investment range of Ryan Wooten is around $500,000.

Christopher Julich

• Focused Sectors: Real Estate, Technology, and Hospitality.
• Present In: Asheville, North Carolina.
• Notable Investments: Welcome Software, Ecast, Silverpop, ThreatQuotient, Market Force Information.

Christopher Julich is a Managing Director at Escalate Capital Partners, a venture debt and private equity firm based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Julich's investment strategy revolves around supporting early-stage companies that have strong growth potential and can easily generate 4-5x ROI. He invests in Series A and later funding rounds, targeting businesses with proven revenue models and market traction.

Other than investment activities, Christopher Julich also takes an interest in guiding his portfolio companies. He wants to partner with founders who are willing to learn and usually invest around $50,000-$250,000.

Edward McCarthy

• Focused Sectors: Biotechnology, Fintech, and Medical Devices.
• Present In: Durham, North Carolina.
• Notable Investments: OMNIA Partners, SIM Partners, Pioneer Surgical, Q'Apel Medical, OrthoScan, ABT Molecular Imaging

Edward McCarthy is an angel investor based in Raleigh who focuses on sectors such as healthcare, information technology, and financial services.

As an investor, McCarthy has worked with many VCs and also served as a Managing Director at Ministry Brands. He usually invests in startups by participating in startup fundraisers or meeting events.

Moreover, McCarthy looks for startups with scalable business models and solving modern problems. He values founders who are experienced and can easily lead their startups, having experienced teams.

Wrap-Up: Our Takeaway

So, you've got a brilliant fintech idea, and found a perfect investor with identical interests but!

How do you approach them? Random generic emails aren’t going to win investor attention, especially when they have a super-busy routine.

Firstly,

1. Start with finding a connection. See if you have any mutual connections with the investor. A warm introduction is always better than a cold email. LinkedIn is your friend here!

2. Keep the email short. Investors are busy. Your initial email should be short and to the point. Talk about the key aspects of your startup and why it's a good fit for them.

3. If you don't hear back within a reasonable time (a week or two), it's okay to send a polite follow-up email. Don't be pushy, but show that you're still interested.