What does a seven foot tall frog on an electric motorcycle, beer pouring robot, market full of founders and the 10 most exciting startups in the Greenville area have in common?
They all helped make the third annual #StartupGVL Night at the Greenville Drive a success!
Fans of baseball and entrepreneurs alike turned up for the third annual #StartupGVL Night at the Greenville Drive on Aug. 31. The night kicked off with the Village Launch Market in District 356, featuring a variety of minority & women-owned start-up business exhibits, live music, food trucks, inflatables and games. Just before heading in to see the Drive take on the Brooklyn Cyclones, NEXT Executive Director Eric Weissman announced the 10 most exciting startups in the region. Those companies were:
BOYD Cycling
Kiyatec Inc.
ScopeStack
skillsgapp
Stark RFID
Sync.MD
TrebleHook
WAVS Custom
Inside the stadium, fans were treated to interactive exhibits from Milliken & Company, as well as booths presented by the entrepreneur support organizations and resources around Fluor Field’s concourse.
Shannon Lavrin, Manager of the City of Greenville, threw out the first pitch and the Greenville Drive took the field against the Brooklyn Cyclones.
While the game unfolded on the field, examples of startups played out elsewhere in the stadium. In the AFL Champions Club, an electric motorcycle from Greenville based startup Real Motors was on display. Even Reedy, the Drive’s froggy mascot, had to check out this one-of-a-kind bike! Meanwhile, in the Front Porch area for season ticket holders, Greyson Dawkins served up the refreshing beverages with the help of his automated robot, Walter.
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.