Media Coverage

First Person

Julie H. Stroh is CFO of Waterside Capital Corp.

Interviewed by Lakeshia Artis, Inside Business - Hampton Roads, September 3, 2007

“I’ve only been here a short time and the CFO currently is retiring. I use to work for the SBA Division in Washington D.C. for seven years. I handled all the distribution process for its equity program. Part of my job was deciding how much money would go to their private investors and how much would go to the SBA.

“As CFO, one of my duties is making sure all of the company’s financial information is in order. All of our financial statements are reported to the SEC and SBA because we are publicly traded. I’m also in charge of maintaining the budget and anything else that comes up. I’m still learning a lot. I come from a banking background, so I feel comfortable in this new position. My job is to help Waterside run smoothly and help make loans available to small businesses.

“I’ve always enjoyed looking at numbers. At SBA, I worked on one side of the table, where the government would loan money to venture capitalists. I never really got the chance to work with small businesses. At Waterside, I get to be on the other side of the table. I actually get the chance to go out and meet with small businesses and owners. I enjoy that. Afterwards, I get to crunch the numbers to see whether or not we can invest in that company.

“Here at Waterside, we are looking to invest in small businesses that aren’t able to go to the bank and get a loan, especially with the credit crunch impacting senior lenders and the financial market. We are looking to invest anywhere from $500,000 to $3 million. Most of these companies have sustainable cash flow with revenues greater than $5 million. We are not looking to invest in startup or turnaround companies. Waterside is basically looking for companies in the Mid-Atlantic market that are looking to grow.

“One thing at Waterside that we are trying to do is increase our visibility and become more active in the community. We have money to loan to small businesses. It’s our job to get in touch with small companies that need financing. Waterside can do so much to help small businesses grow. The challenge is letting people know we are here.”

Brief Bio:

Born

Jan. 1, 1971 in Norfolk.

1992

Graduated with a bachelor’s in business administration from Old Dominion University.

1999

Obtained a master’s in business administration from ODU.

1992-2000

Held numerous positions with BB&T of Virginia in local area offices including teller, accounting, management trainee, branch office manager and assistant area operations manager.

2000-2007

Financial analyst for U.S. Small Business Administration, Investment Division in Washington, D.C.

2006

Obtained CPA license.

2007

CFO of Waterside Capital Corp. in Norfolk.