Business Black Box - Q3 - 2015

Business Black Box

Quarter 3 • 2015

www.InsideBlackBox.com

U.S. $5.95

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Transforming Lives Through Fine Art BJU

Students of ALL ages are invited to visit both of M&G’s locations—at Heritage Green and on the campus of Bob Jones University—

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where you’ll encounter not just art, but diverse cultures and people from centuries past and discover the distance of time proves there is “nothing new under the sun.”

Visit with your family or school group or have one of our South Carolina-certified educators come to your K-12 school and present an arts-integrated lesson tailored to your curriculum and subject matter.

M&G offers something of interest and learning for everyone!

HERE

Q3 2015

IN TH IS ISSU E 30

FOR THE SAKE OF ART

ARTISTS TO WATCH

42

BUSINESS

BLACK

BOX FEATURES

60

MUSIC AND MEDICINE

5

Business Black Box Q3 2015

D E PA R T M E N T S 10

GUT CHECK

12

RANDOM & RELEVANT

18

HOMEGROWN

19

THE EXERCISE

23

LAYERS

26

ON THE TOWN

38

TRAILBLAZER

56

NEXT GEN

66

TECH BRIEF

70

11 QUESTIONS

76

SPEED PITCH

80

HOW TO

C O LU M N S

6

24

HR

28

SALES

36

ENTREPRENEUR

40

TECH

54

MARKETING

58

FINANCE

68

GLOBAL

72

LAW

74

POLITICS

78

EN ESPAﾃ前L

Business Black Box Q3 2015

THE FILM HOUSE SPEED PITCH P. 76

Photo by Carter Tippins/FishEye Studios

Tailored Solutions.

Proven Results.

McNair

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No matter what size your business is, the attorneys at McNair are ready to help. Over 100 attorneys across eight oďŹƒces work every day to help our clients solve complex legal problems, and to enhance their ability to build value, manage risk, and improve performance.

Urgency, common sense, and high-level skills: all part and parcel of what the attorneys at McNair bring to the table. Our experience and knowledge combine to deliver the service our clients deserve in or out of court.

HERE

When you see big challenges, we see the bigger picture.

www.mcnair.net

Intellectual Property Administrative & Regulatory

Public Finance Banking & Finance Bankruptcy Tax

Labor & Employment Corporate Health Care

Economic Development Estate Planning Real Estate

Local Government Immigration International Environmental

Litigation Class Action Governmental Aairs

104 South Main Street | Suite 700 | Greenville, SC 29601 Reginald M. Gay, Managing Shareholder of the Upstate Unit | Email: rgay@mcnair.net | Phone: 864-271-4940

Q3.15

CEO

PUBLISHER

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

GEOFF WASSERMAN

JORDANA MEGONIGAL

CATHERINE CRANDALL

EDITORIAL ASSOCIATE EDITOR

JOSH OVERSTREET

OUR STORY...

Whether planes crash or crews overcome obstacles to successfully complete flights, airlines go to the black box to discover secrets, answers, and missing information to explain what happened and learn for the future.

That’s the mission of our magazine, our connect events, and our interactive platform.

News of businesses succeeding, failing, merging, hiring, firing and more are reported everyday, all over the Upstate. But in business, the real power is not just hearing the news, but about going behind the scenes, discovering, connecting, and learning from those that made it happen.

At the heart of every event, every blog, every magazine issue, and every documentary Business Black Box produces, you’ll find a relentless passion for connecting, advising and growing Upstate business.

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS MARTY BAUER MARC BOLICK MICHAEL BOLICK ERIKA CANNON ANDY COBURN CHIP FELKEL KANISHA FOWLER LESLIE HAYES DOUG KIM ANNA LOCKE DANIEL LOVELACE EVELYN LUGO

Business Black Box is a registered trademark of ShowCase Publishing 2015. Content may not be reproduced without written permission of Business Black Box. Excerpts may be reprinted, provided that credit is given to the author and to Business Black Box magazine.

DESIGN PHOTOGRAPHY CARTER TIPPINS, FISHEYE STUDIOS

Julie Godshall Brown, President, Godshall Staffing Andy Coburn, Attorney, Wyche Law Firm John Deworken, Partner, Sunnie & Deworken Matt Dunbar, Managing Director, Upstate Carolina Angel Network Chip Felkel, CEO, The Felkel Group Greg Hillman, Executive Director, SCRA/SC Launch!

Dean Hybl, Executive Director, Ten at the Top Coleman Kirven, Commercial Banking Executive, The Palmetto Bank Todd Korahais, Operating Partner, Keller Williams Realty

INTERACTIVE

Sam Patrick, CEO, Patrick Marketing & Communications

JOHNATHAN BURGESS

Nigel Robertson, Anchor, WYFF

BUSINESS ACCOUNTING

Ravi Sastry, VP Of Sales & Marketing, Immedion Tony Snipes, Business Coach & Entrepreneur Terry Weaver, CEO, Chief Executive Boards International Amy Wood, Anchor, WSPA

JON COVER

Go to your app store and download the Layar app. (available for iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Google Glass) When you see this mark on any page, the page has something else to show you.

Just scan that page, in full, with your Layar scanner, and it will pop onto your mobile device’s screen.

Business Black Box Q3 2015

Michael Bolick, CEO, Selah Genomics

Jil Littlejohn, President, Urban League of the Upstate

AUGMENTED REALITY

8

A team of experienced, connected business leaders from different regions and industries, who advise us regularly on trends, changes, growth, and progress in Upstate business.

Tiffany Hughes, Director Of Marketing, Meyco Products

JON WADSWORTH Business Black Box (Vol.7, Issue 3) is published four times per year by ShowCase Publishing, 1200 Woodruff Rd. Suite A8, Greenville, SC 29607; phone (864) 281-1323; fax (864) 281-1310.

BBB ADVISORS

WEBSITE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

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GUT CHECK

ART? IN A

BUSINESS MAGAZINE? There’s one thing that we’ve learned in the past seven years as we’ve brought Business Black Box to life—if something seems counter to what we typically provide in content, we’re going to hear about it. This isn’t always bad, but we will always get more feedback on months that we do something unusual for us.

So let me head this one off at the pass: “Why an arts issue? You’re a business magazine….” Yes, you’re right, and thanks for recognizing this! Business Black Box doesn’t typically cover the arts, but in this case, we are excited to be able to do so. Not unlike our food issue a few years ago, we are stoked to be able to explore a different side of the arts industry—namely, the economic impact of arts and culture in our community.

“Economic Impact? But isn’t art just something to look at?” No. In fact, in their fourth Arts & Economic Prosperity study, Americans for the Arts reported that “In 2010, nonprofit arts and culture organizations pumped an estimated $61.1 billion into the economy.” In addition, their audiences spent another $74.1 billion, reflected in everything from dining and hospitality to clothing, child care and gifts. That is nothing to sneeze at.

“Well, okay, but this is the Upstate, not someplace like New York or San Francisco.” Well, okay, but that doesn’t matter. The Upstate has a number of both nationally and globally acclaimed artists, and if you look at the state as a whole, South Carolina is known as a hotbed for arts and culture. Artisphere alone reported a $5.5 million impact in 2014, and that same year art sales at the festival alone neared almost a million dollars.

Look at Charleston’s Spoleto. Look at the communities all over—from Greenville’s West End to Spartanburg’s West Main Artists Co-Op or the makers over at Taylors Mill.

“But it’s still just pretty stuff, right?” No…actually, arts education has been proven to effect better reading comprehension, collaboration and selfconfidence among students. It’s even more and more recognized that arts integration promotes healing in our healthcare industry. In the end, art affects people—our future (and current) workforce, our future (and current) leadership…it’s all entwined and we should recognize its impact for what it is.

In the end, there are many reasons why we might focus on art in an issue, and hopefully as you work your way through this issue you’ll understand why. We’ve tried to be even-handed in our approach, recognizing performance and visual arts as well as musicians, dancers and writers, and even local art champions. And even in that we’ve run out of room to cover all that the Upstate art community has to offer, so our best hope is that you enjoy this issue, and let us know you’d like another one in the future.

Happy Summer…

Publisher, Business Black Box jordana@insideblackbox.com | 864/281-1323 x.1010 twitter.com/jmegonigal | linkedin.com/in/jordanam facebook.com/jordana megonigal 10

Business Black Box Q3 2015 Q2

Photo by Paul Jacala/FishEye Studios

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R A N D O M & R E L E VA N T

THE ARTS AND THEIR ECONOMIC IMPACT It’s customary to “make an evening” of going to a play, gallery or concert, but rarely does anyone go to the show and then right back home. Instead, they go out early and get dinner, go to local shops to buy something, or maybe even pick out a new outfit just for the occasion. In general, most patrons spend $24.60 in addition to what they paid for the event. Here’s the break down:

Local & Ground Transportation

Overnight Lodging

Clothing & Accessories

Other Expenses

Child Care

Gifts & Souvenirs

Meals, Snacks & Refreshments

Info and Graph courtesy of Americans for the Arts http://www.americansforthearts.org/by-program/reports-and-data/research-studies-publications/arts-economic-prosperity-iv/national-findings

5 THINGS TO DO IN THIS ISSUE

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Business Black Box Q3 2015

There’s something more behind the cover. See page 8 for info on Augmented Reality (Front Cover)

2

3

4

5

Who is that guy on the canvas, anyway? (p.38)

Do you know what all music is capable of? (p.30)

Working remotely? Get some tips on staying productive (p.80)

What’s up with the kilt? (p.70)

R A N D O M & R E L E VA N T

BY

TH E

N UMBER S

ARTS EDITION

$135.2 billion

Economic activity generated by the arts and culture industry, nationally

$74.1 billion Spent in event related expenditures (food, clothing, shopping)

$4.13 billion

Amount of full time jobs supported by the abovementioned economic activity

$22.3 billion

In revenue to local, state and federal governments each year

31.8%

Non-local audiences (who tend to spend double what local audiences do)

$86.68 billion Generated in household income

702,771

Businesses that are involved in the creation or distribution of the arts, nationally

*Information courtesy of Americans for the Arts http://www.americansforthearts.org/by-program/ reports-and-data/research-studies-publications/artseconomic-prosperity-iv/national-findings Kvocek/Shutterstock.com

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Business Black Box Q3 2015

R A N D O M & R E L E VA N T

BETWEEN THE LINES

D IREC TO RY

Metropolitan Arts Council (MAC)

What We Read: Remote by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson The Gist: As some know, Business Black Box has spent some time recently working remotely. In fact, this entire issue was a labor of working remotely. Before we made our move, Remote was put on our radar for obvious reasons—and we are glad it was! Working remotely has quickly become a rising trend in today’s business landscape and these two authors highlight what remote work is, how to identify if it is right for your business and how to manage remote workers and identifying pitfalls for both the business and the worker.

How it’s Written: Remote is written in a conversational manner that is easy to follow. Both authors have prior experience being remote workers and hiring and working with remote workers, and they are able to share examples and provide good imagery to get their points across as clearly as possible. They focus on what remote working is and the excuses and hurdles businesses have when even first considering do it, then move on to advice on how a remote team can collaborate through use of newer technologies. For businesses, they go through the process of hiring specifically for remote workers and how to manage them, and conclude by giving remote workers advice on how to get into certain routines and how to manage their time outside of an office.

Great if: You are a business who is considering hiring or allowing employees to work remotely. Even if you are already doing this, this book is likely to bring up some things worth considering.

Don’t Miss: In the chapter, “How to Collaborate Remotely,” the section “The work is what matters,” makes a key point on how, when working remotely, the only real yardstick that you are measured by is your work and its quality.

Our Read: Excellent for anybody who is: considering a remote workforce, manages a remote workforce or works remotely. (Or, if you are looking to convince your boss to let you work remotely!)

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Business Black Box Q3 2015

Are you looking for more information on the arts scene in Greenville? MAC’s website offers information not only about local arts organizations, but also all the local art events that are going on in town. They offer areas for grant application in addition to their SmartARTS initiative that partners with Greenville County Schools to incorporate art into education at all levels.

www.greenvillearts.com

“If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.”

JOHN F. KENNEDY

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R A N D O M & R E L E VA N T

CALENDAR

21 JULY

What: American with Disabilities Act Training for Local Governments Where: Greer City Hall, 301 East Poinsett Street Greer, SC When: July 21, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m Help make the Upstate a great place to work and live for those with disabilities! Join Ten at the Top for this event that offers collaborative training for multiple perspectives and cover: the Disability Rights Movement, Equal Opportunity Employment, Public Access, 2010 Accessibility Standards and serving customers with disabilities.

84,609

Estimated Attendees at Artisphere last year

For more information: Contact Ashley Downing at 864-283-2315 or email Adowning@tenatthetop.org

26%

6

What: Women in Business Conference Where: Converse College, 580 E. Main St. Spartanburg, SC 29302 When: August 6, 8 a.m.

Attendees from outside of Greenville County

AUGUST

Join the Spartanburg Chamber of Commerce as they host their Women in Business Conference at Converse College this year. The topic of the conference will be Wishbone, Backbone & Funnybone: What All Women Need to Succeed.

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SEPTEMBER

Business Black Box Q3 2015

of those traveling stayed at least one night in a hotel.

For more information: Contact the Spartanburg Chamber of Commerce at 864-594-5000

121

What: euphoria Where: Downtown Greenville When: September 17-20, 2015

$7,300

The signature festival celebrating food, wine and music returns... now in its 10th year! This highly anticipated weekend-long event includes exclusive tasting events, cooking demonstrations and wine seminars, as well as multi-course dinners and live musical performances.

Dedicated to excellence, euphoria features domestic and international wines, celebrity chefs, master sommeliers, and national recording artists.

For more information: See the festival website at EuphoriaGreenville.com

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14%

Artists On Artists Row

Average sales by Artists

$5,545,847

Economic Impact

*Information courtesy of Artisphere

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HOME

G ROWN

PIXEL POINT made by Dan McKinney Anderson, S.C.

