Southeast Shoutouts | Several events upcoming in South Carolina
Here's a wrap of Southeast innovation news outside of Tennessee.
From Winter Park, FL:
GOVO Venture Partners is launching a $50 million dollar venture fund that will invest in start-ups for which doing business with governments or navigating government regulations is integral to their growth. While not geographically limited, the fund will also seek to leverage its partners’ and advisors’ ties to Florida’s innovation hubs. GOVO Fund had its first close in December and will continue to raise capital.
From Clemson, SC:
Clemson University officials have merged the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Automotive Engineering under one umbrella named the School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering. The explanation for the move is that it better positions Clemson for innovation and education in a number of areas, including mobility, energy and advanced manufacturing, all cornerstones of the South Carolina economy. Areas of expertise in the new school include autonomy, composite materials, computational modeling and simulation, flow and turbulence, human-robot teams, smart materials, systems integration, and vehicle electrification. Click here to learn more.
From Upstate South Carolina:
John Moore is a Principal with Momenteum Strategies, an Upstate South Carolina-based consulting firm specializing in helping communities and their economic development organizations build thriving, impactful innovation ecosystems. In a recent guest post for the Upstate Business Journal, he asks this question: “What is the single most important metric for assessing a start-up ecosystem’s vitality?” Moore’s answer is “building a growing pool of innovative founders. Communities committed to high-impact entrepreneurship realize the foundational importance of this. The number of entrepreneurs and their ventures operating locally can have a dramatic economic impact.” Moore then outlines three concrete actions that communities can take to increase their number of entrepreneurs.
From the Palmetto State:
Three events in February could be of some interest to our readers.
- As previously reported, the “VentureSouth Summit” will be held February 8-10 in Charleston.
- The “2023 South Carolina Automotive Summit” occurs February 14-16 in Greenville.
- The “2023 SCbio Annual Conference” is February 21-23 in Charleston.
From Northern Kentucky:
Blue North, a Northern Kentucky-based entrepreneurship advocacy and resource group, is launching the NKY Entrepreneurship Fund in collaboration with Horizon Community Funds of Northern Kentucky. With seed money provided by the R.C. Durr Foundation, a Crestview Hills-based endowment which supports local philanthropic endeavors in the educational, entrepreneurial and civic realms, the NKY Entrepreneur Fund has announced its first partnership with Cincinnati-based Main Street Ventures. Each organization will provide one-half of the funds that are awarded.
From Birmingham:
Alabama Inno reprts that the annual conference of the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) will be hosted in Birmingham in January 2024.
USASBE is described as a professional organization for entrepreneurship educators, specifically defining itself as an inclusive community advancing entrepreneurship education through teaching, scholarship and practice. Its members include teachers, researchers, program directors and practitioners.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Barefield Entrepreneurship Program is serving as conference host sponsor. Other core sponsors include University of Alabama, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Auburn University, Samford University and Birmingham-Southern College.
From Kansas City:
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation has announced that it has retained Spencer Stuart to lead its search for a new President and Chief Executive Officer following the recent retirement of Wendy Guillies. Since its founding in 1966, the nonprofit has focused on economic stability, mobility, and prosperity for individuals and communities. Entrepreneurship is a key pillar of the foundation’s work across the nation.
