2013 VISIONARIES

SPECIAL REPORT

20/13

VISIONARIES13

20-somethings who won’t let age get in the way of their entrepreneurial visions.20/13

by Liz [email protected]

Entrepreneurs are a special breed. They find something that makes them tick – and it consumes them. They often forsake sleep, regular hours, a secure paycheck and job

security in pursuit of a dream. They learn through trial and error and find value in their mistakes. They know that determination, optimism, creativity and a good team can mean the difference between success and failure. Entrepreneurs have an unshake-able belief that their product, app or idea will change the world. It’s that passion, coupled with their willingness to get knocked down and try it all over again, that marks a true entrepreneur. Here are 13 Upstate 20-somethings who traversed the traditional path of resumes and job applications, risking it all to follow their passions and be their own bosses. (Photos by Liz Segrist)

THE BUSINESS JOURNAL FOR GREENVILLE, SPARTANBURG & ANDERSON

February 25 - March 10, 201310 www.gsabusiness.com SPECIAL REPORT: 20/13 visionaries

Certified Minority-Owned BusinessesRanked by No. of Employees in the Upstate

Minority Ownership

CompanyPhone / Website

Email Employees Certifying Group(s) Type of Business or ServiceOwners/Majority Shareholders /

Year Founded

DeWhit Inc.213 E. Butler Road, Suite F2Mauldin, SC 29662

864-757-1560www.dewhit.com

[email protected]

Carolinas Minority SupplierDevelopment Council, SCDOT,

SCOSMBA, SCDBE

Housekeeping services, chemicalsand supplies, paper-related

products0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Charles Whitner ([email protected]),Stephanie Smith ([email protected]),Vernon Hughes ([email protected])

1982

US&S Inc.50 Grand Ave.Greenville, SC 29607

864-233-8035www.usands.com

[email protected]


SBA 8(a), SDVOSBFacilities support services 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 53%

S. Richard Hagins ([email protected]),Cleveland Christophe ([email protected])

2003

Tricor Construction Inc.1983 Chesnee HighwaySpartanburg, SC 29303

864-582-2570www.tricorconstruction.com

[email protected] SCDOT, SCDBE

Earth retention via walls,reinforced slopes, earth anchors,

shoring, micropiles, soil nails100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Kelly Cheek ([email protected]),Bill Cheek ([email protected])

2002

Hampton Inn & Suites Spartanburg801 Spartan Blvd.Spartanburg, SC 29301

864-699-2222www.tinyurl.com/b4flw35

[email protected]

Carolinas Minority SupplierDevelopment Council, pending

certificationHotel 0% 0% 0% 100% 0% 0%

Patti Wetherford([email protected])

2004

JIT Manufacturing Inc.428 Oglesby LaneCowpens, SC 29330

864-463-0581www.jitmfg.net

[email protected] SCOSMBA Sheet metal fabrication and laser

cutting services, AS9100 certified 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Vickie Lynn Wyatt1992

RWI Industrial Inc.4019 S. Murray Ave.Anderson, SC 29624

864-296-8885www.rwiindustrial.com

[email protected] SCOSMBA Industrial maintenance, industrial

air compressor sales, pipe fitting 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Kelley White ([email protected]), Ron White1983

Clayton Construction Co. Inc.121 Venture Blvd.Spartanburg, SC 29306

864-576-1901www.claytonconstruction.net

INP30 SBE General contracting 51% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Sophie Clayton

1981

Synesis International Inc.30 Creekview CourtGreenville, SC 29615

[email protected]

26 Carolinas Minority SupplierDevelopment Council

Systems planning and design-to-implementation for manufacturing,

distribution, energy and service34% 0% 0% 0% 51% 0%

Ricardo Studart ([email protected]),Kathleen Henning Payne

([email protected])1994

Randolph Technology544 O'Neal Ferry RoadTownville, SC 29689

864-287-4040www.randolphtechnology.com

INP25


SCOSMBA, SBE

Mechanical contractor, metalfabrication, auto assembly fixture

fabrication and facilitymaintenance

0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0%George H. Randolph


Corporate Connection LLC1200 Woodruff Road, Suite F-19Greenville, SC 29607

864-627-4002www.corporateconnection.netinfo@corporateconnection.net

22 SCOSMBA, WBENCCorporate relocation service, all-inclusive corporate apartments,

furniture package rentals100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Charlene R. Knight([email protected])

2001

Interior Plantscapes51 Plant DriveGreenville, SC 29607

864-236-0111www.interiorplantscapesllc.com

INP15 WBENC Plant leasing 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Margaret Ryan

1990

B.C. Cannon Co. Inc.7311 SPA RoadNorth Charleston, SC 29418

[email protected]

14 SCDOTContractor traffic managementcontrol and customized street

signs67% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Dede F. Cannon ([email protected]), Bruce C.Cannon1982

Michael M. Simpson & Associates Inc.213 E. Broad St.Greenville, SC 29601

864-331-1201www.mmsainc.com

INP14 SCDOT, SBE, Federal SDB Consulting structural engineers 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% Michael M. Simpson ([email protected])

1999

ABC Landscaping Inc.1 Gin RoadPiedmont, SC 29673

864-845-3176INP

[email protected] SCOSMBA Landscaping, lawn maintenance 50% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% James Edward Speed Sr. ([email protected])

1979

Carolina Recycling Co.250 Mill St.Taylors, SC 29687

864-292-0098www.carolinarecyclingcompany.com

[email protected] WBENC

Post-industrial plastic, cardboardand paper recycler serving

manufacturing, industrial andwarehousing companies that

produce large volumes of waste

51% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Natalie J. Lewis([email protected]), CalebE. Lewis ([email protected])

2010

City State Temp1810 Laurens RoadGreenville, SC 29607

864-552-1322www.citystatetemp.com

[email protected]

Carolinas Minority SupplierDevelopment Council, NWBOC,SCDOT, SCOSMBA, SBA 8(a),

SBE

Temporary employment 100% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% Desiree Ishaaq ([email protected])2010

