North Carolina Business Minds

The newsrooms from Triad Business Journal, Charlotte Business Journal and Triangle Business Journal bring you the top stories and exclusive interviews from across the state of North Carolina throughout the month.

North Carolina Business Minds is a business podcast hosted by TBJ, with 64 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

TBJ hosts North Carolina Business Minds, a business show with 64 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Episode #64

  On deck? Temerity's Andy Sandler on baseball, stadium projects, possible new team

  Oct 1, 202624 minS1

  Is baseball still America's favorite pastime? Andy Sandler, founder of Temerity Baseball and Temerity Capital Partners, makes a compelling case — both on the field and as a business. In this episode of NC Business Minds, we explore the business of minor league baseball, sports tourism, and stadium-anchored real estate development across North Carolina. Sandler's baseball portfolio includes the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, the Greensboro Grasshoppers, the Lexington Legends, and a minority stake in MLB's Tampa Bay Rays. He also owns the Columbus Fury of Major League Volleyball — a venture inspired by his wife's observation that he was having more fun in sports than she was running a law firm. We dig into the Greensboro Grasshoppers' record-breaking home run season and playoff run, the difference between reported attendance and the numbers that matter to ownership, and why pace-of-play changes are reigniting younger fans' interest in baseball. Sandler also shares updates on mixed-use development plans around stadiums in Kannapolis and Greensboro — including apartments, hotels, restaurants, and a 12-story tower with views of the Charlotte skyline — plus ongoing conversations to bring a new Coastal Plain League team to Mooresville, potentially as early as 2027. He also compares the experience of being a hands-on minor league owner-operator versus a limited partner in Major League Baseball. Whether you follow baseball, real estate, or the business of sports in North Carolina, this conversation offers a rare inside look at building a sports and entertainment empire from the ground up. NC Business Minds is produced with support from Elon University. Mentioned in this episode: Elon University https://www.elon.edu/

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #63

  Inside NC Innovation: Turning Research Into Real Businesses

  Sep 17, 202625 minS1

  Lauren Ohnesorge sits down with Michelle Bolas of NC Innovation to unpack the $500 million public-private partnership designed to bridge the gap between academic research and the private sector. They dig into how the state-funded endowment works, why the funding has faced political pushback, and how NC Innovation is leveraging federal dollars and private partnerships to protect its mission. Michelle shares standout examples of the technologies NCI has helped bring to market — from an App State startup turning surplus sweet potatoes into plant-based milk, to a UNC Greensboro breakthrough purifying lithium from standing water. They also discuss the funding gap facing early-stage startups, the risk of homegrown innovation leaving North Carolina for better-funded opportunities elsewhere, and what it takes to keep the next Red Hat or IBM rooted in the state. Plus: Michelle reflects on her journey from Wisconsin to North Carolina's innovation ecosystem, what she's most proud of after two and a half years running the program, and her vision for making the state a national leader in regional economic development. Mentioned in this episode: Elon University https://www.elon.edu/

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #62

  From Crisis to Care

  Sep 10, 202628 minS1

  Born from the tragedy of 9/11, E4E Relief has grown into a global platform helping companies support employees through crises. CEO Matt Pierce joins Eric Spanberg to discuss the organization's 25-year evolution — from a handful of Charlotte clients to over 235 companies and 7 million people worldwide — same-day emergency grants, the Brave of Heart Fund for healthcare workers, and how they're preparing for an increasingly unpredictable world. Mentioned in this episode: Elon University https://www.elon.edu/

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #61

  Allegacy Financial CEO on roots, rebranding and building N.C.'s next banking power

  Sep 3, 202627 minS1

  A native of Singapore, Nathanael Tarwasokono grew up poor in Lenoir, left for 23 years, and returned to N.C. to lead Allegacy's transformation into a statewide competitor. Here's where he plans to grow and how as banking competition has heated up. Mentioned in this episode: Elon University https://www.elon.edu/

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #60

  WGU Chancellor talks changing landscape of higher education amid North Carolina expansion

  Aug 20, 202629 minS1

  Zac talks with Ben Coulter, Chancellor of Western Governors University (WGU) North Carolina, about the nonprofit online university's decade of growth in the state — including its new 500-employee Raleigh office, its low-cost competency-based learning model, and the degree programs (from nursing to AI) seeing the highest demand. They also discuss WGU's community college partnerships, tackling student debt, and where higher education is headed over the next 5-20 years. In this episode: WGU's growth and enrollment in North Carolina since 2017 How the competency-based model works Top in-demand degree programs, including new AI offerings Why the new Raleigh office matters Affordability and student debt The future of higher education and AI Mentioned in this episode: Elon University https://www.elon.edu/

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on North Carolina Business Minds. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.