What well known companies have been founded or co-founded by NCSU Alumni? I couldn't find a list anywhere, but the ones I know of are

SAS
CREE
Red Hat
HowStuffWorks
AnandTech

1/28/2010 12:57:44 PM

Thewolfweb

[Edited on January 28, 2010 at 12:59 PM. Reason : Why is this in chitchat??]

1/28/2010 12:59:13 PM

Zach Galifianakis, INC.

1/28/2010 12:59:56 PM

Lord of the Lines

[Edited on January 28, 2010 at 1:01 PM. Reason : x]

1/28/2010 1:00:09 PM

^^^because i don't care if people post stupid responses.

[Edited on January 28, 2010 at 1:00 PM. Reason : a]

1/28/2010 1:00:14 PM

http://www.thewolfweb.com

lol.

tarun wins.

1/28/2010 1:03:06 PM

HowStuffWorks is from one/some of our graduates?

Hell yea.

1/28/2010 1:04:50 PM

marshall brain

1/28/2010 1:05:45 PM

SpiceCubed http://www.spicecubed.com

1/28/2010 1:06:49 PM

Applied Signal Technology - http://www.appsig.com/
Co-founded by Jim Collins, an NCSU alum

1/28/2010 2:52:00 PM

Amedio's

1/28/2010 2:53:58 PM

UT porn.

1/28/2010 2:56:16 PM

The White Warriors, LLC

1/28/2010 3:02:31 PM

the guy who gave $10 million to ISE a couple years ago founded dopaco

http://www.dopaco.com/

1/28/2010 4:09:53 PM

murphy family farms

1/28/2010 4:13:10 PM

Playmakers Retreat

1/28/2010 4:14:19 PM

Isaac Hunter's Oak City Tavern

1/28/2010 4:15:11 PM

Oblinger's Temp Service

1/28/2010 4:25:41 PM

Sack Industries - mario williams

1/28/2010 4:25:59 PM

I realize this thread is about those who have started their own company.... which I have not. Hear me out, maybe I can offer some insight.

I am in outside sales, which is currently salary+commission, but will move into straight commission starting at the beginning of July 2010. I have been in this position since July 2009. I have competition from several direct manufacturing sales reps, large distributors, and local distributors. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of each:

Direct Advantages: Immediate knowledge of new technology, no middle man mark up, one shipping bill (paid by manufacturer or buyer of goods), access to larger range of non-commodity items, control inventory, have access to many distributors that can effectively sell their goods which increases market share, and set prices of commodity they manufacture.

Direct disadvantages: Typically have 1-3 sales reps per region (i.e. southeast, mid-atlantic, northeast, etc.) limiting the number of accounts they can successfully manage/cold-call, lack physical customer service or physical technical service available to or affordable for smaller users or altogether, are sometimes not trustworthy because they will go in behind their distributors that sell their commodity to one account in large quantities (i.e. they missed a big account, and have found out about it through a distributor selling their particular product) which leads to the distributor not selling their product anymore, have too many distributors selling the product ultimately driving the set price down through deviations, possibly rely on distributors to actually sell the product, and competition from other direct sources.

Large distributor advantages: have access to other commodities that go hand in hand with other manufacturers (poor example- grocery stores sell milk as well as cereal), get direct pricing, many locations regionally or nationally easing the shipping burden of buyers with multiple locations, personal service either customer or technical, many sales reps that are able to cover a broader territory, access to multiple manufacturers of the same commodity allowing to keep prices in check, service programs that smaller companies can't offer and direct providers can't match in price or value, and experts of many many commodities as opposed to one or a few.

Large distributor disadvantages: smaller local distributors creating price wars (think Michael Scott Paper Co vs Dunder-Mifflin), direct mfg's going in behind and stealing business, limited access to all of the mfg's (you won't find Harris Teeter name brands in Food Lion and visa versa), can't truly set prices because it's based on both supply and demand, territory management, and tough growth prospects in slower economies (this is true for direct as well really)

Local distributor advantages: Typically a good ol' boy setting where the seller and the buyer know each other for years (this does happen at all levels, but mostly at the local level), local folks are right down the street and can be used in emergencies, if the local guy buys at high enough volumes then there is no shipping charge to the end user, and access to both direct mfg's and large distributors.

Local distributor disadvantages: easily beaten in price, array of commodities, array of technology, lack of trained staff, low cash flow, etc etc etc.

This is what I have noticed in my six months, I am sure there are plenty more that need mentioning. The way I am setting myself apart as a sales person is this: I go after the big accounts right now while I am new. The big accounts, if I land them, will take care of me while I am new and building a customer base. The money made off of those allows me to focus free time on smaller accounts that get me higher margins. I build up big accounts, I would like to have 5-10 of these, then get 20-30 medium accounts. If I lose 1 or 2 big accounts, the 20-30 medium accounts keep me afloat while I go after new big accounts. I don't really waste time on small accounts simply because they basically pay for breakfast or something really small.

