June 26, 2015 UBJ

JUNE 26, 2015 | VOL. 4 ISSUE 26

UP NEXT looks to its third location with the planned Manufacturing Center, a space positioned to help jump-start startups PAGE 16

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The 100-mph entrepreneur What do jumping from an airplane and launching your own business have in common?

By ROBBIE WARD, staff I recently took an exciting leap of faith into uncharted territory in my life. I exited a fully functioning airplane traveling 2.5 miles in the sky.

No one pushed me. I did it as birthday present to myself. A few months ago, a friend asked if I wanted to jump out of a plane, and I said “sure.” I thought skydiving would be a meaningful experience.

Like most first-time skydivers, I did a tandem jump, which involves a seasoned instructor strapped to me and the parachutes by a harness, ensuring nothing goes awry. I also had a video made to allow me to relive the moment.

“Any special reason for coming out today?” the videographer asked after I confessed to feeling a little nervous.

“I came out here today to live, and that’s what I’m going to do,” I replied.

Days after skydiving, I continue to contemplate the experience and have come up with a few comparisons to entrepreneurship.

First and most obvious, both endeavors certainly aren’t for everyone. Striking out on your own to start a business and jumping out of an airplane both require a high tolerance for risk. Many people I know would never do either one.

Research and expertise help. Your chances of landing in one piece and staying in business improve if you’ve researched what it takes to find success. It also helps to learn from others. Thankfully, the skydiving instructor strapped to me had jumped about 6,600 times already. This eased my worries. More important, it helped us both arrive safely on the ground.

Like jumping out of a plane, much can go wrong when starting a business. It’s much better to learn from other people’s mistakes, leaving yourself new challenges to overcome.

Both entrepreneurship and skydiving require leaving your comfort zone. I didn’t feel incredibly comfortable sitting in a small airplane, watching people in front of me jump out. Plus, the high altitude made my ears pop. However, I wanted to experience this adventure, so I had to embrace my fear and a bit of discomfort.

I tried not to think so much about the worst-case

scenario, but it was important to accept before boarding the plane. I could have died. Although I accepted it as possible, I didn’t dwell on it. Businesses fail every day. I admire entrepreneurs for continuing to push forward even when they know they could lose their financial security.

When I made the jump, the free fall toward the ground lasted about 60 seconds. It was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life.

Successful entrepreneurs have told me the experience feels like no other and they wouldn’t trade it for anything. Falling at more than 100 mph, I could relate.

I’ve mentioned similarities, but many differences exist between the skydiver and entrepreneur. When a business fails, owners can learn lessons from mistakes and apply them toward the next venture.

If things don’t work out in skydiving, the end result could be fatal.

Even so, I’ve already signed up to do it again.

Watch Robbie Ward’s leap of faith at bit.ly/ward-skydive

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4 | THE RUNDOWN |

TOP-OF-MIND AND IN THE MIX THIS WEEK

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06.26.2015

VOLUME 4, ISSUE 26 Featured this issue: Iron Yard gets “significant” investment, goes global Lydia Dishman writes the book on resilience Zipit CEO Frank Greer explains the art of the pivot

6 8 18

MONEY SHOT: Gov. Nikki Haley calls for removal of Confederate flag from Statehouse grounds. Flanked by Rep. James Clyburn, Sen. Tim Scott and Sen. Lindsey Graham. Photo by Bill Rogers, S.C. Press Association.

WORTH REPEATING

TBA

“[A]ccredited education is not really all that meaningful in this world, in the tech space.

There are plenty of companies that require degrees, but the trend is that it’s really about the skill set.”

Wilmington, N.C.-based Charlie Grainger’s, a popular hot dog joint, is rapidly franchising and reportedly looking to expand to Greenville. Stay tuned for future locations.

Page 6

“When you get into a tight place, and everything goes against you till it seems as if you couldn’t hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that’s just the place and time that the tide’ll turn.”

Page 8

“We basically looked at where we were as a company and said, ‘We can continue to do this and die with it, or we can change and take this expertise and knowledge we’ve got and redirect it.’

Page 18

Watch for K-Town, a new sushi and hibachi restaurant, to open soon in the former Cade’s Dinner House location on Butler Road and I-385 in Mauldin.

Word is Austin, Texas, has been chosen for this year’s Greenville Chamber city visit.

VERBATIM

On the flag battle “It is time for the General Assembly to remove the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds. Many of our citizens view the flag as a painful reminder of the past, and the good and decent thing to do is to take it down.”

The Greenville Chamber of Commerce, in a statement calling for the removal of the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia from the S.C. Statehouse. The Spartanburg Chamber issued a similar statement this week.

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06.26. 2015

Iron Yard closes ‘significant’ investment from University of Phoenix owner ASHLEY BONCIMINO | STAFF

aboncimino@communityjournals.com Based in Greenville, one of the planet’s largest coding schools expects to graduate 1,000 developers this year, and is about to get a lot bigger, a lot faster.

Coding school The Iron Yard closed on a “significant” investment from higher-learning behemoth Apollo Education Group, owner of University of Phoenix and other institutions.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Apollo’s size dictates “they’re not the type of company where it makes a difference to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said The Iron Yard CEO Peter Barth.

The investment will accelerate the tech company’s growth, help the school expand internationally and open opportunities for

new content and customers, Barth said.

“We’ve done really well with domestic growth, so when we were looking at going overseas, it’s completely unknown to us,” Barth said from the The Iron Yard’s corporate headquarters in Greenville, which he calls The Iron Yard’s “long-term home.”

“We ended up going with Apollo for a number of reasons, but mainly domain expertise and resources…They have schools in India and Africa and Australia, so in addition to capital, what they bring is they have international expertise. No other VC firm had that,” he said.

Now with 70 full time employees from a mere four in January 2014, The Iron Yard has grown exponentially since it started more than two years ago, said Barth, who expects staff to double in the next 12 months.

The school adds about

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results, and investments are not FDIC insured.

four locations per session and announced its first international presence last week, but backing from Apollo brings in capital to jumpBARTH start more schools and branch out in other ways.

For instance, many current Iron Yard graduates may want to boost their skills and knowledge, even while actively working in the field, said Barth.

“They’ve really developed a hunger for education, and the boot camp will never again make sense for that person,” he said. “There’s a real opportunity there for continuing education.”

Other plans include training from the corporate level, where a company wants to boost the skill level of their existing workforce with a combination of in-person and distance learning.

The Iron Yard could go as far as tar-

geting sales and marketing personnel via content around data science and analytics, he said.

“Ultimately, our customer is tech companies,” he said. “We’re already working with them on the employment side, so what other needs do they have?”

Barth said the Apollo investment won’t come with operational changes, and that The Iron Yard isn’t moving towards accreditation.

“Our core belief about accreditation is accredited education is not really all that meaningful in this world, in the tech space,” he said. “There are plenty of companies that require degrees, but the trend is that it’s really about the skill set.”

His sentiment matches that of the Apollo Education Group CEO Greg Cappelli’s statement in Apollo’s second fiscal quarter earnings release, which reported a 14 percent drop in net revenue year over year.

“In a time of unprecedented change in the higher education >>

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Iron Yard launches first global location in London ASHLEY BONCIMINO | STAFF

aboncimino@communityjournals.com Greenville-based coding school The Iron Yard announced plans to hop the pond with its first international location, expanding its three-month developer boot camp classes to students in London this July.

The announcement follows news of a “significant” investment from higher-learning company Apollo Education Group, which owns the University of Phoenix along with other undergraduate, graduate, professional development and non-degree institutions.

“The Iron Yard has been developing deep relationships in London for some time now, leading to this exciting milestone,” said The Iron Yard CEO Peter Barth in a news release. “The tech boom in London is well-established, and the

already significant need for qualified software engineers is growing rapidly.

We are excited to help bridge that gap.”

The first two classes launched on July 13 will be 10-week part-time courses, with one each in front-end and backend engineering. The Iron Yard will launch 12-week full-time courses in fall that include a front-end, a back-end and a mobile engineering course, according to a media representative.

Future courses may vary, according to London’s specific hiring needs.

The London location is already conducting interviews for enrollment, and expects 10 to 20 students for its initial part-time courses. Founded in Greenville, The Iron Yard operates in 14 markets and customizes each location’s course offerings to area needs. Tuition is $12,000 per course, and some students may qualify for diversity scholarships.

“WE ARE IMMENSELY GRATEFUL FOR CLIENTS THAT GIVE US THEIR TRUST AND A GREENVILLE BUSINESS COMMUNITY THAT ENABLES OUR SUCCESS.” - DAN RUNDLE CEO AT WORTHWHILE worthwhile.com

Photo from @TheIronYard/Twitter

GREENVILLE CHAMBER SMALL BUSINESS OF THE MONTH JUNE 2015

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industry, we are focused on enhancing outcomes through a deep understanding of student and employer needs,” he said in a news release.

“We are aligning education to careers, offering students tangible skills and helping employers develop a high-performance workforce.”

Apollo Education Group did not respond to media requests for comment.

Founded in 1973, Phoenix-based Apollo Education Group owns companies that offer undergraduate, graduate,

professional development and other non-degree programs both online and in-person throughout the U.S., Europe, Australia, Latin America, Africa and Asia. The company’s revenue dropped 14 percent to $578.6 million for the second quarter fiscal 2015 compared to the same period last year. Apollo attributed part of the loss to declining enrollment, down 15 percent from a year ago to 213,800 degreed students.

Five years ago, enrollment was about 460,000, according to filings.

| TECH | 7

The Greenville Chamber salutes our Small Business of the Month. We honor and appreciate all the things that small businesses bring to our community and we are proud to be there for them as well.

If you’re in business, you have a partner in us. www.greenvillechamber.org

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06.26. 2015

Strength in adversity Author Lydia Dishman shares lessons in resilience from entrepreneurs ROBBIE WARD | STAFF

through the exercises at the end of each chapter. There is a free app that helps guide the practices and keeps track of progress.

rward@communityjournals.com Greenville resident and independent journalist Lydia Dishman cowrote “Survive to Thrive: 27 Practices of Resilient Entrepreneurs, Innovators, and Leaders,” released this month by Motivational Press.

