Hill Institute’s Davis named to Palmetto Power List

The announcement from SC Biz News took Furman University’s Bryan Davis by surprise. When Davis, the executive director of The Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, was greeted with a hearty ‘congrats!’ from a colleague at a recent meeting, his response was “For what?”

Davis was named to SC Biz News’ Palmetto Power List 2024, a cadre of professionals recognized as South Carolina’s most innovative and influential leaders who are driving the state’s economic momentum.

And while the recognition is appreciated, Davis said, “It’s the team at The Hill Institute that makes the magic happen.”

The magic, including advancing The Furman Advantage, manifests in multiple ways at the university and throughout the Upstate. The Hill Institute, in collaboration with a suite of on-campus and regional partners, is responsible for high-impact programs, including:

• GVL Starts, a nationally recognized nine-week startup program for first-time founders in the community and on Furman’s campus. It is designed to help individuals move from idea to action by providing the right training, connections and access to capital necessary to fund and grow their ventures.
• The Clemens Angel Analyst Fellowship, a 10-week program in partnership with VentureSouth that equips students with the training and connections required for successful careers in angel investing, venture capital, private equity or capital raises for their own startup ventures.
• The Paladin Pitch Competition, a contest established in 2019 that cultivates, guides and showcases the most innovative Furman student ideas. Students then pitch their ventures to a diverse audience of students, faculty, alumni and community leaders for a chance to take home $10,000 in grants and resources to support first steps in growing their business.

In recent years, with the assistance and infrastructure provided by The Hill Institute, student and community entrepreneurs have hatched hundreds of ideas and startups, from a plant-based milk product to an AI-powered productivity platform. Collectively, these startups are generating hundreds of thousands of dollars per month in new revenue, Davis said.

“Our work has inspired and equipped hundreds of people to turn their ideas or dreams into reality, which has very tangible impacts on the economy – creating new jobs, attracting new capital, building new generational wealth and fueling economic mobility,” Davis said, in his Palmetto Power 2024 profile.