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Greenville makes debut on Inc.’s ‘Surge Cities’ list

Upper falls in downtown Greenville, S.C.

Last updated December 13, 2019

By Tina Underwood

The headline says it all. “30 Years Ago, Mill Workers Fled South Carolina in Droves. Now, Its Startup Scene Is Making a Remarkable Transformation.” Inc. magazine’s editor-at-large Tom Foster writes about Greenville and its rise from a predominantly textile-driven economy.

Spurred by an influx of advanced manufacturing, tech and hospitality, Greenville now boasts the nation’s sixth-highest rate of business creation, boosting the city to its debut No. 33 spot on Inc.’s “Surge Cities” list, the magazine’s “50Best Places in America for Starting a Business.”

NEXT, a networking and mentoring organization for local entre­preneurs, has much to do with Greenville’s surge. Scott Millwood, board chair for NEXT, is founder of two wildly successful tech companies, Yesflow and Customer Effective. In a related press release from NEXT, Millwood gives a nod to Furman University’s Office for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and other nearby partners for their role in supporting NEXT’s startups and for helping build the “entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Upstate.”

Also making Inc.’s “Surge Cities” list is Charleston at No. 7 and Columbia at No. 42.

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