Before Dishman began writing for Fast Company, The Guardian, Forbes, Entrepreneur magazine and other publications, she faced her own tests of resilience: as an infant, she spent months in the foster care system in New York City before being adopted by a loving family.

What challenges did you and co-author Faisal Hoque face in publishing this book?

There are always challenges when writing a book. Many authors discover that it’s an uphill climb simply taking a concept to an outline and then to actually writing the book. I didn’t have that problem. As a reporter, I am used to taking a pitch and turning it into a finished story in a few hours.

For this book, though, we both were working in different locations – Faisal in Connecticut and I here in Greenville. We had never met in person, as we originally connected on social media and then corresponded via phone, text and email until we sold the concept to a publisher. The day we signed the contract was the day we met in person for the first time (in

LYDIA DISHMAN FAMILY: Husband Scott Dishman; daughters Deirdre and Emily EDUCATION: Journalism degree from Fordham University in New York City READING NOW: “I always have several books in progress at once: ‘The Odd Woman and the City’ by Vivian Gornick; ‘How to Bake Pi’

by Eugenia Cheng; ‘The Story of Alice: Lewis Carroll and the Secret History of Wonderland’ by Robert Douglas-Fairhurst.”

What favorite entrepreneur resilience story did you find in your research?

I don’t have a favorite. Each is so different and powerful, I learned valuable lessons from them all.

We often hear about the role of failure in entrepreneurship. How important is failure and learning from mistakes for entrepreneurs?

New York City in Grand Central Station at a coffee bar). But the biggest challenge was still to come.

After we’d made significant progress outlining our vision, deciding on a title, and writing a couple of chapters, we discovered that another book was coming out around the same time as ours, with the same title, and a similar angle. We had to pivot, as they say in entrepreneurville. It took about a month to finalize a new idea and come up with a new title. Ultimately, it turned out better for the shift in focus.

What did you hope this book on resilience of entrepreneurs, innovators and leaders accomplishes?

Resilience is the universal human capacity to face, overcome and even be strengthened by experiences of adversity. The book is divided into three sections, each of which are key concepts in the development of one’s own ability to bend, and not break, in the face of a personal or professional setback.

The individual stories examine the essential tools needed to overcome obstacles and seize upon an opportunity. They incorporate practical applications for reframing your reaction to setbacks. They help guide

you through a process that can redefine fear as a simple signal that something isn’t working.

Based on your research, can resilience be taught? How do people acquire it?

We say that resilience is like a muscle. The more you train it, the stronger it becomes. People interested in practicing to become more resilient should read the book and work

In chapter nine, I talked to Brad Feld, a well-known investor and serial entrepreneur. He believes it is important to detach any shame you might feel from failing to reach a goal and recognize that those missteps don’t define you. That’s a big first step that provides the space required to learn from a mistake and continue to move forward for anyone. But for entrepreneurs it can mean the difference between never trying again, to picking up and pushing on to bigger and better things.

Among the many stories and people you encountered, what surprised you the most?

I am constantly surprised by peoples’ ability to dig down and find strength, despite seemingly insurmountable odds.

What advice do you have for struggling entrepreneurs who haven’t found success?

I’ll borrow a quote from Harriet Beecher Stowe for this one, because she said it better than I ever could: “When you get into a tight place, and everything goes against you till it seems as if you couldn’t hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that’s just the place and time that the tide’ll turn.”

Get the book and learn more at survivetothrive.pub.

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Demand pushes Upstate aerospace cluster New Precorp facility has exceeded company’s commitment to state, with $17.7M in investment and 40 new hires ASHLEY BONCIMINO | STAFF

aboncimino@communityjournals.com With up to a 10-year backlog from some of the country’s largest airplane manufacturers, fast-tracking a new facility that tripled prior space was a matter of necessity, says Jason Dodds with cutting tool firm Precorp.

“We’ve had a spike in the demand for our product,” said Dodds, general manager for Precorp, which engineers and manufactures drilling and reaming tools for the aerospace and automotive industries. “For us to continue to grow and meet that demand, we needed to move into a new facility.”

That’s why the Utah-based firm’s new 73,000-square-foot Greer facility – which joins facilities in Germany, Utah and Michigan – has already exceeded the company’s commitment to the state, announced last April. Initially pegged at $14.8 million in investment and 29 jobs over several years, the facility represents $17.7 million in investment and 40 new hires in the past year alone.

“This marks the beginning of a new era for Precorp, and it was South Carolina’s attractiveness to the aerospace and automotive manufacturing industries that led PRECORP continued on PAGE 11

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CU-ICAR’s original 2005 master plan described a system of five interconnected technology neighborhoods, only one of which is currently under development.

CU-ICAR launches eight-year master plan refresh ASHLEY BONCIMINO | STAFF

aboncimino@communityjournals.com

Eight years after the most recent

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master plan update for the 250-acre Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research, the technology park’s road map is overdue for a refresh, and they’re looking for input from just about anybody, said CU-ICAR Executive Director Fred Cartwright.

“When you see this nice rendering of CU-ICAR and five neighborhoods, only one of those neighborhoods has been developed,” said Cartwright, who joined CU-ICAR in 2013. “Now it’s time once this neighborhood has been completed to put together a plan for the rest of this space.”

The original master plan was developed in 2005 and described a system of five interconnected technology neighborhoods that included industry partners and research and development facilities.

Technology neighborhood I is the only one under development, and includes the BMW Information Technology Research Center, the Carroll A. Campbell Jr. Graduate Research Center, a 118,000-square-foot building that hosts Koyo Bearings USA and other buildings.

The sixth and final building, One Research Drive, is slated for completion in 2016, marking a shift to development of the other neighborhoods.

“A lot has happened in ICAR since the plan for these five neighborhoods was first laid out,” said Cartwright, who mentioned more recent plans for a Greenville Health System Swamp Rabbit Trail connection, build out from Laurens Road, the Dr. Phinnize J. Fisher Middle School and other nearby developments.

“Greenville is becoming a bigger city. It’s not like it was in 2007, and we have to consider plans for growth in the city and what Greenville aspires to become.”

Cartwright said that Clemson hopes a $395,000 grant announced in May from the U.S. Economic Development Administration will cover the costs of researching and developing the plan, but said it could be a six- to eight-month process. The grant was awarded to the Clemson University Land Stewardship Foundation as part of a U.S. Department of Commerce initiative to fund innovation via science and research park development grants, which were awarded to research park developers across the country. The kickoff meeting with the Economic Development Administration is slated for late June, he said.

So far, planning and research has been limited to surface-level discussions and stakeholder meetings, said Cartwright, but the university has appointed local planner Ed Marshall to begin gathering input from the community and others for ideas and potential partners and themes.

Specific companies and themes have not coalesced yet, and more extensive planning is slated to begin in July or August, he said.

“This is going to be the Southeastern border of Greenville in the next 10, 20 years,” said Cartwright. “We don’t know to what extent what we need, what the industry needs are, what the academic needs are from Clemson… There’s so much input into this yet to come.”

THE ORIGINAL PLAN • Developed in 2005.

• Five interconnected technology neighborhoods including industry partners and R&D facilities.

• Technology neighborhood I is the only one under development.

• Includes the BMW Information Technology Research Center, the Carroll A. Campbell Jr. Graduate Research Center, Koyo Bearings USA and other buildings.

• Sixth and final building, One Research Drive, slated for completion in 2016.

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| AEROSPACE | 11

PRECORP continued from PAGE 9

to the growth of our operations in Greer, and ultimately to this new facility,” said Precorp Inc. President Rich Garrick in a news release for the building’s official launch this week.

Even with 100 employees in the new space, Precorp in Greer has room to grow, since the facility is only at 60 percent of capacity, said Dodds. “What the market is going to require for the type of product we make, we do plan to completely fill this factory,” he said, referring to both office space and manufacturing floor availability. “It depends on our customers, but part of getting into this building as quickly as we could was we’re prepared for their ramp-up as well.”

Precorp both designs and manufactures machining tools to make holes in aircraft for big aerospace names such as Boeing, Airbus, Spirit and Embraer, as well as automotive companies around the country. Innovation with new materials has sparked demand for lighter, more efficient airplanes, which means manufacturers need drilling and reaming tools that work with many different types of composites, often in the same sheet with the same tool, said Dodds.

“Completely different materials drill differently, react different,” he said. While Precorp can sometimes use existing tool plans, around half of the tools made in the Greer facility are engineered, designed and manufactured on the spot.

The company is a member of the machining solutions group of Sandvik, a 47,000-employee engineering company operating from 130 countries that focuses primarily on tools and tooling solutions for mining, construction and other industries.

Precorp expanded to the Upstate in 2004, starting with just five local employees, said Dodds.

In the competitive Upstate job market, the new facility has already helped in recruiting efforts, he said. “This county in particular is very competitive with GE and other companies that pull talent,” he said. “You have to have things that excite young people to the industry, and I think our facility and our industry has those characteristics.”

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06.26. 2015

Indexing entrepreneurship in South Carolina

By MATT DUNBAR,

managing director, Upstate Carolina Angel Network

Earlier this month, the Kauffman Foundation released its annual index of entrepreneurial activity in the United States – and this year’s report generated two particularly interesting headlines.

First, the index showed a measurable increase in entrepreneurial activity across the country for the first time since 2009 – which is an important and encouraging trend for our economy.

Second, for perhaps the first time, South Carolina was ranked first among the 50 states on one measure of the report. Our state enjoyed the single best improvement in the index by making a 17-place jump in the rankings from 46th place in 2014 all the way to 29th in 2015. The significant improvement is certainly worth applauding, and is surely a good signal for entrepreneurship and economic growth in South Carolina.

