Got a problem? He’ll solve it.
Sometimes a great business idea exists, but the right person to see the product to the finish line can’t be found. Enter Brandon Parise and ModernUp.
Parise founded ModernUp with one primary goal: to help small businesses solve technology problems.
Parise honed his technical skills at Red Ventures where he worked as a developer before taking a role as the company’s director of engineering. During that time he participated in Red Ventures’ Senior Leadership Development Program which pushed him down a different path.
“I went in as a technologist and came out with a lot of strong business knowledge,” Parise said. “I came out with a different focus on technology and really wanting to help businesses get to market.”
Becoming an entrepreneur was a natural next step.
“I freelanced all through college,” Parise said. “I was always interested in the startup environment, but before I worked for Red Ventures I didn’t think I knew the business side of it.”
How Does It Work?
ModernUp is an owner-operated software development firm, digital product consultancy, and idea incubator focused on creating value for early-stage companies and products.
Right now ModernUp has one employee—Parise—and a network of developers. Parise, though, is the one who gets the job done. His technical background and business acumen allow ModernUp to take over struggling or overdue projects with most products launching in 90 days or less.
Like many startups, ModernUp began with a leap of faith. Parise opened up shop without a client and now has six Charlotte-based clients, including Mamu Market, Kabook! and Kove.
“My focus is to be the technology implementer,” Parise said.
And while he’s a developer, Parise does not want ModernUp to be another development shop.
“I want to help that company launch their product and then stay on as their Chief Technology Officer,” Parise said. “This is where scaling becomes a bit of issue. Do I scale my business? Do I make this more of a group effort?”
Forward Motion
To date, most of Parise’s clients have been introduced to him through his professional network.
“Up to this point, I’ve never had to solicit,” Parise said.
But change could be coming for ModernUp.
Over the next 24 months, Parise has two major initiatives in the works.
“I have two business ideas that I want to launch and one will be launching this fall,” he said. “One is a health and fitness app that uses your money as accountability.”
The second initiative and perhaps the tougher one involves scaling ModernUp.
“Do I scale ModernUp and take everything I’ve learned and bring on someone to share knowledge with?” Parise asked. “I think an incubator would be neat to help process these ideas.”
Parise wants Charlotte’s startup scene to grow.
“I really want to see this city grow in entrepreneuristic start-ups,” Parise said. “We’re finding a lot of the money here in Charlotte is post-revenue and post-product. I’d like to create more opportunities. There’s a lot of talented people with a lot of good ideas.”
