South Carolina Business Review

Mike Switzer interviews John Warner, a serial entrepreneur and founder of Innoventure in Greenville, S.C. John talks about upcoming events of importance to our state’s business community: DigSouth Tech Summit, SCRA Summit, and Furman Center for Innovative Leadership.

You may have heard us interview companies who have received SBIR or STTR grants to help them fund the research that their young companies depend on to continue to grow and validate their business models. However, applying for these grants or practically any grant can be a daunting process. And that’s why the SC Department of Commerce is now making available free services to companies and entrepren...

Art galleries, art education, public art, art crawl, art competition with a $50,000 first prize, in other words - art madness. Certainly sounds like a big city event, yet a small town in our state has been doing this type of art festival for a decade now. Mike Switzer interviews Carla Angus, director of community engagement for the 11th annual edition of Artfields in Lake City, SC, coming April 19...

The recent news regarding some regional bank failures has definitely added to the economic confusion that so far has dominated financial news in 2023. Is there any reason to believe that the skies will clear before this year moves too much further along. Mike Switzer interviews Joey Von Nessen, chief economist at the Darla Moore School of Business at USC in Columbia, SC.

Mike Switzer interviews John Warner, a serial entrepreneur and founder of Innoventure in Greenville, S.C. John talks about April being designated as Innovation Month in our state and what the state’s challenges are in this area and what is being celebrated.

As the population continues to age and the healthcare economy continues to grow, so does the need to properly dispose of medical waste. Which is why our next guest’s company decided to invest over $3 million to build a 13,000 sq ft facility in the Lowcountry. Mike Switzer interviews David Squalli, chief operating officer at EcoSteris in Summerville, SC.

In 1969, Hilton Head Island was a little-known place in our state’s Lowcountry when a local developer announced that a PGA-level golf tournament would be played there that year. It’s still held there every year and has recently been elevated to the status of a top tour event with a purse of $20 million and a commitment to play from the tour’s top players. This will also undoubtedly have an elevate...

Guns, crime, questionable police tactics…are all issues on the forefront of criminal law these days. One institution of higher learning in our state has decided to provide a new resource for these topics. Mike Switzer interviews Dr. Michele Covington, director of the new Crime Analysis Center in Greenville, SC, part of the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg, SC. She is also the au...

Disabled and special needs individuals want careers as much as anyone. But, as you would expect, many challenges stand in the way. Our next guest’s organization is working hard to help. Mike Switzer interviews Dee DiCarlo, director of business & employment development for Thrive Upstate, formerly known as the Greenville County Disability and Special Needs Board.

It’s no secret that the Inflation Reduction Act is going to make an impact on our country’s sustainability efforts. But just how much of an impact will depend on several variables. One of which is how many consumers will take advantage of the tax incentives offered by the legislation. Mike Switzer interviews Jared Crawford, a certified financial planner in North Myrtle Beach, SC.

An update of the news, events and issues that are trending right now across South Carolina's business community. Mike Switzer interviews Alan Cooper, founder and editor of three online business news websites in South Carolina: MidlandsBiz, UpstateBizSC, and LowCountryBizSC. Disclaimer: Alan Cooper’s company has a business relationship with Voterheads.com, an affiliate of Magnolia Media, which is t...

Off the shelf, customer service software has been around for a long time. Lately, some software companies are building it more specifically tailored to certain markets. Such as our next guest’s company which is having some success targeting the lawyer industry and as a result, raising significant funding. Mike Switzer interviews Andy Seavers, CEO of Case Status in North Charleston, SC.

We keep hearing about companies having a really hard time finding qualified employees. There simply are lots of job openings all across the country. Our next guest is trying to help with this situation by working with the business community to find careers for former prison inmates. Mike Switzer interviews Bryan Stirling, director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections in Columbia.

One of the largest professional women’s sporting events is returning to the Lowcountry soon and will be sure to once again generate significant economic activity for our state. Mike Switzer interviews Bob Moran, tournament director of the Credit One Charleston Open coming April 1-9 to Daniel Island, SC.

When you listen to the news today, there’s no shortage of things to worry about. Both domestically and abroad investors have much to process right now and a lot of it is conflicting. Economic growth is up and down. Job growth has stayed strong though. But both consumer and business confidence are down—until recently. And, of course, the generationally-high inflation rates have been reversing —unti...

Mike Switzer interviews John Warner, a serial entrepreneur and founder of Innoventure in Greenville, S.C. John talks about the recent announcement by the state of South Carolina that they will spend about $1.3 billion to assist Scout Motors, a subsidiary of Volkswagen, to locate their headquarters here.

Our state’s research universities are continuously discovering new technologies that are making their way into the commercial marketplace. Our next guest’s company licensed research from Clemson and has used it to develop a new process that could improve the efficiency of diagnostic tests such as biopsies. It also won them the most recent Technology Development award from Innovision. Mike Switzer...

We recently attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for one of our state’s newest breweries located in a historic building in an area of the Midlands that is undergoing a serious revival. Mike Switzer interviews Sara Middleton Styles, co-owner of Peak Drift Brewing in Columbia, SC.

It’s just a fact that the older we get the more we fall. And of course, the population continues to age so more people are falling and sometimes they not only can’t get up, but are also unable to let anyone know. Our next guest’s company is using sensors to detect when a person falls and that technology led them to receiving the most recent small business award from Innovision. Mike Switzer interv...

Social Security recently released its annual report for last year and with all the talk recently about the program’s longevity and funding issues we thought it might be a good idea to talk to one of our resident financial planners to discuss the report’s implications for retirement planning. Mike Switzer interviews John Cooper, a certified financial planner with Greenwood Capital in Greenwood, SC.

Mike Switzer interviews John Warner, a serial entrepreneur and founder of Innoventure in Greenville, S.C. John talks about Palmetto Clean Technology and the significant sums of money they are raising.

As a minority in the legal profession, our next guest found it easy to understand the challenges faced by minorities, especially in her particular area of expertise, intellectual property law, where she encountered many creators who had no idea what the topic even meant. Shontavia Johnson is now using her skills to actively change the entrepreneurial landscape of our state and the world in her pos...

Suicide continues to be a very serious problem within our military community but there is a crisis mapping program available now in one county in our state that hopes to turn that tide. Mike Switzer interviews Jessica Varney, a collaboration manager with Pickens County, which recently won the community service award from Innovision.

Our next guest’s company has been receiving accolades and monetary awards because of their development of biodegradable, nontoxic lubricants, including receiving the most recent Sustainability Award from Innovision. Mike Switzer interviews Jeff DiMaio, CEO at VBase Oil Company, a subsidiary of Tetramer in Pendleton, SC.

There are approximately 21 million people in our country who are in their early 50s. Our next guest says that if that’s you and you haven’t prepared yourself for the next 50 years, you may be in trouble. Mike Switzer interviews Jeremy Finger, a certified financial planner and CEO at Riverbend Wealth Management in Myrtle Beach, SC.