I will say this, if you can't get a big account in the first 6-8 months (assuming you have cash flow that you can ride this long) you could be in a world of trouble. If you can get one, it will really make going after the others a lot more enjoyable and less stressful. It's simply just very exhausting wasting any time on anything other than big accounts in the very beginning. You work just as hard on the medium sized accounts and see 1/3 to 1/36 of the money in my situation.

If you have any other questions, you can PM me. I hope this helps in the slightest!

1/28/2010 4:27:14 PM

what's this SAS place of which you speak?

is it a drywall service or some farm tractor repair shop?

1/28/2010 4:54:38 PM

that outside sales post is the gayest meme that has ever been forced down TWW's collective throat.

Quote :

"LET IT DIE"

1/28/2010 4:56:52 PM

Wake Crossroads Builders

website to come...

1/28/2010 4:57:53 PM

i've never heard of AnandTech

1/28/2010 5:09:38 PM

Goalrilla Basketball Systems

1/28/2010 5:12:55 PM

HexaTech

not well known yet, but prolly soon

1/28/2010 5:13:01 PM

Quote :

"i've never heard of AnandTech"

It's a computer hardware review site. Well known among computer geeks, perhaps less so among the larger population, but it's a well-respected site and deserves a place on the list.

1/28/2010 5:22:56 PM

Cecil's Cockring Emporium

1/28/2010 5:24:32 PM

^ hahaha i'm surprised it took that long before that was posted.

1/28/2010 5:45:37 PM

Troxler is well known in the earth-moving industry.

1/28/2010 5:49:54 PM

I thought that said AnalTech at first

1/28/2010 6:24:44 PM

Melvins?...just well known around nc state i guess

1/28/2010 6:26:12 PM

Danger, Inc (maker of Sidekick/Hiptop)
ChannelAdvisor
DaVinci Systems
USA TODAY (wtf)

Quote :

"Red Hat"

Sure about that? I know some of their earliest employees were alumni, but I don't think the founders were.

1/28/2010 6:26:13 PM

Davis Printing (does most of NCSU's publications) was started by Theo Davis, who was a mellophone in the marching band quite a while back.

1/28/2010 6:28:50 PM

These guys aren't well known because they don't make a visible retail product

http://www.scc-inc.com/

But I'm fairly certain one of us founded the place.

1/28/2010 6:29:49 PM

yea red hat wasn't founded by an ncsu alum.

1/28/2010 6:30:03 PM

Quote :

"Davis Printing (does most of NCSU's publications) was started by Theo Davis, who was a mellophone in the marching band quite a while back."

Quote :

"Well Known"

1/28/2010 6:30:29 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR7cd_N2LPU

1/28/2010 6:31:37 PM

Quote :

"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR7cd_N2LPU"

well shit that's one hell of a company right there

1/28/2010 6:35:58 PM

http://services.wakegov.com/realestate/

...in case anyone is up for some stalking

1/28/2010 6:38:41 PM

TransLoc

1/28/2010 7:07:53 PM

Clancy and Theys even though they have Carolina Blue trucks.

1/29/2010 5:23:36 PM

^^ one of their founders was my suitemate.

1/29/2010 5:39:40 PM

Ruckus Pizza

1/29/2010 5:50:19 PM

This End Up

1/29/2010 8:10:26 PM

I happened to be stalking the NCSU Board of Trustees bio page last night and came across these... The first one, Jim Owens, did not found Caterpillar... but it's pretty bad ass that he is the Chairman and CEO.

Dr. James W. “Jim” Owens, Peoria Heights, IL.
Chairman and CEO, of Caterpillar Inc. BS and MS in Textile Technology, Ph.D. in Economics from NC State.

S. Lawrence Davenport, Pactolus, NC
President of J.P. Davenport and Son, Inc. B.S. in Agronomy from NC State in 1965.

Barbara H. Mulkey, Raleigh, NC
Chairman and Founder of Mulkey Engineers & Consultants. B.S. and Master's degrees in Civil Engineering from NC State.

Randall C. “Randy” Ramsey, Beaufort, NC
Founder and President of Jarrett Bay Boatworks

source: http://www.ncsu.edu/about-nc-state/university-administration/board-of-trustees/index.php

1/29/2010 8:42:22 PM

la shit de ncsu

1/29/2010 8:44:32 PM

Global Pies N' Cakes Unltd.

1/29/2010 11:27:35 PM

1/29/2010 11:29:52 PM

ezactly!

1/29/2010 11:58:03 PM