grow Magazine | Winter 2019

grow

Winter 2019

a greensboro chamber of commerce publication

BUILDING OUR FUTURE

Three Chamber programs preparing tomorrow’s workforce

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The Greensboro Chamber of Commerce is the largest business organization in the community serving more than 1,000 member businesses through programming designed to help them succeed and grow. A partner in the Guilford County Economic Development Alliance, the Chamber also serves as Greensboro’s primary economic development organization, with special emphasis placed on community and entrepreneurial advancement through Action Greensboro and Launch Greensboro.

grow

IN THIS ISSUE winter 2019

a greensboro chamber of commerce publication

Publisher Brent Christensen bchristensen@greensboro.org

4 high five!

Editor Megan Mabry mmabry@greensboro.org

Launch Greensboro celebrates five years of boosting entrepreneurs

Photography & Graphic Design Holly West hwest@greensboro.org

8 filling the workforce gap

Apprenticeship program expands to six fields

Content Eddie Huffman

13 spring forward

Advertising Heavenly Walker hwalker@greensboro.org

Success of Campus Greensboro spawns new program

grow is published quarterly by the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce for the distribution to its investors, members, and other interested parties. The publication is written and edited by the Chamber and editorial decisions are made by its staff.

The views expressed in grow should not be interpreted as the official policy of the Chamber. The publisher reserves the right to decline advertising considered unsuitable for publication.

17 UPCOMING EVENTS 3 3

Launch Greensboro marks five years of boosting entrepreneurs

By Eddie Huffman

L

ou Anne Flanders-Stec left Greensboro for New York City in 2014. When she returned in 2016, the business environment had changed dramatically.

“I’ve been working with entrepreneurs over 20 years, and the entrepreneurial feel was very, very different – and very exciting,” Flanders-Stec says.

That entrepreneurial spirit continues to flourish as 2019 comes to a close. Launch Greensboro has helped spark and sustain that spirit. On Nov. 20, it celebrated its fifth anniversary with High Five!, an all-day anniversary celebration and open house.

“Of all the companies we’ve worked with, about 64 percent are still in business, not counting the current group – which is pretty darn good after five years,” says Flanders-Stec, who oversees Launch Greensboro in her role as the Chamber’s executive vice president for entrepreneurship.

Launch Greensboro helps entrepreneurs grow businesses and bring new jobs to the city by offering education and guidance and connecting them with funding. Some of those entrepreneurs are just starting out; others already have a business up and running. Flanders-Stec calls it “pipeline building.” Over its five-year existence, Launch Greensboro has expanded from three to eight programs, including IdeaLaunch, Capital Connects, co//lab and LaunchLab. PHOTO BY BRYELLE DAFELDECKER 4

Above: The LaunchLab accelerator program is one of many Launch Greensboro efforts that fosters an entrepreneurial atmosphere in the Triad. The program, which is available in five-week and 14week iterations, provides education, inspiration, collaboration and support for budding business owners.

Right: Launch Greensboro is housed at Co//ab, a coworking space that provides an address, desk, conference room, highspeed internet access and other office services to clients from a variety of industries.

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In addition to hosting its own events, Co//ab makes its space available to entrepreneurs and local businesses for meetings, lunch-and-learns and other events. In October, the nonprofit Real Glow Getters, an organization for women in business, hosted a workshop focused on how businesses can find and market to their target demographic.

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The newest initiative of Launch Greensboro is First Launch Capital Fund, the Triad’s first preFollow Launch Greensboro seed fund investing only in companies based in the 12-county Piedmont Triad region. Spawned from greensboro.org/launch the Greensboro Chamber’s five-year GROW Stra tegic Plan, First Launch will invest in early-stage

@greensboroentrepreneur companies with high growth, future funding and exit potential. The Fund has an emphasis on cap @launchgreensboro ital appreciation for the investors, as well as economic development and job creation. @launchgso So far, $590,000 has been raised toward a goal of $2.5 milllion, Flanders-Stec says. The first investment was made in CrewPay, a local compa Calvin Williams of Freeman Capital discovered Launch Greensboro through Twitter. He wanted to start a business providing diversified asset management to help people with their investment portfolios.

