Marketing 101 teaches the principle of setting your business apart from the competition to be successful. In today’s competitive business landscape, this is not a simple task for any startup. Now more than ever, savvy consumers expect high-quality products, and equally high customer service experiences. A valuable tool to help you stay ahead of your competition is understanding customer insights.

Taking a closer look, customer insights can be defined as the understanding and interpretation of consumer data and behaviors to improve your product development and customer experience. These insights help you understand your customer better when it comes to product purchasing decisions. Business owners who have a deeper understanding of their customer behavior patterns outperform their competitors by 85% in sales growth, according to Microsoft.

As a creative entrepreneur, harnessing customer insights can help you grow your startup in the following ways:

To deliver personalized experiences- Customers who feel they are receiving personalized attention to their needs are most likely to become repeat customers and also a promoter of your business for generating new customers.

To predict future industry trends- identifying consumer pain points is key to keeping up with new trends in your industry and providing better service and/or products for your customers.

To create the most effective promotions- Understanding what products your customer is most likely to buy gives you the opportunity to streamline your targeting to your customers for successful promotions.

To create product pricing- Knowing what the industry’s going rates are for your product and/or services is important. It is equally important to know what your customer is willing to pay. The combination of these data points will help you determine the optimal product pricing.

To help streamline your markets- Having accurate data on customer sales will help you determine where to expand into new markets or which markets you should leave because of underperformance.

These are just a few benefits gained by using customer insights in your startup. When properly used, customer insight data can help you organize and make the improvements necessary for building a thriving business.

Winston Salem, NC – March 16th, 2022 – Nine idea-stage entrepreneurs earned awards during the Center for Creative Economy’s Kinetic Creative Bootcamp final presentation.

Kinetic. Discover your customer and ignite your idea.

a program of the Center for Creative Economy (Winston-Salem, NC USA)

CCE accepted nine creative entrepreneurs from Winston Salem, NC to participate in Kinetic, a 4-week cohort-based program that helps aspiring entrepreneurs workshop their early-stage creative business ideas and explore their customer base. Weekly curriculum (with in-person and remote options) is taught by a team of subject matter experts who mentor and counsel founders. Kinetic graduates have successfully launched their startups, earned spots in business accelerators, and secured grants.

The 4-week boot camp culminated in a final presentation where founders gave a five-minute pitch to CCE’s mentors and special guests. 

Anne Marie Designs, provides a private atelier experience to every bride, with inclusive sizing, exceptional value, and one-on-one attention from their designer. They were awarded the Legal Award that consisted of $1,500 of legal services, which is estimated to be around four hours from Jeff Wolfe with Schell Bray.

The Mom League is created by moms – for all moms – here to help new moms thrive, and is located in Winston-Salem, NC. They were granted $1,000 from The Center for Creative Economy’s award, The Kinetic Potential Award as well as the Flywheel Coworking Space Award of 1 month free access to Flywheel facilities. The Mom League was also recognized for the most customers interviewed Award. 

Riot Golf, a golf brand designed for women, was granted the Social Media Award with the prize of three 45-minute pro-bono marketing consulting sessions with Daryl Shaw with Royalty Marketing.  They were also awarded the Flywheel Coworking Space award of 1 month free access to Flywheel facilities.

ReadySetGo Media provides “turn-key” marketing campaigns designed specifically for the HVAC industry. This company was awarded the Cohort Choice Award with the prize of a  Jenni Earle bandana! ReadySetGo Media also won the Top Website Landing Page Award. 

Dash City Gaming & Media, is a Winston-Salem-based gaming and multimedia production crew that strives to create a community of like-minded individuals who know how to work hard and play even harder. Dash City Gaming and Media were awarded the Top Financial Forecast Award. 

Colllab is an app that provides a centralized platform for fostering connections between professional collaborative pianists and those in need of their services. Colllab earned the award of most improved throughout the four-week-long Bootcamp. 

Spirited provides traditional, lecture-driven tours that are lively, engaging, educational, and crafted by experts. This team won the Flywheel Coworking Space Award of 1 month free access to Flywheel facilities. 