Launch Something351 E. Kennedy St.Spartanburg, SC 29302

[email protected]

9 SCDOT, SCOSMBA, SBE, S.C.Enterprise Information System Full-service strategic marketing 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Sims H. Bouwmeester([email protected])

2005

Express Employment Professionals115-A Southport RoadSpartanburg, SC 29306

864-576-6006www.expresspros.com

[email protected] Carolinas Minority Supplier

Development Council, SBE Employment and human resources 80% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0%Karen Knuckles


MDI Group545 N. Pleasantburg Drive, Suite 101Greenville, SC 29607

864-298-0023www.mdigroup.com

INP6 NWBOC, WBENC

IT consulting, staff augmentation,direct hire and managed services

for contingent labor100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Ella Koscik, Shokie Banerjee

1996

INP=Information not provided. DBE=Disadvantaged Business Enterprise. NWBOC=National Women Business Owners Corp. SBA 8(a)=Small BusinessAdministration 8(a). SBE=Small Business Enterprise. SCDOT=S.C. Department of Transportation. SCDVOSB=Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned SmallBusinesses. SCOSMBA=S.C. Office of Small and Minority Business Assistance. WBENC=Women's Business Enterprise National Council. WOSB=Woman-owned Small Business.Because of space constraints, only the top-ranked companies are printed. For a full list of participating companies, visit www.scbiznews.com/data. Althoughevery effort is made to ensure accuracy, errors sometimes occur. Email additions or corrections to [email protected], fax to 803-253-6521 or go towww.scbiznews.com/data and click "Add Data."

Researched by F. Kimberly Andrews

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In South Carolina, minorities own 64,256 businesses, while whites own nearly 300,000, according to the U.S. Census.

Women own nearly 100,000 busi-nesses, while men own twice as many.

Both the private and public sectors are working to close the gap.

Companies like BMW Manufactur-ing and Michelin N.A., for example, have set up programs to assist minor-

ity-owned businesses. The S.C. Gov-ernor’s Office of Small and Minority Business Assistance does just what its name implies. The cities of Greenville and Spartanburg have minority-owned business assistance programs at the lo-cal levels. Other entities are helping too, like the Carolinas Minority Sup-plier Development Council.

- Scott Miller, editor

THE LIST ExEcutivE SuMMaryThe stats on business diversity

50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000

There are more than 360,000 businesses in South Carolina, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Here are some key stats on business ownership by race, gender and ethnicity.

White-owned 296,141

Minority-owned 64,256

Male-owned 198,870

Female-owned 99,445

Certified Minority-Owned BusinessesRanked by No. of Employees in the Upstate

Minority Ownership


Email Employees Certifying Group(s) Type of Business or ServiceOwners/Majority Shareholders /

Year Founded

DeWhit Inc.213 E. Butler Road, Suite F2Mauldin, SC 29662

864-757-1560www.dewhit.com

[email protected]


SCOSMBA, SCDBE

Housekeeping services, chemicalsand supplies, paper-related

products0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Charles Whitner ([email protected]),Stephanie Smith ([email protected]),Vernon Hughes ([email protected])

1982

US&S Inc.50 Grand Ave.Greenville, SC 29607

864-233-8035www.usands.com

[email protected]


SBA 8(a), SDVOSBFacilities support services 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 53%

S. Richard Hagins ([email protected]),Cleveland Christophe ([email protected])

2003

Tricor Construction Inc.1983 Chesnee HighwaySpartanburg, SC 29303

864-582-2570www.tricorconstruction.com

[email protected] SCDOT, SCDBE

Earth retention via walls,reinforced slopes, earth anchors,

shoring, micropiles, soil nails100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Kelly Cheek ([email protected]),Bill Cheek ([email protected])

2002

Hampton Inn & Suites Spartanburg801 Spartan Blvd.Spartanburg, SC 29301

864-699-2222www.tinyurl.com/b4flw35

[email protected]

Carolinas Minority SupplierDevelopment Council, pending

certificationHotel 0% 0% 0% 100% 0% 0%

Patti Wetherford([email protected])

2004

JIT Manufacturing Inc.428 Oglesby LaneCowpens, SC 29330

864-463-0581www.jitmfg.net

[email protected] SCOSMBA Sheet metal fabrication and laser

cutting services, AS9100 certified 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Vickie Lynn Wyatt1992

RWI Industrial Inc.4019 S. Murray Ave.Anderson, SC 29624

864-296-8885www.rwiindustrial.com

[email protected] SCOSMBA Industrial maintenance, industrial

air compressor sales, pipe fitting 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Kelley White ([email protected]), Ron White1983

Clayton Construction Co. Inc.121 Venture Blvd.Spartanburg, SC 29306

864-576-1901www.claytonconstruction.net

INP30 SBE General contracting 51% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Sophie Clayton

1981


[email protected]

26 Carolinas Minority SupplierDevelopment Council

Systems planning and design-to-implementation for manufacturing,

distribution, energy and service34% 0% 0% 0% 51% 0%

Ricardo Studart ([email protected]),Kathleen Henning Payne


Randolph Technology544 O'Neal Ferry RoadTownville, SC 29689

864-287-4040www.randolphtechnology.com

INP25


SCOSMBA, SBE

Mechanical contractor, metalfabrication, auto assembly fixture

fabrication and facilitymaintenance

0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0%George H. Randolph


Corporate Connection LLC1200 Woodruff Road, Suite F-19Greenville, SC 29607

864-627-4002www.corporateconnection.netinfo@corporateconnection.net

22 SCOSMBA, WBENCCorporate relocation service, all-inclusive corporate apartments,

furniture package rentals100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Charlene R. Knight([email protected])

2001

Interior Plantscapes51 Plant DriveGreenville, SC 29607

864-236-0111www.interiorplantscapesllc.com

INP15 WBENC Plant leasing 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Margaret Ryan

