Lou Anne Flanders-Stec, Assistant Professor and Director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, High Point University. She was previously the EVP – Strategic Initiatives for LiveCargo, Inc. an early stage company providing anytime, anywhere access to their digital media and user-generated content for individuals and companies alike. She has over 20 years experience in the financial management arena, including many years
working in and with early stage companies. Working for a family publishing and fundraising
business as the accountant and office manager provided the entrepreneurial foundation for her later positions.
After leaving the “family fold”, she began working in finance and treasury roles for manufacturing companies. The first being financial manager for a poultry processor, where her first job was building budgets for a sales division. This financial position transitioned to sales administration where the importance of inter-department communication became obvious. Her next move was to a hat manufacturer as their Finance Director with day to day involvement in treasury and cash management. This company, owned by a LBO firm, was grown through mergers & acquisitions, and was highly leveraged providing a new outlook. Being responsible for cash, and the integration of all acquisitions provided great insight in the world of mergers & acquisitions, which also
led her into the arena of venture capital.
Upon her arrival in NYC, she worked in a large corporate environment, and got “lost in the shuffle”. That is when a new venture capital firm called. The work as CFO for the VC as well as the process of setting the firm up provided valuable experience in the equity investing arena. These lessons provided the needed insight to work as a CFO of a start-up company in the late 90’s that was a tragedy of the dot.com bomb. Leveraging the experience and knowledge from prior positions provided the necessary skills for a smooth transition to the Piedmont Angel Network. A fully-invested angel fund with $4.5 million in
committed capital and 79 members, the network completed 11 investments in just over four years and continues to provide follow-on funding for those companies. LiveCargo, Inc. was a PAN One portfolio company, so the move to assist them with their fund-raising and strategic issues was been an easy transition.
She has her MBA in Finance from the University of North Texas and her undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Ouachita Baptist University. She was previously on the Board of Advisors for the Angel Capital Association, North America’s professional alliance of angel groups, and the Finance Committee for the Greensboro Children’s Museum and currently serves as a Board and Finance Committee Member for the Eastern Music Festival as well as Treasurer and Board Member for Selah Spiritual Formation. She was named one of the Piedmont Triad’s 50 Most Influential People for two years.
Jeff Schmitt