Fitzgerald Light featured in Charlotte Business Journal

From gBETA Accelerator to Helping 1,000 Businesses: The FlightSuite Story

Building a startup is a series of small moments that compound into something bigger. A conversation that leads to an introduction. A pitch that opens a door. A feature that validates you're on the right track. Looking back on FlightSuite's journey from a seven-week accelerator program to being featured in the Charlotte Business Journal, I'm reminded that momentum is real and consistency compounds.

The Problem We Set Out to Solve

Every sales rep I've ever talked to has the same complaint: CRM data entry is a time suck. They spend hours every week clicking through forms, updating contact records, and logging calls instead of doing what they were hired to do: sell.

The data backs this up. Sales reps spend only about 34% of their time actually selling. The rest goes to administrative tasks, with CRM updates being one of the biggest culprits.

FlightSuite was born from a simple idea: what if you could just tell your CRM what happened, and it would handle the rest? No clicking through forms. No hunting for the right fields. Just type "Had a great call with Sarah about the enterprise plan, she wants a proposal by Friday" and let AI do the logging.

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The Accelerator That Changed Everything

In late 2025, FlightSuite was selected for the gBETA Charlotte cohort, a no-equity accelerator backed by gener8tor and the city of Charlotte. We were one of five companies chosen from more than 40 applicants.

The seven-week program was intense. Weekly accountability sessions. Mentorship from experienced founders and investors. Access to a network I couldn't have built on my own in years.

"The program opened up my mindset to be able to think bigger."
— Fitzgerald Light, as quoted in Charlotte Business Journal, December 2025

Before gBETA, I was thinking about how to help individual sales reps save time. After gBETA, I was thinking about how to transform how entire organizations interact with their CRM systems.

gBETA Charlotte Fall 2025 cohort at pitch night

Charlotte Business Journal

Charlotte-backed accelerator pushes five emerging tech startups toward scale

December 10, 2025

Building Momentum

After graduating from gBETA, we hit the ground running. The traction started compounding:

February 2025

FlightSuite CRM Services

Launched our first iteration as an automated CRM platform, helping businesses manage their customer data.

Fall 2025

gBETA Charlotte

Selected for the accelerator program. Intensive mentorship and investor access.

December 2025

The Pivot: CRM CoPilot

Graduated from gBETA and decided to think bigger. Pivoted to building the CRM CoPilot—a Chrome extension that eliminates manual data entry entirely.

January 11, 2026

Chrome Extension Launch

Launched FlightSuite as a Chrome extension. Featured in Charlotte Business Journal's Small Business Ecosystem Report. Now at 134+ users and growing.

The 1,000 Business Goal

When the Charlotte Business Journal asked me about our goals for 2026, I didn't hesitate:

"We want to help 1,000 businesses. That's our No. 1 objective."
— Fitzgerald Light, Charlotte Business Journal, January 2026

It's not about the number itself. It's about the impact. Each business we help means sales reps who get to spend more time with customers instead of fighting their CRM. It means data that actually gets logged, so managers can make better decisions. It means less friction and more selling.

Fitzgerald Light featured in Charlotte Business Journal

Charlotte Business Journal

What the city's Small Business Ecosystem Assessment says about Charlotte's startup community

January 23, 2026

Read on CBJ Download Full Article (PDF)

What's Next

We're just getting started. HubSpot integration is live. More CRM platforms are on the roadmap. And we're continuing to build features based on what our users actually need.

The Charlotte startup ecosystem has been instrumental in getting us here. From gBETA to Innovate Charlotte to the incredible mentors and investors who've given their time, this city believes in founders who are building something real.

If you're a sales rep tired of data entry, or a sales manager frustrated by incomplete CRM data, check out our press coverage or just try FlightSuite for free.

And if you're a founder in Charlotte wondering if the ecosystem can support you: it can. Reach out. Show up. The momentum is real.

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