1990

B.C. Cannon Co. Inc.7311 SPA RoadNorth Charleston, SC 29418

[email protected]

14 SCDOTContractor traffic managementcontrol and customized street

signs67% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Dede F. Cannon ([email protected]), Bruce C.Cannon1982

Michael M. Simpson & Associates Inc.213 E. Broad St.Greenville, SC 29601

864-331-1201www.mmsainc.com

INP14 SCDOT, SBE, Federal SDB Consulting structural engineers 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% Michael M. Simpson ([email protected])

1999

ABC Landscaping Inc.1 Gin RoadPiedmont, SC 29673

864-845-3176INP

[email protected] SCOSMBA Landscaping, lawn maintenance 50% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% James Edward Speed Sr. ([email protected])

1979

Carolina Recycling Co.250 Mill St.Taylors, SC 29687

864-292-0098www.carolinarecyclingcompany.com

[email protected] WBENC

Post-industrial plastic, cardboardand paper recycler serving

manufacturing, industrial andwarehousing companies that

produce large volumes of waste

51% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Natalie J. Lewis([email protected]), CalebE. Lewis ([email protected])

2010

City State Temp1810 Laurens RoadGreenville, SC 29607

864-552-1322www.citystatetemp.com

[email protected]

Carolinas Minority SupplierDevelopment Council, NWBOC,SCDOT, SCOSMBA, SBA 8(a),

SBE

Temporary employment 100% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% Desiree Ishaaq ([email protected])2010


[email protected]

9 SCDOT, SCOSMBA, SBE, S.C.Enterprise Information System Full-service strategic marketing 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Sims H. Bouwmeester([email protected])

2005

Express Employment Professionals115-A Southport RoadSpartanburg, SC 29306

864-576-6006www.expresspros.com

[email protected] Carolinas Minority Supplier

Development Council, SBE Employment and human resources 80% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0%Karen Knuckles


MDI Group545 N. Pleasantburg Drive, Suite 101Greenville, SC 29607

864-298-0023www.mdigroup.com

INP6 NWBOC, WBENC

IT consulting, staff augmentation,direct hire and managed services

for contingent labor100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Ella Koscik, Shokie Banerjee

1996

INP=Information not provided. DBE=Disadvantaged Business Enterprise. NWBOC=National Women Business Owners Corp. SBA 8(a)=Small BusinessAdministration 8(a). SBE=Small Business Enterprise. SCDOT=S.C. Department of Transportation. SCDVOSB=Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned SmallBusinesses. SCOSMBA=S.C. Office of Small and Minority Business Assistance. WBENC=Women's Business Enterprise National Council. WOSB=Woman-owned Small Business.Because of space constraints, only the top-ranked companies are printed. For a full list of participating companies, visit www.scbiznews.com/data. Althoughevery effort is made to ensure accuracy, errors sometimes occur. Email additions or corrections to [email protected], fax to 803-253-6521 or go towww.scbiznews.com/data and click "Add Data."


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www.gsabusiness.com 11February 25 - March 10, 2013

When Chris Manley realized it would cost $15,000 to build a website for his nonprof-it, he thought there had to be a better way.

Manley built houses post-Hurricane Katrina with his nonprofit ReWiGo, or Ready-Willing-Going, and he continues to build them in the Upstate with 25 homes built in 2012.

Manley saw a need to create websites at a better price. He launched his Greenville-based Web devel-opment company amid the recession in January 2008.

“It taught us a lot, that if we were going to start this we had to do it really, really well because not a lot of businesses were opening their checkbooks at the time,” Manley said.

Engenius received its first client within seven days. The firm now serves 130 companies, including Fete Greenville and Clemson at the Falls, among others.

Manley co-founded the business with his good friend Chase Finch, both Greenville natives and Clemson University graduates.

Manley had the entrepreneurial bug from a young age, organizing a lawn mowing business and learning to code.

The Web shop focuses on small- to mid-sized busi-nesses and nonprofits, offering SEO, mobile apps, so-

cial media and company training, among other ser-vices.

“It’s fun and it’s challenging,” Manley said. “The in-dustry is constantly changing.”

What character trait has most helped you as a business owner?

Persistence and optimism is absolutely critical for an entrepreneur to succeed. Our job is stressful and challenges are unpredictable; keeping at it and look-ing for the brighter side are absolutely crucial.

What’s one thing you didn’t expect when start-ing a business?

How much fun it would be. The work is exhaust-ing, but we’ve made a point to have fun every step of the way. When you’re the boss, having fun is some-thing you can make happen.

What is your biggest challenge? Taking a vacation is my biggest challenge. I take

time off several weeks a year to be with my family, but it’s hard to mentally take a break. With technology so close to our fingertips, the temptation to check my email is very strong.

Curtis Todd started his company in Central when he was 16.

Diamond Bullet Studios LLC designs and produces video games. Now 21, Todd plans to grow the company and graduate from Southern Wesleyan next year.

The company founders are longtime friends. They grew up together in Central, learning how to program on calculators and playing video games.

During their sophomore year of high school in 2007, they started DBS. Todd’s dad provided the seed money.

DBS’ first game, Contention, involved a first per-son shooter. In 2010, they released Mower, a lawn mowing simulator that could run over virtual cats. It had success with the Xbox.

Todd, a former team captain of the FIRST Robot-ics Competition Team 2751 in Pickens, later served as the team’s drive coach. He designed a game, Cat-alyst 2012, that simulated driving the robots.

He quickly saw the potential to become a supplier for FIRST. The DBS team – Curtis Todd, Eric Bickle Jr., Seth Greenstein and Chris Zeigler – pitched it to the top officials.

DBS now creates a new game each year for FIRST robotics teams to download during the competition launch.

“We make video games to inspire someone to get involved with robotics or interested in game design,” Todd said. “That sense of inspiring is a huge part of me and my company.”

What would you do for work if you didn’t have your own business?