Pixel Point is a premier bookbindery, artisan gallery and graphic design studio of Dan McKinney. McKinney specializes in hand crafting beautiful, high quality journals of all sizes and styles.

for more info, visit www.pixelpointgraphics.com 18

Business Box Tippins/FishEye Photography PhotoBlack

by Carter Q3 2015

The Wheel of Life Worksheet — We all have times where we feel unbalanced, and sometimes, the best way to find out why you feel that way is to dig in to how you feel about each of the various aspects of your life. In the Wheel of Life worksheet, it’s very easy to see where you need to focus your attention.

THE EXERCISE

10

8

6

4

2

Focus Areas

Score Goal

1. _______________________________

_____ ________________________________________

2. _______________________________

_____ ________________________________________

3. _______________________________

_____ ________________________________________

4. _______________________________

_____ ________________________________________

5. _______________________________

_____ ________________________________________

6. _______________________________

_____ ________________________________________

7. _______________________________

_____ ________________________________________

8. _______________________________

_____ ________________________________________

Step one. Determine which areas of your life you want to focus on. Keep in mind that you determine what you are measuring—it could just as easily be the names of people important to you, or different projects that you have going at the same time. Write them below “Focus Areas” Step two. Score each one, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being “completely satisfied” and 1 being “unsatisfied.”

Step three. Graph each score on the corresponding point in the star above.

Step four. Once you’ve seen your wheel, focus on each point and write down the main goal you want to accomplish immediately.

Remember: this tool is fluid, so you can revisit it as often as you like. Your priorities will change often, especially as you meet certain goals.

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Business Black Box Q3 2015

THE EXERCISE

The Wheel of Life Worksheet — We all have times where we feel unbalanced, and sometimes, the best way to find out why you feel that way is to dig in to how you feel about each of the various aspects of your life. In the Wheel of Life worksheet, it’s very easy to see where you need to focus your attention.

Physical/Health

Love/Relationships

Career/Work

10

8

6

4

2

Spirituality

Family/Friends

Fun/Personal Time

Finances

Personal Growth Score Goal Focus Areas 8 Continue 3x/wk workouts Physical/Health 1. _______________________________ _____ ________________________________________ Career/Work 2. _______________________________ Family/Friends 3. _______________________________ Finances 4. _______________________________ Personal Growth 5. _______________________________ Fun/Personal Time 6. _______________________________ Spirituality 7. _______________________________ Love/Relationships 8. _______________________________

Focus on Q4 plans for growth 7 _____ ________________________________________ Plan family trip to Six Flags before school 4 _____ ________________________________________ 4 Revise 2015-16 Budget to show new goals _____ ________________________________________ Read new book on time management 6 _____ ________________________________________ Sign up for kickboxing class 2 _____ ________________________________________ 8 _____ ________________________________________ 5 Set date night for next week _____ ________________________________________

Step one. Determine which areas of your life you want to focus on. Keep in mind that you are determining what you are measuring—it could just as easily be the names of people important to you, or different projects that you have going at the same time. Write them below.

Step two. Score each one, on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being “completely satisfied” and 1 being “unsatisfied.”

Step three. Graph each score on the corresponding point in the star above.

Step four. Once you’ve seen your wheel, focus on each point and write down the main goal you want to accomplish immediately.

Remember: this tool is fluid, so you can revisit it as often as you like. Your priorities will change often, especially as you meet certain goals.

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Business Black Box Q3 2015

Radium

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L AY E R S

8

Minutes of Painting

6

Paint Colors Used

We al ways want our cover to be a work of art, but while we were brainstorming this issue, we wondered, “What if it was someone else’s work of art on the cover?”

An artpiece alone wouldn’t cut it, so we commissioned local painter Jared Emerson to take on the project: to help create our cover by painting local arts champion Alan Ethridge— as the subject.

Jared is used to painting live, so we taped the event to give you a cool “behind the scenes” treat. What you can’t see is that behind the camera, we had two photographers, four videographers, an artist, a creative director, an editor, a publisher, and a five-yearold who was captivated by the process...and by a spinning chair.

Don’t forget to scan the cover with your AR reader to see the artist in action!

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Photo by Paul Jacala/FishEye Studios

Business Black Box23 BusinessQ3 Black Box 2015 Q3 2015

“IF OPPORTUNITY DOESN’T KNOCK, BUILD A DOOR.” Greenville Chamber

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HERE The Greenville Chamber exists to inspire, inform and help businesses perform better and prepare for the future. If you’re in business, you have a partner in us.

www.greenvillechamber.org

ON TH E TOWN

GREENWOOD, SOUTH CAROLINA: FROM TEXTILE TO MANUFACTURING

By Josh Overstreet Revitalization. It’s quickly become part of the modern lexicon in dealing with older cities who have experienced a decline in their main industry but, instead of fading into history, have decided to make them stand out, instead.

In South Carolina, textile was once king and cities and towns were built around mills. But the passing of that industry from the area meant that many areas were left with no economic anchor.

Especially in the Upstate, revitalization has taken the form of other industries finding the area rich in real estate, proximity to major highways and other transportation and in people who are talented, risk taking and willing work hard.

For Greenwood, that is their story.

According to the Greenwood Partnership Alliance, “Greenwood is an economy with achievements in specialized manufacturing, life science discoveries and advancements, unsurpassed healthcare services and treatment, and rapid growth of the retirement population.”

The people of Greenwood have been instrumental in bringing in large manufacturers and filling in the gaps left by the closing textiles. One of the biggest successes is Fuji Photo Film, Inc., who chose Greenwood to be the site for their North American manufacturing headquarters. Occupying 2.5 million square feet of manufacturing space, they have invested $1.5 billion into Greenwood County and employ 1,100 people.

Other manufacturers that have chosen to locate in Greenwood include Velux and Capsugel. Capsugel is the world’s leader in producing two-piece gelatin capsules. Greenwood is one of 10 locations around the globe and serves as their divisional headquarters, where they employ 680 people.

But Greenwood’s growth is not only in manufacturing; the area has been able to distinguish itself in the realm of healthcare as well. Self Regional Healthcare traces its origins back to 1951 when it first opened as Self Memorial Hospital. James C. Self, a local businessman and philanthropist, oversaw the construction of the hospital and recruited top medical talent from across the country.

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Business Black Box Q3 2015

The non-profit, board of trustees-led hospital offers medical care not only Greenwood, but to the other neighboring seven counties, as well.

Greenwood Genetic Center is also another gem for the community and a leader in genetics across the U.S. With satellites around the state and a heart in Greenwood, it serves the needs of the state with clinical services, cutting edge diagnostics— especially within prenatal and cancer—research and vast educational opportunities. The Clemson University Center for Human Genetics is also located on the campus and has been instrumental in expanding the research capacities of genetics.

But it’s not just all business in Greenwood. In 2004, what is dubbed the “Emerald Triangle” was formed in the downtown area. The nine-acre area encompasses a growing cultural movement, including The Arts Center at the Federal Building, the Greenwood Community Theater and the Greenwood Museum. The Music on Maxwell concert series began in 2007 and is held in the studio of local photographer John Holloway. In addition, the Meridian— created from a renovated auto parts store—is now home to various artists and craftsman studios.

Annually, Greenwood puts on the Festival of Flowers, a celebration marking the beginning of summer, that brings out the best of arts and crafts, food and music in addition to the famous topiaries that go up all over downtown. As South Carolina’s 2013 “Event of the Year,” it has ranked in the Southeast Tourism Society’s Top 20 “Events in June,” and the American Bus Association ranked it in their top 100 events in 2012 and 2013.

As a golfing destination, Greenwood sports 15 courses all over the county in picturesque locations, especially a course designed

by Davis Love III around Lake Greenwood. The LPGA holds the Women’s Health Classic at the Links at Stoney Point, where the premier event of the Symetra Tour brings in professional women golfers from all over as well as spectators and event staff who all enjoy and support the Greenwood community.

Like other Upstate communities, Greenwood has been able to find new life in the “post-mill era.” Creating opportunities for manufacturers to come in and enrich the community in addition to encouraging arts and culture have really breathed new life into a community and allowing it to have a bright future.

!

An oldie but a goodie: if you’d like a Behind the Scenes tour of what Greenwood is doing, check out this video from 2011. https://youtu.be/xRt1wQEEXNI

ON TH E TOWN WORTHY MENTIONS W. R. Wise Water Treatment Facility Achieves Highest Level of Plant Performance from American Water Works Association (2006) South Carolina Festival of Discovery Blues and BBQ Festival receives Bundy Award for state’s top rural tourism effort (2008) Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation for the Arts Center at the Federal Building (2010) Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Award from the South Carolina Arts Commission (2014)

STATS

71,843

Overall Population (2015)

$48,373

Median Household Income (2015)

$21,932

per Capita Income (2015)

27,781

Number of Households in Greenwood County

5,356

Number of individuals employed in manufacturing per month in Greenwood.

$1,338,650

Gross Retail Sales per Fiscal Year for 2013-2014

MUST SEE 01

Go see the talented offerings at the Arts Center at the Federal Building. https://www.facebook.com/ArtsCenterGreenwood

02

Attend a play at the Greenwood Community Theatre http://www.emeraldtriangle.us/theatre/main-page

03

Learn about the history of the City at the Museum http://www.emeraldtriangle.us/museum-railroadcenter/rr-about-us

04

Go see the beautiful and famous topiaries during the SC Festival of Flowers http://www.scfestivalofflowers.org

05

Play a round with Lake Greenwood in the background at the Links at Stoney Point http://www.linksatstoneypoint.com

06

Visit photographer John Holloway’s studio http://jonholloway.com

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Photo provided by Greenwood Partnership Alliance

Business Black Box Q3 2015

SALES

by Erika Cannon

www.insideblackbox.com/sales EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT RALLY PROSPECTING

QUARTS OF BACON GREASE In college I had a summer roommate who stored bacon grease in quart-size mason jars in the freezer. Every time we fried bacon or chicken, she would pour the leftover grease into the jar with available space, or, as need be, start another jar.

One day, I asked her why she did that— was there something that she would eventually do with all that grease?

She had no idea. “I do it because my mama did it,” she said.

Perplexed at her own actions, she called her mom, and asked what she was supposed to do with the growing quarts of bacon grease in the freezer.

“Throw them away,” her mother instructed.

Because she had never witnessed that end of the bacon grease cycle as a kid and later, as an adult, my roommate assumed that they remained in the freezer. She never questioned this ritual or its outcome.

Some people approach sales that way: they do things because that’s the way they’ve always been done, and they don’t question the results—or lack thereof.

Are you still cold calling the same people over and over, because that’s the way you’ve always done it?

Even though voice contact is needed to seal most deals, the way we get the prospect to the phone has changed. That bacon grease is in the trash.

Through demand generation email programs, we can continue to electronically touch, educate and enlighten those who

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Business Black Box Q3 2015

don’t need our services or product—yet.

You can touch 30,000 prospects with a little programming and the touch of a button, as opposed to five to seven calls to each of those prospects just to get them on the phone.

No one answers a phone anymore. But they will answer an email on their phone.

Ironic? Yes. I love it when irony solves a conundrum. Email done properly and the arm’s-length access that it provides educates the prospect about you before they engage in conversation so that by the time you two talk, it’s worth your time.

And, if you’re a good salesperson, it will be productive.

ABOUT ERIKA CANNON As Executive Vice President of Rally Prospecting, Erika is responsible for the company’s day to day operations.

Erika has a background in journalism, marketing and business development, all of which she uses to keep clients and the Rally team on track. Erika reported for a daily newspaper in rural South Carolina, and worked in community relations at an urban hospital system. She directed programs that provided leadership training for women in business and politics and was also owner of two companies that provided public and media relations support and business development to non-profits and small businesses.

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924 South Main Street | Greenville, SC 29601 | 864.235.5770 | zengreenville.com

FOR THE SAKE OF ART: INSI D E T H E MA C S T U D I O WITH ALAN ETHRIDGE

It’s a typical weekday in Greenville—only a few days after Artisphere has wound down, with tents folded up and the remnants of the festival packed away. The bright colors and hum of the milling crowds are gone, replaced by the typical early-summer crowd that gathers here and there, in sun and in shade, to conduct business or simply walk the West End shops and restaurants.

WRITTEN BY JORDANA MEGONIGAL ARTWORK BY JARED EMERSON PHOTOGRAPHY BY CARTER TIPPINS

ut all the art is not gone—in the offices of the Metropolitan Arts Council (MAC, for short), there are still wide swaths of local pieces—from jewelry to ceramics and paintings—and brochures for local theatres and local performers. Inside, in the cool of the West End office, is color and energy, and it is not simply limited to the pieces hanging on the wall.

He started off there as the director of marketing and development, at a time when arts were taking up more and more space in the Upstate—Open Studios had launched, allowing the general public one-on-one interaction with 48 artists and their work; Art Bomb had started only a few years prior, launching the Pendleton Street Arts District into the public eye more and more in the subsequent years.

Alan Ethridge is here today. Known for a sense of style all his own, it’s hard to miss Ethridge in any crowd. Today he’s more muted than usual—in bright green pants and a checked shirt. His darkly-rimmed glasses are framed by a white shock of hair.

“[Art Bomb] was the first thing that really catalyzed that area for having its arts-type reputation,” Ethridge remembers. He notes that, at the time, the arts community “wasn’t what it is now, but it was on its way.”

“I only have a bit of time,” he says, his low voice carrying an unmistakable rasp.

Limited time, of course, is perfectly understandable. In the growing and thriving world of art in Greenville, MAC is typically found at the center of it.

It’s a world that not only provides a sense of culture and creativity to the Upstate, but an economic stimulus, as well.

“The arts are a business,” Ethridge explains, as he gestures casually into the air. He estimates it at around $220 million, although he clarifies that it’s an estimate that is probably a little outdated. “I don’t think there’s been a formal study or any extrapolation from a statewide study that is germane to Greenville County that’s been done in a long time…probably 10 years or so,” he says.

