A new Spartanburg-based innovation initiative is about to launch and is seeking the first cadre of science- and technology-based ventures to take part in the program.
American Technology Venture Lab Inc. is a nonprofit mentoring and educational program founded by Dennis Hayes, a Spartanburg native and innovator who knows a thing or two about transformational technology.
He is the inventor of the Hayes Smartmodem and founder of Hayes Microcomputer Products, which paved the way for personal computers to connect to the internet.
Hayes explained ATVL is meant to complement the entrepreneurial mentoring and incubator programs already in place, like NEXT Upstate based in Greenville and The Platform at Greer.
“Our program is complementary with incubators, accelerators and other programs being put on throughout the Upstate,” he said. “We’re different — we’re looking for the unicorns and cousins of unicorns.”
He defined a unicorn as the type of company that has the potential to grow to $1 billion in value within a seven-year period. Cousins of unicorns also have huge growth potential but not quite to the same scale.
Both are rare and for that reason can have a tremendous impact on the regional economy by generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and employing thousands of skilled workers.
ATVL is hosted by the George Dean Johnson Jr. College of Business and Economics at USC-Upstate. Four daylong sessions will take place at “The George” in downtown Spartanburg on March 1, April 26, June 21 and Aug. 16.
The program is taking applications from prospective ventures across an area roughly defined as within a three-hour drive of Spartanburg.
Mentors for the program will come from four main categories:
- Serial entrepreneurs
- Subject-matter experts
- Investors
- Corporate executives
Hayes said the inaugural group will likely be limited to about 20 ventures and a similar number of mentors.
ATVL is still accepting applications from prospective ventures and is also seeking program sponsors.
For more information, visit americantechnologyventurelab.org.