Clearly, I would still be in college, but I would probably be doing everything I could to get as many internships and/or co-ops as possible so that I could build my resume. Beyond that, I don’t know, maybe I would have enough free time to

actually play some video games for once.

What is your biggest fear?Our company is still very young and is still trying

to find its place in the world. At this stage, seizing the right opportunities is unbelievably important. My biggest fear is realizing that we had the perfect opportunity to take our company to the next level, and completely missing it.

What is your biggest challenge? My biggest challenge is trying to predict the best

place to put our time and resources for our long-term future. Not only is technology always changing, but so are our business needs and opportunities.

What do you need most to be successful? To be successful, you have to have the right team

of people. That has taken us years to understand, but at the end of every project, whether we succeed or don’t succeed depends on every decision made by every person in the company, and how well every-body supports one another.

What professional advice could you give to oth-ers your age?

Find what you love doing and never ever give up on it. Said another way: Be dumb enough to take your biggest dreams seriously, and then be stubborn enough to never give them up.

SPECIAL REPORT: 20/13 visionaries

20/13

20/13

Chris Manley, 28, co-founder and managing partner of Engenius

Curtis Todd, 21, CEO and founder of Diamond Bullet Studios LLC


John-David McKee understands today’s college student.

He founded Umatch Inc. to evolve the way institutions connect to their students, while helping stu-dents get more engaged on their campuses. Think eHar-mony for college students’ extracurricular activities.

“Part of the idea came from being a student and knowing the schools don’t connect with students the way that they connect, which is by using social media, and also realizing that schools don’t know their stu-dents as well as they could,” McKee said.

After earning his undergraduate and master’s de-grees from Clemson University, the Florence native launched in the Next Innovation Center in down-town Greenville in 2009.

McKee said the company is targeting S.C. schools initially. He hopes to launch in five to eight schools in the first half of 2013.

Umatch’s CampusConnector, a campus social me-dia application, enables students to create an online profile. Umatch’s algorithm connects students to sim-ilar campus groups, activities, events and students.

School administrators can use SmartRetention – Umatch’s platform that collects and analyzes the stu-dents’ data – to improve retention, guide resource al-

location and strengthen the school’s brand.“What we do is look at human interaction, con-

necting students with their institution, and then use statistics to analyze the data we get,” McKee said.

What is your biggest fear? The fear of not providing a return to our inves-

tors. When people believe in you and your business enough to invest their own money, you want to do right by them, so that’s never far from your mind. Picturing the people who have invested is a very mo-tivating thing.

What do you need most to be successful? We need a few home runs to really prove the con-

cept and technology, so we’re partnering with innova-tive institutions who understand the pain we’re solving and believe in our approach to addressing that pain.


I’m an optimistic person, which is really helpful through the ups and downs that you inevitably face in a startup. I try to focus on the positive and recognize the silver lining when problems arise so I can pivot and

make adjustments in order to keep moving forward.


Look for mentors and more experienced people in the community that you can learn from, because there are many people out there who want to help if you’re willing to ask. And don’t be afraid to take a risk, espe-cially while you’re young, because worst case is you’ll learn a lot and get some great experience.

Lily Wikoff works among scattered beads, met-als, leathers and stamps on a large work table in her West Greenville jewelry store.

Pieces of hand-crafted, clay pottery pieces dec-orate the exposed brick walls of her store at 1269 Pendleton St., while others glaze in the kiln. Five years ago, Wikoff quit her marketing job and took the plunge to start her own design business and jewelry line, Lily Pottery.

“I didn’t know if I could pay my rent at first,” Wikoff said. “So much more goes into running

your own business and creating your own work than you would ever imagine.”

The Mast General Store on Main Street in Greenville was her first account. Today, the Lily Pottery brand is sold in more than 60 stores and showcased at interna-tional trade shows in New York City and Atlanta.

The Cincinnati native worked as a model in New York City and studied art at Bob Jones University before she began making pieces for her mother and sister, drawing inspiration from Dubai and Brooklyn. The grassroots growth ensued.

Wikoff hopes to eventually expand to design a clothes and home line.

“I believed in myself when other people didn’t,” Wikoff said. “It’s all about having a vision and going for it, and making sure to keep that vision fresh.”

What’s one thing you didn’t expect when start-ing a business?

I think one of the most interesting, unexpected things was learning so much about myself. Learn-ing my weaknesses and strong points. Finding out what my strengths were and learning to capitalize on those, and at the same time, working even harder to be honest about and recognize my weaknesses and working to strengthen them.

What is your biggest challenge? Balance. Learning to find balance in work and

personal. Separating myself from my brand and

having a personal life is sometimes difficult.

What is your biggest fear? That I will become lazy, become entitled or lose

sight of my vision.

What do you like most about your job? That I get to wake up and do what I love every day.

It’s hard work, but it fuels me.

What do you need most to be successful? Freedom. Freedom to create. Freedom to try new

things. Freedom to screw up. Freedom to learn from the whole process.


That’s not an option. I’d start another endeavor if I didn’t have Lily Pottery. I want to always be my own boss.


My determination. You tell me, ‘no’…I don’t hear it. Road blocks don’t stop me. I’ll find a way around it.


Go for it. Now is the time. Forget about the fear. Anything you don’t know you can learn. With enough hard work and passion, anything is possible.

20/13

20/13

John-David McKee, 29, founder and president of Umatch Inc.

Lily Wikoff, 29, owner of Lily Pottery

www.gsabusiness.com 13February 25 - March 10, 2013 SPECIAL REPORT: 20/13 visionaries

Greenville natives Mark and Paul John-son began working at a startup at age 13. The twins later attended Bob

Jones University and made software for the school while working in the IT department. “We liked what we were learning, but we really enjoyed making software that the school could use to teach,” Paul Johnson said.

Last year, the Johnson brothers launched Path-wright, a platform to deliver organized, online learning. Instructors can use Pathwright to build online courses on any subject, which students can then take online. Pathwright now has more than 20,913 course registra-tions with 15,119 users, both teachers and students.