However, it would be premature to declare victory for our efforts to grow the entrepreneurial ecosystem and see the ranking as an opportunity to rest on our laurels. By peeling back the layers of data in the Kauffman report, we can find more sobering numbers that underscore the challenges – and opportunities – we still face in growing and sustaining a vibrant entrepreneurial economy in South Carolina.

Let’s start with a quick description of what makes up the Kauffman Index. This year’s index is a new and improved version that includes three measures of entrepreneurship. One is a measure of how many people have started a business in which they work more than 15 hours per week (the “rate of new entrepreneurs”). A second factor is the percentage of those starting such businesses who did so because they saw “opportunity” while working or finishing school rather than those who started a business out of necessity because they were unemployed (the “opportunity share”). The third and final component of the score is the density of startups in the state, measured as new businesses (less than one year old) with at least one employee, per 100,000 in population (“startup density”).

For South Carolina, our rate of new entrepreneurs in this year’s index was 0.32 percent, which ranked 18th among all states, and was up about 7 percent from last year – good for 15th in terms of year-overyear improvement in that category. However, it

It would be premature to declare victory for our efforts to grow the entrepreneurial ecosystem. By peeling back the layers of data in the Kauffman report, we can find more sobering numbers that underscore the challenges – and opportunities – we still face.

ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY IN THE U.S.

RANK INDEX RANK CHANGE RATE OF NEW 2015 2015 STATE 2014 IN RANK ENTREPRENEURS

OPPORTUNITY SHARE OF NEW ENTREPRENEURS

STARTUP DENSITY

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

4.77 Montana 2.04 Wyoming 1.74 North Dakota 1.50 Colorado 1.47 Vermont 1.43 South Dakota 1.35 Alaska 1.32 Idaho 1.23 Florida 0.95 Nevada 0.91 New York 0.77 Hawaii 0.70 Louisiana 0.70 California 0.69 Utah 0.67 Oklahoma 0.56 Texas 0.22 New Mexico -0.15 Delaware -0.29 Nebraska -0.42 Arizona -0.48 Mississippi -0.54 Maine -0.61 North Carolina -0.87 Kansas -1.14 Illinois -1.15 Missouri -1.24 Maryland -1.27 South Carolina

1 6 3 7 12 10 2 4 8 21 9 14 11 5 17 31 13 16 19 23 20 22 15 29 25 35 18 28 46

0 4 0 3 7 4 -5 -4 -1 11 -2 2 -2 -9 2 15 -4 -2 0 3 -1 0 -8 5 0 9 -9 0 17

0.54% 0.32% 0.27% 0.35% 0.40% 0.34% 0.45% 0.33% 0.35% 0.37% 0.33% 0.35% 0.33% 0.39% 0.30% 0.36% 0.36% 0.40% 0.29% 0.25% 0.31% 0.34% 0.29% 0.31% 0.22% 0.22% 0.28% 0.24% 0.32%

84.0% 88.7% 89.5% 84.9% 79.4% 86.9% 74.1% 90.3% 80.3% 79.3% 81.8% 88.9% 89.2% 76.0% 85.8% 81.9% 80.6% 74.2% 83.6% 88.7% 80.9% 79.7% 80.4% 79.2% 90.1% 86.4% 76.8% 84.3% 72.6%

195.7 216.3 244.7 174.9 157.4 166.7 132.8 146.2 188.7 155.5 177.7 97.5 112.7 140.6 168.0 128.7 130.4 110.0 137.6 135.0 117.4 88.4 133.8 115.9 118.6 126.4 128.9 113.2 107.2

30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

-1.31 Rhode Island -1.33 Kentucky -1.38 Arkansas -1.40 Oregon -1.41 Massachusetts -1.46 Connecticut -1.54 New Jersey -1.56 Ohio -1.59 Washington -1.74 Virginia -1.78 Georgia -1.90 Michigan -1.97 Iowa -2.07 New Hampshire -2.61 Indiana -2.94 Tennessee -3.06 West Virginia -3.32 Minnesota -3.39 Pennsylvania -3.47 Alabama -3.92 Wisconsin

37 24 26 30 33 27 43 36 32 39 42 41 40 34 48 47 38 44 50 49 45

7 -7 -6 -3 -1 -8 7 -1 -6 0 2 0 -2 -9 4 2 -8 -3 2 0 -5

0.20% 0.35% 0.25% 0.27% 0.29% 0.29% 0.24% 0.21% 0.24% 0.22% 0.29% 0.26% 0.18% 0.25% 0.23% 0.24% 0.20% 0.17% 0.20% 0.22% 0.17%

87.8% 69.4% 82.5% 72.6% 73.4% 74.9% 76.1% 89.2% 76.2% 81.5% 69.7% 76.4% 86.9% 72.6% 75.2% 70.0% 77.6% 73.8% 71.5% 69.0% 71.2%

127.0 93.5 105.9 152.0 124.6 110.4 150.5 89.8 146.4 120.9 126.0 102.9 110.6 129.3 96.0 99.3 81.4 122.5 101.8 92.7 100.6

should be noted that the data comes from a survey with a confidence interval of +/- 0.075 percent, which means our ranking could in reality fall anywhere from the top 10 to 33rd.

The key factor that drove South Carolina’s overall improvement in the rankings this year was the second measure – opportunity share. About 73 percent of new entrepreneurs in S.C. were pursuing new ventures after leaving another job or school – which means 27 percent started new businesses out of necessity (joblessness) rather than opportunity. On

that measure, South Carolina ranks a disappointing 42nd, but the 20 percent increase over last year’s opportunity share of 60 percent was good for best improvement in the country. While the improvement is certainly encouraging, our starting point of 50th place last year was not a proud launchpad.

On the third and final category of startup density, we experienced a slight increase, from 106 startups per 100,000 people to 107 – but our ranking on that measure declined from 37th to 38th. In other words, we still lag behind many other states in terms of >>

upstatebusinessjournal.com

STRATEGIES FOR HONING YOUR PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

| PROFESSIONAL | 13

Relax, graduates: The jobs will come

By KAITLYN HUDSON, Complete Public Relations

Recent college graduates have all heard the standard “do’s and don’ts” of applying for jobs.

Reminders like arriving early to an interview and keeping a clean social media presence are pounded into college students’ minds. We have all heard to follow up after an application, dress professionally and to send a thank-you note.

But is it enough?

Sure, some fortunate graduates will promptly find a job within a few weeks of graduation by simply following the regular protocol. Unfortunately, other recent graduates might not find a great job before Memorial Day weekend. In fact, many are still looking by the time Labor Day weekend arrives.

One difficult part of transitioning into life after college is realizing there is no longer a schedule for success.

Recent graduates are accustomed to a lifestyle where the plan for the end goal is completely mapped out. Universities provide students with an exact plan for graduation, a schedule of fees, course syllabuses and even an academic advisor to make sure everything is on track. It’s easy to embrace that type of sequential mentality after living in it for four years.

College students become conditioned into thinking everything must go according to plan to achieve a goal.

Unfortunately, the job application process

>>

the relative number of startups here.

So, while the increase in rankings this year is a nice feather in our cap, the truth is that we still have much work to do to develop, attract, grow and retain entrepreneurs in our emerging early-stage ecosystem.

Fortunately, there are many talented and dedicated people and organizations working on the core issues underlying our startup index numbers, and we are encouraged that our trends will continue to move in the right direction.

doesn’t come with a blueprint. The perfect job for you may not be Finding a job is tough, but it’s also great practice for living in available the week after graduation. the “real world.” Keep your head up, utilize your resources, It may not even be present in the next and an opportunity may come up when you least expect it. six months.

Take opportunities. A job opportunity may not present itself right away, but a good actual person reviewing your materials submitted online. It’s easy for job seekers to lose the personal internship might. Unpaid internships aren’t exactly touch after applying for several positions. ideal; however, the experience is priceless. If it Considering the job application process from the means taking on a temporary part-time job, then employer’s perspective can help applicants with their so be it. An applicant with a strong internship or approach to finding a job. related volunteer work post-graduation on his or One consideration is the employer’s schedule. her resume is going to come across as more than a Hiring managers are busy, and filling a position recent graduate just looking for a paycheck to an is probably only a small fraction of their job reemployer. sponsibilities. A long, impersonal cover letter is Some companies – especially nonprofits – might not the most convenient or favorable message to even work with your schedule to create a part-time read. program.

Along with their busy day, keep in mind that On the other hand, don’t get so caught up in employers have a personality, too. finding a job to fulfill your passion. There’s nothing Managers and interviewers are proud of their wrong with doing something you love for a living, company – this is especially true with small business but it’s not always an option for everyone. Instead owners. Applicants with a generic, impersonal cover of searching for a specific niche, consider a position letter probably won’t strike an employer as an where you can channel similar traits. For example, amazing new addition to the team. A cover letter someone who enjoys high-endurance sports may that is clearly written to that specific company will not find a career in or related to the athletic indusappear more sincere and show that they are more try, but their drive and perseverance could translate interested in finding a place on that team, instead well into a sales position. An individual who is of finding any job. passionate about cooking or photography can The last suggestion is not to feel discouraged. channel their creative mind into a marketing or PR Finding a job is tough, but it’s also great practice for position. living in the “real world.” Keep your head up, utilize Another suggestion to keep in mind is that the your resources, and an opportunity may come up employer reviewing your application is a human, when you least expect it. too. All too often, applicants forget that there is an But one of the critical factors underlying each of the components in the Kauffman Index is access to capital. At UCAN we’ve been working on that portion of our ecosystem for several years, and in the last year, we’ve begun to tackle the problem on a larger scale by launching the South Carolina Angel Network, which now includes over 200 investors across eight angel groups and a co-investment fund.

We are working diligently to create a more efficient and sustainable market for early-stage capital for-

mation in South Carolina – which will lead to more and better entrepreneurial outcomes.

To build that marketplace, we need more investors, institutions and partners. If you’re interested, we’d love to tell you more and invite your participation. Together, we can build on this year’s progress and help South Carolina work itself out of contention for the most improved award – and into a consistent top 20 performer in Kauffman’s important index.

athome

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14 | DIGITAL MAVEN |

THE TECHNICAL SIDE OF BUSINESS

UBJ

|

05.29. 2015

The rating game What should you do about a bad online review?

