Greensboro, NC (JULY 6, 2020)—NorthState and HQ Greensboro are excited to announce that the summer 2020 NorthState Tech Lab will begin on July 8. NorthState Tech Lab is a six-week series of weekly programs that provides business, financial modeling, technical and marketing skills at no cost to emerging entrepreneurs in the Piedmont Triad.
This session of the NorthState Tech Lab is designed for social impact startups and small companies meeting the following criteria:
- Entrepreneurs that use (or will use) technology to create, support, or scale their businesses.
- Socially conscious, for-profit companies that are committed to making a positive social impact in the Piedmont Triad community.
- Well-developed idea-stage social startups are eligible on a case-by-case basis, as are non-profit and hybrid companies that are driven primarily by revenue (versus grants).
- Entrepreneurs who are committed to moving their business and mission forward and helping their cohort peers do the same.
Four start-up enterprises have been selected from the pool of applicants to participate in the summer 2020 NorthState Tech Lab. These businesses include After School Brilliance, Food Drivers, Megan-Ilene, and Swim Fanatics. (Editor’s note: Additional information about each follows).
“NorthState is excited to continue our partnership with HQ Greensboro to support local entrepreneurs during this summer’s Tech Lab,“ said Karen Hoch, Director of Marketing Communications for NorthState. “The use of technology is critical to businesses, perhaps now more than ever before. The Tech Lab sessions provide a wide range of valuable technical and business resources that will help participants to be successful in their emerging businesses and enrich our community.”
In addition to honing their business skills, NorthState Tech Lab participants also benefit by being embedded in a network of like-minded people who offer support and vital business connections. They receive access to a dedicated workspace and full membership benefits at HQ Greensboro for two-and-a-half months.
“HQ Greensboro is passionate about supporting local entrepreneurs and small businesses that make a positive impact on our community” HQ Greensboro Executive Director Kaitlin Conover said. “Now more than ever, our world is in need of innovators whose work drives creative solutions for social problems. With the NorthState Tech Lab, we hope to empower local social enterprise companies by providing them with robust business training and a supportive network.”
In consideration of social distancing to keep our community healthy, the summer session of NorthState Tech Lab will consist of virtual events and learning sessions with a possible in-person event if appropriate later this summer.
About the Summer 2020 Participants
After School Brilliance, Greensboro
After School Brilliance provides STEM-focused after school and day-long enrichment programs that offer engaging Science, Technology, Robotics, Engineering, Art, Coding and Math programs to young children, with a growing emphasis on those in underserved and rural communities. More at: afterschoolbrilliance.com
Food Drivers, Elon
Food Drivers uses students in drivers education to pick up food from donors and deliver it to nonprofits and food pantries. Organizations save time, money, and gain a sustainable source of volunteers to help them reduce the effects of food insecurity in their communities. Food Drivers is expanding its operations from Alamance County to Greensboro. More at: fooddrivers.org/
Megan-Ilene, Greensboro
Megan-Ilene is a zero waste, biodegradable, clothing brand designed to suit a myriad of body types, shapes, and genders. Hand- dyed and made to order, each item is made with fabrics, dyes and designs that eliminate waste and environmental impact in a closed loop system. The Megan-Ilene product line is primarily available in retail shops, with plans to expand its online store. More at: megan-ilene.com/
Swim Fanatics, Greensboro
Swim Fanatics provides a safe and welcoming environment in which infants, children, adults, and special populations can learn the life skill of swimming in a variety of aquatic programs. Swim Fanatics is increasing its efforts in drown-prevention for young children (#1 cause of accidental death in ages 1-4 years) and will also expand access to drown-prevention benefits for all ages and populations with a new facility. More at: swimfanatics.com
About NorthState
NorthState is a premier fiber-based telecommunications provider and part of Segra, one of the largest independent fiber bandwidth companies in the U.S. NorthState offers an innovative porolio of fiber-based services, including high-speed broadband Internet, managed Wi-Fi, hosted digital voice and entertainment. The full suite of services is supported by local sales, service, and care professionals. For more than a century, NorthState has helped communities in the Piedmont Triad stay connected. For more information, visit northstate.net.
About Segra
Segra is one of the largest independent fiber infrastructure bandwidth companies in the Eastern U.S. It owns and operates an advanced fiber infrastructure network of over 30,000 miles that connects more than 10,000 locations and six data centers throughout nine Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern states. Segra provides Ethernet, MPLS, dark fiber, advanced data center services, IP and managed services, voice, and cloud solutions, all backed by its industry-leading service and reliability. Customers include carriers, enterprises, governments, and healthcare organizations. In addition, Segra delivers high-speed, fiber-based integrated telecommunications services to residential and business customers in portions of Virginia under the Lumos Networks brand name and in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina under the NorthState brand name. For more information about Segra’s technology and commitment to customer care, visit segra.com.
About HQ Greensboro
HQ Greensboro is a shared workspace in downtown Greensboro designed to empower, foster, and cultivate businesses that produce long-term job growth and positive social impact. We address two challenges that entrepreneurs face: building a trusted support community and gaining access to flexible, affordable office space. Through their partnership, HQ Raleigh, and HQ Greensboro support a strong regional community of entrepreneurs, teaming up on programming, events, and reciprocal membership privileges.
For more information visit hqgreensboro.com.