Mark Johnson sees this as the future of educa-tion. Students could watch lectures online – paus-ing and repeating as necessary – while using class time for hands-on learning with the teacher. Pathwright is run out of CoWork, a collaborative space for startups at 1040 W. Washington St. in Greenville. Under Pathwright, the brother duo also launched The Lamp Post Guild, an online curriculum to train aspiring illustrators how to make a living doing what they love – their art. They raised $34,000 for the classes last year. “It’s solving a problem of getting an education that can actually get you a job after college, and it’s cheaper on-line,” Paul Johnson said of Pathwright.

What was the scariest part about starting your venture?

Paul (Brown shirt): The need to be a salesman, not just a designer/developer. I’m on the introverted side of the spectrum and prefer to think up new product designs or business plans, so the prospect of spend-ing most of my time communicating with strangers was initially intimidating.

Mark: Being responsible for every part of a busi-ness can be a little scary. Especially when you have employees. There’s no one to pass the buck to.

What’s one thing you didn’t expect? Paul: The creative and varied ways educators find

to use Pathwright. We had an idea in mind for the type of teachers Pathwright would most appeal to, but so far, we’ve seen large businesses, high school teachers, curriculum publishers, and professionals teach every-thing from hypnosis to business strategy to algebra.

What do you need most to be successful?Paul: Ultimately, you have to love what you do.

You have to love it more than the fear that comes with doing something new, to overcome repeated disappointments, to set firm plans and then scrap them when things change, and to repeatedly do the important things that don’t come naturally to you.


Paul: Don’t waste your professional career doing something just for money. Find something you love and work hard at building it into something you can do for 40-plus hours a week, not just with any extra energy you happen to have left over slaving away at something you don’t enjoy or even want to be par-ticularly good at.

Mark: Learn how to delegate and scale in order to properly focus on your strengths.

Marty Bauer believes in carpooling.As a student in the international MBA

program at the University of South Caro-lina, the Cincinnati native traveled all over Europe while earning his degree.

Bauer learned to embrace “organized hitchhik-ing” as a reliable, safe and cheap transportation method in Europe. Upon returning to the states, Bauer saw a need to reduce waste and cost in travel-ing. He co-founded RidePost, an online marketplace that connects drivers and passengers who can ride to-gether and share the costs of long-distance trips.

Forsaking jobs offers, Bauer launched RidePost with friends Blair Deckard, Nikola Budisavljevic and Robert

Pearce in 2012. RidePost currently targets college stu-dents along the East Coast with plans to go nationwide. Its first major launch is set for Washington, D.C.

Last summer, RidePost was one of 10 teams to par-take in the inaugural class of The Iron Yard, a 13-week startup accelerator in Greenville that provides men-torship and seed capital.

With RidePost, drivers traveling more than 50 miles can post their itinerary and price on the Ride-Post site and passengers can sign up for a ride.

“There are hundreds of millions of cars on the road every day that are underused with one person in them,” Bauer said. “RidePost can fundamentally change the way people travel.”


Leaving a well paying and secure job to pursue the unknown. However, not once since starting RidePost have I regretted that decision.

What was the most exciting part about starting it? The unlimited potential and the opportunity to

create something from nothing that is bigger than any one person.

What’s one thing you didn’t expect? The incredibly open community of entrepreneurs in

Greenville and beyond was completely unexpected. I am blown away by the number and quality of people who

are willing to help out other founders, if you just ask.

What is your biggest challenge? Focusing on doing one thing really well. We have an

enormous vision for RidePost. However, it is about hav-ing a big vision, while executing small plans to get there.

What is your biggest fear? Not realizing my full potential in life.

What do you need most to be successful? Support from my wife and family.


Listening. There are so many people who know more than I do. Listening to them and filtering that information to find the one golden nugget of infor-mation from every conversation.


Sail your own ship. Coach Mike Ayers at Wofford College said to me on my first day of football practice that his job was to get me out of my comfort zone every day for the next four years. He did, and it left a big impression on me. Since leaving Wofford, I force myself out of my comfort zone every day, and the re-wards are always surprising.

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Mark and Paul Johnson, 29, co-founders of Pathwright

Marty Bauer, 28, co-founder and CEO of RidePost


Web Design Cos.Ranked by No. of Web Designers in the Upstate


Email

Web Designers /Sites Designed 2012 /

Total Employees Services OfferedTop Local Official(s) /

Year Founded

Erwin Penland125 E. Broad St.Greenville, SC 29601

864-271-0500www.erwinpenland.com

[email protected]

5030295

Website design and development, digital direct, digital strategy, digital media andanalytics, mobile and social marketing, digital out-of-home, experimental

technologies

Joe Erwin, Allen Bosworth, Joe Saracino1986

Carolina Creative / Carolina Media Group135 S. Main St., Suite 700Greenville, SC 29601

864-250-2012www.carolinacreativegroup.com

[email protected]

1218228

Custom Web design and development, marketing consulting, startup turnkeymarketing solutions, social media marketing and management, SEO strategy and

management, custom email marketing, branding and identity, custom graphic design

Randy Looper ([email protected])2000

Worthwhile9 Caledon Court, Suite CGreenville, SC 29615

864-233-2552www.worthwhile.com

[email protected]

126028

Web design, software and branding, mobile apps Dan Rundle ([email protected])1996

Showcase Marketing1200 Woodruff Road, Suite A8Greenville, SC 29607

[email protected]

118627

Marketing, branding, e-commerce, digital media, Web and mobile appsGeoff P. Wasserman ([email protected]), Chad

McMillan ([email protected])1999

Jackson Marketing Group2 Task Industrial CourtGreenville, SC 29607

864-272-3057www.jacksonmg.com

[email protected]