By LAURA HAIGHT, president, portfoliosc.com What happens when your business gets metaphorically egged?

Bad reviews and nasty comments about a company really do get small business owners to pay attention to their online presence. You may go through an array of emotions, both rational and not, when someone maligns your business online. Anger, fear, concern, outrage and back to anger and fear.

So what can you do when the inevitable negative comment hits?

The answer honestly is, depending on where the attack hit, very little. Most reputable social media sites that invite reviewing, like Google, Yelp, Open Table, Facebook and Amazon, do not allow businesses to remove bad reviews. Reputation companies focus on obscuring the bad reviews so that they don’t appear in search results when someone uses a search engine to find you. Unfortunately, that also blocks the good results they might find.

The reviewer who left the bad review is the only one who can remove it. If you are a local business, and you know the customer or have them in your database, you may be able to ameliorate the situation personally and get the reviewer to amend or remove a review. You may even be able to contact an online reviewer through their social media accounts or email address. If so, do it with respect and calm.

Arrange a way to talk directly rather than conducting the conversation through email. Employ great listening and customer service skills (you know how to do that) so you don’t make the situation worse.

Maybe the reviewer will respond positively, maybe

not. But you’ll gain some points for making the effort.

At all costs, avoid threatening, angry confrontations.

It can only get a lot worse when the reviewer updates their posting with tidbits about that kind of a conversation.

In the long run, the best way to protect your online reputation is by cultivating it all the time. Here are three things you should be doing.

CLAIM YOUR GOOGLE AND YELP BUSINESS PAGES A lot of businesses may be surprised to find that they already have a Google business page but have no idea how to get into it and take control of it. Some may find they have more than one page and also don’t know how to access it. If you are starting a new business, get this under control from the beginning.

These pages can be great marketing tools if managed correctly, giving you places for photos, videos, comments, updates and other interactions with your clients/customers. Updates to these pages, coupled with recommendations and interaction, will come up high in online searches and elevate you above competitors with less of a vibrant online presence.

MONITOR SOCIAL MEDIA AND INTERNET CONVERSATIONS

A local business owner told me that he monitored Twitter doggedly, a tactic that enabled him to often address a customer service problem while the customer was still in the store. Since people often tweet out of anger or frustration, he could see immediately what was happening and dispatch a manager to resolve it. Often those angry tweets were followed by “I just had the best customer service experience…” type tweets. Bullseye.

In the long run, the best way to protect your online You can’t deal with what you don’t know. reputation is by cultivating it all the time.

Set up a Google alert (alerts.google.com) for yourself and your business. If you are not

managing your own social media, follow yourself on Twitter and Facebook, so you know what’s being posted.

INVITE COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Give people lots of ways to communicate with you – in store, online, through apps, etc. Invite comments, encourage recommendations, welcome engagement. When you invite comments, make sure they are regularly reviewed and responded to. If you give out an email address online for comment, make sure it is monitored daily. Respond quickly and positively to the negative; gracefully and thankfully to the positive.

One thing you can control online are comments posted to your Facebook page and, of course, your website. If someone posts a negative comment on Facebook, resist the temptation to delete it. Respond to it in a positive way, spin the conversation positively and you’ll gain points for dealing with a heckler thoughtfully and respectfully.

Finally, never lash out in anger. Not every comment requires a response. There is a lot of junk on the Internet and a lot of people post meaningless comments and reviews that will get little meaningful attention. Readers are interested in useful comments, which is why most social media sites have algorithms that elevate the helpful comments and push down the junk.

Although it seems like it sometimes, your business persona online is not out of your control, but you will get out of it exactly what you have put into it.

Laura Haight is the president of Portfolio, a communications company that helps small business make the most of the fusion of emerging technology and communication.

PLANNING FOR A LASTING LEGACY Margaret Southern lived modestly but left a magnificent gift to the Community Foundation to benefit her most cherished interests—early childhood education, special needs children and animal welfare—forever.

We make it easy to give back to the place we all love to call home.

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Power your peace of mind by installing an emergency generator.

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16 | COVER

UBJ

|

06.26.2015

NEXT moves NEXT Manufacturing could strengthen startup, workforce pipeline ASHLEY BONCIMINO | STAFF

aboncimino@communityjournals.com It’s a tall order, but a yet-unnamed downtown manufacturing center could take a crack at problems that span workforce, economic, manufacturing and community development if everything goes as planned, according to the project’s partners.

Slated for a now-empty industrial space within walking distance of the Greenville Health System Swamp Rabbit Trail, the project plans to serve as a co-locating space for a handful of high-technology, high-growth manufacturing startups that are caught between needing more than a garage but less than their own building, say the project’s developers Dennis and Russ Braasch of Braasch Building Group.

The development is known generically as the NEXT Manufacturing Center, because of its handshake partnership with the Greenville Chamber of Commerce’s NEXT program. The manufacturing center will also share the co-locating and business support services philosophy of the NEXT Innovation Center, which banks on the idea that such environments foster innovation,

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For NEXT CEO John Moore, the spark for the manufacturing center began with a meeting half a decade ago about what elements were missing from Greenville’s entrepreneurial environment.

“We knew there was a demand for these types of facilities,” said Moore. “We weren’t just looking for manufacturing, but we were looking at what do we need for facilities.”

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began asking about more tangible support such as loading docks, he began scoping potential solutions, said Moore.

“In a way, all we do with NEXT is find out what these companies need,” he said, noting he looked at potential facilities in Greer, Travelers Rest, Mauldin, Greer and around Greenville County before he found out Dennis Braasch was interested in the 400 Birnie St. property. “What makes me very optimistic about just talking to the companies is that this is not a, ‘Build it and they will come’ model… We’re building this practically exclusively for the talent and opportunities that are already here, though in fact there are companies that are already looking here that are interested in that space.”

THE DOWNTOWN LIFESTYLE The downtown location was important for several reasons, but most importantly it caters to a specific kind of startup, said Dennis Braasch.

“What Russ and I always wanted to do was to have the feel and the energy and the lifestyle of the park connect with this,” he said, noting that proximity to the proposed new city park, the trail and downtown would make it easy to get lunch or take a break without having to get in a car. “The people who come here, who are starting businesses and growing businesses and setting up headquarters to do business here, or have maybe moved out of their own garage to come here before they move to their own building, they’re the kind of people that like that kind of a lifestyle.”

Being close to downtown also elevates the visibility of the manufacturing in Greenville, highlighting not only that innovation in manufacturing happens here, but that it’s encouraged and supported, said Moore.

“The best marketing we can do to attract new business is to do amazing things to support our existing base,” he said.

BUILDING UP COMMUNITIES Not only will the center foster entrepreneurship and market Greenville, but its location at the edge of one of the city’s lowest-income neighborhoods, in addition to education partnerships, could >>

COVER | 17

upstatebusinessjournal.com

New life in an old space NEXT Manufacturing will honor industrial past while looking to future SHERRY JACKSON | STAFF

sjackson@communityjournals.com Similar to its incubator building at the NEXT Innovation Center on Church Street and the soon-to-becompleted NEXT on Main space on the third floor of the Bank of America Building at 101 N. Main St., NEXT Manufacturing at 400 Birnie St. will provide small and startup companies competitively priced space needed to collaborate without signing long-term leases or purchasing large buildings that they’re not quite ready for. Plans also call to make the “look” of the building similar to the others, to create a NEXT brand.

Workers are sprucing up the 36,000-square-foot building on Birnie Street to make way for “about four to 10 companies” with potentially 75 or more employees, said Dennis Braasch, who along with his son, Russ, president of Braasch Building Group, owns and is developing the property, and has also been pursuing all of the relationships with NEXT, the school

systems and city leaders.

“We had three goals when planning this. We wanted it to be a viable business, of course, but we also wanted to be a good partner with the school districts and be a positive in the community,” said Dennis Braasch.

The Braasches closed on the property earlier this year and said they chose the property because of the “feel, energy, lifestyle and proximity to the future new city park.”

In the NEXT fashion, the building will feature plenty of open space and glass walls, and a clear-story roof will provide natural light. New windows and new electrical will also be part of the build-out. “It will be light, bright and colorful and encourage transparency,” said Jeff Tiddy, an architect at McMillan Pazdan Smith, which is designing the project. Panels, overhead doors and walls will be moveable and conference rooms will be flexible.

The building also has plenty of wood columns and beams. “We’re bringing the character back to the early 20th century industrial building,” said Tiddy.

“We had three goals when planning this. We wanted it to be a viable business, of course, but we also wanted to be a good partner with the school districts and be a positive in the community.”

Developer Dennis Braasch

>> build up communities and bridge workforce development challenges.

For example, they’re working on a partnership with the local school system to get middle and high school students in a program that exposes them to modern manufacturing in the hopes that it will inspire them to go into the industry themselves, which could improve the workforce pipeline challenges facing many technical industries today.

“There’s a big challenge for connections between companies and the families and kids that need training in the manufacturing industry,” said Russ Braasch, adding his father has had the idea of pairing manufacturing and education at the back of his head for more than two decades.

Dennis and Russ Braasch are

working with eight to 10 prospective tenants and hope to welcome the first company towards the end of summer.

While several elements still need to be nailed down, both call the project “very doable.”

“We think that using the NEXT initiative to support it in manufacturing companies and getting companies that are interested in supporting the community and being partners in the community is a really good way to support both initiatives.”

“We’re building this practically exclusively for the talent and opportunities that are already here, though in fact there are companies that are already looking here that are interested in that space.”

John Moore, NEXT CEO Centrally located bathrooms and break areas will encourage people to walk by each other and interact. NEXT Manufacturing tenants will have also have access to shared amenities, such as meeting spaces at all NEXT facilities.

