Business: Craig Brown, Toby Stansell, John Moore
Now in the second year of this five-year initiative, Chamber Executive Vice President John Moore and Co-Chairs Craig Brown and Toby Stansell have made significant strides in furthering the Accelerate! mission to strengthen Greenville’s per capita income growth by focusing on high impact companies and the establishment of an infrastructure that enables young start-ups to operate and grow rapidly here. In 2011, NEXT, an initiative championed by Accelerate!, was recognized by the International Economic Development Council as one of the top technology development programs in the world. With the location of Scio Diamond into the NEXT Innovation Center, the building is now fully occupied – a positive indication that despite a tough economic climate, Greenville boasts many thriving early-stage start-ups. Accelerate! also experienced significant growth in its support services, growing from 44 companies supported to more than 80 companies across the Upstate. This same growth is expected to continue throughout 2012. Accelerate! has most recently begun working on an initiative to bring a venture capital fund to the area.