At MAC, Ethridge has many jobs—overseeing the organization that helps fund the local art community, as well as fundraising that money, all in order to help support large organizations (like the Peace Center and Artisphere) as well as projects from local schools and individual artists. That community has grown and is growing more every day.

“I think we have 52 arts organizations in Greenville County that are registered with the S.C. Secretary of State,” he says.

“Now, that includes everything from the Peace Center to a quilting guild—and that runs the gamut, but still—that’s a lot of organizations and there are probably well over 1,000 individual artists. And when I say that I’m not just talking about visual artists. I mean actors, singers, musicians and dancers…and that’s just in our membership; there may be tons more who aren’t members of MAC.”

native of Greenville (and 1977 graduate of Greenville High), Ethridge knew the city before places like Heritage Green and the West End development existed. Going away to Vanderbilt University for college, he came back home for a stint at Henderson Advertising, leaving once again to spend time in New York and Atlanta before making his way back to the Upstate in 1989.

For 12 years, he worked at Clemson University, fundraising for academics in the office of development. In 2004, he found his way over to MAC.

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In 2004, the Liberty Bridge was completed, anchoring the longawaited Falls Park project in downtown, as well as initiating a lengthy lineup of “Best Of” lists that would continue for years on. A year later, in 2005, Artisphere—the Upstate’s largest art festival—began. In the years that followed, Greenville would see further development, found in places like Heritage Green—home to the Greenville Museum of Art, Greenville Little Theatre, the Upcountry History Museum and Bob Jones University’s satellite gallery—as well as the West End, and even to Riverplace, where Art Crossing backs up to Falls Park.

Becoming executive director of MAC in 2006, then, meant that Ethridge had his hands in many areas of the arts community in a very influential time, as more and more organizations and artists found their start as Greenville continued a revitalization period that spanned across years.

“The arts have had a tremendous impact on the revitalization of Greenville,” Ethridge says. From the galleries that pepper Main Street and the West End to the many sculptures that dot the downtown area—even the bridge is a player in the art community, he says. “Sure, it’s an amazing feat of engineering but, you know, walking across that you’re also walking across a work of art.

“We’re very fortunate,” he adds. “Greenville is a city in which there is so much civic pride, especially in city government… not only about our landscape but about our cultural landscape, too. And the city is so pro-arts, they have been wonderful to work with from the standpoint of the MAC. They get it. They get the importance of funding the arts… they get the fact that events like Artisphere are extremely influential to the overall economic impact….$25 million annually in Greenville.”

It’s provided Ethridge and the MAC team a platform on which to stand, and to be supported well by the community. And economically, at least, economic development of the area and the further development of the arts community work hand-in-hand.

“The arts help drive what Greenville is,” Ethridge explains. “People are not relocating here to go to the bowling alley; if someone is considering moving here its because of an incredible environment and a great cultural community. To attract people here you’ve got to have a diverse array of options—Greenville does have that and I think that’s exploded in the past 20 years. I mean, it’s had to because of the influx of business that has come in—international businesses like BMW and Michelin, and then all the tech businesses that have come here as well.” Because of this union, he predicts: “We’re going to continue to see arts offerings become more expansive and more diverse as time goes on.”

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Don’t forget! On the first Friday of every month, art studios all over Greenville open their doors from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. for people to come in and interact with artists and experiencing their spaces.

“

M Y HOPE IS THAT THE ARTS IN GREN V ILLE WILL

CONTINUE TO EVOLVE, THAT THE Y W ILL ENCOM PA SS AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE AND WILL

ALWAYS CHANGE TO MEET THE EVER EXPANDING NEEDS

OF A DIVERSIFYING

POPULATION.

AND THAT THE Y ARE

ALWAYS FUNDED. ALAN ETHRIDGE

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“

I DON’ T THINK THAT AN YONE HA S E V ER

CREATED A MA S TER PIECE ...

WITH THE THOUGHT IN MIND OF ‘HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE GOING TO END UP SEEING THIS?’ OR ‘HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE GOING TO COME TO THIS MUSEUM?’ OR

‘HOW MUCH IS TH IS GO I NG TO SELL FOR? ’

I THINK WE NEED

TO HAVE ART FOR THE SAKE OF ART.” ALAN ETHRIDGE

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That growth, however, comes with a cost, which is why MAC announced a year ago that they would build an endowment for the organization that could help sustain Ethridge’s dream to see every artist “funded at the highest level.” With a goal of $25 million to be raised over the next five to seven years, Ethridge and his team might seem idealistic, but they realize that an endowment of that size could further generate $1 million annually for grants.

Fortunately, there is a high level of support in the community to back this kind of funding; in only one year, MAC has already raised more than $768,000 toward the endowment.

In addition, they funded nine organizations with $25,000 each, and granted $193,321 in project support to schools, individual artists and 53 other organizations. In short, MAC brought in $2 million in 2014 alone.

“When you have a budget like that it means you can support your constituency at the highest level possible and that’s what we’re here to do,” Ethridge says. “My hope is that the arts in Greenville will continue to evolve, that they will encompass as many people as possible and to always change to meet the ever expanding needs of a diversifying population. And that they are always funded.”

As an arts administrator, Ethridge says, they are constantly asked to justify art’s place in the economic spectrum of the Upstate and beyond.

“We’re always being asked to justify our existence—in terms of tourism, in terms of economic development, in terms of economic impact, and in terms of jobs—and I understand that that stuff is important,” he says. “But at the core of all art is an individual.

“I don’t think that anyone has ever created a masterpiece—be it a symphony, a painting, a dance…whatever… with the thought in mind of ‘How many people are going to end up seeing this?’ or ‘How many people are going to come to this museum?’ or ‘How much is this going to sell for?’ I think we need to have art for the sake of art.

“There will always be an inherent desire in humankind to create and to express oneself creatively. So artists will always be artists.”

After all, he says, “There have always been artists…since our primordial ancestors decided to draw stick figures on caves.”

s our time continues, Ethridge relaxes into conversation, explaining his love for the arts since childhood (“I think I have a great appreciation for it…I certainly don’t have any talent”) and his eclectic taste in music (somewhere between the universes of Pachalbel and Duran Duran). When asked about his lack of a cell phone, he’s brusque: “I don’t need one,” and with a bit of snark, he notes that his cat hasn’t learned to use the phone yet. But drive down, and you’ll find that he’s actually more in touch than the many of us who become slaves to the technology in our pockets.

“I’m not going to be in a meeting talking with you right now and have something go off because I don’t think there’s anything more important than our conversation,” he says. And although he calls himself “monumentally unsophisticated” when it comes to technology, he also admits that he realizes the importance of it when it comes to today’s art education and artists.

“Just the convenience that technology has provided, even in something as basic as teaching art history, as opposed to students having to go down to a slide library and check them out,” he notes. “I think it’s a great thing.”

But as open as he is talking about his favorite types of art and theatre, there’s one topic of discussion that truly brings him to life, and ironically, that’s to talk about the point where he almost died.

In an Op Ed in The Greenville News in February 2014, Ethridge wrote, “I spent more than 30 years as a chain smoker, connoisseur of saturated fats and scotch, and a wholesale mocker of exercise until a massive heart attack in Christmas 2012 almost killed me.”

Still, he tells the story with ease. That night, a friend took him to the hospital, not buying into his claims of acid reflux. Once there, doctors took action immediately.

“The night of my heart attack, they rushed me in immediately because my widowmaker was blocked 100 percent,” Ethridge says. “I was very fortunate that my heart did its own natural bypass for a little while…had I been a little later getting to the hospital, we probably wouldn’t be here right now.”

That moment, he says, was “a huge wake up call.” But he soon realized that he had to make some major changes in order to realize his dreams.

“I’ve never been very concerned with health or fitness, so I had to make some significant changes if I wanted to continue to live. Its really just that simple.”

His life today is far different, of course. In addition to quitting smoking and changing his diet, he spends between two and three hours every day at the Life Center, biking, walking and weight lifting.

“It’s horrible,” he jokes, but quickly calls the Life Center a “godsend.” He’s built part of his life there, all in order to continue doing what he loves to do.

“There’s so much I still want to do professionally, and I don’t want to do it hooked up to an oxygen tank, or in an ICU wing,” he says, noting that his position at MAC—and the changes that he can make there for the benefit of the arts community—are well worth the changes he’s had to make. “This position is a great fit for me and I want to be in it a long time.”

n the back of the MAC studios, in a small conference room where tables are still piled with Artisphere lanyards and boxes of brochures, Alan Ethridge is smiling. Although he his humbled to think that anyone cares about his story, he lights up when talking about the arts community that he loves so much. Be it theater, or music, or even downtown Greenville’s cultural identity, he pauses—with length—at the final question posed to him: What do you want to be remembered for?

A pause. A long pause. He’s reflective of the many answers he could give, but finally stumbles into the one he feels is right.

“I guess my passion for doing what I do,” he says. “And, that I’ve had a hell of a good time doing it.”

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E N T REP R E NEU R

by Michael Bolick

www.insideblackbox.com/entrepreneur CEO SELAH GENOMICS

EATING GLASS AND STARING INTO THE ABYSS “Running a startup is like eating glass and staring into the abyss. Startups are really, really hard.” -Bill Lee I founded my first startup company in the summer of 2006. I can still remember our excitement and anticipation when we secured a license on technologies from Clemson and started building our company from the ground up. We were blessed with early and sustained support from SC Launch, several grants from the National Science Foundation and investments from angel investors, many of whom were members of the newly-formed Upstate Carolina Angel Network. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and all seemed right in the world when we encountered our first looming chasm in the road ahead.

We were prepared to seek a venture capital investment round at the moment the U.S. economy entered the teeth of the recession.

Late 2008 was bad, but early 2009 was worse. The Dow just kept falling and most risk capital fled the markets. The stress of trying to save our business from starving for capital was immense. We narrowly escaped going out of business by attracting the attention of a British diagnostics firm, who acquired our business a few months later in a stock transaction. To make a long story short, the leap to this transaction allowed us to continue our journey and to realize a nice exit several years later.

Happy endings are what we all strive for, but running a startup—even outside the throes of a recession—is always very risky.

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Odds are, a startup launched today will fail.

In fact, most venture-backed companies don’t return investors’ capital. The potential for failure looms large in the mind of the entrepreneur when faced with making decisions based on incomplete information.

But an entrepreneur must make decisions while there is still a chance to seize opportunities. King Solomon spoke to this problem in Ecclesiastes 11:4 when he wrote, “He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.”

Sometimes, the entrepreneur will be called on to make a “fork in the road” decision. The beauty of this decision is that it allows at least possibility of a pivot. A pivot is when the entrepreneur sees that a particular plan is not working as expected and acts in time to take a different route towards success.

Eric Ries, the creator of the ‘Lean Startup’ methodology, says that pivoting requires keeping one foot firmly in place as you shift the other in a new direction.

On the other hand, on occasion the entrepreneur will face a “chasm” decision: one that is hard to unwind. While entrepreneurs are often thought to seek risk, successful serial entrepreneurs seek calculated risk—leaping a particular chasm when there is a good shot at landing safely on the other side. Regardless, when the status quo is not sustainable, the entrepreneur must find some way forward.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”

This type of determined tenacity is the most important characteristic of an entrepreneur.

Still, it is important to differentiate between tenacity and pigheadedness. The first helps you get up when you’ve been knocked down repeatedly—when you are eating glass and staring into the abyss.

The second is in view when you choose to ignore your team and mentors to push forward with a “damn the torpedoes” approach. The funny thing is that no one will know which term to use to describe your decision until the smoke clears.

ABOUT MICHAEL BOLICK Michael Bolick attended his first InnoVenture conference in March 2006, and was so inspired by a presentation on carbon-based quantum dots that a few months later he licensed the nanotechnology and founded Selah Technologies to develop a tool to help doctors see cancer during surgery. In 2009, Michael sold Selah Technologies to Lab21, and in 2012, led a management buyout of Lab21’s U.S. operations to form Selah Genomics. In 2014, EKF Diagnostics acquired Selah Genomics and retained Michael in his current role as CEO. Bolick remains involved with the community, co-Founding and serving as Chairman of SC BIO, serving as an chairman for the Greenville Chamber’s NEXT initiative, as well as for USC’s NanoCenter.

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TRAILBLAZER

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Photo by Carter Tippins/FishEye Studios

TRAILBLAZER

PAULSAVAS

By Josh Overstreet

Paul Savas has worked every job in every capacity in the world of theater. For him, as the Executive and Artistic Director of the Warehouse Theatre in Greenville, theater is more than just an art form—it is growing to be a fully-fledged industry in South Carolina.

One of Paul Savas’s first memories of being the Executive and Artistic Director of the Warehouse Theatre was a phone call from the Bank of Travelers Rest that they had bounced a check. It was a low time in the history of one of Greenville’s most well-known theater groups, but because of Savas’ hard work over eight years, the theater has been able to not only survive, but thrive.

Born in New York City, Savas moved around a lot due to his father being in the oil industry.

After college, where he got an undergrad in philosophy, Savas took time before focusing on a master’s degree by starting a small theater company in San Antonio.

“I knew that if I wanted to make theater a career, I would need more training,” said Savas, “The only way to make it work is to have a lot of different skills.”

After getting his master’s in theatre arts, he began work as a freelance theater artist in New York City, honing his craft in acting and teaching before he was offered a directing position for a play at Clemson University. On his way to Clemson, he ended up driving through Downtown Greenville.

“I had that experience that a lot of people seem to have when they drive down Greenville’s Main Street for the first time,” said Savas, “Clearly something was going on; clearly people had pride in their community.”

Word got to Savas that the Warehouse Theatre in Greenville was looking for leadership. As soon as Savas looked at their goals and mission, he was sold.

The Warehouse Theatre is known as the “edgy theater” in town. They do not shy away from content that some might, however they don’t perform shocking content just for shock.

!

“It’s always good to question things, and there is a terrific market for that in this community,” Savas notes. His goal: “To challenge our Upstate audience with plays that ask big questions about capital ‘T’ truths. That’s what theater has done for 2,000 years.”