1024107

Fully integrated marketing communications, including marketing, advertising, publicrelations, Web, interactive, meetings, events, mobile marketing, video production,

sales training, fulfillment, logistics

Larry Jackson, Kevin Johnson1988

Mediasation Web Solutions25 E. Court St., Suite 202Greenville, SC 29601

864-627-1676www.mediasation.com

[email protected]

78516

Full-service Web development and marketing, including Web design anddevelopment, marketing strategy, SEO, SEM, custom application development, e-commerce, content development, copywriting, print advertising, branding, identity

Ryan Beck ([email protected]), Charles Carter([email protected])

2002

Merge411 University Ridge, Suite 225Greenville, SC 29601

864-373-9330www.mergeweb.com

[email protected]

7INP11

Digital strategy, Web development, search engine optimization and marketing, emailmarketing, social media, mobile applications, e-commerce development

Adam Landrum2006


[email protected]

62726

Systems planning and design-to-implementation for manufacturing, distribution,energy and service industries; SharePoint Web portals, ERP, MES, CRM, custom

programming; SAP, Infor, Microsoft Partner

Ricardo Studart ([email protected]), Kathleen HenningPayne ([email protected])

1994

Your Creative People37 Villa Road, Suite 400Greenville, SC 29615

864-335-8211www.yourcreativepeople.cominfo@yourcreativepeople.com

6305

Branding/marketing, brand identity, Web development, mobile apps, Backstagecontent management system, e-commerce sites, search engine optimization and

marketing, email marketing, social media, video editing and production, eventmarketing

Justin Murphy ([email protected])1999


[email protected]

5249

Full-service strategic marketing, including strategy, branding, copywriting, publicrelations, graphic design, advertising, interactive design and development

Sims H. Bouwmeester ([email protected])2005

Practical Business Systems104 Shaw St.Greenville, SC 29609

[email protected]

5INP6

Software development, website development, e-commerce, custom programming:Java, Visual Basic, Python

Jose Ferrer ([email protected])2000

Mojoe.net900 E. Main St., Suite JJEasley, SC 29640

[email protected]

4258

Web design and development, programming, search engine optimization andregistration, video production, graphic design, mobile app development, CMS, Drupal,

WordPress, Dot Net Nuke, Ruby, PHP, ASP.net, Cold Fusion, C++

Albert Werne ([email protected]), Shawn Parcell([email protected]), Deveren S. Werne


See Site Run LLC5000 Old Buncombe RoadGreenville, SC 29617

[email protected]

4503

Web design, development, search engine optimization, email marketing, generalmarketing, branding, consulting, Google, WordPress

Christopher D. Thomas ([email protected]), Cam Thomas([email protected]), James Derick Blankenship


WSI Webworks320 Prado WayGreenville, SC 29607

864-288-6162www.wsiwebworks.com

[email protected]

4288

Digital marketing strategy, search engine marketing, mobile marketing, SEO, pay-per-click, Google Analytics certified, social media marketing, competitor analysis and

consulting

Doug Fowler ([email protected])2003

Drum Creative35 Cessna Court, Suite CGreenville, SC 29607

[email protected]

3INP7

Logo/identity/branding, Web development, app development for Apple and Android,graphic design, trade show display design, advertising, promotions, video

development and editing, packaging design, photography

Joe A. LaPenna ([email protected]), Tom Stitt2004

Dynamic Technology Solutions Inc.714 Pettigru St., Suite BGreenville, SC 29601

864-761-4141www.dynamicts.com

[email protected]

3507

Web and application development, branding, print/ad design, corporate identity,Internet marketing, email marketing, e-commerce, hosting, social media/blog

management, WordPress and Joomla sites

Timothy J. Joiner1996

Peculiar LLC600 E. North St., Suite 103Greenville, SC 29601

[email protected]

3107

Digital media and online streaming, brand development, marketing, advertising,public relations, social media planning and development, strategy, implementation of

tactics and performance measurement

Amy Pecoraro ([email protected]), Timothy Pecoraro([email protected])

2000

INP=Information not provided. Because of space constraints, only the top-ranked companies are printed. For a full list of participating companies, visitwww.scbiznews.com/data. Although every effort is made to ensure accuracy, errors sometimes occur. Email additions or corrections to [email protected], faxto 803-253-6521 or go to www.scbiznews.com/data and click "Add Data."


Businesses on the list of Web design companies produced 711 websites last year.

That’s nearly two websites each day, including weekends, collectively, for the Upstate’s creative arts industry.

Just in the Upstate, companies on this list employ nearly 150 Web designers.

But services stem beyond Web design, from social-media marketing, video pro-duction, mobile marketing and app devel-opment, to search engine optimization, e-

commerce, advertising and public relations.Companies range in size from Er-

win Penland, No. 1 on the list with 295 employees, 50 Web designers and a presence in New York City, to Peculiar LLC, a small Greenville company with seven employees and three designers.

You can access even more Web de-sign companies on the full list at www.scbiznews.com/data.

- Scott Miller, editor

THE LIST ExEcutivE SuMMarySeveral career pathsAccording to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, web designers fall into three occupational categories with different career outlooks:

computer systems administrators $66,310 average salary30% projected 10-year employment gain

computer Programmers

$85,430 average salary21% projected 10-year employment gain

Graphic designers

$47,860 average annual salary13% projected 10-year employment gain

www.gsabusiness.com 15February 25 - March 10, 2013

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Mike Pennington grew up helping his dad serve funnel cakes at the former Green-ville Braves Stadium.

The father-and-son team push each other in life, recently completing a half Ironman Triathlon togeth-er, and in business, deciding to open Funnelicious together, a specialty desserts and deli restaurant that features funnel cakes in the West End.

Pennington mixes funnel cake batter, puts it on the fryer and watches it bubble up as the sweet smell per-meates the store, but he knows he can’t have a taste. He is lactose intolerant and has celiac disease.

“It forces me to live a healthy lifestyle,” Pennington said with a laugh.

Pennington graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2008 and went to work at his fa-ther’s company, Rhino Concessions, a nearly 20-year-old catering and concessions special events company.