The building sat vacant for about a year and was most recently home to an insulation company and before that, a box manufacturing plant. An old piece of boxing equipment will be cleaned up and displayed in the lobby area to pay homage to the building’s past.

Phase one of the project will be to get ready for one or two companies that want to move into the space by August, said Russ Braasch. Subsequent phases will continue the buildout with additional spaces and conference rooms along with a glass wall in the rear of the building that could look out over the proposed new city park. They also hope to add bike racks, showers, lockers and maybe even a B-cycle station to allow tenants to take advantage of the proximity to the GHS Swamp Rabbit Trail, said Dennis Braasch.

The current building sits on three acres – plenty of room to expand in the future if the want or need is there.

The Braasches have also worked with the city of Greenville, which is assisting with streetscaping improvements, both in front of the building, and extending down Birnie Street to what could become one of the main entrances to the new proposed city park.

“The city is going to be looking for ways to improve Birnie Street by planting trees, improving sidewalks and street lighting,” said Ginny Stroud, community development administrator for the City of Greenville. Stroud said she is also working with the Braasches to plan visits with the neighborhood associations and continue to meet with community leaders in the coming months.

“There a lot of benefits and good things that are happening because of the NEXT Manufacturing Center,” said Stroud. “Not only is it bringing new life to a formerly closed building, but it will provide mentoring and educational opportunities as well.”

18 | FOUNDERS |

UBJ

THE PEOPLE WHO BUILT THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE BUILDING THE UPSTATE

The art of the pivot

[

where we were as a company and said, “We can continue to do this and die with it, or we can change and take this expertise and knowledge we’ve got and redirect it.”

My Advice

FRANK GREER, cofounder, Zipit Wireless

How do you decide what do when your market is going away? It’s got to be a scary situation.

It was very gut wrenching. I can remember a board meeting where we talked about how can we change, how can we improve. One of the board members said, “We need to THINK LONG-TERM AND stop spending a dime. We need STRATEGIC AND BE WILLING to spend no more money on TO STAY THE COURSE. this instant messaging product for kids. We need to stop right REALIZE THOSE TWO now.” We all sat back in our PRINCIPLES CAN SEEM chairs and thought, “Really?”

We turned on a dime, and CONTRADICTORY AND had to. If we hadn’t, we DEVELOP SOUND JUDGMENT. wouldn’t still be here. It really hit me like a sledgehammer that he was right. We needed to take the dollars we had to spend to make a successful product and profitable company.

IDENTIFY WHEN TO CHANGE COURSE, NOT JUST SMALL ADJUSTMENTS.

] Zipit Wireless CEO Frank Greer learned when to stay the course – and when to change it ROBBIE WARD | STAFF

rward@communityjournals.com Frank Greer, CEO of Zipit Wireless Inc., appreciates the importance of both thinking long-term and having the ability to pivot, defined as a significant course change when business isn’t working out.

Seven years ago, he and cofounder Ralph Heredia created Zipit Wireless, a company using cloud-based technology before most people had heard the term. The company’s product was hand-held devices marketed to teenagers who chatted with AOL Instant Messenger, but lacked unlimited access to personal computers. Zipit devices received positive reviews from The New York Times and other news organizations. Then came cellphones.

Zipit Wireless has continued to grow long after AOL Instant Messenger was eclipsed in the teen market by text messages, Twitter, Snapchat and Facebook.

Success has come from patented

technology, but also from mastery of the pivot – an important challenge many startup companies never achieve.

When you think about the course that you’ve taken with Zipit Wireless, which pivots stand out to you?

The biggest one that affected us at Zipit was when we spun the company out. We were shipping a kids’ messaging product, a consumer product geared toward teens and tweens. At that time AOL Instant Messenger was their form of communication. Today, it’s Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. We started out when there wasn’t a lot of options for kids to communication through instant messenger. And then we saw the market change dramatically in a short amount of time. Then we started seeing 12-year-olds and 10-yearolds carrying cellphones, and text messaging gained speed.

We were in a market where we had really good technology but clearly in a declining state. We basically looked at

That’s a real aha kind of moment.

How do you know when you’re there?

It’s hard as an entrepreneur. You get emotionally attached to something. We’d been working on that for five years at that point. You get heavily invested and believe in your product. It took somebody making that comment in a strong way.

How do you go from a kid’s messenger to a serious medical communication device? It’s quite a transition.

When we started this concept … the first thing we realized is we needed to have some way of having a remote way of managing these devices. Let’s say we

|

06.26. 2015

needed to update software … or put parental controls on the device, we needed to have the ability to control the device.

We actually patented technology around that. That basically put us in a spot where we developed cloud technology before that term was even popular.

Our cofounder did a good job of seeking opportunities where we could fit.

And we had some very fortunate relationships develop with companies like Verizon Wireless and then with AT&T Wireless. We got connected with both of them. Verizon saw an opportunity at the time with simply replacing pagers. It’s generally a declining business, but they’re still almost 5 million pagers in use.

And we also provide the ability to monitor, track and then manage all of the devices in the field. When we send a message to these end users, we know when the message got sent, when it was delivered, when the user responded.

That lets a business understand what’s working and what’s not, so they can improve their processes. That’s really what we do – the ability to monitor, track and improve in real-time.

We have three key things we do. We have a device we offer for messaging.

Then we have a smartphone application. And then we have this Web-based control center that is all client-based.

Looking toward the future, do you see the next pivot?

One of our key businesses is what we call critical communications. That really has been our core business over the past four years. I’m not sure this is a pivot, but we’ve also grown another portion of our business, another very hot space right now – the Internet of Things. It’s really evolving to be a significant part of our business. In the tech world … it basically means the idea of connecting all of these different devices that in years past may not have needed or wanted or had value from an Internet connection.

But as you start to look at how the world is evolving, connecting machines in so many different kinds of ways adds so much value. Everything from cars to trail cameras for Bushnell, a company we work with. We’re also doing a prescription medical dispensing device.

Some of the Zipit products offered over the years, From left: 2004 Zipit Tweens Instant Messenger, 2007 Upgrade to the Instant Messenger, 2011 Zipit’s first Critical Messaging device, 2014 Critical Messaging current device.

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There are several cost benefits with using lease financing as an alternative to standard bank financing. The standard benefits are 100% financing of the asset, potential tax benefits* to the company, and lower monthly payments on the equipment being financed. Other benefits may include the predictability of cash outlays in the budgeting process and savings on asset disposal costs by returning the obsolete asset to the lessor at lease end.

5. FLEXIBILITY WITHOUT OBSOLESCENCE.

If you use your lease to obtain items that may be outdated in a short period of time, such as computers or other high-tech equipment, a lease passes the burden of obsolescence on to the lessor. At the end of the term, you have the option of simply returning the equipment, purchasing it outright or extending the lease, making it easier to upgrade or dispose of the equipment.

Fifth Third is focused on delivering exceptional service and smart, comprehensive solutions tailored to the unique needs of our customers. For more information regarding Fifth Third Commercial Banking products or services, please contact Charlie Arndt in our Greenville office at 864-558-2470.

Deposit and credit products provided by Fifth Third Bank. Member FDIC. Loans and leases subject to credit review and approval. * Fifth Third Bank does not provide tax or legal advice. Always consult your tax advisor or attorney as to any tax advantages that may be available with leasing.

20 | ON THE MOVE |

UBJ

PLAY-BY-PLAY OF UPSTATE CAREERS

HIRED

HIRED

NAMED

HIRED

|

06.26. 2015

HIRED

Heather Juve

Gary Bernardez

Pam Fordyce

Paige G. McCord

Jeff Henson

Named director of asset management for the real estate division of Pacolet Milliken Enterprises Inc. Juve has more than 20 years of financial, accounting and management experience in commercial real estate. She previously served as senior vice president and national director for America’s Retail at Jones Long LaSalle.

Named chief operating officer of Brundage-Bone Concrete.

Bernardez has over 29 years of experience in the construction and industrial services industries. He was most recently senior vice president of global services for Fluor Corporation and president of AMECO, the equipment services unit of Fluor.

Named manager of imaging and operations at VidiStar LLC, where she will provide project management and training for the company’s sales territory and overall operations. Fordyce previously served as a PACs administrator and manager of support services for Atrium Medical Center’s Medical Imaging department.

Named to the restaurant studio of DP3 Architects Ltd. McCord has more than 17 years of design experience.

She has Master of Architecture and Bachelor of Science in Design degrees from Clemson University.

Named research specialist for the Upstate SC Alliance.

Henson previously held positions in real estate and finance with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services | C. Dan Joyner Realtors, Residential Capital Corp., CBRE and Stonehenge Holdings. Henson will assist in creation and maintenance of regional databases.

EDUCATION Sylvan Learning Centers of the Upstate hired Alison Hague as director of enrollment, with a special focus on business development and

marketing. Hague has 20 years of high-tech and telecom sales and education background with companies such as Oracle, Verizon, France Telecom, BellSouth and Unisys.

Douglas Fowler Executive Recruiter 20 years experience

MARKETING/PR Creative Design Media Group LLC hired Erica S. Johnson as director of corporate communications. Johnson has over six years of

experience in public relations. She will oversee and orchestrate all internal and external print and digital communication and brand expansion. >>

We’ve already met your next employee.

Godshall Professional Recruiting and Staffing specializes in executive recruiting, career placement, and consulting for businesses and job seekers in South Carolina. For more than 20 years, Douglas has worked with clients across both the European and U.S. markets. Specializing in the technology industry as a vertical, he has helped place high-value sales, pre-sales, marketing, and professional services staff at all levels. Godshall welcomes Douglas as the newest addition to our Technical Recruiting Team.

Professional • Finance • Technical • Healthcare sccareersearch.com • 864-242-3491

upstatebusinessjournal.com

PLAY-BY-PLAY OF UPSTATE CAREERS

Open for business

VIP Jack Bacot Named to the Bon Secours Wellness Arena board of directors by Gov. Nikki Haley on the recommendation of the Greenville County Council. Bacot is vice president of marketing and media for Tempus Jets Inc. and editor-inchief of Tempus Magazine. He also serves as chairman of the board of directors for VGSC.