According to Savas, Greenville is primed to become not only a place for great theater art, but a place for theater artists to live and work good taxpaying jobs and build an industry.

“South Carolina builds cars, tires and airplanes.

Let’s also build theater,” he says, noting that theater art is a full-time job, even if the finished product looks effortless. Typically, artists spend 30 to 35 hours a week in rehearsals , and another 10 to 15 hours of doing setup and other work to produce a show. In the end, they will often work 40 to 60 hours a week.

“I’m doing what I can to build a little bit of that arts industry so we can have talent,” says Savas, “And, we are making sure every year we do a little bit better at compensation.”

To that end, the Warehouse Theatre has several programs to engage the students of the community and expose them to theater arts.

They are also launching a conservatory program that will help students transition from school into a job in the theater.

“Life in the theater is difficult. Not impossible, but difficult,” says Savas. “I try and make that clear to young people.”

Many in theater shy away from hiring fresh college grads because—while having excellent theater skills and knowledge—they do not have the soft work skills that make them good employees. The conservatory program will give those grads an opportunity to work in a theater job—under the same stresses—but

According to the American Alliance for Theatre and Education, 93 percent of Americans believe a wellrounded education MUST include studying the arts.

allow some room to make mistakes and gain the work experience needed. The program will begin in 2016.

“At this point, we are not in the business of adding programs; we have what we need to execute our mission statement,” he says. But, he adds, “that doesn’t mean that the programs don’t need building in terms of making them excellent.”

That growth costs money, like it does in so many other arts organizations, and so Savas is focused on the future of the theater as not only as an excellent place for theater arts, but as a job creator and a community builder.

“I have got to build the capacity of the organization. We have the programs we need, we have more than doubled our annual budget and outperform it,” he says. Then, he adds, “We have a seed for an endowment; when I got here it was $13,000, and this year it is $830,000 with a five percent drawdown,” says Savas.

It’s a long way from bounced checks and overdrawn accounts, and in the past few years, the Warehouse Theatre has turned things around—without sacrificing who they are and what they want to accomplish in the community.

“I was looking at the balance sheet the other day and just had to smile because our cash on hand for March was more than our entire revenue of the first year I was here, so I think we turned things around,” Savas says. “And, we did it in a way that didn’t devalue or dilute our mission and our signature.”

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TEC H

by Marty Bauer

www.insideblackbox.com/tech MANAGING DIRECTOR THE IRON YARD

GOING FROM ZERO TO ONE: WHY DIVERSITY MATTERS IN TECH In the book Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to build the Future, well-known venture capitalist Peter Thiel lays out his view on why successful technology companies create incredible value going from zero to one, versus incrementally improving or expanding someone else’s creation, going from one to n.

Thiel artfully narrates through multiple examples of modern technologies that have truly changed the world, going from zero to one, and the book is worth a read if you are remotely interested in tech—or reading this magazine, for that matter.

One consistent theme throughout the book is that new technology is almost always counterintuitive to conventional thinking at the conception stage. In other words: when some entrepreneur or inventor applies a new perspective to an existing situation. In contrast, when everyone involved has identical perspectives, the opportunity for new breakthrough technology is severely diminished.

Thus, diversity in tech is one way to ensure that we continually realize new perspectives—thus creating new technologies that take us from zero to one.

That diversity comes in various forms: gender, race, ethnicity, age, location, career, spoken language, industry, education and socioeconomic diversity are but a few of the many examples that—when mixed together—have the power to create new perspectives and breakthrough technologies. On the flip side, a lack

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of diversity stunts growth, ensures a homogeneous perspective and ultimately perpetuates the status quo.

As makers and creators in the technology field, it is important for all of us to embrace diversity, not because someone tells us we have to, but rather because by embracing diversity we are expanding our perspective and opening ourselves to see what opportunities are ahead of us in technology.

At Iron Yard Ventures—a seed investment program for startup companies—we are experiencing the importance of diversity in creating new technology companies.

Although we are far from perfect, this year we are seeing the value of embracing diversity in tech. Of the companies we have invested in so far in 2015, 33 percent are founded by women, 33 percent founded by African Americans, and 11 percent founded by military veterans.

Additionally, the founders come from nine different states, the ages of the entrepreneurs range from 19 to 50-plus years old, and the previous experience ranges from a college dropout to a cardiac surgeon. The net effect has been a host of new perspectives for the entrepreneurs, providing insight that otherwise would not be available had we focused on investing in a homogeneous group of people.

Time will tell the end result—but I am already seeing companies going from zero to one.

ABOUT MARTY BAUER Marty is a two-time Greenville transplant. He is the co-founder of RidePost, a transportation software company, and the Managing Director of The Iron Yard Accelerator Programs. Connect with him on Twitter at @bauermarty.

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WRITTEN BY KANISHA FOWLER & JOSH OVERSTREET PHOTOGRAPHY BY CARTER TIPPINS

WRT WHY READ THIS

In an art community like the Upstate has, there are artists worth keeping an eye on all over. We picked eight of our favorites to share with you.

What makes a community great? Is it a strong business sector? Job creation and availability? Manufacturing? These are great things to bring people into a community but what makes that community a place to live as opposed to just the place you work?

When talking of the the quality of life that a community has, art is always at the center of the discussion. Art is at the core of the human experience and you don’t have to be an artist to appreciate it. Art unites, rejuvenates and celebrates humanity and it inevitably brightens a community. Just like the Renaissance brought about the end of the Dark Ages, a blossoming art community has an enlightening impact on the community.

In celebration of that, we have picked out eight Upstate artists whom you may or may not have heard of, who—in their own ways—are bringing their art to the community that they love and are having a significant impact not only artistically, but culturally and economically as well.

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MATT MORGAN //

MUSICIAN GREENVILLE, SC

For Matt Morgan, music is an inherited gift.

“My dad was a musician, so I kind of ended up there myself,” Morgan says, “He was successful in the ‘60s and ‘70s and I guess I took over where he left off.”

In his twenties, he was playing in traveling bands and living on the road from gig to gig. He has played for shows in run down bars for two uninterested patrons and has played venues where there was a line out the door to get in and listen.

“One time I played a gig and we opened for some heroes of mine—Billy Pilgrim. In my head it was like we were opening for James Taylor.”

Being rambunctious on the road and living from night to night never knowing where they would stay—Morgan said these were some of his fondest takeaways from life on the road.

He eventually landed in Greenville and, when a friend of his opened a record store called Sit and Spin Records on the road then known as Camperdown, Morgan convinced him to let him put some recording gear in the back.

Now, 14 years later, Sit and Spin is no longer a record store; it is Morgan’s recording studio, a space that Morgan is looking to expand to offer not only a studio space, but a functional venue, as well.

“It was a natural progression from playing live with bands and so many different styles of music, to starting to produce music,” says Morgan.

Now Morgan is part of the local music business, a transition he says not a lot of artists can make.

“To musicians,” Morgan says, “You have to have that balance of doing your art, doing it well and being a salesman.”

Music can be such a personal thing that critiquing somebody’s art in order to make it sell can often feel like you are asking a rude question.

But for Morgan, it’s a question worth asking.

“Let’s change these four things about your product and sell it,” he says.

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ANTHONIO BRADY //

DANCER GREENVILLE, SC

Anthonio Brady has big dreams. A recent graduate of the Governor’s School for Arts and Humanities, Brady is an exceptional dancer who has only been practicing for three years, Originally from the Virgin Islands, he and his family moved around quite a bit. When his sister went into the military, he decided to live with her.

Brady began dancing around that time, however his mother didn’t encourage it because of the potential bullying and harassment that is so often aimed towards male dancers. He instead tried to find himself in sports, but it just wasn’t the right fit.

“Sports are fun, but it’s not really that passion and artistic feel that I get from my art classes and writing,” he says.

He and his sister eventually moved to South Carolina, where he began to take dance classes and the rest, as they say, is history.

Brady was found to be a natural talent; he began dancing at different studios, where one of his instructors referred him to the Governor’s School, where he has excelled as a dancer and even teaches younger students.

“This is my second year here and I’ve learned a lot... like learning how to manage my time, learning how to put forth a lot of effort in my art and not only doing it in a way that’s unique but full of passion and intelligence,” he says.

While the style of dance he enjoys most is modern, ballet is his other favorite; he says he always goes back to it. He loves the freedom of modern but also loves the beauty and grace in ballet.

For the next four years, Brady will attend The State University of New York at Purchase (SUNY) in Purchase, New York, and focus on modern and composition, with the goal of becoming a professional and commercial dancer, and to perform with the bigger dance companies in New York, like American Dance Theatre.

Later in life, he hopes to create his own company and choreograph pieces that will touch people and make an impact within the dance community.

Even so, Brady’s greatest accomplishment with dance is the fact that he’s still doing it.

“A lot of people like to give up on their dreams, but every day I go to class and say ‘You’re doing this because you love it. You chose this,” says Brady.

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ADDAM DUNCAN //

TATTOO ARTIST SPARTANBURG, SC

“I try and dabble in different things; it’s a blessing and a curse,” says Addam Duncan. The owner of Honor and Glory Tattoos in Inman, and a local artist, is an anomaly of sorts in the world of art. “I get to try multiple things but never quite hone one thing.”

Growing up in the Upstate, some of Duncan’s first artistic memories were watching the legendary television painter Bob Ross.

“I was fascinated because he was so happy all the time,” Duncan remembers.

He began painting and drawing from a young age and, when he was 11, he picked up a copy of Tattoo Time, quickly becoming enamored with the high quality work he was exposed to by the featured tattoo artists.

At the time, tattooing was illegal in South Carolina, so all Duncan had been exposed to were home done or jail tattoos—not high quality work.

In 2000, after tattoo shops found a legal home in the state, Duncan began working as a professional tattoo artist, all the while pursuing painting, drawing and printing on the side.

“I separate the two in my head a lot of the time—fine art and tattoo art—but today [tatooing is] becoming more and more fine art,” he notes.

Sometimes, Duncan says, a tattoo that he does will give him inspiration for a painting, drawing or a print, creating a crossover for his two passions.

That passion carried him far—after working for nearly a decade in tattooing, Duncan decided to open up his own shop in his hometown of Inman and give back to his community.

These days, Duncan travels all around the country—to New York, San Fransisco, or Portland, as examples—to work, learn and experience all he can. He then brings those experiences back to Honor and Glory to continue to impact Inman and his community in a positive way.

“I’m trying to set the bar higher, do something different from everyone else and putting in the work to always do better,” he says.

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JACK ROSE //

CELLIST GREENVILLE, SC

Only two years ago, Jack Rose made a decision to play cello, and in the short time since, he received great experience and seen great accomplishments.

“Once the opportunity arose, it was just something that I knew I was going to do,” says Rose.

Rose is only 14 years old and attends Greenville’s Fine Arts School, housed at Wade Hampton High School, where he received early admission after skipping the eighth grade.

While Rose remembers his initial experience with the cello as a little frustrating, he soon started taking lessons from Dr. Brenda Leonard, a teacher at North Greenville and principal with both Spartanburg Philharmonic and Anderson’s Chamber Orchestra.

Within weeks, his practice grew, and Rose started to excel and move ahead of his peers. But he is quick to credit Leonard’s leadership for much of his early success.

“She formed my sense of musicianship and technique of the instrument… understanding what it means to be a musician; understanding how to communicate through music,” Rose says. But in addition to that, Leonard provided Rose with an opportunity be a part of a summer program at Carnegie Hall in New York, something that happened only a few weeks before the registration deadline.

“The experience as a whole was quite overwhelming in two ways; the first of which being working with better musicians with better music,” Rose remembers. “The second of which was walking in, looking at the roster, and seeing my name at the top of the cello section: confirmation of where I was among my peers at that moment, and a moment of relief looking into my future.”

At the first rehearsal, Rose felt behind in comparison to the others. He was mainly reading over the music for the first time. But he later became second chair for the big performance.

Back home in South Carolina, Rose was selected for an apprenticship with the Spartanburg Philharmonic for the coming year, a move that only helps his future plans to continue playing and growing as a musician.

“In an ideal world, I’d be playing solo and chamber music recitals, possibly sitting in an orchestra or conducting,” he says.

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GABRIELLA LOT //

WRITER LAKE WYLIE, SC

Gabriella Lot, a student at the Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, takes her writing to a different level by learning things about people and giving their thoughts voice.

Born and raised in Maryland, just outside the Washington, D.C., Lot and her family moved to Lake Wylie, South Carolina when she was in fifth grade.

She was first introduced to the Governor’s School through the program for Science and Mathematics by one of her math teachers. While she loved the idea of a boarding school, she was not thrilled with the math and science focus. At the time, she was unaware of the sister program in Greenvile.

“If they had this for anything else, that would be great,” she thought. So, she did some additional research, finding the Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities. Being an English teacher, her mother encouraged Lot to have great reading and writing skills from childhood. It seemed the perfect fit for her.

“I loved reading… I always felt like I didn’t know enough to be a really good writer,” Lot says. “That was one of the things that made me nervous about applying here for creative writing.”

Lot came to a two-week summer program right before her tenth grade school year. She noticed it was 75 percent reading and 25 percent writing; the best way to learn and understand how to improve creative writing skills.

“That sort of balance really set me at ease and got me feeling that, over time, I can learn what to do,” says Lot. “So after the summer program, I applied for the residential program and got accepted to come my junior and senior year.”

Through the help of her teacher, Mamie Morgan, Lot learned to turn her writings into things that are personal to her. Morgan taught her how to write poems that discuss big issues and she learned it’s okay to express herself in that way. When she was upset with issues like police brutality or inequality, she found ways to express it through her poems and essays.

That expression and hard work has paid off; this year Lot was awarded the Silver Medal with distinction for her writing portfolio from the National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, as well as a silver medal for her perosnal essay.

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KATHLEEN KING //

VISUAL ARTIST GREENVILLE, SC

Coming to Greenville by way of Del Mar, California, Kathleen King is looking to give the community something special along the Swamp Rabbit Trail.

