Serial entrepreneur, Richard Holcomb, made his start in the software space. While working on his Masters thesis in Computer Science at NC State in 1986, he founded Q+E Software, a supplier of client-server database access technology, and served as that company's CEO, president, and chairman from inception to its acquisition by Intersolv in 1994. He was able to leverage industry connections at Q+E to gain permission to access other company’s data like WordPerfect to do the analytical work for his thesis under Dr. Alan Tharp. He was a founder of HAHT Commerce in 1995, a major e-commerce application provider, and served as HAHT's first CEO and Chairman. Prior to founding StrikeIron in 2002, he served as the Interim CEO of GadgetSpace, a wireless technology company, and oversaw its successful acquisition by Inphonic in 2001.Holcomb is an active venture investor in several technology companies. He has also served on the corporate boards of several public and private technology companies including Neon Systems, ChannelAdvisor, IITS, and Ultimus. He is currently on the board of Cellarian, a software company originally based in Houston, now in the process of moving to NC, that creates software that helps physicians detect and prevent Opioid Abuse and Addiction in patients.He has also served on several public advisory boards including the NC State Graduate School Board of Advisors, the North Carolina Electronics and Information Technology Association (NCEITA), the Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED), NC State Engineering Entrepreneurs Program Advisory Board, and is a former appointed member of the North Carolina Information Resource Management Commission (IRMC). During his career, he has won several awards including the 1993 Ernst and Young Technology Entrepreneur of the Year for North Carolina and the 1996 Business Leader Top Gun Entrepreneur of the Year.Holcomb’s career took a significant turn in 2004, when he decided it was time to do something else. He and his family purchased Coon Rock Farm, a sustainable family farm providing garden crops and pasture raised antibiotic and hormone free chicken, eggs, pigs, lamb and goat on 55 acres nestled along a bend in the Eno River just outside of Hillsborough, NC. That same year they also started Zely & Ritz, named as one of the 20 best Organic restaurants in America by Organic Style Magazine, in partnership with the Agasi’s of Raleigh. That partnership has become Eno Hospitality Group and now also owns the farm-to-table restaurant Piedmont Restaurant, Bella Bean Organics, and Heirloom Provisions, all in Durham, NC. Coon Rock Farm is featured in The Farmhouse Chef: Recipes and Stories from My Carolina Farm, a book by Holcomb’s partner in farming and life, Jamie Dement.Richard received a B.S. from the University of South Carolina and an M.S. in computer science from North Carolina State University.