>> RETAIL Anderson Mall hired Phil Alldredge as general manager. Alldredge has more than 30 years of experience in commercial real estate. Most recently,

he held the position of general manager at Citadel Mall in Charleston. He was also vice president of property management for Starmount Company in Greensboro, N.C.

CONTRIBUTE: New hires, promotions & award winners may be featured in On the Move. Send information and photos to onthemove@upstatebusinessjournal.com.

Tune in to Hack-a-Thon live stream Presentations from two days of the iMAGINE Upstateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Transportation Hack-a-Thon will broadcast live beginning at 7 p.m. June 27 at upstatebusinessjournal.com.

The data and software coding programmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; presentations will

| ON THE MOVE | 21

show how groups of participants leveraged public information to help improve transportation issues in the Upstate.

Anyone interested in attending should register for free at bit.ly/ upstate-hack-a-thon.

1. Southern Pressed Juicery recently opened at 2 W. Washington St., Greenville. Hours are MondayFriday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m.5 p.m. For more information, visit southernpressedjuicery.com or call 864-729-8626.

1.

2. The MAU Skill School recently opened at 7993 Pelham Road, Greenville.

The center provides training with powered industrial vehicles.

For more information, visit mau.com/ skillschool.

2.

3. Cakes By U recently opened at 637 Congaree Road, Suite A, Greenville.

Customers can drop in or schedule group events to decorate cakes and cupcakes.

For more information, visit cakesbyu.com or call 864-322-3356.

3.

Photos provided

CONTRIBUTE: Know of a business opening soon?

Email information to bjeffers@communityjournals.com.

22 | THE FINE PRINT |

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Our team will work holistically with your team to ensure that we craft a measured, tailored, and comprehensive solution that works seamlessly with your current system. With live 24/7 support based in the Southeastern United States, the only Tier IV commercial data center in South Carolina, plus turn-key and a la carte services, it’s our mission to offer services that help alleviate the everyday stress of IT management. Plus, our award-winning customer service and “No Surprises” billing system guarantees complete transparency on our part, for complete satisfaction on yours.

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CLOUD SERVICES | MANAGED SERVICES | TIER IV DATA CENTER NETWORK INTEGRATION | VOICE & DATA INFRASTRUCTURE

UBJ

|

06.26. 2015

German company selects Fluor as engineering partner German-based BASF SE selected Fluor Corporation as its global engineering partner for future chemical and petrochemical plant projects around the world.

The services agreement includes conceptual and front-end engineering, detailed engineering, procurement, project management, construction management and other services.

“We are delighted to sign this global agreement with BASF as it marks a successful working partnership established over the past four years through projects undertaken under three regional agreements – Asia, Europe and North America,” Fluor COO Peter Oosterveer said in a release.

Fluor will use its global network of offices to execute future BASF plant projects around the world. Prior project experience with BASF in China, Germany, India, Poland, the United States, Spain, Brazil and Malaysia will be utilized to enhance project delivery on an ongoing basis.

Walbridge to manage $170M expansion British-based Croda International Plc selected Greenville-based Walbridge Process Engineering and Construction as construction manager for a $170 million expansion to a specialty chemicals production plant in New Castle, Del. Croda broke ground on the project in April.

When completed in about two years, the facility will produce 100 percent sustainable non-ionic surfactants, active emulsifying agents that help keep oil and water together.

The products are used in a range of items from face cream to toothpaste to paint and laundry detergent.

Croda expects the new plant to reduce its use of fossil fuels by moving away from traditional petrochemical derived ingredients.

Middough Inc., headquartered in Cleveland, was selected as project engineer performing engineering services and procurement.

Pantex to open first U.S. plant in Simpsonville Pantex International S.p.A., a hygiene materials producer primarily, is establishing its first U.S. operations in Simpsonville. The $10.4 million investment is expected to create 45 new jobs in Simpsonville over the next five years.

“Specifically, the U.S. investment serves two purposes – to expand the capacity of successful, innovative products such as ‘cloth-like’ top sheets and increase >>

upstatebusinessjournal.com

REAL ESTATE DEALS AND DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS THE REGION

LEY ST.

CresCom Bank, the wholly owned bank subsidiary of Carolina Financial Corporation, will open its first Greenville branch.

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CresCom Bank to open Greenville branch in fall

The full-service branch will be located at 3695 E. North St. and is expected to open in the fall of 2015.

Last summer, CresCom Bank added local market leader Scott Frierson to its team to help lead efforts for its newly created loan production office in Greenville.

CresCom Bank has 26 branch locations throughout the Carolinas, in addition to the loan production offices in Wilmington, N.C., and Greenville. The new Greenville branch will represent the 27th branch location and adds to the community bank’s growing presence throughout the Carolinas.

“We’re excited for the opportunity to open our first full-service branch within the Greenville community later this year,” said Carolina Financial Corporation President and CEO Jerry Rexroad. “The Upstate is a growing market and we’re pleased to bring our relationship-based banking services and products to its residents.”

In addition to its branches, CresCom Bank currently owns and operates Crescent Mortgage Company, which lends in 45 states and partners with 2,000 community banks, credit unions and mortgage brokers, and offers access to various loan programs.

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the speed at which we bring new innovations to our customers in the American hygiene market,” Pantex CEO Gianluigi Fornoni said in a release.

The facility operations will focus on the production of perforated non-wovens, composites and films for feminine hygiene applications as well as elastic laminates for baby care and adult incontinence fastening systems.

“The fact that Pantex has chosen Simpsonville as the first place in the country to establish operations is further proof that companies from around the world are now looking at South Carolina as an ideal place to do business,” Gov. Nikki Haley said.

The 140,000-square-foot facility is expected to be fully operational by the third quarter of 2015.

Hiring for all positions is currently underway.

Those interested in joining the Pantex Americas Inc. team can contact recruitment@pantexglobal.com.

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to be moving forward with this project.” sjackson@communityjournals.com Walden said PHG was attracted to @SJackson_CJ the area due to “a lot of the great accolades” Greenville has received and it From fixing cars to sleeping beds, lived up to those during a recent visit. The another piece of downtown Greenville’s culture and charm of the city makes it a West End is set to be repurposed. great place to do business, he said.

Elgin-Williamson Collison Repair, which As PHG continues with the development has been located at 942 S. Main St. (across and design process, more information will from Fluor Field and next to Mac’s Speed be released.

Shop) for 25 years, is moving.

Currently, Johnny King Auctioneers is In its stead will be a planned Homewood conducting an online auction for some of Suites by Hilton hotel. Homewood Suites the paint/body shop equipment and colis Hilton’s international brand of upscale, lectibles and memorabilia that decorated all-suite, extended-stay hotels.

Elgin-Williamson.

A Cary, N.C.-based company, Parks No details are available on where the Hospitality Group, which specializes in the body shop will be relocating. development and management of mid to upscale hotels, has purchased the property for $2.7 million.

Trevor Walden, VP of operations and sales with PHG, said it’s too early yet to release details on number of stories or rooms, but that the company is “very excited

SHERRY JACKSON | STAFF

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Homewood Suites developers buy body shop property on South Main for $2.7 million

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| SQUARE FEET | 23

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices opens downtown office Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices C. Dan Joyner Realtors announced this week the creation of a new downtown residential office co-located with the company’s commercial division at 24 Vardry St. David Crigler will serve as the broker-incharge of the new office along with five residential sales professionals who have recently joined the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices C. Dan Joyner team.

“In response to the market’s needs and direction, as well as substantial agent growth within the company, our downtown office is positioned to meet the needs of the flourishing Upstate market, and we are glad to welcome these experienced agents to our family,” said Danny Joyner, CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices C. Dan Joyner Realtors.

Rhett Brown, Chris Rodriguez, Jo-Ann Rutledge, Kirby Stone and Iris Wainright make up the new downtown team.

24 | SQUARE FEET |

UBJ

REAL ESTATE DEALS AND DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS THE REGION

|

06.26. 2015

Plans for Waterstone advance on Wilkins House site SHERRY JACKSON | STAFF

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Activity will soon be seen on the former site of the Wilkins House at 1004 Augusta St. as development begins on Waterstone, a new assisted-living facility.

After determining the mansion wouldn’t fit into the assisted living facility’s plans, the 1876-era Wilkins House was relocated last year to the corner of Mills Avenue and Elm Street after a grass-roots preservation campaign, working with the help of the Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation, raised enough money to relocate the two-story brick Italianate mansion of Spartanburg merchant William T. Wilkins. Over the years the home served as a funeral home, an antique store and an event venue.

Plans for Waterstone call for a 109,238 square foot building on the 4-acre site. The assisted-living portion of the building will be three stories

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and the memory care portion will be one story, said developer Dan Simmons of TXG LLC, the developer and asset manager of the new facility.

Waterstone will have 114 total units with 126 beds. Amenities will include a dining area with display kitchen, piano bar and lounge, fitness center, library, business center, barber and beauty salon, spa and massage areas, occupational and physical therapy center, outdoor dining and

Have you

courtyards.

Landscaping will “be tasteful and compliment the building and site,” said Simmons. Plenty of parking will also be available with 75 spaces, and the facility expects to hire about 80 employees for full and part time positions.

Construction is expected to begin late July/early August and will take approximately 15 months to complete.

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upstatebusinessjournal.com

REAL ESTATE DEALS AND DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS THE REGION

| SQUARE FEET | 25

Planning Commission tables Highland Terrace proposal proposed, Hipp said he has sjackson@communityjournals.com purchased an @SJackson_CJ existing home on Townes A proposed cluster subdiviStreet, allowing him realign the sion on Townes Street in the lots and provide more green North Main neighborhood was space. tabled last week by the Greenville Nearby residents and North Planning Commission to allow Main neighborhood representathe city more time to assess the tives objected to the proposed application. development, called Highland Developer Reid Hipp wants Terrace Homes, saying that trees to build nine lots on the vacant and wildlife habitats will be 2-acre piece of property wedged removed, there are stormwater in between existing homes. The concerns and that it doesn’t “fit site was previously approved by in with the surrounding neighthe Planning Commission for a borhood.” One resident said cluster subdivision and is curthere are several technical errors rently divided into 11 single-famin the application and that it ily home lots, according to city “doesn’t meet” the infill ordirecords. The new subdivision nance requirements. would have a dedicated public The application is slated for street with a cul-de-sac. another review at the July 16 Since the project was initially Planning Commission meeting.