They opened Funnelicious in May 2011 after ex-tensive renovations, including a community garden, to the former cab depot at 155 Augusta St.

The 530-square-foot restaurant, dubbed “Green-ville’s smallest restaurant,” sits across from Fluor Field. Pennington operates and co-owns Funnelicious with his dad, Steve, and stepmom, Malinda.

“The scariest thing is failure, the most rewarding thing is success, and the hardest thing is making it work every day,” Pennington said. “We’re very opti-mistic. We’re right on the edge.”


Failure has to be the scariest thing. You always have the worst-case scenario in the back of your head, but hope it never comes to that.

How many hours a week do you work? I stopped counting years ago. It starts when I

wake up – checking emails in bed and goes all day. I try not to fall asleep at my computer anymore; I’ve gotten better at that. I try to compartmental-ize life the best I can so I can focus on the people I’m with and not be texting or checking emails the whole time.

What is your biggest challenge? I have to think we face similar challenges all res-

taurants face: acquiring and maintaining good staff that represent your business, along with getting cus-tomers to walk in the front door.

What do you need most to be successful? A positive attitude and a relentless drive. You have

to hold your head up and keep going.

Sara Painter wants to protect things.American-made goods, the South Carolina

textile industry and loggerhead sea turtles are on the top of the list, and she gets to tackle them all as co-owner of Loggerhead Apparel.

Loggerhead Apparel produces 100% cotton-made polos and accessories that are completely grown and manufactured in the U.S., with much of the process taking place across South Carolina, including em-broidery in Mauldin. Ten percent of the revenue goes to loggerhead turtle conservation efforts.

“The American textile industry and loggerhead tur-tles are both on the endangered species list,” Painter said.

Painter and her husband, Zac, co-founded the com-pany together in Greenville in 2011, growing from one retail store to more than 60 stores in 12 states today.

Within the past two years, the couple got married, started a company and had a son, Sullivan.

Zac grew up in Spartanburg and Sara grew up on the water near Charleston. She spent time protect-ing loggerhead turtles’ nests, hoping to improve their survival rates and instilling a need to give back.

“We want to see growth in the company, growth in American-made products, growth in American jobs and growth in our turtle conservation efforts,” Paint-er said. “I think our mission resonates with people.”


It was about six months after launching Logger-head Apparel when I left a full-time job that I loved, had unlimited resources and a guaranteed paycheck, to running our company nearly single-handedly. I felt a lot of responsibility to make our venture suc-cessful, and it took awhile to adjust to my new role and workplace.

What was the most exciting part about starting it? Being able to spend my time and energy doing

something that my husband and I both feel very pas-sionate about. I feel as if we’re making a difference, and

that makes working so hard so much more rewarding.

What is your biggest challenge? Keeping up with demand, given the resources we

currently have – a good challenge to have. We have so much opportunity to grow a lot faster if we could be getting in front of more customers and telling our story.

What do you like most about your job? I like being my own boss and working alongside my

husband building something that we started completely on our own. It’s an amazing feeling to see our dreams starting to grow into something real and something successful, and to have others supporting our mission.


I would be working in marketing and advertising, which was my career before leaving to work full time on Loggerhead Apparel. It’s something that I loved and gave me a great foundation for building and mar-keting my own brand.


There’s a lot that goes into starting your own com-pany, in any industry. But overall, find your strength and/or niche, know your customer and where they are in the marketplace, and start small by doing one or two things well and then expand.

Mike Pennington, 26, co-owner of Funnelicious

Sara Painter, 29, co-founder and co-owner of Loggerhead Apparel

SPECIAL REPORT: 20/13 visionaries


Tammy Johnson’s second business is right around the corner.

She surveys the more than century old for-mer cigar and cotton warehouse in Greenville’s West End, the majority of which has been vacant since 2006.

The partially vaulted ceilings, exposed brick and antique pieces help her visualize her future event ven-ue, The Old Cigar Warehouse, set to open this May.

Following renovations and a small expansion, the building’s basement at 912 S. Main St. will contain 7,700 square feet of interior space, as well as an out-door deck, capable of accommodating 600 guests.

In 2011, the Houston native also launched Liquid Catering, a full-service alcohol and beverage catering company. Sales were up 270% for 2012 compared to the year prior, with 60% of her business stemming from weddings.

Johnson knocked on a lot of doors to get her busi-ness going. Now she mixes cocktails and manages a jammed schedule out of a renovated garage at 116 E. Broad St. in downtown Greenville.

“I know I’ve had to prove myself. I’m young, I’m a woman and I work in the wedding industry, which people already parlay into a fake business that you’re not serious about, but that’s not the case,” Johnson said. “I put 80 hours a week into running this, and we are just booming.”


The uncertainties. Not knowing if you’ll be able to pay your bills, afford health insurance, etc. Liquid Ca-tering was a new concept to the Upstate, so I was wor-ried that the idea of bar catering wouldn’t catch on.

What was the most exciting part about starting it? Making that first sale. Seeing how quickly the

community latched onto the idea and started book-ing events.

What’s one thing you didn’t expect? I knew opening a business from scratch was going

to be hard, I guess I just didn’t realize just how hard it would be. There are always challenges, like deal-ing with permitting, shopping for insurance, finding a warehouse. Those things take time and it’s frustrat-ing as a business owner when you are trying to grow your business and certain processes slow you down.

How many hours a week do you work? 60 to 100, depending on the week and season.

What is your biggest challenge? Educating my clients. A lot of people think that

because they’ve bartended at their own fundraisers in

years past, they don’t need to worry about insurance or permitting. A lot of brides think that providing their own alcohol is cheaper, but with our pricing structure it’s actually cheaper to get everything through us.


Go with your gut. Your instincts are usually right, despite what other people may say.

Taryn Scher didn’t have a “plan B.”“I knew nothing about starting my own

business,” Scher said of starting TK PR in Greenville in 2007. “I just learned by the seat of my pants and trial and error.”