Within Kinetic’s performance competition, mentors reviewed each company’s documents including a financial forecast, marketing one-page collateral, and website landing pages. Our mentors provided helpful feedback and comments.  A special thanks to Jenni Earle Hopkins, founder of Jennie Earle who delivered an inspirational mentor session on the final day. 

CCE extends a special thanks to our sponsors for the Kinetic 2022 boot camps. These include The Winston Salem Foundation, Truist Foundation, Twin City Development Foundation, and Forsyth County.    

Center for Creative Economy – Launching creativity – Winston-Salem, NC USA

The Center for Creative Economy provides inception-stage business training to help artists and other creatives develop viable businesses. Our customized education and mentorship programs fulfill our mission to launch, grow, and accelerate creative businesses. 

A nonprofit organization, CCE strives to strengthen the creative economy and the creative community in Winston-Salem, NC, and beyond. Since 2016 CCE has helped launch 56 creative startups in its accelerator, 67% of which were founded by women and 53% by minorities. Today, 83% of those companies are still thriving, and 167 jobs have been created.

Our cohorts have earned $10 million in revenue and raised $11 million in investment. CCE continues to support founders with mentorship and accountability as their businesses grow.

www.CCETRIAD.com

April and springtime symbolize change and new possibilities within ourselves and nature. The Center for Creative Economy’s Momentum meetup for April allowed its participants to explores mindfulness practices and help reduce stress and increase creativity. Rahul Kulkarni, the founder of Sukhi, led this journey to a mindful state. Rahul studied clinical psychology at Tufts Medical, and abnormal psychology at Cornell, and received an MBA from MIT. He has a background in employee wellness, mindfulness, and mental health  As an alumnus of CCE’s Velocity accelerator, and we were honored to welcome him as our Momentum presenter.

To get the most out of his workshop, Rahul invited the participants to:

·        Be present- remove all phones out of sight

·        Be open- try the techniques

·        Focus on Compassion- towards ourselves and others

During the session, he shared that a state of mindfulness is a time when we focus on one thing and one thing only.

“Multitasking is a myth; your brain can’t actually do it. You can only do one task at a time. When you think that you are multitasking, what you’re actually doing is going back and forth very fast between one thing versus the other,” he explained.

Rahul teaches that taking moments daily to enter a state of mindfulness relieves stress, increases focus and promotes productivity which results in strengthening emotional and mental health.

In case you missed April’s Momentum, you can still experience this relaxing, inspiring, and detressing session by visiting our CCE Youtube channel using this link.  

Press Release- The Center for Creative Economy will host SHINE, a creative showcase and celebration to honor its 10th anniversary, on Tuesday, May 24th, 2022. The event will be held from 6:00-9:00 p.m. at The Ramkat, 170 W. 9th St., in Winston Salem. www.ccetriad.com/shine. The Champion sponsor for this event is NC IDEA.

SHINE is a fundraising catalyst to support the challenge made by 12 generous donors last year. They donated $110,000 and CCE is working to match that amount. The funds will be used to support CCE programs, including the CCE Launch Fund for creative entrepreneurs, and provide sustainability for the future.  

The festivities begin with a keynote address by creative entrepreneur Susan Jaffe, the current Artistic Director of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and the former Dean of the School of Dance at UNCSA.  A performance showcase will follow featuring SHINE, a World Premier choreographed by Madalyn Bailey, and danced by UNCSA dance alumni.   

A unique feature of the evening will be the Photography Showcase sponsored by Vivid Metal Prints.  CCE has launched a Photo Contest, details at this link, to draw images that capture the movement and spirit of its programs, Kinetic, Momentum, and Velocity. The winner in each category receives $100 and the opportunity to be showcased at the event.  Vivid Metal Prints will create large scale photos using their signature metal process of the winning images which will be auctioned that night at Shine. Deadline for photo submission is April 25th. 

Throughout the evening, CCE will feature a Product Showcase of artisanal goods created by participants in its Velocity and Kinetic programs. For more information and to register for SHINE visit www.ccetriad.com/shine.

