Tina Zwolinski’s dedication to workforce development has its roots in her career beginnings at the Greenville Chamber of Commerce. During her time on the marketing team, she witnessed the transition to manufacturing in South Carolina and the establishment of BMW in the Upstate. Her work in economic development exposed the importance of cultivating a sustainable […]

Kanga Coolers came to fame when featured on Shark Tank season 10 (2019) and they’ve recently risen in notoriety after a featured ad on Mr. Beast’s YouTube channel. Their signature product is the Kase Mate which wraps around a cold case of your favorite beverage but they’ve diversified their products with different sizes and a […]

ICYMI, we counted down to the holidays on social media – let’s recap: In 2023… we added 12 new mentors and 12 new mentees to our Venture Mentor Services program. One of our signature programs, it has been around since 2015 and has almost 50 mentors working alongside 30 companies. 11 startup companies collaborated with […]

As we reflect on this past year (how is it already 2024?!), NEXT focused on our main goals: support the broader #StartupGVL community, engage high-growth entrepreneurs, and measure the impact of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Our vision is of a robust community that provides entrepreneurs with the resources they need to scale a business in this […]

John Barnett and Daniel Dye, the dynamic duo behind Supermoon, an AI-powered customer service software, serendipitously crossed paths with Spencer Tate and Nemath Ahmed during NEXT’s inaugural Greenville-hosted Investor Match Day at the NEXT Venture Summit. This encounter might seem coincidental, but the carefully orchestrated event aimed to pair 24 local and external investors with […]

Visual Communications to Plant Nutrition: A Unique Journey Rich Johnston, the founder of Performance Enhanced Delivery (PED), brings a unique blend of creativity, business acumen, curiosity, and a deep passion for agriculture to the table. Literally, the NEXT Accelerator Cohort table.  Hailing from Pennsylvania, Rich initially pursued graphic design at Pittsburgh Tech starting his career […]

Embarking on a journey that spans venture capitalism to CEO roles to board memberships, Scott Pancoast’s career epitomizes resilience and adaptability in the ever-evolving business landscape.  Venture Capitalist to CEO Scott’s professional trajectory started after Harvard Business School with a decade at Chemed, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Cincinnati. He played various roles and […]

Rebel Rabbit was born out of a need for alcohol alternatives in the space—a rebellion. Drinking alcohol is one vice where you get judged for not doing it – it can be hard to be the only one at a party or a brewery (because everything is at a brewery!) without a drink in your […]

We just concluded our second cohort of the NEXT Accelerator program designed to work with high-growth startup founders to supercharge their businesses. At the culmination of the program, the founders took the stage to deliver their 4-minute pitches on November 16, 2023 in front of a sizable audience of about 125 people, receiving support not […]

Travis McConkey, of Cultivation Studio, led a Founders Forum presentation focused on how founders can start telling their story and capturing their audience’s attention. Sometimes getting started is the hardest part so having some frameworks to follow is helpful. A big thanks to Travis for coming out and sharing his expertise! The Essence of Attention […]