SHERRY JACKSON | STAFF

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TGHA breaks ground on senior housing in West Greenville Housing Authority looking for development partner for Scott Towers on Augusta Street The Greenville Housing Authority officially broke

In the Westview community, TGHA is proposing that seven existing apartments and a management building be demolished and converted to 12 one- or two-bedroom units with an art studio space for each.

A new office/community building will be construct-

ed and 66 current units will also be renovated in that community.

Brookhaven will get a complete makeover of the 57 low-income housing units. A former Head Start building will be converted into new office/community space.

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ground earlier this week on The Manor at West Greenville, a new three-story building with 55 senior housing units located at 430 Perry Ave. Construction at The Manor is expected be completed June 2016.

TGHA also put out a request for qualifications seeking a development partner to assist in the redevelopment of the former Scott Towers site at 500 Augusta St. after negotiations with St. Louis development firm McCormack Baron Salazar fell through last year. TGHA has developed a conceptual plan for the site and will partner with the selected company to redevelop the site according to that conceptual plan. Bids for the RFQ are due July 16.

Once a master developer is secured, TGHA will conduct community meetings and work to secure public-private partnerships for funding, said Ivory Mathews, THGA executive director. Per the conceptual plan, 422 new apartments are planned for the 6.325-acre site in addition to 78 existing senior apartments, 74 new senior apartments and 2,686 square feet of retail space.

TGHA also has another new senior housing project: The Haven at West Greenville, a new three-story building located at 81 S. Textile Ave., which will have 42 new senior housing units. Financing for The Haven, along with renovations to the existing Brookhaven, The Gallery and Westview communities, is expected to close in September, said Mathews, with construction to follow.

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TGHA’s conceptual site plan for the former Scott Towers site. Provided by McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture.

26 | DEALMAKERS |

UBJ

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS IN THE UPSTATE

|

06.26. 2015

DEALMAKERS Commercial real estate transactions in the Upstate RE/MAX REALTY PROFESSIONALS ANNOUNCED: Bo Matheny represented the buyer, Duncan Highway 290 LLC, in a $725,000 purchase of the former 4,922 SF Dennyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s restaurant at 1515 East Main St., Duncan, from CNL APF Partners.

COLDWELL BANKER COMMERCIAL CAINE ANNOUNCED: Charles Humphreys represented the seller, Reeves Family LP, in selling a 1,206 SF retail/office building on 0.358 AC at 1300 Laurens Road, Greenville, to Allison M. & Chad H. Domonoske.

Charles Humphreys represented the seller, Reeves Family LP, in selling 4.17 AC at 320 Woodruff Road and 25 Bond Lane, Greenville, to Bradshaw Family LP. Nick Sardone represented the seller East Broad at Church LLC, in selling 2.44 AC at 210 E. Broad St., Greenville, to PDP Acquisitions LLC, represented by Pete Brett.

Graham Howle and Lakin Parr represented the seller GSP Upstate Investors LLC, in selling a 4,754 SF retail building on 0.42 AC at 706-708 Anderson Road, Greenville, to Tony Patel.

Tim Satterfield and Angela Halstead represented the landlord, Covenant Partners LLC, in leasing of a 25,000 SF retail space at 187 Battleground Road, Cowpens, to Phoenix Recycling Inc. Pete Brett, David Sigmon and Matt Vanvick represented

the tenant, ANRTI LLC, in leasing a 3,000 SF industrial flex space at 201-A Pelham Davis Circle, Greenville, from 201 Pelham Davis LLC. Charles Humphreys and David Sigmon represented the landlord, Falls Place LLC, in lease renewal negotiations with PNC Bank for 8,975 SF of office space at Falls Place Office Building, 531 S. Main St., Greenville.

NAI EARLE FURMAN ANNOUNCED: Ted Lyerly, Jimmy Wright and Brendan Gower represented the tenant, 9Round Kickboxing, in leasing a 1,398 SF retail space from The Shops of Granbury, Ltd. at 301 East Highways 377, Granbury, Texas.

Towers Rice represented Sunbelt Transformer, Ltd LLC, in leasing a 10,000 SF industrial property at 10 Carlisle Drive, Simpsonville, to MS Companies Inc. Alex Campbell represented the tenant, Dimontonate USA LLC, in leasing of a 20,000 SF industrial property from Blind John LLC at 310 Interstate Blvd., Greenville.

Glenn Batson represented the tenant, Performance Packaging Inc., in leasing a 9,600 SF industrial space at 125 Michelin Court, Piedmont.

Stuart Wyeth, Taylor Allen, and Alexi Papapieris represented the landlord, Terra Parkgreen LLC, in leasing a 6,334 SF office space in the Dorchester Building of Park East, 400 Executive Center, Greenville to Arrhythmia Technologies Institute Inc.

Stuart Wyeth, Taylor Allen, and Alexi Papapieris represented the landlord, Terra Parkgreen LLC, in leasing a 6,820 SF office space in the Anderson Building of Park East, 150 Executive Center, Greenville, to Vectrus Systems Corporation.

Jimmy Wright, Brendan Gower and Ted Lyerly represented the landlord of 2123 Augusta Street, Suite C, Greenville, in leasing a 1,451 SF retail space to Venture Doughnuts LLC. Hunter Garrett and John Staunton represented the landlord, Advantage Line LLC, in leasing a 3,500 SF flex space in Pelham Ridge Center at 14 Pelham Ridge Drive, Greenville, to A3 Communications.

Jon Good, Earle Furman and Alexi Papapieris represented the landlord, Poplar Associates LLC, in leasing a 35,596 SF industrial property at 1704 Poplar Drive Ext., Greer, to Aran USA Inc., represented by Hunter Garrett.

Stuart Wyeth, Earle Furman and Taylor Allen represented the landlords, Bonaventure I & II LLC and Four Plus Bonaventure LLC, in leasing a 6,781 SF office space in the Bonaventure II Building at 124 Verdae Blvd., Greenville, to MTC Federal Credit Union.

Ted Lyerly, Jimmy Wright, and Brendan Gower represented the landlord, DHM-301 Haywood Road LLC, in leasing a 3,820 SF retail space in the Haywood Shopping Centre at 301 Haywood Road, Greenville, to Local Brew.

Scott Jones represented

the seller, JC2 Properties LLC, in sellling a 4,500 SF office property at 224 Feaster Road, Greenville, to Feaster Road Partners LLC. Scott Jones represented the seller, G. Lee Properties LLC, in sellling a 6,000 SF office property at 156 Milestone Way, Greenville, to T. Bishop Properties Corporation.

John Gray and Drew Stamm represented the buyer, Ameen Aljaouni, in purchasing a 3.42 AC property at Roper Mountain Road and Highway 14, Simpsonville.

Earle Furman and Alexi Papapieris represented the seller, CR Brands Inc., in selling a 48,400 SF industrial property 230 Old Converse Road, Spartanburg, to, Agracel Inc., represented by Kevin Pogue.

Glenn Batson represented the buyer, Berrang Properties Inc., in purchasing a 12.04 AC property on Robinson Road, Greer.

John Gray and Drew Stamm represented the seller, Branch Banking and Trust Company, in selling a 6,512 SF office property at 323 Buncombe St., Greenville, to James E. Woodside & Co. LLC. Tony Bonitati, Kay Hill and Bern DuPree represented the seller, Upstate Property Rentals LLC in selling Springbrook Apartments, a 92unit complex at 104 Springbrook Court, Anderson, to Richmond Manor Apartments Inc. Ken Anderson represented the buyer, Anderwinn LLC, in purchasing a 33,450 SF industrial property at 36 Pelham Ridge Drive,

Greenville, from the seller, Industrial Electric Real Estate Inc. Rusty Hamrick represented the seller, G3 Properties LLC, in selling a 130.41 AC property on Highway 72 at Golden Acre Road, Clinton.

John Gray and Drew Stamm represented the seller, Bear Drive Properties LLC, in selling a 4,794 SF investment office property at 60 Bear Drive, Greenville. Earle Furman and Alexi Papapieris represented the buyer, 60 Bear Drive LLC. Towers Rice represented the seller, Richard Keir and William Brigham, Jr., in selling a 7,000 SF industrial property at 2273 Powdersville Road, Easley, to ProCore Medical LLC.

of 0.8 acres of land on Garlington Road.

Brantley Anderson represented the landlord MBI Properties LLC in the lease renewal of 3,200 SF of office space at 1 Caledon Court, Greenville, to the tenant, Hospice Care of South Carolina.

Givens Stewart and Garrett Scott represented the tenant, Techtronic Industries North America Inc., in leasing a 1,325,000 SF distribution and assembly facility at Hwy 81 and I-85, Anderson.

CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD | THALHIMER ANNOUNCED:

COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCED:

Charlie Whitmire represented the landlord, Equity Commonwealth, in leasing 168,087 SF of industrial space at 111 Southchase Blvd., Fountain Inn, to Grainger.

Lyn Tyler represented the seller, GE Capital Franchise Financial, in the sale of a 4,922 SF former Dennyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s restaurant facility at 1515 E. Main St., Duncan.

Brian J. Young and Elliott Fayssoux handled the lease negotiations in the leasing of 36,176 SF of industrial space at 6000 Pelham Road, Greenville, to Premier Medical Company.

Lyn Tyler represented the tenant, Goodcents Solutions, for the lease renewal of a 3,120 SF flex space in Ridgeview Center, Duncan.

