On Tuesday, 13 March 2018, David Lawrence, Russell Cook, Robert Alexander, and David Warner got the opportunity to visit the Next Center in Greenville to learn a little bit more about how they're helping companies in the area and fostering economic growth for the city. The space featured conference rooms, coworking/collaborative spaces, and many more features meant to foster innovation in Greenville. We've included a few photos here of the space just to show off other incubators are doing and to provide a peek for what's in store for Knowledge Park.
Major takeaways from our visit:
1. Entrepreneurs should lead the ecosystem. The space is designed with the intention of growing businesses, fostering entrepreneurial spirits, and creating innovation within our community. It only makes sense to have our ecosystem led by the people who its meant to attract and grow.
2. The MIT mentorship program (MIT VMS) is a must-have and needs to be implemented. "VMS assistance is given across a broad range of business activity, including product development, marketing, intellectual property law, finance, human resources, and founders issues. "
3. Partner with developers to create and operate the space.
4. Operations are done on a membership basis and spaces are available to rent. This increases the accessibility of offered resources for businesses while also giving them an option to utilize space to start up their company.