She has been an artist—and an avid cyclist—for as long as she can remember. Beginning with photo realism in drawing, she one day was just playing around with scribbled circles and it turned into a cyclist.

“Trying to squeeze the unique voice out of self never works,” King says, “somewhere there is an alchemy inside that rolls around and comes out.”

Now her “scribble style” is a signature of her work, as it perfectly represents her love of cycling and gives her work a kinetic, circular facet.

Also, Kathleen—since the age of 19—has been drawn to public art projects and installations, especially murals.

“Murals were kind of new in the U.S. at the time,” says King, “I did residential stuff, but public works was what I gravitated to.”

One of her first experiences with a mural was like “pulling teeth,” King says. Getting the funding and the property owner to sign off was an uphill battle, but by the end, the mural was a unanimous success.

“A year later the business shot their publicity photos in front of the mural because they have been identified with this landmark that the community embraced,” she says.

Because of this kind of work and her love of cycling, King was a natural choice to lead an initiative of installing public art along the Swamp Rabbit Trail.

Working with Ty Houck and Greenville County Department of Recreation, $25,000 has already been promised for installations within the city limits, in addition to King’s own piece, “The Tortoise has a Spare,” being installed at the Swamp Rabbit Green.

“We are seeking funding from businesses in Greenville, and would like to see that corporate interest come forward and support this project,” King notes.

For King, all great cities have great art, and this project is something that Greenville will be able show as “another jewel in the crown.”

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ABE DUENAS //

METAL WORKER GAFFNEY, SC

While he doesn’t remember his father as teaching him to be creative, Abe Duenas was given a skill fro his father that he would be able to express himself creatively with—welding.

“Metal working has been the biggest part of my life.

My dad taught me how to weld,” he remembers.

Duenas grew up in Southern California, but by age 19 had moved to New York to work in a blacksmith’s shop doing restorations. He attended workshops and, using the internet as a resource, used the skills he learned from his father and from doing restoration work to express his inner creativity.

“I always wanted to do something creative,” said Duenas. “The more you practice, the better you get.”

Moving to Spartanburg, Abe found work as a construction welder. He doesn’t support himself on his art, which he says actually helps him create—not having the pressure of providing for himself and his family with his art.

“It’s hard to produce your best work with that weighing on you,” he says.

With the support of his family, and especially his wife, Duenas slowly built his own backyard shop in which he can create. Once his building was up, Excalibur Metalsmiths was born, giving Abe his own carved out place in which to create in Gaffney.

“To have the freedom of having your own space, nobody can judge you in there,” says Duenas.

Inside his shop are old movie posters, restaurant signs and anything that can bring Duenas inspiration to create his nature-inspired pieces.

“There are so many things that don’t make sense in my shop, but it makes sense to me.”

One of his most memorable creations to date was for Milliken, in which he create custom-built conference room tables that were inspired by the rainforests.

“My art usually gets out by word of mouth.”

For now, Abe is content with taking on the occasional project, as his art is found, typically, by word of mouth of those who know of him. Still he is focused on spending time with his five-year-old daughter, passing down his own creativity, similar to how his father taught him to weld.

“She will only be five once,” he says.

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KAY LARCH //

VISUAL ARTIST GREENVILLE, SC

The pursuit of art is often a lifetime discipline. You start from a young age and work and build your craft and try and and try to carve out your own place among community. However, some find their art much later on.

Kay Larch of the WARD Studios is originally from Huntington Beach, California, and when her kids were grown and gone, she and her husband relocated to Greenville.

In retirement, Kay found a new passion—painting.

“People always said, ‘you’re so creative’ but I never considered myself an artist,” says Larch, “I decided to try different things and try painting.”

She has quickly become known as the “Day of the Dead” artist in the community— a moniker she never sought to have.

“When I was out west, everybody knew what it was, but when I came here nobody did,” she remembers.

Because it wasn’t so well known here as on the West Coast, people didn’t know what to make of this new art.

“They thought they were evil skulls,” Larch says with a chuckle. “There’s nothing bad about it, it’s colorful and sweet.”

Larch also distinguishes herself by not necessarily using canvas to paint on. She paints just about anything—from Toms shoes, baby doll heads, walls, staircases and even recently an entire piano.

“It amazes me. Over time someone contacts me; they also have something else for me to paint,” says Larch. “How many objects are out there to paint?”

Anyone who wants to see examples of her work need simply to walk into Gringos Cantina in downtown Greenville. They commissioned Larch to use a staircase as her canvas. Now, her signature style is found throughout the restaurant in many different spaces.

“Any time you hire an artist, if you don’t give them too many instructions you will get the best art ever,” she notes.

As part of the vibrant Greenville arts community, Larch likes to think she brings a certain level of fun to the table.

“I got into art later in life,” said Larch, “I’m not trying to get to New York. I’m just enjoying myself.”

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M A R KE T ING

by Daniel Lovelace

www.insideblackbox.com/marketing AGENCY DIRECTOR SHOWCASE MARKETING

CONTENT MAY BE KEY, BUT DESIGN IS KING If you’re reading this, its most likely because you care about business—whether it’s your own or the one you work for. You’ve probably spent money or seen money spent on the marketing efforts of your company in hopes of making people more aware of your product or service and/or getting people to actually find you in the sea of other providers of your service. But, what happens when they take notice?

Think about it. Is the actual experience that your hopeful customer is going to encounter be a pleasant one? Whether you acknowledge it or not, this really matters.

No, really.

Think about it. Does design matter to you?

How about when you shop for groceries?

Cars? Homes? I would guess that even in the most practical elements, design is everything in the purchasing decision process. The design of your company and everything that touches your customer (or anything your customer touches) sets a perception of your company in the consumer’s mind. From your website to your business card—it all matters. And according to Robert Brunner’s “Do You Matter?” it determines whether your company matters or not in the mind of the consumer. (By the way, I highly recommend this book).

Many companies spend a lot of money getting people to notice their products and services, but have failed to convert the tirekickers to customers because the consumer did not like what they saw when they initially look at it. Being found is nice, but it’s the experience and engagement that occurs that really matters.

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One example is in real estate. You may have the best realtor in town, but if the lawn is un-kept, the décor is out of date, and you aren’t making an emotional attachment to the families that find your home—you aren’t going to be selling very quickly. UNLESS— you want to sell it cheap. You can take this metaphor and apply it to your decision to shop at Target versus Walmart or Costco versus Sam’s. Compare all the leading, big box retail stores and you will find that the only companies that can get away with cheap or poor design is the low-cost leader.

A real life example of this theory that “design determines whether you matter or not” can be summed up by your choice to read this magazine. Sure, there were probably other business publications around the area where you found this one, but for some reason or another, you are now reading this article. (Here’s a hint: Dress to Impress—to be important, sometimes it takes looking important).

I want to challenge you to look at your brand and ask yourself the question, “Would I enjoy buying from this company?” Take out the big promises you make about your product or service and just rely on the first time experience of a potential customer looking at your company when you are not there to defend or explain it. Not impressed?

I would bet your target customer isn’t either.

You can do this. Your product and service are too good to not look the part.

ABOUT DANIEL LOVELACE Former Pastor and part-time alligator farmer (ask him!), Daniel combines a passion for helping other with all the tenacity befitting an All-American Defensive End. A native of Chester, S.C., Daniel now helps companies and organizations develop marketing plans to grow and fulfill their dreams. Daniel currently serves as Agency Director at ShowCase Marketing, doing what he does best: helping a dynamic, diverse client base move the needle and increase sales.

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NEXT GEN

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Photo by Carter Tippins/FishEye Studios

NEXT GEN

JAREDEMERSON

By Josh Overstreet

With a dream that focused on basketball as a career, Jared Emerson has traveled full circle, finding himself—and his purpose—in front of a canvas. And in front of a crowd.

Right before the music starts, Jared Emerson stares at the blank canvas with an intense nervousness. But the minute his paint-coated fingers touch the canvas it all evaporates.

“I love the pressure and anxiety of a performance. I still get nervous right before I start. When I start, it vanishes. I love that moment,” said Emerson.

While Emerson has painted for most of his life, it wasn’t what he had planned for his life when he was younger.

He grew up in Michigan and had dreams of being a professional basketball player and eventually playing at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

“I wanted to get some scholarship and make some money playing basketball, but I hurt my knee by the end of the first season in college,” Emerson said, “God just kind of changed my path.”

Looking back, he said the purpose behind his passion was inherently self-motivated.

He spent the next several years trying to find a path in life, moving to West Palm Beach and then coming to Greenville around 2004 for surgery on his damaged knee. There, he connected with people in Greenville who helped him find a path for himself through painting, which he had rekindled seriously in West Palm Beach.

“I did drawings since I was little,” Emerson said, “My first real painting was when I was 16.”

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Did you know? Emerson has painted and met many celebrities including Tim Tebow, George Hincapie, Jerry Rice and Connor Shaw.

It was of a lighthouse, which hangs in his studio to this day—among other works.

The Upstate community provided an outlet for artists like Emerson early on—when Art Crossing at RiverPlace was developed, Emerson was one of the first group of artists to move into a studio.Now, he does all kinds of work and various styles from custom one-offs, to abstracts, to realism, oil, acrylic and charcoal, but perhaps what he is most widely known for is his performance art.

Emerson gives credit to Alan Etheridge and the Metropolitan Arts Council and the city of Greenville for encouraging and supporting the local arts community and give them the opportunity to do art.

“I always thought I would play basketball at the Palace of Auburn Hills, but God changed my plan,” he says. “But how cool was it being able to paint there?”

Emerson wants to be able to impact people, not only through his testimony, but to have a positive impact on the next generation by teaching kids to be creative, pursue their passions and find a good purpose to live for.

Fewer than 10 percent of artists have the opportunity to make a living from their art, so for Emerson, artists also have to also be entrepreneurs.

“We are here just to create art and impact people and bring the community together.”

Still, reaching out to everyone and making relationships is what Emerson wants to continue to strive towards. Under the brand concept E3, which stands for Performance, Products and People, he hopes to expand his brand and take a few other artists under his wing.

But even though he was creating art for the outside world, when he was approached about live speed painting, he was scared.

His fear: doing art while being watched by hundreds—if not thousands—of people.

“I would love to be more involved here in Greenville and be involved in projects,” says Emerson. While there is only one Jared Emerson, “I can have guys available who can do what I do and have it part of my brand.”

“For me, art and creativity was my own little world,” he says. With a laugh, he adds, “The truth is, I screw up every time I paint, I just hope nobody notices.”

Emerson also makes a point to have a wider availability for his work. From a custom, oneoff kind of piece to smaller prints, Emerson tries to provide something for all walks of life and all incomes.

Today, Emerson travels all over the world doing performance paintings. Churches, charities, weddings and—most recently—the halftime show of the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Because at the end of the day, he says, “Art needs to reach everyone.”

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F I N A NC E

by Anna Locke

www.insideblackbox.com/finance OWNER A.T. LOCKE

ALLIGATOR TERRITORY Most business executives can relate to the saying, “When you’re up to your neck in alligators, it’s easy to forget you’re there to drain the swamp.”

That’s because—in addition to their own job duties—they are also responsible for overseeing and managing the tasks of everyone within their department. This often leaves very little time to focus on forward-thinking, strategic tasks like preparing budgets and forecasts. However, these two tools are essential for long-term success, and, when done intentionally and correctly, can provide a roadmap for future business decisions.

Although budgeting and forecasting are terms that are often used interchangeably, there are distinct differences between the two. A budget, usually prepared once a year, presents an estimate of revenues and expenses for a determined period, and more specifically, whether the organization intends to have a surplus or deficit. Once completed, the budget forms a foundation on which the business management team can develop their work plan for the upcoming year. The budget can also help organizations determine important metrics, such as monthly or annual break-even points, and monitor monthly expenses.

Forecasts, on the other hand, are prepared more frequently, often once per quarter, and involve calculations based on estimates from the budget, actual sales figures and other variables or trends to predict financial outcomes. As the name suggests, forecasts allow businesses to

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predict, or forecast, financial outcomes in the context of various scenarios. For instance, if a business wants to know what would happen to their net revenues if they gained a major client, a forecast could tell them. In addition, it can provide valuable insight into future staffing needs and cash flow requirements.

Although the thought of adding one more item to an ever growing task list may seem daunting, taking the time to develop a budget and forecast will ultimately prove to be one of the most valuable time investments a business owner can make.

Prior year results can serve as the first draft of a budget and sales forecasts laid on top of prior year expenses can be an organization’s first forecast.

If you’ve never adopted these tools in your business, it’s time to get started! If you’ve always had these, take a fresh look at what the report is saying. What is each team member doing to help the forecasts come true and who—including you—might be more concerned about the alligators than the original plan?

ABOUT ANNA LOCKE Anna T. Locke is an Upstate South Carolina business leader passionate about bringing relevance to financial data. She leads A.T. LOCKE, a company she founded in 2008, on a day to day basis while staying active in community conversations relevant to future business and educational needs. Locke currently serves as Treasurer of the Board for the NEXT High School, is a member of the Board of Directors for the Certified Development Corporation of SC, and serves on the Accounting Advisory Committee for Greenville Tech.

Besides professional interests, Anna serves as a Board member for The Center for Developmental Services.

Keep our ART BEAT

Strong

With a $50 or more donation to the Metropolitan Arts Council, you will receive an ARTcard which entitles you to buy-one-get-one-free tickets to...

. Centre Stage . Greenville Chorale . Greenville Little Theatre . Greenville Symphony Orchestra . Peace Center for the Performing Arts . SC Children’s Theatre . The Warehouse Theatre

(select shows only)

Valid through December 31, 2015. In just two uses the MAC ArtCard pays for itself, and using it is a great way to sample Greenville’s outstanding cultural amenities.

for more Information

Metropolitan Arts

16 Augusta Street . Greenville, SC . 29601 (864) 467-3132 . (864) 467-3133 | fax www.greenvilleARTS.com mac@greenvilleARTS.com Council

If there is one thing that all humans have the capacity to share—it is music.