Winston Salem, NC – March 22th, 2022 – Nine idea-stage entrepreneurs earned awards during the Center for Creative Economy’s Kinetic Creative Bootcamp’s final presentation. 

CCE accepted nine creative teams all from Winston Salem, NC to participate in Kinetic, a 4-week cohort-based program that helps aspiring entrepreneurs workshop their early-stage creative business ideas and explore their customer base. Weekly curriculum (with in-person and remote options) is taught by a team of subject matter experts who mentor and counsel founders. Kinetic graduates have successfully launched their startups, earned spots in business accelerators, and secured grants.

The 4-week boot camp culminated in a final presentation where founders gave a five-minute pitch to CCE’s mentors and special guests. Below are the participating teams and awards received. 

The Mom League – is founded by moms, Annie Chambers and Kelly Maxey,  with the goal of helping all new moms thrive. They were granted  the Kinetic Potential Award of $1,000, from the Center for Creative Economy. Other awards received include the Flywheel Coworking Space Award of 1-month free access to the Flywheel facilities. The Mom League was also recognized for interviewing the most customers which is required in the Kinetic program. 

Colllab – founded by Arianna Bohning, is an app that provides a centralized platform for fostering connections between professional collaborative pianists and those in need of their services. Arianna earned the Most Improved Award for her work throughout the four-week Boot Camp. 

Spirited – founded by Natalie Scarritt, provides traditional, lecture-driven tours of Winston-Salem that are lively, engaging, educational, and crafted by experts. This team won the Flywheel Coworking Space Award of 1-month free access to Flywheel facilities. 

Riot Golf –  founded by Kirsten Schambra Stevens, a golf brand designed for women, was granted the Social Media Award consisting of three 45-minute pro-bono marketing consulting sessions with Daryl Shaw of Royalty Marketing. They were also awarded the Flywheel Coworking Space award of 1-month free access to Flywheel facilities.

Anne Marie Designs –  founded by Anne Pembaur, provides a private atelier experience for brides, with inclusive sizing, exceptional value, and one-on-one attention from their designer. They were awarded the Kinetic Legal Award consisting of $1,500 of pro bono legal services, from Jeff Wolfe of  Schell Bray.

ReadySetGo Media –  founded by Seth Wingate, provides “turn-key” marketing campaigns designed specifically for the HVAC industry. This company was awarded the Cohort Choice Award with the prize of a  Jenni Earle bandana! ReadySetGo Media also won the Top Website Landing Page Award. 

Dash City Gaming & Media – founded by Paul Stevens and Jefferson Nicholson, is a Winston-Salem-based gaming and multimedia production team that strives to create a community of like-minded individuals who know how to work hard and play even harder. Dash City Gaming and Media were awarded the Kinetic Top Financial Forecast Award. 

Such-N-Such Media –  founded by Timothy Beeman, provides ​personalized media for business and entertainment needs. Their services include podcast production, podcast consulting, voice-overs, a/v production and editing, social media management, and emcee/event host services. 

Blackfish– founded by Mandez Douthit,  is a full-service talent management and marketing agency that develops, enhances, and manages brands for organizations and individuals.

Within Kinetic’s performance competition, mentors reviewed each company’s documents including a financial forecast, marketing one-page collateral, and website landing pages. Our mentors provided helpful feedback and comments.  A special thanks to Jenni Earle Hopkins, founder of Jennie Earle who delivered an inspirational talk on the final day. 

CCE extends a special thanks to our sponsors for the Kinetic 2022 boot camps. These include The Winston Salem Foundation, Truist Foundation, Twin City Development Foundation, and Forsyth County.    

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The Center for Creative Economy provides inception-stage business training to help artists and other creatives develop viable businesses. Our customized education and mentorship programs fulfill our mission to launch, grow, and accelerate creative businesses. 

A nonprofit organization, CCE strives to strengthen the creative economy and the creative community in Winston-Salem, NC, and beyond. Since 2016 CCE has helped launch 56 creative startups in its accelerator, 67% of which were founded by women and 53% by minorities. Today, 83% of those companies are still thriving, and 167 jobs have been created.

