The Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Furman University

As fall starts to unravel and the leaves slowly change color and fall to the ground, I’m left reminiscing about the second half of the summer I spent working at Supermoon under Daniel Dye and the rest of his team. After the classroom portion of the business bootcamp had concluded with a day of consulting training put on by Bradley Shepard and Les Knight at EY, we were divied up into teams and my group quickly begin working with the Supermoon team to learn what they were all about and analyze trends in their advertising and marketing appproaces to potentially increase their all around efficiency and profitability. We soon realized, however, that our time and energy would be better used on a sales project. For the final three weeks of working with Supermoon, Lilia Bellahcen, Luke Taylor, and I did research on all of the Greenville businesses that had online storefronts that we thought could benefit from Supermoon’s AI customer service technology, wrote up personalized notecards to them, and went door to door to many local business pitching the Supermoon advantage in hopes of setting up demo calls for the company. At the end of the program, we got to present a summery of our time, experience, and what all we learned from our time with Supermoon to a group of our peers and professionals from all over Greenville. One final huge thanks to Anne Silliman and everyone at The Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Furman University for an amazing summer!

I am beyond excited to introduce the Plain & Perfect pint! Whether you're looking for a healthier alternative or simply want a guilt-free indulgence, this plant-based ice cream is made for you. Elevate your wellness routine with a treat that's crafted to nourish your body, satisfy your cravings, and leave you feeling your best with every spoonful. Benefits: ? naturally sweetened with fruit, rich in anti-inflammatory properties, health-promoting fiber + goodies to fuel and heal the body ?? added sugars, artificial preservatives, gums/emulsifiers, seed oils, and ‘natural’ flavors or colors I am incredibly grateful to The Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Furman University for their invaluable mentorship in bringing my vision to life and to my friends and family for their unwavering support and encouragement. Find us on Instagram @woomylk to place your order if you're in Nashville!

I’m going to start some rumors today (or are they...) as me, Eric Cooperman, and the rest of The Hill Institute team get ready for our 7th GVL Starts Demo Day next Thursday evening, October 17th. ?? I’ll be giving away the keys to a car to someone ?? We’ll reveal the 2024 Hill Institute Partner of the Year ?? Find out which local venture is getting it done as we award the latest “Hill Hustle Award” ?? Have an idea? You could win a full scholarship into the next GVL Starts cohort ?? Be the first to hear a special announcement for founders via our partnership with Flywheel Coworking ?? Just by showing up, you could walk away with $100 Oh, and we’ll have all the usual suspects like a live DJ, free food and drink, 22 of the hottest new ventures in Greenville on display, and your chance to choose who takes home $5,000 of the $15,000 prize pool as the “crowd favorite”. ?? Free rsvp link in comments below, just show up to get in on the fun. Come join me and let’s keep building a thriving community together ?? The Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Furman University, NextGEN, SCRA: South Carolina Research Authority, Greenville City Economic Development Corporation, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors, Mavin Construction LLC, South Carolina Department of Commerce, VentureSouth, T&S Brass, Anne Silliman, Rachel Morris, Marah Campbell, David Peral, Alice Tyszka, Furman University #startupGVL, #entrepreneurship, #innovation, #inspiration, #startups, #opportunity #fun

?? Simple epiphany alert for something we quietly launched this summer to address one key reason it's so difficult for university students to make forward progress on a startup idea. ? It has to do with a resource we ultimately have great agency over, even though it may not feel like that sometimes (speaking for a friend…). ? Time. ? In terms of barriers, this was a big one that kept popping up. And it’s very difficult to manufacture more of this. ? During the school year, students are covered up with classes, homework, clubs, and more; but during the summer, there is a chunk of time that can be spent differently. ? So we tried something really simple this summer we called the “Summer Venture Fellowship” that awarded funding and housing to enable an undistracted focus on forward progress...and it worked. ? Idea/assumption validation ? Real customer discovery ? Project management/milestone development ? New co-founder and advisor secured ? Momentum... Huge thanks again to talented Furman alum Joey Iannetta, PgMP for your partnership in helping us launch this initiative; and to Furman student founder Andrew Farrell, I'll look forward to continuing to support your journey! Let's keep building together ?? The Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Furman University, Furman University, #entrepreneurship #studentfounders #innovation #leadershipdevelopment #growth

As I begin my senior year at Furman University, all I can say is summer flew by and I am feeling sentimental! Last we spoke, I shared a bit about my experience in The Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Furman University Summer Business and Innovation Boot Camp and the amazing first three weeks in the program. As the summer continued, I had no idea the great things ahead as Anita Mwangi, Caroline Beardall, and I began our work as student consultants for Incora Health: a wearable women’s health tracking device for fertility and wellness that is designed for women, by women. After mock launching my own company centered around women's hormonal health with Anita Mwangi, I was honored to have the opportunity to impact real clients as we helped Incora Health solidify their brand identity by creating a social media strategy plan, redesigning their social platforms, and shooting new digital media for those platforms. I will forever be grateful to Lindsey Calcutt, PhD and our incredible mentor, Sarah Waylett who gave us the unique experience to step into the world of consulting by offering marketing insight, social media training and strategy. I enjoyed my experience so much this past summer that I jumped at the opportunity to work with the The Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Furman University team for the 2024-2025 school year. I am thrilled to announce that I will be beginning my roll as the Marketing and Communications Fellow this upcoming week! I will be assisting Anne Silliman?in her new role as Associate Director of Marketing and Communications in marketing strategy, digital media execution, and maintaining brand identity. Please watch the video attached to see the greatness that is The Summer Business and Innovation Bootcamp!