Elliott Fayssoux handled the lease negotiations in the leasing of 20,000 SF of industrial space at 1020 Southern Drive, Columbia, to Worldpac.

Frank Hammond and Nick Reinhardt represented the landlord, Shull Properties, in leasing 2,000 SF of office space at Riverside Office Park, to the tenant, Hillcrest Behavioral Medicine, PA.

Elliott Fayssoux and Kacie Jackson represented the the landlord in leasing 20,000 SF of industrial space at 429 Highview Road, Anderson, to Charter Communications.

Frank Hammond and Nick Reinhardt represented the landlord, Entercom Greenville, in the sale

Charlie Whitmire represented the tenant, Perceptis, in leasing 16,411 SF of office space at 325 W. McBee Ave., Greenville.

upstatebusinessjournal.com

INSIDE THE UPSTATE’S NETWORKING AND SOCIAL SCENE

| PLANNER | 27

DATE

EVENT INFO

WHERE DO I GO?

HOW DO I GO?

Friday

iMAGINE Upstate Transportation Hack-A-Thon Rapidly conceive, design and prototype uses of open data relating to transportation

CU-ICAR AutoPark, Campbell Center, Greenville, 6-8 p.m.

Cost: Free Register: bit.ly/hack-a-thon2015

SC Works Employer Hiring Event

Anderson County Library, 300 N. McDuffie St., Anderson, 9 a.m.-noon

More info: 864-643-0071 or connect@worklinkweb.com

Simpsonville Chamber Legislative Lunch Speakers: Greenville County councilmembers

Events at Sapphire Creek, 401 N Main St., Simpsonville, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Cost: $15 Register: bit.ly/legislative-lunch-june2015

Commerce Connect Topic: Hiking, Backpacking

Commerce Club, 55 Beattie Place, 17th Floor, Greenville, 5:30 p.m.

Register: 864-232-5600

High Performance Leadership Series Topic: Successful Teams

Commerce Club, 55 Beattie Place, 17th Floor, Greenville, 7:30-11 a.m.

Register: 248-766-6926

6/26 Monday

6/29 Tuesday

7/7 Wednesday

7/8 Thursday

7/9

Hispanic Alliance Networking Meeting

hispanic alliance

Monday

McAlister Square, Multipurpose Room, Cost: Free 225 S. Pleasantburg Dr., Greenville, More Info: hispanicalliancesc.com 12:30 p.m.

7/24

Greenville Chamber Golf Tournament

Chanticleer Golf Course and Greenville Country Club

More info: bit.ly/golf-aug2015

Monday

Human Resource Management Conference Topic: Keys to Success: Turning Compliance into Opportunities

TD Convention Center, 1 Exposition Drive, Greenville, 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

More info: greenvillehr.org/conference

7/25

CONTRIBUTE: Got a hot date? Submit event information for consideration to events@upstatebusinessjournal.com.

ART & PRODUCTION

IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE OF UBJ? WANT A COPY FOR YOUR LOBBY?

ART DIRECTOR

JULY 17: TRAVELERS REST The small town making big waves.

Kristy Adair 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

OPERATIONS PRESIDENT/CEO

Mark B. Johnston mjohnston@communityjournals.com

UBJ PUBLISHER

Ryan L. Johnston rjohnston@communityjournals.com

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Susan Clary Simmons ssimmons@communityjournals.com

MANAGING EDITOR

Michael Allen Anita Harley, Jane Rogers

Nicole Greer, Kristi Jennings, Donna Johnston, Annie Langston, Lindsay Oehman, Emily Yepes

DIRECTOR OF EVENTS & ACCOUNT STRATEGY

Kristi Fortner

HOW TO CONTRIBUTE STORY IDEAS: EVENTS: NEW HIRES, PROMOTIONS, AND AWARDS: onthemove@upstatebusinessjournal.com UBJ welcomes expert commentary from business leaders on timely news topics related to their specialties.

Guest columns run 700-800 words.

Contact Executive Editor Susan Clary Simmons at ssimmons@communityjournals.com to submit an article for consideration.

Kate Madden

DIGITAL TEAM Emily Price, Danielle Car

1997 Jackson Dawson launches motorsports Division 1993

1990 Jackson Dawson acquires therapon marketing Group and moves to Piedmont office Center on Villa.

>>

with a majority of them utilizing the general aviation airport as a “corporate gateway to the city.”

In 1997, Jackson and his son, Darrell, launched Jackson Motorsports Group. The new division was designed to sell race tires and go to racetracks to sell and mount the tires. Darrell Jackson now serves as president of the motorsports group and Larry Jackson has two other children and a son-in-law who work there. Jackson said all his children started at the bottom and “earned their way up.”

Jackson kept the Jackson-Dawson branches in Detroit and others in Los Angeles and New York until he sold his portion of that partnership in 2009 as part of his estate planning.

The company now operates a small office in Charlotte, but its main headquarters are in Greenville in a large office space off Woodruff Road, complete with a vision gallery that displays local artwork and an auditorium Jackson makes available for non-profit use. The Motorsports Group is housed in an additional 26,000 square feet building just down the street, and the agency is currently looking for another 20,000 square feet.

Jackson said JMG has expanded into other verticals such as financial, healthcare, manufacturing and pro-bono work, but still has a strong focus on the auto industry and transportation. It’s

Chairman larry Jackson, Jackson marketing Group. Photos by Greg Beckner / Staff

Jackson Marketing Group celebrates 25 years Solve. Serve. Grow. Those three words summarize Jackson Marketing Group’s guiding principles, and according to owner Larry Jackson, form the motivation that has kept the firm thriving for the past 25 years.

Jackson graduated from Bob Jones University with a degree in video and film production and started his 41-year career in the communications industry with the U.S. Army’s Public Information Office. He served during

Vietnam, where he said he was “luckily” stationed in the middle of Texas at Fort Hood.

He left the service and went to work in public affairs and motorsports at Ford Motor Company in Detroit.

After a stint at Bell and Howell, where he was responsible for managing Ford’s dealer marketing and training, the entrepreneurial bug hit and he co-founded Jackson-Dawson Marketing Communications, a company specializing in dealer training and product launches for the auto industry in 1980.

In 1987, Jackson wanted to move back south and thought Greenville would be a good fit. An avid pilot, he

learned of an opportunity to purchase Cornerstone Aviation, a fixed base operation (FBO) that served as a service station for the Greenville Downtown Airport, providing fuel, maintenance and storage.

In fact, when he started the Greenville office of what is now Jackson Marketing Group (JMG) in 1988, the offices were housed on the second floor in an airport hangar.

“Clients would get distracted by the airplanes in the hangars and we’d have to corral them to get back upstairs to the meeting,” Jackson said.

Jackson sold the FBO in 1993, but says it was a great way to get to know Greenville’s fathers and leaders

>>

2003 motorsports Division acquires an additional 26,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space

1998 1998 Jackson Dawson moves to task industrial Court

also one of the few marketing companies in South Carolina to handle all aspects of a project in-house, with four suites handling video production, copywriting, media and research and web design.

Clients include heavyweights such as BMW, Bob Jones University, the Peace Center, Michelin and Sage Automotive. Recent projects have included an interactive mobile application for Milliken’s arboretum and 600-acre Spartanburg campus and a marketing campaign for the 2013 Big League World Series.

“In my opinion, our greatest single achievement is the longevity of our client relationships,” said Darrell Jackson. “Our first client from back in 1988 is still a client today. I can count on one hand the number of clients who have gone elsewhere in the past decade.”

Larry Jackson says his Christian faith and belief in service to others, coupled with business values rooted in solving clients’ problems, have kept

2009 Jackson Dawson changes name to Jackson marketing Group when larry sells his partnership in Detroit and lA 2003

2009-2012 Jackson marketing Group named a top BtoB agency by BtoB magazine 4 years running

him going and growing his business over the years. He is passionate about giving back and outreach to non-profits. The company was recently awarded the Community Foundation Spirit Award.

The company reaffirmed its commitment to serving the community last week by celebrating its 25th anniversary with a birthday party and a 25-hour Serve-A-Thon partnership with Hands on Greenville and Habitat for Humanity. JMG’s 103 full-time employees worked in shifts around the clock on October 22 and 23 to help construct a house for a deserving family.

As Jackson inches towards retirement, he says he hasn’t quite figured out his succession plan yet, but sees the companies staying under the same umbrella. He wants to continue to strategically grow the business.

“From the beginning, my father has taught me that this business is all about our people – both our clients and our associates,” said his son, Darrell. “We have created a focus and a culture that strives to solve problems, serve people and grow careers.”

Darrell Jackson said he wants to “continue helping lead a culture where we solve, serve and grow. If we are successful, we will continue to grow towards our ultimate goal of becoming the leading integrated marketing communications brand in the Southeast.”

2011 Jackson marketing Group/Jackson motorsports Group employee base reaches 100 people

2008 2012 Jackson marketing Group recognized by Community Foundation with Creative spirit Award

pro-bono/non-proFit Clients American Red Cross of Western Carolinas Metropolitan Arts Council Artisphere Big League World Series The Wilds Advance SC South Carolina Charities, Inc. Aloft Hidden Treasure Christian School

CoMMUnitY inVolVeMent & boarD positions lArry JACkson (ChAirmAn): Bob Jones University Board chairman, The Wilds Christian Camp and Conference Center board member, Gospel Fellowship Association board member, Past Greenville Area Development Corporation board member, Past Chamber of Commerce Headquarters Recruiting Committee member, Past Greenville Tech Foundation board member

JULY 31: QUARTERLY CRE ISSUE The state of commercial real estate in the Upstate.

David Jones (Vice President Client services, Chief marketing officer): Hands on Greenville board chairman mike Zeller (Vice President, Brand marketing): Artisphere Board, Metropolitan Arts Council Board, American Red Cross Board, Greenville Tech Foundation Board, South Carolina Chamber Board eric Jackson (Jackson motorsports Group sales specialist): Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club Advisory Board

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1988 Jackson Dawson opens in Greenville at Downtown Airport

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