“You have a plan, but when you take it outside yourself, then you really find out what’s going on,” Williams says. “This program was really great for customer validation and for honing our strategy and our market.”

He expanded his original concept after taking LaunchLab 101 classes and working with a mentor through Launch Greensboro. He realized customers wanted a holistic approach to wealth management. Williams even met Freeman Capital’s chief financial officer through his work with Launch Greensboro.

Matt Hannam also connected with colleagues via Launch Greensboro. Jeff Cameron started Logistimatics, and Hannam and Brendan Younger joined the team after the three men met while working on independent projects.

Logistimatics offers GPS tracking services for individuals and businesses, helping companies track shipments and fleet vehicles. Flanders-Stec invited its founders to get involved with Launch Greensboro as they prepared for a pitch session with NC IDEA, a private foundation that provides grants and other support to entrepreneurs. Hannam credits Launch Greensboro with connecting Logistimatics to valuable consultation on finance and marketing issues.

“We’ve got almost 18,000 monthly subscribers now,” he says.

Paula Dozier was at a low point when she signed up for LaunchLab 101 classes. She had gone through a difficult separation with her former business partner and shuttered a concierge business after 10 years.

“My confidence was diminished and I was just kind of feeling small,” Dozier says.

LaunchLab 101 lifted her spirits and helped set her on course to open a unique business with her husband, Keith Dozier: The Barking Deck, a pub that’s also an indoor dog park.

“To go through that program and listen to experts every week, it reinvigorated my desire to be self-employed and it reminded me that I can do this,” Dozier says.

Many of the entrepreneurs who achieved success with help from Launch Greensboro returned for the fifth-anniversary celebration, which was themed “Where are they now?” The event included updates on Launch businesses, education sessions, panel discussions and an Ask An Expert Resource Fair. The celebration ended with a champagne toast.

Jennifer Hensel, assistant director of Launch Greensboro, called the fifth anniversary a “huge milestone.”

“For us to still be here in five years and be doing, I would argue, better, stronger work for the community than even what was imagined for us, is pretty incredible,” she says.

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FILLING THE W

Apprenticeship program

By Eddie Huffman

S

ome companies join the Guilford Apprenticeship Partners program to build good community and public relations. They frequently find out GAP provides them with much more than that.

“Within six months the kids are bringing a lot of energy to the company, and they’re also seeing a lot of positives from the mentoring side,” says Ann Flynt, four-county youth apprenticeship coordinator for the Eastern Triad Workforce Initiative at the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro. “The mentors are being reengaged, so it’s doing a lot more than what they initially hoped for.”

GAP is a public-private partnership launched in 2015 with 14 apprentices working for four employers. In 2019, GAP has grown to 139 apprentices working for 34 companies. The apprentices are high school juniors and seniors in Guilford County who meet certain minimum attendance and grade requirements. They go to work in one of six main tracks, all of which are highly skilled positions that pay well.

GAP apprentices not only earn a full-time salary, they also have all expenses paid toward a degree and get paid for time in class. They end their apprenticeships with no debt, a good job, and – if they’ve managed their finances well – money in the bank.

“Sometimes you get the kids to buy in, but the parents still think there’s a catch,” Flynt says. “You usually don’t get something for nothing. I tell parents, ‘The catch here is, this

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WORKFORCE GAP

m expands to six fields

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is not for students who don’t want to work. It is a great deal, but not all 11th and 12th graders have that work ethic – and not all adults have that work ethic.’”

The number of GAP career tracks expanded to six in 2019, with supply chain and logistics joining advanced manufacturing, aviation mechanics, IT/cybersecurity, automotive and HVAC/electrical/plumbing.