We experience it throughout our lives in different capacities. We learn the alphabet from a song. You dance to it. It brings both good and bad memories, and it can inspire us to create and do great things. Still, there’s something more to what music can do. Hidden away in music is the capacity to bring healing.

WRITTEN BY JOSH OVERSTREET

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WRT WHY READ THIS

Music does more than entertain. It can heal.

It can increase odds of becoming a doctor.

Find out more about the link between art and science here.

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“I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music.” - Billy Joel In many ways, Joel is right—music is that invisible thread that connects all humans. On some level, all people have a capacity for enjoying certain music and even creating it. Certain songs can inspire creativity, some inspire calm and some excite. Just go out for a walk. How many people are listening to music?

And because of how innate music is to people, it’s not hard to imagine that music can have measurable effects on the human body.

“Listening to a song can have a real effect on various parts of the brain, with studies showing that areas responsible for aspects, such as memory and vision, can ‘light up’ in response to music,” according to health journalist Adam Ramsay in his article “The Health Benefits of Music” on the website Netdoctor.com.

The Wonder Center The neurological effects—memory and stimulating synapses—are what make using music so vital to the Wonder Center, a department of Greenville Health System that provides daycare services for children six and under who are “medically complex,” meaning they need some sort of medications, nursing care or assistive technologies that normal daycares are unequipped to provide.

“There is some level of complexity with their health,” says Carol Golden, the nurse manager at the Wonder Center. “The goal is to provide a stimulating and safe environment for medically complex children who would otherwise go to a regular daycare.”

According to Golden, it takes away a larger burden for parents

MUSIC

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who may have kids in a standard daycare, but then have to take them to therapies after daycare at the end of the day. At the Wonder Center, the kids are not only cared for, but their medical therapies are completed as ordered by their physicians.

“We do a lot of focus on the development for each child and strive to provide a structured environment offering different stimulations no matter their level of ability,” says Golden. Part of this stimulation involves the use of music therapy to help stimulate motor function and neurological development.

They seek to find what kinds of music each kid enjoys or can handle—with some unable to handle louder piercing sounds or using soothing music to quiet and calm an upset child. They also find the music that helps not only capture the child’s attention but also gets them involved, like the “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” or “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” They incorporate instruments to help with motor functions.

“It gets them working; gets them moving. It really helps with gross motor skills,” says Golden. Cindy Wells, a child development specialist at the Wonder Center, agrees.

“For one of our kids, her right side doesn’t function well, so we make sure to put a jingle bell on that side and that motivates her to move,” Wells says.

According to Golden, the first one to four years of a child’s life is the most vital in exercising and developing the neurons in the brain and because of this, many special needs children have sensory problems. The innate tune and rhythm associated with music is what the kids can latch onto.

“They are discovering a lot with the lighted brain scans,” says Golden, “Someone might not be able to go to A to Z in a straight line. The earlier you have that stimulation in life, the better processing abilities you develop.”

Oncology and Survivorship In addition to neurological patients, Greenville Health System is tapping into music in helping cancer patients in their recovery and helping to reduce chances of cancer coming back.

“With cancer, you have the physical experience of the treatment—the surgery, chemotherapy, radiation—but there are also the challenges that exist because of the emotional and mental effects,” says Dr. Mark O’Rourke, the medical director of the Center of Integrative Oncology and Survivorship—or CIOS, which was created for the purpose of helping cancer survivors through the process of survivorship. O’Rourke, a cancer specialist who has been taking care of patients for 30 years (25 of which have been at GHS), notes the magnitude of cancer on the human population.

“Survivorship is a distinct phase of cancer. By the year 2020, there will be 19 million cancer survivors in the U.S.,” he says.

For these survivors, the CIOS utilizes programs that are designed to help them not only physically recover but also help their emotional and mental wellness and reduce risk of their cancer coming back.

“People who have cancer have physical symptoms; they have mental symptoms and emotional symptoms. Studies have suggested that about 25 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer meet the criteria for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,” says O’Rourke.

But by countering the negative effects with positive interventions that lower the stress hormone—cortisol— there is a measurable difference in wellness and recurrence.

According to O’Rourke, the recurrence rate reduce 30 percent in survivors who actively take steps to reduce cortisol in the bloodstream. While the big two are diet and regular exercise, a subgroup of other activities also helps—yoga, meditation, journaling and music therapy.

“Music therapy is one of the keys to do it. So the experience of sitting down with a musical therapist is more than listening to a song. It is sitting down and sharing interests and choices.

Some music can be differentiated. Certain composers and styles can have different effects on the immune system,” O’Rourke says.

The effects are nothing to sniff at. Due to the measurable effects of music therapy, CIOS pursued a grant through the LiveStrong Foundation to get a program going and instantly partnered with Converse College—one of two colleges in the state who offer music therapy as a degree.

In return, the program saw success—that success due, in no small part, to their music therapist, Laurie Peebles, who first heard about music therapy as an aside from her piano teacher in high school.

!

Wow, that’s a lot! According to the American Music Therapy Association, there are 5,000 board certified music therapists.

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“She didn’t tell me what it was, but she just threw it out as an aside comment,” says Peebles. It wasn’t until her senior year of high school in a Life Skills class that she did more research on the profession. At the time, she was wanting to be a music teacher because for her, that was the only way to continue playing music and make a living.

“I’ve played flute for 16 years, and most of the musicians I knew were teachers, so I just thought to have a career in music, I would have to be a teacher,” says Peebles.

Going to Converse College, she tried double majoring before committing to pursuing music therapy.

“I finally made a decision to use music to make someone’s day better—to make them feel better,” Peebles says.

After graduating and getting certified, she interned in Atlanta with special needs children to fulfill her six-month internship requirement to become a board certified music therapist.

She then returned to Converse College to get her masters in music education around the same time as CIOS launched their program.

She was the perfect fit.

“The partnership with GHS opens up the opportunity for students to come in and get experience working with oncology, which they normally don’t get,” says Peebles. Through her therapy, she seeks to help alleviate anxiety, promote memory, promote wellness and even as selfe x pre s sion— e s p e c i a l ly for pediatrics—for those who may not get the opportunities to while fighting cancer.

“It looks different with each patient,” says Peebles.

“Everyone loves some kind of music. They can be very specific about what they like, but they like music. It’s very human to enjoy music and music therapy latches on to that universal love of music and using that person’s music to achieve their goals.”

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From helping cheer kids up playing “Let it Go,” to helping encourage a patient to eat, Peebles gets the opportunity to make a significant impact on people through her musical abilities.

“Early on into the program, I had a music therapy group one afternoon and a nurse brought over a distraught woman. As I assessed her, I found out her mother’s cancer had come back.

She requested a certain song, however she couldn’t listen to it without getting upset.

Within the hour, she went from crying to being able to smile and talk about her fears for her mother. By the end, she was laughing and smiling and we brought in her mother and they were able to play music, sing and dance. Seeing that in the span of an hour, it kind of took me aback,” she says.

“It felt worth it to me in that moment.”

Medical School Rock Still music can do more in the medical industry than just heal. In fact, music students have —on average—a higher medical school acceptance rate over those who study science— especially biochemistry—in their undergrad.

According to physician and biologist Lewis Thomas in his article “The Case for Music in the Schools,” 66 percent of music undergraduates who apply for medical school get in, which is the most of any subgroup of students. Next would be biochemistry majors at 44 percent.

“Imagine a dentist who is only right handed. It’s hard to do a filling or prepare work in such a small space unless you can use both hands…so if you’re wanting to go to dental school, you should make sure both hands are equally as strong and precise. So, consider playing the drums or piano, or any instrument that will force both hands to work together,” says

Deb Sofield, keynote speaker, author and President of Executive Speech Coaching Co, who additionally performs interviews for students for the Medical University of South Carolina. She notes that students who have a background in any form of music are always a plus.

“Many times in an interview we ask about hobbies. You better have something that forces the mind and body to work for some stress release—such as playing Brahms where you must follow or lead but be thinking ahead every step of the way—thus you have a more well-rounded student and doctor. That’s just my observation of 20 years of interview work with want-to-be docs,” says Sofield.

Music training in students produces well-roundedness and the ability to handle stress and, according to Sofield, that is vital in not only surviving medical school, but the entire career of being a doctor.

“They might not make it through the stress of the job they are working towards—medical schools cannot afford to have you drop out within a year or two—they lost that seat so that is why those who want to succeed need to be more well-rounded,” she says.

Humanity & Music Humanity and music cannot be separated. From the very beginnings of humanity, people have sung and made noise for pleasure, catharsis, to tell a story or pass down history. It is so close to humanity’s inner being that it should come as no surprise that it can also act as healer.

It can light up the brain and develop the impulses, it can stave off cancer and the study of it creates a person who is in tune with the world.

“A lot of people have done research and the only thing that keeps coming up is that music is just innate in us— it is somehow wired into our brains—and it is how we communicate. It is human to enjoy music,” said Peebles.

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Want to know more about this topic? Check out this video by the Greenville Health System http://ow.ly/Pv5ZJ

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TECH BRIEF

ROBOTICS: A NEW WORLD OF RESPONSIBILITY In April 2014, Thomas Piketty, a French economist, delivered the book Capital in the Twenty First Century, which quickly became an unlikely best seller. It provides a detailed discussion of the changes in the concentration of wealth from the industrial revolution to the present. Principal to Piketty’s theories is his conclusion that wealth grows faster than economic output. Simply put, “the rich will keep getting richer.”

Piketty believes that fast economic growth will reduce the importance of wealth and that is beneficial for the society as a whole (read: less wealth inequality). However, only a few factors are believed to promote fast economic growth, some of which are disruptive technologies and rapid technological progress. Without these exceptions, Piketty believes that governments should create a global tax on wealth to reverse wealth inequality.

Piketty has caused some to look for other factors that could disrupt his theorized norm and cause fast economic growth.

Looking to technological advances, disruptive technologies can come from the adoption of and increased use of robotics— especially industrial robots, robots for medical procedures, prosthetics and exoskeletons, artificial assistance and driverless cars. Some commentators have predicted that between 2017 and 2025, much of the economic growth of Piketty’s formula will be from robotics.

In 2013, McKinsey & Company published a report stating that “Advanced robotics, for example, has the potential to affect $6.3 trillion in labor costs globally.” Further, McKinsey reported that industrial robot sales increased 170 percent from 2009 to 2011.

By Doug Kim

Autonomous cars could affect the $4 trillion annual automotive industry. Robotic-assisted surgery affects the $2 to 3 trillion of annual surgical costs.

But the increased use of automation is not without risks. In the United States, when a company or individual is at fault for injuring someone or something, the legal theories designed to compensate the injured for the injury include product liability, personal injury, malpractice, negligence, failure to warn, and breach of warranty, as well as a slew of regulatory requirements (for example, consumer protection acts). An entire insurance industry is designed to address these issues.

The application of these laws to leading edge technology is not a smooth process. The driverless car is not programmed to exchange insurance, medical procedure assistance robots have yet to carry malpractice insurance, and robot created art (graphical and audio) have questionable copyright protection. If a Google car swerves to avoid a deer and hits another car, who is at fault? First, should Google be blamed since its algorithm produced the results and, if the car simply does what a normal driver would do, should Google be at fault at all? If we assign blame to the car and software, would it result in a massive elimination of responsibility from drivers?

What if the owner of the car does not install software upgrades?

Would the DUI have a place with driverless cars? What we do not want to see is the current product liability and personal injury laws be used to stifle or eliminate advances in such automation.

The following are selected developments in both robotics and law that have, and will, continue to affect this area of developing technology.

ABOUT DOUG KIM: Doug Kim, a physics major and former computer programmer, likes to maintain a close relationship with both up-and-coming technology, as well as the history of its predecessors. Kim is also the head of the Intellectual Property Group of McNair Law Firm and current Chairman of the InnoVision Awards.

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TECH BRIEF 10,000 -500 B.C.

“An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” is law; those that cause the injury are expected to compensate the injured.

1984

Hollywood strikes again, and Terminator by James Cameron is released.

1495

Leonardo Di Vinci designs the first humanoid robot, right before he begins work on The Last Supper.

1985

Anti-locking brakes (ABS) become available on American cars.

1810

Joseph Jacquard builds an automated loom that is controlled with punched cards.

1986

LEGO and the MIT Media Lab collaborate to bring the first LEGO-based educational products to market.

1860

Injuries from croquet hoops, ferret bites, ammonia stoppers and head injuries are deemed compensable.

1989

A walking robot named Genghis is unveiled by the Mobile Robots Group at MIT.

1867 -1914

One of the results of the Industrial Revolution (the second one) is more personal injury litigation.

1992

IBM and associates develop a prototype for orthopedic surgery. The ROBODOC is used to assist surgeons in milling out a hole in the femur for total hip replacements.

1869

Irish scientist Mary Ward is thrown from a steam-powered vehicle and falls in the vehicle’s path. One of the wheels rolls over her, breaks her neck, and kills her instantly.

1997

1897

Dayton, Ohio, resident Gilbert J. Loomis purchases a liability insurance policy from the Travelers Insurance Company for one thousand dollars. This policy protects Loomis if his car kills or injures someone or damages their property.

The first RoboCup football tournament is held in Nagoya, Japan, where robots take on the physical sport on their own.

In automotive news, Cadillac begins to offer automatic stability control, increasing safety in emergency handling situations.

1998

Scottish hotel owner Campbell Aird is fitted with the world’s first bionic arm.

1999

Sony builds Aibo, one of the first robots intended for the consumer market. It reacts to sounds and has preprogrammed behavior. It sells out within 20 minutes.

2000

Honda introduces ASIMO, a humanoid robot that walks independently and smoothly and can climb stairs. Also, the Intuitive Surgical receives FDA approval for its Da Vinci Surgical System, a “a sophisticated robotic platform designed to expand the surgeon’s capabilities and offer a state-of-theart minimally invasive option for major surgery.”

