After nearly 20 years working to support and expand the region’s startup community, NEXT Upstate is rebranding to NextGEN.
The shift marks a tightening of focus to support the Greenville Entrepreneur Network of founders, entrepreneurs, and innovators who call Greenville home, according to Eric Weissmann, NextGEN’s executive director.
At the same time, he said, the aim is also to “widen the aperture” of who the organization supports by connecting them to the web of other startups, mentors and capital that powers a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“Fostering entrepreneurship is not merely about building companies. It’s about building communities, encouraging change and celebrating growth,” Weissmann said. “There’s no better time to be an entrepreneur than now and no better place to follow your dreams than here in Greenville, South Carolina.”
NextGEN began as an internal initiative within the Greenville Chamber of Commerce to grow the area’s nascent startup community. Over the years its scope and services expanded to not only directly support entrepreneurs with programming and expertise but with funders and capital.
Over the past two years, NextGEN has introduced an accelerator program, numerous workshops and monthly events, and has served as the organizational engine behind #StartupGVL, the banner under which the region’s entrepreneurs, and the organizations that support them, rally.
“The rebrand merges the legacy and history of the organization with its future,” said Carlos Phillips, President and CEO of the Greenville Chamber and a NextGEN board member. “The new branding reflects the refined strategy and exciting direction as NextGEN supports Greenville’s high-growth entrepreneurs.”
The organization seeks to build on some notable achievements in 2023, among them:
- Working with 471 entrepreneurs and 127 client companies representing about $98 million in annual revenue and $41 million in capital raised
- Average annual wages for startup employees of $68,185
- 15% of companies minority owned and 20% female owned
NextGEN’s success is one of the drivers behind Greenville’s booming economy, according to Shannon Lavrin, Greenville city manager and a member of NextGEN’s board.
“NextGEN is a critical component to our overall economic development strategy,” she said. “Greenville is a vibrant, thriving community, but we know we’re in a competitive space when it comes to attracting and retaining talent. A robust innovation and entrepreneurship network is critical to attracting high-growth companies and keeping them in Greenville.”
For more information, visit nextgengvl.org.