Some companies have changed dramatically because of GAP. Machine Specialties Inc. in Whitsett (MSI), a founding partner for GAP, has integrated dozens of interns into its workforce. A small IT business, Tardigrade Technology, has expanded from a home-based operation with a couple of contract employees to a brick-and-mortar operation with three GAP apprentices.

“We’re constantly trying to develop how we integrate and connect with our businesses,” says Brian Norris, senior director of strategic initiatives for the High Point Chamber of Commerce. “We’ve now got 34, so that makes it really different from when we had four or 11.”

Guilford County has an aging workforce and the most manufacturing jobs of any county in North Carolina, so skilled workers are in demand. GAP’s success in filling that demand has made the program a model across the state and nation, according to Meridith Berger, director of existing industry services for the Chamber. She and other GAP leaders have made presentations about the program to national workforce development conferences and groups.

“It is the fastest-growing program in North Carolina in youth apprenticeship,” Berger says. “It’s great to be able to share that message and see that there is interest in our program on a national level.”

Advanced Manufacturing

AP Brandon Keniskin, a 2019 graduate of New Garden Friends School, was all set to enlist in the U.S. Army after his senior year of high school. His plans changed when he went to sign up for a dualenrollment class at GTCC and met Jaime Trogdon, appreticeship coordinator for MSI. Trogdon gave him a personal tour of MSI, which makes parts for commercial jets and the Internationl Space Station.

“As soon as I walked in there I knew it was something I wanted to do,” Keniskin says.

co go

He has rotated through each department at MSI, learning about the company as a whole.

“I’ve worked assembly and grinding,” Keniskin says.

“They’ll pull me out every once in awhile and teach me how to run a certain machine.”

“W ge

Supply Chain & Logistics

Taking a logistics class his junior and Western Guilford piqued Steven Mar the field. His teacher encouraged him the GAP program, and after graduat working at LC America in Colfax, a c makes components for vegetable sn

“We make the pellets and ship them companies that make veggie chips,” “They add their own seasonings; we pellet itself.”

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MEET THE

HVAC/Electrical/Plumbing

PPRENTICES IT/Cybersecurity

Yaasir Mahamadou-Bachirou’s father ran a omputer business, so it’s a natural field for him to o into. The Eastern Guilford High School senior is a corporate security intern with NorthState.

Her guidance counselor encouraged Ariana Rosales to apply for the GAP program during her senior year at Southern Guilford High School, where she graduated in 2019. She liked the idea of doing field service work.

“I did want to do something with my hands,” Rosales says. “I used to work with my dad in roofing.”

Her internship is with Central Carolina Heating and Air Conditioning, where she has learned a lot about heating and air conditioning units and spent a lot of time in attics and crawl spaces.

“When I got my sheet that they had accepted me, I was so excited I ran to my parents and started crying,” Rosales says.

When I found out about this, it was free and you et paid to do it,” he says. “I was like, ‘Why would I not do it?’”

d senior years at rra’s interest in m to apply for tion he started company that nack food.

m out to Marra says. e just make the

Automotive Galen Sullivan-Buckingham, a senior at Northern Guilford, started working on cars with his father at age four. He took auto classes when he attended Weaver Academy, and he is now an intern at Thomas Tire and Automotive in Greensboro. He works as a general service technician, changing oil, rotating tires, and doing simple engine maintenance.

“There’s definitely a time limit on how fast you can move up in this field,” Sullivan-Buckingham says.

“They want to know that you’re proficient in what you’re already doing before you move on.”

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Spring

FORWARD Success of Campus Greensboro spawns new program

M

By Eddie Huffman

ynita White thought there was no point in applying for local internships while earning a degree from UNCG, so she spent the summer of 2018 doing an internship in Philadelphia.

“I was like, ‘There are no internships for me in Greensboro; it’s such a competitive market,’” says White, who grew up in New Bern.

