Meet Christopher Carter: founder, leader and mentor

Meet Christopher Carter

“Approyo started as a consultative organization for SAP companies. We wanted to be able to support them with their implementation or upgrade, and then the management of the applications for years to come and we still do those activities. But several years ago, SAP decided that they were going to become a cloud-based company,” Carter said.

“So, we became a CSP (Cloud Service Provider) with Microsoft… Then you’ve got AWS, which is Amazon Web Services, and you’ve got GCP which is Google Cloud. (I thought) these are going to be the three main players. We’re going to have to leverage them. (I said) let’s get our people trained, so we started bringing people in and using the cloud facet… Then I talked to our Chief Technology Officer, Sean Gilmour, and told him that we need to come up with an AI solution just for SAP,” he continued.

“Then, we decided to build a tool called Overwatch,” he explained. “It is a very strong player in the SAP cloud space to help monitor (the system) so users don’t have to bring in additional staff.”

Overwatch is a proprietary tool developed by Approyo that was designed to provide a complete overview of the client’s IT infrastructure.

“We took a baseline solution, an open-source tool, and we literally put millions of dollars worth of technology on top of it to be able to monitor SAP, Oracle, other ERP solutions- every cloud imaginable out there… That tool is embedded in all of our management activities for every customer that we work with, and it is our main product.” Carter said.

In addition to this thriving company, Carter has recently launched a new startup, Charging Bunny. The company plans to offer solar-charging stations to support electric vehicle users.

“I love the EV markets, hence Charging Bunny- the standalone charging solution that doesn’t use anything from the grid… Why not have a charging solution? Why build it into the grid when the grid is horrible? As a technologist who works in technology and is seeing everything I’ve seen on site- I’ve worked in these industries, and I’ve seen how old some of this machinery is…so I came up with the idea and we started (Charging Bunny),” he said.

“I’ve got two people who are actually building it to get out with us and I’m working on patents and technology for a standalone EV charging station that you can literally drop in front of any place anywhere, anytime you want,” Carter said.

“My brain doesn’t stop! I created it, so I am the investor and the creative,” he continued. “I have a passion for it, so I haven’t gone for any other funding. I’ve bought all the Tesla battery packs, bought all the Tesla charging solutions. I’ve taken on all those responsibilities. I take care of all their costs, all their salaries, the design, the concepts. Everything I take on is because I think that this is something that is truly going to be a help with the EV structure because the grid is so horrible for the EV build up now…. These can literally dot our planet and never touch the grid and be such a benefit to everybody.”

When Carter isn’t exploring cutting edge technologies, he is mentoring the next generation of innovators.

“I follow Grant Cardone. I love his coaching. I love his in-your-face honesty. Then I started following other coaches out there, like Tony Robbins. I looked at my community and decided to help coach younger individuals who are in technology… I just thought this needs to happen in our community because in our SAP community there are not a lot of individuals that want to give back or help… we’re one ecosystem. If you’re going up that ladder, you better have your hand backwards helping the next person up to the next rung,” he said.

“I give my books away to every student at the university programs for SAP and every American SAP User Group meeting. I don’t even talk about my company,” he continued.  “I talk about helping them to be the best that they can be as young technologists coming into the market. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be AI or SAP or cloud or security, which the current four books are on. I ask them ‘what are you going to do to make yourself better?’ and ‘how can I help you make you better? ‘What can we do to help you to make a company or the organization that you’re going to join better because of your knowledge and your skill and your passion?”

“I tell these young people all the time, it’s not just about the skill that you learn in a book. It’s what your passion is. If you have a passion for it, you’re going to do a lot more towards that,” he said.

Carter’s career path has been colored by a difficult childhood. The experience continues to guide his professional path.

“I’ve had ups and downs. I’ve had other people that have helped me when I was a young man. My parents divorced… I can remember sleeping on a couch in other people’s homes for literally three months until my mother could figure out where she was going to put us two boys,” Cater recalled.

“I remember going to bed hungry. I remember not knowing if the church was going to give my mom food to be able to feed us when we were young kids,” he said.  “I don’t want other people to go through that, but I do want them to grow. I think we suffered, and I don’t want that from anybody. What I want them to do is to fight and to better themselves.”

“I could have been a statistic, I could have been another one of those people that thought my mom got welfare, I can get welfare too,” Carter continued.  “I said, ‘that will never be me’ and I’ve dragged my brother along with me. I make sure that my kids know that they need to work, and they need to support themselves. They also need to know where I came from and where they’re never going to be.”

Reflecting on his career thus far, Carter said, “I love helping out other entrepreneurs, other individuals who are trying to be a part of the American way and growth.”