Furman University is creating entrepreneurs in Greenville, thanks to collaboration and partnership.
Representatives from the private liberal arts institution told members of the Greenville City Council this week that collaborative efforts are paying off, as Greenville builds its reputation as an entrepreneurial hub.
“People are feeling the momentum,” said Brian Davis, executive director of The Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the organization behind Furman’s entrepreneurial work. “They want to share and talk about the things that we’re doing.”
Beyond serving Furman students, The Hill Institute has community programs designed to create a startup and talent pipeline:
These programs align with four of the City of Greenville’s Economic Strategic goals: creating a best-in-class entrepreneurial ecosystem, attracting new investment, building and supporting a talent base of entrepreneurs, and ensuring a diversity of communities thrive across the City.
Since being established in 2018, the Hill Institute has seen quantifiable success, including:
GVL Starts is directly impacting other entrepreneur service organizations. According to Davis, 40% of applications submitted to the NEXTGen Business Accelerator were graduates of GVLStarts.
“We think about being a pipeline feeder,” Davis said. “This is working. We are populating each other’s programs to move things down the line and create a holistic success.”
Davis was joined at the council presentation by Greenville County Council Vice Chair Liz Seman, who also serves as Furman’s Chief of Staff and Liaison to Furman’s Board of Trustees, and the university’s provost, Beth Pontari.
Last week, founders, manufacturers, investors, corporate leaders, and ecosystem partners gathered in Greenville for Innovation Exchange, a new event hosted by NextGEN focused on strengthening connections between startups and enterprise companies.
Some business ideas come from a gap in the market. Chelsea West’s came from a gap
in human connection. Chelsea has been working deeply in supply chain and manufacturing planning, managing inventory, forecasting demand, and solving complex logistics problems across a national network of warehouses, when she noticed the overlap in the need for
automation and technology.
There’s something special about walking into GROK and immediately spotting familiar faces.
Not just one or two, but dozens. Founders, operators, creatives, technologists. People from the StartupGVL community who are all building, questioning, experimenting, and showing up.