Our cohorts have earned $10 million in revenue and raised $11 million in investment. CCE continues to support founders with mentorship and accountability as their businesses grow.

www.CCETRIAD.com

The Center for Creative Economy thrives on the creativity of entrepreneurs, and at February’s Momentum meetup our panelist, Kevin Clark, and our moderator, Ryan Schmaltz, introduced a great way to do just that. Last month, in part one of this two-part series, Kevin introduced Web3 and the Metaverse. For part two, Ryan led an interactive and engaging discussion on NFTs (non-fungible tokens). Kevin guided the attendees to create a collective. Kevin is an artist who is passionate about technology and creative entrepreneurship. He is the co-founder of Point Motion, a tech company whose vision is to improve the quality of life for people through the intersection of music and technology. 

Ryan kicked off the discussion with a quick survey of the audience and discovered that most of the attendees knew what NFTs are but did not fully understand the concept. The audience’s primary interest in NFTs was art, profiting/investing, fundraising, and providing the infrastructure for NFTs. The information gathered from the poll allowed Kevin to lead right into his presentation. The presentation addressed the following topics:

1. Difference between Web 2 (3rd party trusted system) and Web3 (trustless system)
2. Non-fungible and tokens
3. How the creation of NFTs is changing the industries of art, fashion, and music through the use of wearables and the ability to release your art virtually for sale
4. The profitability of NFTs and how royalties are connected

After the discussion, Ryan led an interactive and informative Q&A session with the audience. Kevin then guided the Momentum group into the creation of the Center for Creative Economy’s first-ever NFT, a canvas painting that was co-created by the participants attending Momentum. An auction was then held live to purchase the creation and also receive an hour of coaching from Kevin on the Metaverse and NFTs. 

Thanks to Ryan and Kevin for an informing, engaging, and creative discussion! 

You can view the recording from the Momentum February event on NFTs in our Youtube channel using this link. 

Momentum returns on Wednesday, March 23rd when Rahul Kulkarni, CEO of Sukhi, will be leading a discussion on Leveraging Mindfulness for Optimum Focus. We hope to see you then! Register Here!

A few helpful links about the Metaverse & NFTs:

Helpful Links

Winston Salem, NC – October 7, 2021 – Three east coast based startups will share $50,000 in
seed-stage funding from the Center for Creative Economy’s Velocity Creative Accelerator based
in Winston-Salem.
The Velocity Accelerator culminated in a pitch competition September 30th followed by an
Awards Breakfast on October 1st. The organization’s sixth annual accelerator brings creative
startups from across NC and the US together to complete a 10-week entrepreneur education
program to refine their business plan, marketing strategy, and prepare pitches to investors. The
top three startups split a pool of $50,000 in seed-stage investment.
Leah Wyrick, founder of Three Strands Recovery Wear in Winston-Salem, NC took the top
award of $25,000, presented by Kyle Haney of Forsyth County’s Department of Community and
Economic Development. Three Strands Recovery Wear is a recovery garment company with a
current focus on post-operative bras for mastectomies and other breast surgeries. Leah was
also awarded $2,000 in software consultation from Sightsource to further develop her
technology, and pro bono legal services from Kilpatrick Townsend.
Rahul Kulkharni founder of Sukhi in Washington, D.C. received the second-place award of
$15,000 with their startup that is strengthening resilience in the modern workforce to foster
corporate wellness, collaboration and reduce burnout. Rahul also received $1,000 in software
consulting from Sightsource, and pro bono legal services from Kilpatrick Townsend.
Running third, receiving $10,000, was My Relief Wear LLC, founded by Mary McElya of
Greenville, SC. My Relief Wear is patent-pending cold therapy clothing that transforms the
process of icing painful aches and joints. The garments provide freedom of mobility, thin
anti-leak packs, and a fresh cool look. Mary also received $2,000 in software consulting from
Sightsource, and pro bono legal services from Kilpatrick Townsend.
Daryl Shaw, founder of Royalty Marketing, presented two marketing and social media awards
for 20 hours of marketing services each to:
JSQ Designs, founder Jenna Anderson, an apparel manufacturer that creates unique and
inclusive button down shirts from scratch in Winston-Salem, NC. JSQ creates items that are
unique and authentic for the customer.