Then she discovered Campus Greensboro, which provides students from the city’s seven colleges and universities with an immersive experience that includes paid internships, mentors, leadership training, networking opportunities and fun group outings.

Action Greensboro, the Chamber’s nonprofit organization that works, in part, to attract and retain young professionals, launched Campus Greensboro in 2016. Campus Greensboro’s summer program has been so successful that it will add a spring internship program in 2020.

“During the spring semester before they graduate, students are making that pivotal decision of where they’re going to be,” says Program Director Lizzy Tahsuda. “We think if we can hit them at that point, we can have a bigger influence.”

White graduated from UNCG in May with a degree in communications and sociology. Campus Greensboro helped her land a summer internship with Cone Health, working in event planning. When the internship ended, she moved directly into a fulltime job with Cone as a project specialist.

“Not even one day off,” she says. “Just rolled on over.”

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It’s the kind of success story Tahsuda appreciates.

“We love seeing that, whether it’s extending the internship because the student’s continuing classes or being hired full-time,” she says.

Campus Greensboro began in 2016 with 36 fellows.

The program expanded rapidly, connecting more than 100 students to internships with 51 employers in 2019.

“We want to reach a lot of students, but we also want to keep the program high touch,” Tehsuda says. “We don’t want to dilute the experience by having too many students; we still want it to feel very intimate.”

Campus Greensboro fellows bond while exploring the city, sampling everything from a Greensboro Grasshoppers baseball game to the SKYWILD treetop adventure course at the Greensboro Science Center. In 2019, students were divided into smaller groups for training sessions, workshops and other activities. They reported that the limited numbers helped them get to know each other better.

The fellows returned to the Science Center for the 2019 closing reception, sponsored by Allegacy Federal Credit Union.

“You get to network with people that you never thought you’d network with before,” White says.

“I never thought I’d be talking to the chancellor of A&T over a penguin, but I did.”

A wide range of companies hired Campus Greensboro interns in 2019, including Cone Health, Arch MI, HAECO Americas, the City of Greensboro, Volvo Group, Pace Communications, Syngenta, VF Corporation and Biscuitville.

Mentoring is an important component of Campus Greensboro. Mentors and fellows are matched based on career and personal interests and hobbies, using surveys completed at the beginning of the process.

“We purposely pick people outside of the company so that they can have another connection, and also have a sounding board that’s a different perspective,” Tahsuda says.

White’s mentor was Deborah Hooper, the Chamber’s COO. They have stayed in touch since White’s internship ended.

“I call her my professional best friend,” White says.

Her experience with Campus Greensboro has made White a voluntary ambassador for the program.

“If people say, ‘Where can I find an internship?’ I say, ‘Campus Greensboro,’ immediately. ‘The deadline is this, make sure you apply for it.’”

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Summer applications due February 17, 2020!

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UPCOMING EVENTS Small business education series: Data analytics december 10 | chamber office

leadership greensboro new year alumni reception

MONTHLY EVENTS COFFEE & CONVERSATION every third thursday from 7:30-8:30 am A networking and educational program designed to bring leaders together to learn about important issues facing our business community.

JANUary 10 | the proximity hotel

this month’s topic

annual dinner Luncheon + US figure skating championships reception

MEMBER JUMPSTART

january 22-23 | koury convention center

On December 12, learn about what’s new in the Battleground Parks district and the continued expansion of the Greensboro Science Center.

Every third wednesday | 4 pm Meet your fellow chamber members, let everyone know what’s going on in your company and tell us what we can do to help you!

LET’S GROW TOGETHER!

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Weʼre new members of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce and weʼre excited to get to know you and our fellow chamber members in the coming months! Letʼs grow our businesses together. IOP Communications, Inc. is your one-stop resource for: • • • •

Printing Services Promotional Products Branded Apparel Awards & Recognition for Your Team

Call us at (336)of 676-2092 orpublication send an email to info@iopcomm.com. Together, we eensboro chamber commerce can plant the seeds for more business success in the Greensboro area!

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