The Center for Creative Economy announced the three Winston-Salem based companies that have taken the top prized in the Creative Startups’ Southeastern Accelerator Program.
Read the full press release here.
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Magalie & Brittany working together for CCE!
On April 4th, the Center for Creative Economy officially bid farewell to Brittany Mashburn and welcomed Magalie Yacinthe into our creative family! Magalie serves as the newest Project Management Assistant alongside Executive Director, Margaret H. Collins.
Magalie comes to the Center for Creative Economy with experience working with a Winston-Salem nonprofit, Delta Arts Center, as well as many years in the corporate world at Aon. She founded her own company within the creative industries, Yacinthe Events Services. This experience with events will be a big help for CCE. She enjoys traveling, reading, and writing. One of her goals is to publish a romance novel (we have a hopeless romantic on our hands).
Magalie is very enthusiastic about her involvement with CCE and has already began to add value to our team. Please look for her at our events, and introduce yourself. Welcome Magalie!
Upstart Live! took place Feb 5th-7th at Flywheel and featured The OLIO – a local hot glass blowing studio and nonprofit, led by Winston-Salem resident Rebeccah Byer. The concept developed by Flywheel founder Peter Marsh, is a collaborative approach of taking a startup from idea conception to market in just 48 hours. Rebeccah met Flywheel founder, Peter Marsh at a CCE Swerve event in fall, 2015. She shared her dream of establishing a new product taking recycled glass from local restaurants and bars, and creating a line of sustainable barware.
At subsequent Swerve meetings, Peter and Rebeccah continued conversations until the Upstart Live event was born. Peter and the Flywheel staff recruited entrepreneurial mentors Joel Bennett, Nathan Powell and Dana Dillehunt to lead the upstart teams during the weekend. Members of the local community participated as team members and provided feedback.
Programming at the OLIO includes workshops and apprenticeships for at-¬risk youth, both in glassblowing technique and specialized training in business. Current revenue is driven by workshops, corporate programs, classes and field trips.
The Problem: The Olio wants to achieve sustainable revenue to reduce dependency on contributed revenue. Their needs include:
The Solution: artisan production glassware
During the 3-day event, mentors in entrepreneurship, business development, finance, customer identification, and marketing created a sustainable revenue model to fund the new product line and support The Olio’s community outreach . . Future steps were determined for growth of The OLIO, which includes a grand re-opening of their retail shop, and hiring a sales representative to get the product into the market. Mentors also developed a robust marketing strategy, as well as a 3-year growth projections, which demonstrates how The OLIO can double its revenues by 2019.
It was great to see the Winston-Salem and Triad community devoting time to reinvigorate a local creative enterprise. The Upstart Live atmosphere was energizing and inspiring. Everyone participating was challenged to expand their thinking and enjoyed helping a local organization make a new start and grow their business.
As a community project, there are opportunities for the community to participate! There will be a panel of area experts in lean startups, finance, marketing, business development and design. Registration is now open for teams for audience participation, either as an observer ready to learn or as a seasoned entrepreneur ready to contribute. Join the fun of launching a new product for a local creative company!
Click Here for more details and to register!
Margaret Collins presented at the recent Tech Council Briefing hosted by the Winston-Salem Chamber on December 2nd. Collins provided an overview of the Creative Economy in NC and the Triad, sharing definitions, numbers and statistics. She sited Fast Company magazine’s June 2015 story, U.S. Creative Jobs are Driving Economies. “It’s the designers, actors, and artists that make cities interesting. The rest of us just take advantage, ” and noted that “cities actively recruiting creative industries include Austin, Portland, Philadelphia, Nashville, New York, & Santa Fe.” Collins encouraged the Winston-Salem community to step up and get engaged with the full spectrum of creative industries to help stimulate our local economy.
Margaret also moderated a distinguished panel, which included Chad Cheek from Elephant In The Room, Corey Madden of the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts, and Peter Marsh from Workplace Strategies and Flywheel. Together, they shared what creative industries need to thrive, the challenges they face, and how our creative economy compares to other cities. Encouraging the community to support these industries was an important thread throughout the conversation.
Madden from the Kenan Institute explained that the UNC School of the Arts is very interested in connecting with the creative industries in the Triad. Chancellor Lindsey Bierman is focused on how the performing arts fit into the larger arts and entertainment industries, and is realistic about where creatives are now working. Pixar was created by individuals who came from the American theater and helped developed the process, story, and teams, for animation. Museums work with visual and experience design. The performing arts are experiencing disruption and UNCSA is educating students for the new careers developing in creative industries.
How can Winston-Salem support our creative industries? Peter Marsh shared that the community needs to develop an entrepreneurial mindset that supports risk taking and failure. Our leaders need to take a chance on startups, projects coming out of universities, and talented local resources. We can no longer depend on legacy wealth but must develop new resources and talent.