2006

In Jones v. W + M Automation, Inc., the concern is whether or not the robotic system that struck and injured a worker was defective when purchased. The court finds that there is no liability to the manufacturer without proof of a defective system, and that their failure to warn that “inside the fence” was dangerous and had no impact because the danger was obvious.

2007

The DARPA Grand Challenge, a test of robotic cars that compete in various tests to simulate urban environments, is held.

2008

A brain tumor is removed by Neuro Arm—a microsurgery robot—while the patient also undergoes an MRI.

2010

A Da Vinci robot lawsuit is filed on behalf of a New Hampshire woman, who alleges that both of the plaintiff’s ureters were severed during a robotic hysterectomy. According to the case, the surgeon’s’ lack of training with the device caused the plaintiff’s serious complications.

2011

Allegedly, a self-driving car rear-ends another car at Google’s Mountain View campus—perhaps the first self-driving car accident.

2013

Nevada, Florida, California, Michigan and District of Columbia enact legislation specifically for autonomous vehicles, even while the federal government allows testing on public roads.

2014

Japan reports its first death from an industrial robot.

2015

Terminator Genisys, the fifth of the title, is released. Earlier in the year, the Delphi self-driving car completes a crosscountry trip in nine days, where the car was hands-off 99 percent of the time. (A driver intervened for specialized situations such as high congestion, police roadblocks or construction delays.)

1891

In Ohio, there is an accident with a gas-powered vehicle that hits a tree root, causing the driver to lose control and the vehicle hits a hitching post. There are only minor injuries.

1908

The Model T is introduced. In the same year, William Durant forms General Motors.

1926

The automobile is first equipped with power steering.

1932

The law of negligence is made famous by the case Donoghue v. Stevenson, where a dead snail in a bottle of ginger beer causes the court to claim that manufacturers have a “duty of care” to the consumer.

1952

The first Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine is built

by MIT. It marks the beginning of computer-run machinery, which will transform manufacturing and other business by leaps and bounds in the years to come.

1954

George Devol and Joe Engleberger design the first programmable robot “arm” which leads to the first industrial robot, “UNIMATE,” in 1961.

1970

Stanford Research Institute (SRI) develops the first mobile robot controlled by artificial intelligence.

1975

By this point, NASA has 15 active telemedicine projects underway. Most are related to the space program.

1977

A Hollywood milestone, Star Wars is released and the robotic characters of R2D2 and CP3O inspire researchers.

Meanwhile, in Payne v. ABB Flexible Automation, Inc., an injured worker is denied a legal win because he entered into a restricted area when the system was operating.

The failure of the employer to follow ANSI (the American National Standards Institute) guidelines are deemed irrelevant because it did not contribute to the injury.

1979

At Ford Motor company, a worker is killed by industrial robot, and it is the first reported industrial robot death. The worker’s family is awarded $10 million in damages when the jury finds that the robot struck the deceased in the head because of a lack of safety measures, including one that would sound an alarm if the robot was near.

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G LO BA L

by Marc Bolick

www.insideblackbox.com/global PRESIDENT DMARC8 INTERNATIONAL

EUROPE SHOULD NOT ALLOW A GREXIT The one constant in life—even more so than death and taxes—is change. Sometimes it comes in forms that are more visible and faster moving than others: a new government, fashion, a leap in technology, or a stock market crash. These kinds of change seem to just appear.

Other kinds of change are slow moving, even though there may be indicators.

These changes are more subtle, and often come about after years or even decades of slow moving trends. Examples might include globalization, climate change, or development indicators such as infant mortality or life expectancy.

Long-term changes are often associated with some sort of ‘tipping point,’ a moment or event that defines when the change swings from old to new status quo. These tipping points sometimes become symbols that represent the change going forward.

Think of the fall of the Berlin wall, Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, or Nelson Mandela’s release from prison.

In Europe, there are heated debates about a new potential tipping point: Greece. This Mediterranean country is dangerously close to defaulting on its loans and bailouts from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union (EU). It holds debt well north of $250 billion, representing over 150 percent of GDP, and the country’s unemployment rate is stuck at 25 percent (youth unemployment is at a sickening 50 percent). Greece’s debt crisis symbolizes the general lack of health of the Euro as a common currency.

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There is much talk in Europe’s media about whether Greece should be left to default, forcing the country out of the Euro. Such a ‘Grexit’ (Greek exit of the Euro) would cause considerable turmoil in world financial markets; it would be the first time a country was forced out of the pact. It would also bolster the many far-right political parties across the EU that seek ways to convince their citizens to leave the EU altogether (the U.K. being the most visible country considering this option).

You could argue that the situation in Greece is yet another casualty of the Great Recession. After all, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Portugal have all struggled economically after the recession. But the Greek debt crisis is different. It has started a wider debate in Europe about the whole European project.

Combined with the other chaos at the borders of Europe—immigration from Africa, the Ukraine crisis, terrorism in the Middle East—this relatively small economy may become a symbol of the downfall of the Euro. In turn, it could begin to degrade the whole of the European Union.

Greece’s European partners should hold their noses and do more to help it out of its financial hole. Not only would the Euro be better off, the EU would demonstrate unity and political resolve. Because Grexit could be a very costly symbol indeed, to world financial markets and to peace and stability in Europe as a whole!

ABOUT MARC BOLICK Marc Bolick replanted his native roots in Greenville after living in Europe for 13 years. He has worked in all aspects of product and service creation for companies ranging from Fortune 100 multi-nationals to mid-sized European firms to startups. Marc is managing partner in the U.S. of DesignThinkers Group, an international design-driven innovation agency. He is passionate about using the power of service design thinking to help companies build their capacity to work collaboratively, to innovate and to solve vexing problems..

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11 QUESTIONS

PUBLISHER, FÊTE MAGAZINE GREENVILLE, S.C.

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11 QUESTIONS 1

2

What was your first job?

I started working on the farm where we lived in Fork Shoals when I was 13. Baling hay, bush-hogging fields, putting up barbed wire fencing and feeding the horses and cows. Most of my high school friends were scared to come to the farm because they knew that my dad would put them to work!

We raised Black Angus cows, had a few Quarter Horses, a pet pig named Rose, 3 burros (Burro Burro, Mama Burro and Sugar), a goat named Billy and two Airedales and a Scottie.

What are some of the skills you developed early, that you’ve found to be beneficial or essential to your practices now?

Working hard and working steady. My dad used the farm as his relaxation from his corporate job and I learned that there is a zen-like pleasure in digging a hole—so to speak.

3

What are some strategies you use to keep yourself in check?

It is always good for me to run my crazy ideas by solid professionals. I’m very lucky to work with a bunch of talented and creative people. They keep me in check.

5

Fête Greenville. Where did the idea originally come from?

9

What’s your most difficult responsibility, and how do you deal with it?

I was trying to come up with how to use the vastness of the internet for hyper-local marketing. There wasn’t an online magazine in the state when fête magazine launched and certainly, now, we are still one of the few (if any) “online only” publications in our region. It’s kind of a Kumbaya thing—everyone working together to promote each other in each issue.

I’m a terrible editor and I’m not sure I deal with that very well.

10

What have been the challenges of creating a completely digital publication and—on the flip side—what are some opportunities this gives?

Fête magazine requires potential advertisers to advance their use and knowledge of social media. Most small businesses, and certainly tons of large ones as well, don’t know how to effectively market their message online. We teach them how to fish, so to speak.

How do you strike a balance between your personal and professional lives?

My life as a small business owner is a double edge sword— the line between personal and professional gets rather blurry from time to time. However, I love what I do with fête so I can’t complain.

4

8

11

So we have to ask, what’s with the kilt?

As a history geek, I’m uniquely qualified to love delving into my ancestral past and it happens to be mostly Scottish and Welsh. I’m on the board of our local St. Andrew’s Society and I’m the Marketing Director of the Greenville Scottish Games.

Plus, wearing a kilt is just about the most masculine thing you can do. You’ve got to be pretty comfortable in your own skin to wander through Publix in a skirt.

What vision do you promote for your community, and how do you get others to buy into or tap into that vision?

I learned at an early age that if you love your community then you must work your ass off to make it the best it can be. I wouldn’t give a hoot in hell for someone that doesn’t get involved. If it’s broke, help fix it and quit complaining.

6

What was your biggest failure as a professional and how did you recover?

I have a few regrets, but none of them make me lose sleep.

The person who hasn’t failed is lying or stupid or both. I wish I had more time to do all the things I want to do.

7

Why do you think Upstate has such a vibrant and varied arts community?

Economics. We have a fabulously involved business community that realizes the economic advantages of having such a wonderful and devoted love of the arts in Greenville.

We are so fortunate to live in this great city and the arts are one of the most important reason for our success.

!

Without the Scots, we would not have bluegrass music, eggnog, whiskey or ringing in the New Year with Auld Lang Syne. .

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L AW

by Andy Coburn

www.insideblackbox.com/law ATTORNEY WYCHE LAW FIRM

NEGOTIATING WITH INVESTORS: CONTROL The documents that must be negotiated by an entrepreneur with outside investors can be complicated. To many, they appear like a dark labyrinth that cannot be understood but can only be navigated by blindly following your lawyer and hoping you come out the other side in one piece. Simple or complex, most of the documentation boils down to two key issues: control and money.

For this column, let’s focus on control.

When we mention control, what exactly are we talking about? Control has many aspects, but typically the key issues are: •

• •

Who has the power to remove and replace the board of directors or other governing body or group of the company?

Who gets to decide when it is time to sell the company?

What company actions—if any— require the consent of stockholders, members or other owners?

If I am the CEO of a company, I run it day-today, but ultimate control is with the board of directors, which can replace me and which must approve certain key actions such as issuing additional stock. If I control the board of directors, my control is still limited if the Series A preferred stock terms require me to get stockholder approval to take out a bank loan or make major capital investments.

Control is such a critical issue because when you give it up, you are now working for someone else. You no longer get to make key business decisions. For example, the private equity fund with control may

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decide to sell the company to get cash back to its investors at a time when you believe that the company would be worth much more if a sale was postponed for a year until a new product had been launched. Equally important, you also now can simply be fired and no longer even have the chance to work for the company.

So when you do give up control, there are at least three key considerations. First, be very thoughtful about when you are willing to give up control and how much you are willing to give up. Second, unless you are selling your entire interest in the company, you never want to give up control just for money. You want to give control to someone that you reasonably expect will be able to take the company to places that you cannot.

Money is important, but you also want the person or entity taking control to have good business judgment, the ability to attract talent, access to technical or other critical expertise and/or other attributes likely to make the company a success. Third, you need to think like an employee and consider whether you can negotiate an employment, severance or similar arrangement to compensate you and protect you now that you have become an employee that can be demoted, moved, paid less or even fired.

You need a good lawyer to explain how all the investment documents affect control, but keeping your focus on the control issue is critical to maximizing your chances for a happy ending. Next issue, we will come back and discuss money.

ABOUT ANDY COBURN As an attorney with Wyche, Andy regularly represents clients in mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, structuring of joint ventures, securities offerings and other financing transactions. He has extensive experience with growing companies and private placements of securities. Andy also advises and assists public and private company clients in the design and implementation of executive compensation arrangements, equity compensation plans and broadbased employee benefits. Outside of his legal profession, Andy is on the board of the Greenville Little Theatre, a project leader for Habitat for Humanity, and serves as a Business Black Box advisor in law.

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P O L I TIC S

by Chip Felkel

www.insideblackbox.com/politics CEO THE FELKEL GROUP

SERIOUS CHALLENGES DEMAND SERIOUS LEADERS There was, and is, continued heartbreak and sadness related to the tragic deaths of nine innocent people at Emanuel AME Church on June 17. The heinous crime perpetrated by a hate-filled individual shocked many into discussion and introspection on issues that aren’t really considered polite dinner conversation: the flying of the Confederate Battle Flag and race relations in South Carolina.

I believe that the murders occurred in a church, and the incredible grace and forgiveness shown by the victim’s families might possibly make these conversations slightly less difficult but no less important. Flag or no flag, these are needed conversations. I just happen to think these discussions have the potential to be much more productive now that the flag has been removed and taken off the table. In other words, it’s a necessary start.

Like it or not, we have to accept that certain symbols, historic or cherished, mean very different things to different people. The Confederate Battle Flag falls into this category. To suggest the flag on the grounds of the Statehouse was only about heritage is to ignore the misuse and misappropriation of that symbol by those who do and have done so in hate. It was placed on the dome in direct defiance to the Civil Rights movement, not as a memorial to the dead. As Senator Martin (R-Pickens) said, we must accept that its presence on the dome was really more about 1962, than 1862. It was simply not protected well by those who hold it so dear and has been hijacked. It’s been misused by groups who are now linked inextricably.

The removal of the flag is not the solution, it is a step. We certainly don’t need to start changing the names of buildings, bridges, military bases or roads across the state, region or country. But thankfully we have now accepted, or at least a lot of us have,

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that the flag’s presence on public grounds is unacceptable. It’s time to turn the page and begin a new chapter.

Many people in our state, both in business and in government, have shown tremendous leadership through these recent events. Gov. Haley, whose tone and strategies I have sometimes questioned, has led with strength, sincerity and resolve. In my opinion, this is her finest moment and one for which she will be remembered. A number of members in the House and Senate who supported removal took a position that will have them at odds with some of their constituents and do so recognizing that this is long-term, for the greater good of the State. Those elected officials have faced direct threats and extensive verbal abuse on social media. They need your support now, and will need it in the next election. A majority of the “no” votes—a total of three in the Senate and 20 in the House—were cast by those who represent Upstate districts ranging from Anderson to Cherokee counties. This might be unsettling to some but frankly, most of those votes were safe, simply based on the districts they represent; a potential exception being Sen. Lee Bright, whose antics, vitriol and comments were nothing short of a national embarrassment to the state and will undoubtedly lead to a well-funded challenge.