Frogshop, Founder Malcolm Egun, of Newark, NJ, who has created software specifically for
gyms to streamline their business mixing fitness with ecommerce. Malcolm partners with more
than 50 dropship suppliers in the health & fitness industry and provides cloud-based automation
that helps small to mid-sized eCommerce businesses automate and deliver products. Malcolm
also received $4,000 in technology software consulting from Sightsource,
Winston Starts President, Bob Boles also welcomed Frogshop and JSQ Designs into the
Explore program, an 8 week discovery program for startups to get acquainted and develop
inside Winston-Salem’s own scalerator. After Explore, the founders pitch to determine their
potential for year round admission.
Luna Creative, founder Cordelia Norris, of Wilmington, NC, a design and marketing studio that
helps clients create positive change, with a focus on sustainability. Cordelia received $3,000 in
technology software consulting from Sightsource,
Each cohort member was also awarded a business coaching package from ActionCOACH –
Team Hauser, based in Winston-Salem.
Founders from 11 U.S. states and 11 countries applied to participate in this year’s accelerator.
Of the 6 startups chosen for the program, 67% are run by women entrepreneurs and 50% are
BIPOC founders.
According to Executive Director, Margaret Collins, “The cohort made great progress during
Velocity this year. They emerged strong, ready to launch and earn revenue. Our robust mentor
pool deserves high praise for their customized coaching of each founder to deliver what was
needed each week.”

Center for Creative Economy receives $20,000 grant from Truist Foundation 

Winston-Salem, NC – March 18, 2021 – The Center for Creative Economy announced today it has received a $20,000 grant from the Truist Foundation in support of the 2021 Kinetic Boot Camp for creatives.  “We are excited to announce this funding for CCE’s thriving programs for early stage entrepreneurs. Our cohort from Winston-Salem and across the country enter their final week preparing to deliver their business pitches.  CCE serves all creative entrepreneurs and this grant helps bring more businesses to life in 2021,” according to Margaret Collins, Founding Executive Director. 

Kinetic kicked off in February with a three-day opening event, welcoming creative entrepreneurs and mentors. The 4-week boot camp culminates in the Kinetic Finale on March 27 where business founders pitch to CCE’s mentors, sponsors, and partner network. The final pitches begin at 1:45pm and are followed by award announcements. 

Of the startups chosen for Kinetic, 67% are run by women entrepreneurs. Kinetic is an intensive program that helps creative entrepreneurs define their target customers, validate their idea, and develop a financial forecast and business model. Entrepreneurs work with professional mentors to guide them through the next steps in the boot camp and beyond.

 “As a creative, there is something special about being in a room with other like minded entrepreneurs, and the support has been fantastic,” said Kinetic cohort member Jonathan Dockery, founder of The Downtown Art Academy  in Winston-Salem. 

Truist Foundation is the lead funder of Kinetic sessions in Spring and Fall 2021.  CCE thanks Truist Foundation for supporting and acknowledging creative entrepreneurs and startups and their contributions to our community and beyond.  

CCE wishes to acknowledge additional sponsors who have helped make the Kinetic Boot Camp 2021 possible. These include DataMax Foundation, now known as Twin City Development Foundation, NC IDEA, Builders and Backers Studio, Parsec Financial, and Salem College.

The Spring 2021 cohort is using their creative talents to bring innovation to their industries. Below is a brief overview of their ideas:

(Winston-Salem, NC): THE DOWNTOWN ART ACADEMY – Makes traditionally exclusive arts education accessible for all. Students gain access to the best classical art education.

(Winston-Salem, NC): FOISEIL – Hand poured soy and coconut wax candles and natural body care products.

(Winston-Salem, NC): DELISH BRANDING CO – Helping hospitality businesses succeed with creative, effective marketing solutions.

(Greensboro, NC): XCEPTIONAL EMPIRE – Digital subscription-based membership for creatives who struggle to find a sense of community, networking opportunities, and ways to exercise their craft.

