CREATIVES: Entrepreneur to Watch Laura Vinroot Poole

Southern entrepreneur and renowned international tastemaker, Laura Vinroot Poole, has spent nearly twenty years as the owner of celebrated boutiques Capitol and Poole Shop in Charlotte, North Carolina and recently co-founded the innovative shopping app House Account. Her widely admired style and notable accomplishments in the fashion industry have been revered by prominent publications from the likes of The Wall Street Journal, Women’s Wear Daily and Vogue. Laura resides in her hometown of Charlotte with her husband Perry and daughter Fifi.

We could not be more excited about Laura and House Account’s participation in the Summit later this month. Laura will share her journey as an entrepreneur with us on Wednesday and the following day we will enjoy a shopping event presented by House Account and two of the app’s participating boutiques on King Street. Summit attendees will download House Account for a chance to win a gorgeous black bag by The Row packed with goodies from boutiques on House Account. You can keep up with the fun on social media if you aren’t attending. #tscsummit

Tech talk: House Account App Founder Laura Vinroot Poole Is the New Evangelist

for Independent Boutiques

E-commerce isn’t always the answer – Vinroot Poole learned this the hard way. After investing in a beautiful e-commerce platform for her celebrated boutiques Capitol and Poole Shop to combat the recession, Vinroot Poole almost immediately scrapped it for its lack of intimacy and separation from the warm, high-touch shopping environment she prides herself on. Together with friend and software genius Travis Parsons, Vinroot Poole developed a shopping app that now provides over 450 independent boutiques across the country with sophisticated marketing and sales tools that encourage personal relationships between shops and shoppers. Lifelong friend and fellow entrepreneur Hamlin O’Kelley leads a casual conversation with Vinroot Poole about lessons learned – both in life and business.

Shop, Sip & Socialize

House Account and bloggers Chassity Evans of Look Linger Love and Hanna Seabrook of Gadabout give you a look at some of Charleston’s best boutiques – from fashion (Hampden Clothing) to estate jewels (Croghan’s Jewel Box). Let them take you on a King Street treasure hunt complete with festive cocktails and plenty of good conversation.

Enjoy getting to know Laura a little better here …

Inspiration:

Travel, Nature, my daughter Fifi, Meditation

Theme Song:

This Woman’s Work by Kate Bush

Fave book or author:

Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin and most recently, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

Favorite charity:

Baby Bundles – A charity that provides under-served families with newborn essentials

#1 skill/attribute needed to be an entrepreneur:

The ability to get back up again after being knocked down.

Role model:

My Dad

Favorite social media:

Instagram and Twitter

Favorite quote:

“I’m in the pursuit of awesomeness. Excellence is the bare minimum.” – Kanye West

Interesting tidbit about you or your business:

I’ve been totally in love with Elvis my whole life.

The Southern Coterie is a social network (tscoterie.wpengine.com) with events (thesoutherncsummit.com) that connects influencers, entrepreneurs and marketing professionals with an affinity for the South- the Makers and Doers.

Enjoy this series where we introduce you to Southern creatives we find inspiring-