But it begs the real question: If our legislature can’t quickly come together and lead on an issue like this, is it any wonder we can’t address our roads and infrastructure, ethics reform or education? Yes, the South Carolina House of Representatives was relatively productive this Session. They passed bills to support some road improvements (though not nearly enough), took a solid swing at ethics

reform, and did a good job on several other issues. But a bill has to pass both the House and the Senate to become law with a gubernatorial signature and the Senate rules allow a single member to obstruct a bill indefinitely (case in point, Sen. Bright’s actions on the flag). Which means we have to look more closely at exactly who we are electing….

Yes, there are some very dedicated individuals in the South Carolina House and Senate from the Upstate who are focused on good government. Unfortunately, there are others who seem to prefer “no government” and revel in constant obstructionism. That’s not leadership. It’s demagoguery. Serious deliberation is needed on important matters that affect the citizens of the Palmetto State.

Obstruction for the sake of obstruction, is self-promotion, no matter how you choose to spin it.

I am and always will be a proud South Carolinian. With this historic vote, I am even prouder. We have big problems and big issues that we need to get fixed. We need to elect people who will actually make tough policy choices on a wide range of issues.

While we continue to heal, let’s salute those serious enough to tackle the big issues head on and take note of those who refuse to do so. Let’s demand solutions. Let’s demand action. And if not, remember that the filling date to run for office opens in March.

ABOUT CHIP FELKEL Hollis (Chip Felkel) is a veteran public affairs strategist and political advisor who has worked in the state and national arenas for almost 30 years. He is the CEO of Felkel Group and of RAP Index, a web based advocacy service. Follow him on Twitter: @ChipFelkel

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SPEE D PITCH

DARYN ZONGRONE The Film House

THE PITCH: The Film House is an organization committed to facilitating the most influential film movement in Greenville’s recent history. Its roots are in the foundation of film culture and, while Greenville does have a thriving arts culture and live theatre presence, no venue in the Upstate regularly screens intellectually-stimulating, quality cinema at a reasonable price.

In 2014, Greenville county was home to around 500,000 residents, a seven percent increase from 2010. Research shows that a market of that size can support upwards of 71 movie screens.

Currently, the county only contains 57. The city of Greenville houses around 60,000 residents alone.

Alamo Drafthouse (an independent multiplex that inspired The Film House’s values and programming) has locations in Littleton, CO (pop: 44,475) and Ashburn, VA (pop:43,511), demonstrating how a much smaller population can sustain this business model successfully.

Frequent movie-goers fall between the ages of 18 and 39, the most prevalent age group in Greenville.

Economic growth in Greenville is projected to jump from 2.4 percent (2014) to 3.6 percent (2015) due to the region’s economic growth. Global box office sales have been on the rise since 2009 and in 2013, 68 percent of South Carolina’s population went to the movies regularly.

We have been in operation since 2013 and currently provide our audiences with independent, international, local, and classic features at a variety of locations throughout the Upstate with a central office located on North Markley Street. The Film House saw an average of 17 percent capacity for 2014 which is a number on par nationally. Since then, our following has increased and in 2015 our average capacity is at 24 percent. Our Facebook page has seen an increase of 28 percent per month over 20 months. Our partnerships with Thomas Creek Brewery, Swamp Rabbit Cafe & Grocery, and FUSION Audio + Video have been lucrative and we plan to continue working with them and other local organizations in the future. In addition to film, we plan to create a vintage-inspired bar and cafe for patrons to linger afterward and engage in conversation. While a menu has not yet been chosen, we will use local ingredients wherever possible and showcase local and regional craft breweries. Our central vision lies in providing entertainment in addition to developing community and education.

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Photo by Carter Tippins/FishEye Studios

SPEE D PITCH

THE FEEDBACK: As an avid movie lover, I would celebrate a venue similar to Alamo Drafthouse in downtown Greenville since we do seem to lack a film presence among our arts scene.

You’re getting ready to take a giant leap though, going from a nascent concept to a sustainable enterprise and you have done well with the most important question. Demand. You’ve been able to demonstrate real demand for your product through paying customers and have been able to do this with minimal overhead.

Most new ventures never make it this far. What I would like to see is how you could scale this demand even further before taking on the financial and operational burden of a permanent venue. Grow your venture to the point that you can’t squeeze one more person or dollar out of your current operation and the only answer to your growth problem is a permanent venue. You should do everything possible to confirm broader demand that will support a much higher operational cost base.

On the operational side, you should be identifying a good candidate with foodservice experience to manage the bar and café. You’re really talking about two different businesses and you need to know how to manage both. It’s not a bad idea to consider completely outsourcing this function, especially in the beginning as you’re dealing with all the issues of scaling the core business.

Once you have a permanent venue, make sure you treat it like any capital asset. Whenever it can be productive beyond your variable cost it should. Don’t let it sit empty. Think of midnight screenings, kids events during the summer days, school field trips, or lunchtime screenings. In fact, host some business-related TED talks with a box lunch during the week.

On your marketing and brand position, make sure you know what your audience is looking for and what will resonate. Not only with the die-hard fans you want to attract but also the larger community you may need to pull in to be sustainable. Are you an ale-house that plays films, or a film house that serves beer?

The two aren’t mutually exclusive, but identifying this key brand position and then using that to drive every customer interaction will help you create a definitive brand position and differentiate from the other theaters in the area and a somewhat similar venue currently planned for downtown Greenville.

Finally, you state three noble aspirations in your central vision.

Never forget which one keeps the lights on and we’ll look forward to enjoying The Film House in downtown Greenville for a long time to come.

DAVID SETZER Co-Founder, The Bootstrap Engine CEO, MailProtector

As an avid movie-goer myself, I am constantly complaining about the experience the “big-box” theatres are providing their patrons these days, with over-priced tickets, expensive popcorn, and increasingly less comfortable seats. However…I still go. I still pay the money. I still sit through 30 minutes of previews and commercials.

With that said, I think The Film House is on to something. In today’s marketplace, customers do not just want good products and good service; customers want a true experience. This holds true in every industry. Customer experience has become a mainstream topic throughout every facet of our business culture. Everyone from a startup entrepreneur to a seasoned CEO must now ask themselves important questions such as, “how do I want my customer to feel when they buy my product” and “what kinds of emotions do I want my customer to have when purchasing my service?”

It’s perhaps a bit cliché, but let’s look at the success of Starbucks. They simply sell coffee, but why do people flock there in masses to buy expensive lattes and sit at crowded tables? The answer is simple— it’s the customer experience that Starbucks has created when buying their products. I suggest The Film House spend a great deal of time thinking about how they can provide the consumer with an experience versus just being a place folks go to view movies. If The Film House can successfully create this experience, I believe they will have a sustainable business.

Additionally, with any business, it is important for the founders to do their homework. I like the fact that The Film House seems to understand the demographic of their customers, their market, their financials, and have benchmarked similar business in other markets. That shows me they have a handle on the important data points necessary to make strategic decisions for the company. On the other hand, I would challenge them to make sure the sources of their data are correct. I would also challenge them to understand the benchmarked companies they mentioned. Yes, they are located in markets with similar demographics, but are they profitable, are they growing, how capital intensive are they, is the management team comprised of veterans of the industry? All of this can make a significant difference in comparing the businesses.

In conclusion, as I mentioned before, I think The Film House is on to something pretty special. With the growing demand of cultural activities in the region coupled with consumer’s desire for an experience, I believe they are well positioned for success and I wish them the best of luck! Is it too early for movie requests? I think it’s time for a Rambo marathon at The Film House.

CHARLIE BANKS Managing Director, South Carolina Angel Network

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E N E SP A Ñ O L

Por Evelyn Lugo

www.insideblackbox.com/enespanol FOUNDER & PRESIDENT SCHCC

ADMINISTRANDO NUESTRO NEGOCIO (SEGUNDA PARTE) La administración de un negocio y familiares: En la primera parte de nuestra serie sobre la administración de su negocio, abordamos el cómo manejar el tiempo y el valor de tener una rutina como empresario.

La segunda parte de la serie se concentra en aquellos aspectos de la administración que no disfrutamos, así como una exposición sobre lo que sucede cuando trabajamos con la familia.

vista empresarial: su hermano mayor se reporta a usted como propietario. Usted es claramente responsable. Sin embargo, ese hermano es también mayor que usted.

Probablemente, esto significa que usted pasó toda su vida recibiendo órdenes de ese hermano. Él o ella estaba a cargo desde un punto de vista familiar. Estas dos realidades pueden causar una gran cantidad de retos en el lugar de trabajo.

Muchos de los que somos propietarios de negocios inevitablemente trabajaremos con la familia en algún momento de nuestras carreras. Ya sea que los contratan como empleados, como contratistas independientes o como socios en un nuevo negocio, los hispanos tendemos a querer trabajar con la familia. Yo creo que es parte de nuestra cultura y el querer mejorar, no sólo nuestras vidas sino también las vidas de aquellos que están más cerca de nosotros.

Apoyo totalmente esta idea, pero también tenemos que darnos cuenta que la misma viene con desafíos.

•

Trabajar con la familia significa que tendrá que trabajar con gente que te conoce mejor que nadie. Ellos te conocen desde que eras un niño. Debido a eso, los miembros de la familia saben de tus fuerzas y debilidades mejor que nadie. Si usted decide trabajar con miembros de la familia, aprenda a identificar y manejar los puntos fuertes y débiles. Cuanto antes lo hagas, mejor será su negocio.

Otro desafío que viene con el trabajo con la familia es que normalmente habrá una capa adicional dentro de la jerarquía familiar, además de la estructura empresarial.

Por ejemplo, es posible que contrate a su hermano mayor como gerente de turno en un restaurante de su propiedad. Hay una cadena de mando obvia desde el punto de

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?

•

•

Aprenda a mantener las relaciones familiares fuera del negocio tanto como sea posible. Si ambos están de acuerdo sobre este tema, usted tendrá más libertad para dar las órdenes que sean necesarias . Si esta práctica no se indica de forma clara y acordada, sólo será cuestión de tiempo antes de que él o ella desafíe sus instrucciones o ignore alguna directriz que usted haya impuesto. Después de todo, ese hermano mayor ha vivido más tiempo y probablemente tiene más experiencia en la vida. Este escenario da una mala impresión al resto del personal que pueden hacer lo mismo. No pasará mucho tiempo antes que usted pierda el respeto de todo su equipo.

Evite el tratamiento preferencial.

Pocas cosas desalientan más a su equipo de trabajo que sentir que se dan promociones, bonificaciones o incluso la dirección de la empresa a miembros de la familia antes que a un gran empleado. Haz tu mejor esfuerzo para reconocer objetivamente el gran trabajo y premiar a un empleado, no importa el apellido que este lleve.

Si usted y un familiar son socios en el negocio, recuerde que debe mantener el entorno profesional

Want to know more about local Hispanic businesses? Check out the S.C. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce at SCHCC.org.

al máximo en el lugar de trabajo.

Argumentos familiares tienden a escalar rápidamente. Sin embargo, los desacuerdos en el lugar de trabajo deben ser manejados profesionalmente.

Maneje los desacuerdos con un miembro de la familia igual que lo haría con uno que no es familia.

Al final del día, recuerde que la familia es para toda la vida y más importante que cualquier negocio. Si usted piensa que entrar en una relación de negocios con un miembro de la familia puede interrumpir o incluso destruir su relación como familia, entonces usted debe pensarlo con más detenimiento antes de entrar en el negocio juntos.

Como empresarios, nuestro trabajo es ser motivadores, negociadores y gerentes, entre otras cosas. Es vital para nosotros identificar aquellas tareas que no disfrutamos y aprender a manejarlas.

También tenemos que entender los desafíos que surgen en el trabajo con la familia. Si usted tiene preguntas específicas o necesidades en su negocio, la Cámara Hispana de Carolina del Sur está aquí para ayudar. Llámenos al (864) 643-7261 o en línea, visítenos en www.schcc.org.

ABOUT EVELYN LUGO Evelyn Lugo is the founder and President of the South Carolina Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (SCHCC).

With a background in business administration, Ms. Lugo obtained additional experience in working with corporations such as Eastman Kodak, Abbot Pharmaceutical and 3M. Her motivation is to help entrepreneurs, identify business growth opportunities, and help others to overcome challenges during their business development. The South Carolina Hispanic Chamber of Commerce was incorporated in August 2007 and designated a 501(c)6 non-profi organization in June 2009 by the IRS.

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HOW TO

WORK REMOTELY It’s no secret that the workplace is changing, and quite possibly for the better. Gone are the days of having to clock in and work at a cubicle eight to 10 hours a day—with today’s technology you can work in your pajamas and not even leave your house!

HE R E ’S HOW

1. Figure out Time & Location Find out where and when you do your best work. Do you need a noisy morning at a coffee shop? Do you need to close yourself off in a room at home at the midnight hours?

Maybe you like being outdoors? Wherever it is, make sure it stimulates your productivity without creating unneeded distractions.

2. Stay Connected Hangout apps will be your best friends. If you have a Gmail account, Google includes several features that are vital to working remotely with a team. A built-in chat for quick responses and Google Hangout for video conferencing and meeting are both easy-to-use, easy-to-start and are vital to keep communication open.

3. Keep Collaborating Any kind of file sharing or document sharing apps are a must. Google Drive, Evernote, OneNote and Dropbox all come to mind as vital apps. The entire team is able to access anything they will need, as long as they have Internet. Drive tends to be a go-to because it offers real-time editing. Combining that with Google Chat and Hangout make it particularly effective for remote teams.

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4. RememberYour Clients!

Be very available to clients. Jason Fried and David Hansson write in their book Remote, “It may be irrational but, if you’re local, the client often feels that, if worse comes to worst, they can knock on your door.” When you are working remotely, clients may feel the unease of that distance, so make sure you answer phone calls, emails and texts in a punctual and attentive manner to put them at ease.

5. Don’t Forget to Get Out Just because you work remotely doesn’t mean you have to be a monk in solitude.

Get out! Take time to go on a walk or exercise, interact with your family, make small talk with others at the coffee shop you are working at or maybe Google Chat co-workers and just shoot the breeze at a virtual watercooler. Getting out or interacting are good ways to break off from work and remind yourself that you are, in fact, a human.