(Zionsville, IN): ZANMI FONDWA – Fosters community by hiring Haitians to build high-quality homes for their neighbors, engaging new homeowners to give back to the community through volunteer service and financial contribution to their new home.

(Winston Salem, NC): WINSTON SALEM ART SUPPLY – Local, independent, brick and mortar retailer of quality art supplies in downtown.

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The Center for Creative Economy (CCE) provides inception stage business training to expand the capacity of creatives and artists to emerge as viable entrepreneurs. Learning critical skills at the beginning of a creative founder’s journey is vital for success. Our customized education and mentorship programs fulfill our mission to Launch, Grow, and Accelerate creative entrepreneurs and businesses. www.CCETRIAD.com

The Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation’s (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. Established in 2020, the foundation makes strategic investments in nonprofit organizations to help ensure the communities it serves have more opportunities for a better quality of life. The Truist Foundation’s grants and activities focus on leadership development, economic mobility, thriving communities and educational equity. Learn more at www.truist.com/truist-foundation. 

Contact:  Nicole Gentles, nicole@ccetriad.com  336-897-6075

Four idea-stage entrepreneurs earned awards during the Center for Creative Economy’s Kinetic Creative Bootcamp final presentation.

CCE accepted four creative entrepreneurs from Winston Salem, NC and Berlin, Germany to participate in Kinetic, a 4-week intensive entrepreneurial program guaranteed to turn creative ideas into growing businesses. Throughout the program, participants showed immense growth in validating their creative ideas, developing strong business models, identifying consumer bases, and building sustainable budgets.

The 4-week bootcamp culminated in a final presentation where founders gave a five minute pitch to CCE’s mentor and investor network. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CCE conducted its final Kinetic presentation in a hybrid format on December 5, welcoming limited in-person attendees at 500 W Fifth Street in Winston Salem and external attendees via Zoom.

DIY Advisor, a Winston Salem-based platform that connects first time homeowners with experts in home improvement, was granted a $3,000 technology consultation package from Sightsource to further develop their software. Founder Angela Strader won the pitch competition and received CCE’s Financial Award which included four hours of pro-bono financial consulting  from Bonnie Bowen Advisors. 

SURU Together, a Berlin-based company, presented their PSiCHArt co-creativity interface that conducts team building through art. PSiCHArt allows companies to host live-streamed events that foster real-time collaboration through arts programming. Founders Nicollo Pescatelli and Georgina Denis joined Kinetic virtually from Berlin due to the COVID-19 pandemic. SURU received The CCE Marketing award which includes 3 hours of pro bono consulting from Daryl Shaw’s Royalty Marketing. 

Shairpins, a Winston-Salem based jewelry and accessory company focused on women’s empowerment, received a $300 business coaching package from ActionCOACH. Sheridan Watkins, founder and crafter, also received the CCE Business Consulting Award which includes 3 hours of pro-bono consulting with Dawn Booker, a professional strategic communications and marketing consultant.

Experiential Outdoor Education, founded by Scott Sanders, provides enriching outdoor and educational experiences through hiking, paddling, and camping adventures. Sanders was awarded $1,500 in pro-bono legal services by Jeff Wolfe at Schell Bray.

Within Kinetic’s performance competition, mentors reviewed each company’s documents including a financial forecast, marketing one page collateral, and website landing pages. Our mentors provided helpful feedback and comments.  A special thanks to Jenni Earle Hopkins, founder of  Jennie Earle who provided an inspirational mentor session on the final day. 

Flywheel CoWork, a community coworking innovation space and CCE’s home base, presented membership awards to all four Kinetic participants. Flywheel also offers self-directed entrepreneurial courses that further develop business skills and expand start-up networks. DIY Advisor received a 6 month membership; Shairpins, a 3 month membership; Outdoor Experiential, a 2 month membership; and SURU a 1 month virtual membership that includes access to virtual educational programming.

Of the 2020 Kinetic cohort chosen for the program, 75% are female and 50% are people of color. 

CCE extends a special thanks to our sponsors for the Kinetic 2020 boot camps. These include NC IDEA, DataMax, Parsec Financial, Salem Academy and College.