Team | First Launch Capital Fund

Adam Duggins

Investment Committee

Mr. Duggins serves as Managing Partner of New Page Capital, a lower middle market private equity firm located in Greensboro, NC. Prior to launching New Page Capital, Mr. Duggins was Vice President of Operations for Care Services, a private equity backed, pharmacy benefit management company. Prior to Care Services, Mr. Duggins was a Manager at Bain & Co. where he advised small and mid-cap private equity clients on potential acquisitions and market opportunities. Mr. Duggins holds a BBA in Finance from the College of William & Mary and an MBA from the University of Virginia.

Lou Anne Flanders-Stec

Fund Executive / Investment Committee / Advisory Board

Ms. Flanders-Stec is the Executive Vice President of Launch Greensboro, where she is responsible for programming for early-stage entrepreneurs. Previously Ms. Flanders-Stec served as Fund Executive for the Piedmont Angel Network, one of the region’s oldest and most successful investor networks. Additionally, Ms. Flanders-Stec served as an Assistant Professor and Director of the Student Entrepreneurship Centers at both High Point University and the City University of New York. Ms. Flanders-Stec was also Chief Financial Officer at Signature Capital, an angel fund in New York. Ms. Flanders-Stec holds her a BA in Business Administration and Management from Ouachita Baptist University and an MBA in Finance from the University of North Texas.

Pearce Landry

Advisory Board

Mr. Landry serves as both Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Granville Capital, Inc. and has over 20 years of principal investing experience. He currently oversees Granville Capital’s funds of hedge funds, their private equity strategy which he started in 2004, and their investments in energy infrastructure. Prior to joining Granville Capital in 2004, Mr. Landry was first an Analyst, then an Associate, and finally a Partner with the private equity firm First Union Capital Partners (and its successor Wachovia Capital Partners) from 1995 until 2003. While there, Mr. Landry specialized in energy and telecommunications investments, serving as an advisor and board member for portfolio companies. Mr. Landry attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Morehead Scholar and graduated Phi Beta Kappa earning his BS in Biology (with Highest Distinction) and a Minor in Chemistry in 1995.

Nathan Powell

Investment Committee

Nathan Powell is a Principal at Cone Health Ventures. Previously, he was a Managing Director at KBRA Analytics, a financial data and analytics platform. He is also Co-Founder of a local cybersecurity startup based in the Triad. Prior to these roles, Nathan was an equity and credit analyst covering the global financials sector. He was the head of global financials sector analysis at the Center for Financial Research and Analysis before working as an advisor to several global hedge funds in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Nathan is active in the Triad community, working with Launch Greensboro and other organizations to support local entrepreneurs and help them turn ideas into reality. Nathan graduated with a BS in Finance from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Bill Soles

Investment Committee / Advisory Board

Mr. Soles serves as Managing Member of Creek Road Capital, a private investment firm. Prior to the founding of Creek Road Capital, Mr. Soles was founder, President and CEO of Soles Brower Smith & Co., a boutique investment banking firm serving the lower middle-market. Mr. Soles was previously a Vice President of First Union Capital Partners, Inc., the merchant banking and private equity subsidiary of First Union Corporation, and an Investment Analyst in the corporate investments department of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Throughout his career, Mr. Soles has focused on transactions and strategic issues for small and mid-sized companies including sales and divestitures, acquisitions and buyouts, recapitalizations and restructurings, and debt and equity financing. He received his MBA from University of Virginia, and BS from Guilford College.

Clifford Thompson

Investment Committee / Advisory Board

Mr. Thompson is a co-founder and President of Thompson Traders, Inc. a Greensboro, NC based manufacturer and distributor of high-end plumbing fixtures. Previously, he was Vice President of Sales & Marketing responsible for the creation and execution of Thompson Traders’ wholesale business channel. Prior to Thompson Traders, Mr. Thompson was a Sales Manager for CMPC USA, a Chilean forestry company. An active community member, he holds leadership positions at Crescent Rotary Club of Greensboro and Foundation, Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, Launch Greensboro, Greensboro Symphony Orchestra and Greensboro Science Center. Clifford holds a BS in Management from Purdue University.