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Demo Day highlights 7th group of GVL Starts founders
Kylie Cammon, middle, owner of Rabbit Hole Digital, was awarded with $5,000 by The Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship employees Eric Cooperman, left, senior director of entrepreneurship programs, and Bryan Davis, executive director, during the institute’s GVL Starts Demo Day at the Greenville ONE Center on Thursday, October 17, 2024. Photo by Nathan Gray, Furman University.
Under bright stage lights, 17 business ventures each had their moment in the spotlight during this year’s Demo Day, the culmination of the nine-week GVL Starts. The program, by Furman University’s Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, serves as an early-stage incubator for companies between the “napkin phase” and recently launched ventures.
On Demo Day participants pitched their ventures for the chance to win one of three $5,000 startup grants. Six founders pitched their business ideas in front of a crowd of more than 200 during the Oct. 17 event.
Dr. Sherian Wells pitches her business, My Curvy Wellness, at The Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship GVL Starts Demo Day event at the Greenville ONE Center on Thursday, October 17, 2024.
Kylie Cammon, co-founder of Rabbit Hole Digital, took home one of the $5,000 grants. Rabbit Hole is a social marketing platform intended to make managing an effective social presence easier for artists, entertainers and their teams. The California-style breakfast burritos of Richard Mataafa’s Daylight Burritos popup earned him one of the grants. Dr. Sherian Wells’ health practice, My Curvy Wellness, cinched the third grant by offering women a holistic health practice and medspa.
This year, The Hill Institute presented its first “Partner of the Year” award to Greenville City Economic Development Corporation President and CEO Samuel Konduros, for the group’s continued support of the institute since its launch.