Scher founded her boutique public relations and event planning firm then, and recently launched a

Greenville chapter of Femfessionals, a nationwide professional women’s networking group.

She works from her bright home office in Greer on a bejeweled, pink keyboard and matching phone. Her firm’s niche is getting national media exposure for luxury lifestyle and product-based clients.

Scher grew up in a small town outside of Boston. After college, she moved to New York City to be an executive assistant at Blanc De Chine, a fashion com-

pany. At age 22, she became the company’s public re-lations and market manager.

She moved to Greenville when her now husband started his residency at Greenville Memorial Hospi-tal. TK PR’s first local client was Euphoria.

TK PR markets the city of Greenville, getting it named “A Culinary Hotspot” in U.S. Airways Magazine. She works on many pro-bono projects, such as Euphoria and the Juvenile Diabetes Re-search Foundation.

“I was young, so I didn’t get caught up in fearing it wouldn’t work. It had to work,” Scher said. “It’s easy when you love something.”

What do you need most to be successful? You have to learn to delegate and ask for help. I

learned early on that try as I might, I just can’t do it all. The sooner you learn to trust others to help you, and learn to ask for help, the better off you’ll be.


My 10th grade English teacher was constantly

saying “patience is a virtue.” I am constantly saying that in my head. When the time is right, things will happen. There’s no need to push or nag. If it wasn’t meant to be, it wasn’t meant to be. Good things do come to those who wait. I’m in this for the long haul.


Age is just a number. Let your work speak for you – if you strive to be the absolute best at what you do, it doesn’t matter how old you are. But you’ve got to stay relevant too – there’s always going to be another 22-year-old waiting in the wings.

Tammy Johnson, 28, owner, Liquid Catering and The Old Cigar Warehouse

Taryn Scher, 29, founder and owner of TK PR

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“I was young, so I didn’t get caught up in fearing it wouldn’t work. It had to work.”

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By changing carriers, Wes Queen saved his father’s company $14,000 in shipping costs within 21 business days.

“If I could do this for my dad’s company, I thought that there had to be others,” Queen said.

The Chattanooga, Tenn. native founded Simpli-fied Logistic Solutions LLC, or SLS, in January 2012. The company operates at 220 Coffee St. in downtown Greenville.

When Queen graduated from Wofford College dur-ing the recession in 2008, he accepted a sales job at UPS and became one of their top salesmen nationwide.

But Queen wanted out of the corporate world. He quit and drove home to tell his dad.

“I expected for him to be angry, but he told me that he had never been more proud and made me his vice president the next day,” Queen said. “I operated under the ‘earn my keep mentality’ and threw myself into the only thing I knew – logistics.”

He soon decided to start SLS, a broker for com-panies’ light truckload and truckload shipping needs.

He shipped liquid Jell-O shots for his first custom-er, SAB Enterprises of Greenville. Today, SLS ships tarps, fabrics and machine, auto and helicopter parts.

“I wanted to simplify the process completely,” Queen said. “In a recession, efficiency is key.”


The moment you realize you’d run out of assets to sell to keep the business afloat.

What is your biggest fear? Complacency.

What do you need most to be successful? Grit, determination, confidence and a consistently

positive outlook.


After experiencing entrepreneurship firsthand the last 15 months, I’m afraid that I have no intentions of working for another employer again. Not because of pride, but because I have had way too much fun and experienced way too many exciting things to ever consider anything else. SLS’ lifespan may be finite under my control, but when/if that day comes, there will be another idea brewing in my brain.


There is never a perfect time, perfect amount of money you save, or perfect location to start a busi-ness. It comes down to grit, determination and confi-dence. It helps to have those other tangibles, but with those three traits alone, nothing can stand in your way of success.

Zachary Eikenberry moved to Greenville at age 25 with some gas in his car, no money and a $25 Starbucks gift card.

“The worst that can happen is that you fail mis-erably, but when you’ve seen the bottom, you know that you can build up,” Eikenberry said. “A year lat-er, we were closing multimillion-dollar deals. I lost the fear of failure.”

Eikenberry founded FCD Inc., which assists firms in their federal channel sales and government contracting efforts, and LedgerWork Inc., a con-tract management tool for federal contracts.

“We are bringing innovative concepts to an old, established industry that is now rapidly changing as baby boomers retire,” Eikenberry said.

Eikenberry has founded or assisted the startup of at least eight companies. He grew revenue from near-ly nothing to $6 million in 18 months at an India-napolis government contracting firm. He founded a software and federal contract management company in Chapin, Ill.

Eikenberry works out of his clients’ offices and in the Next Innovation Center in Greenville. He also mentors area companies and helped create the plans for the future Next Charter High School that will teach Greenville students to be problem

solvers.Eikenberry has only applied for one job – and he

didn’t accept it. “If I’m going to hire someone, I’m going to hire

myself,” Eikenberry said.


Believe it or not, it always seemed scarier to me to work for another person who could control my pay-check with the power to hire or fire me.

How many hours a week do you work? Ha. Probably 60 to 70. I don’t keep track, but I can’t

remember the last time I took a day off.

What is your biggest challenge? The toughest thing about leading a company is

feeling responsible for the people on your team. It is ethically imperative to make sure my company is cre-ating wealth so the people on my team can pay their mortgages and all else.

What is your biggest fear? Well, I got over my fear of failure a long time ago

after I failed several times. Once you hit the bot-

tom a few times, you begin to feel free of fear. I’ve learned like many other entrepreneurs how not to build a business, and the only fear I face now is self-sabotage in the face of success.

What do you need most to be successful? Success is not a matter of luck, but a matter of time.

Give me enough time, and I’ll make it happen.

Wes Queen, 26, owner and founder of Simplified Logistic Solutions LLC

Zachary Eikenberry, 28, founder and president of FCD Inc. and LedgerWork Inc.

2013 VISIONARIES

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