Chad Cheek discussed how he attracts national talent to Winston-Salem. He looks for creatives that can “design for looking great in the world, not just in Winston Salem.” The global marketplace forces a client’s projects to exist in the world, not just locally. So the firm’s design talent must stand up to that scrutiny. They have risen to this challenge, with great results for the business. In addition several live downtown, and enjoy an urban lifestyle in the heart of Winston-Salem.
All panelists commented on the importance of establishing Winston Salem as a creativity hub. It’s more affordable than Portland, NY, or Austin. It is gritty, and not a complete canvas. Creatives can make an impact here.
An essential step for growing creative industries in Winston is for all businesses to work with the local creative talent. Both Workplace Strategies, and Elephant In The Room have developed projects for local businesses, which grew nationally with their clients when the services were needed elsewhere. Their work increased exponentially as the local client’s business grew. This is a great model, which has proven successful. The panelists encouraged all businesses to hire local creatives for projects and opportunities. There is enormous talent available in our community.
In fact, the 2014 national Print Regional Design Awards ranks Winston-Salem creative firms #1 in the southeast region for the sheer number of awards they receive! Winston leads Atlanta, Charleston, and Raleigh.
Winston-Salem’ creative industries are talented and growing. Hire the local team. They will accelerate your business!
Have YOU hired a local business lately? Please share your experiences!
While most accelerators focus on tech companies, Creative Startups is an accelerator built from the bottom up with creative entrepreneurs in mind. Creative Startups help artists and creative businesses overcome the challenges and ricks associated with a startup by providing a world-class intensive course in Creative Entrepreneurship built, in partnership, with leading faculty of Stanford University. In addition to teaching core entrepreneurship concepts, Creative Startups increases leadership skills, develops an interpersonal communication toolbox, and connects participants with a supportive network and resource set through mentoring and alumni engagement. The program’s team, mentors, virtual accelerator, 5-day deep dive, and demo days bring together the largest gathering of creative founders, industry leaders, and investors in the nation.
The 2015 Deep Dive event, hosted in Albuquerque, connected 9 Startups with mentors and investors from around the world. Winston-Salem’s own, Chad Cheek, and Margaret Collins were among the 47 mentors. Chad is the owner of Elephant In The Room, a design and brand consultancy which specializes in graphic design, brand development and creation, as well as brand marketing and communication solutions.
Everyone involved in the Creative Startups share a vision of the Creative Economy as an area of tremendous potential and together are building the world’s largest network on behalf of entrepreneurs in the creative industries.
“The most valuable part of Creative Startups is the network: it’s like a customized group of people who know how to specifically help you, and want you to succeed.” – One entrepreneur spoke of her Deep Dive experience
The creative industries have grown 8% over the past 6 years in North Carolina, and now create $14 billion in wages and sales. Winston-Salem has built strong creative industries and is becoming a leader in the southeast. The creative economy is undoubtedly an important driver in our regional and state economy, but they do have sufficient support to allow a creative entrepreneurial ecosystem to thrive. A catalyst is needed to connect partners and galvanize the launch and growth of new creative companies. The Center for Creative Economy and Creative Startups Accelerator are building a partnership nationally to collaborate, build and support our Winston-Salem/Triad creative ecosystem, and launch new startups.
November 12, 2015
Swerve, the cool new hub connecting creative enterprises for networking, collaboration and learning new skills launched on November 5th! Check out this video to learn more!
Swerve Launch Nov 5 at Flywheel in Winston-Salem, NC
Fifty creative individuals joined the Center for Creative Economy to participate in the launch of Swerve. Each joined in conversations around the challenges they are facing with their business, and what they need to solve them.
Swerve seeks to retain, attract and grow our creative businesses and impact the local economy. “Creative entrepreneurs live locally, hire locally and jobs their businesses create are not easily shipped overseas. Swerve is here to support the success of the Triad’s creative economic engine,” said CCE Director, Margaret Collins.
Swerve will develop a member base, host monthly meetings, and provide specialized programming to help individuals, startups, mid-level, and mature creative businesses thrive. “The meetups will provide forums for members to discuss the presentations together, and explore how to apply the information to their business,” said Collins. See our events lined up for the year. Topics include moving your idea into a product or service, marketing a creative product or service, pitching and funding a creative business, mentorship partnering, and much more. An online creative directory, and helpful articles will also be shared through the Swerve blog, website, and social media channels.
Swerve is sponsored in-part by The Winston-Salem Foundation, NC Arts Council, and Technicon Design. Community strategic partners include Flywheel, Technicon Design, Arts Council of Winston-Salem, Kenan Institute for the Arts, Forsyth Tech Small Business Center, Center for Design Innovation, and Wildfire.
Margaret Collins with Swerve sponsor Brent Wickham, Technicon Design
