mark brownlow
BY JENNA HANLEY
Originally from Atlanta , Georgia , Mark Brownlow moved to Milledgeville to attend Georgia College and has lived here ever since . During his time at Georgia College , Brownlow met his wife , Kayla , at Amici where they both worked as servers . While juggling schoolwork and a job , he also fixed friends , family members , and coworkers ’ devices . He was operating a computer repair business right out of his apartment . That was until he realized he was capable of so much more . Brownlow received a business license with Milledgeville , made some flyers to advertise his business to the community and the rest is history .
“ Milledgeville is a time warp , it ’ s a whole different world . This place has a lot of unique qualities , but it also has that small town feel which I really like ,” says Brownlow . “ It ’ s not very far from Atlanta but when you ’ re here you feel ages away from it .”
Brownlow discovered his love for Milledgeville in 2007 . Since then , he graduated from Georgia College with a computer science and MIS degree , got married , had two children , created a successful business and decided that he was going to call this place home .
From his family to his employees to his customers , Brownlow never fails to make sure everyone around him is taken care of . He is truly passionate about the life he has created for himself .
“ Mark ’ s passion is my favorite thing about him . His passion for his family is unmatched ; he does everything he can do to make sure we are all happy , loved , and cared for . This passion bleeds over into his business as well ,” says wife , Kayla .
When Brownlow is not at home spending time with his wife and being a dad to his two children , Tinsley and Ben , he is at work watching his dreams come true . Brownlow is the humble owner and creator of Need a Nerd , an electronics repair shop , located in downtown Milledgeville at 110 N Wayne St .
Brownlow claims to have always been a nerd . His knowledge of repairing broken devices came long before working towards his college degree . He began learning how to fix computers in elementary school . As he continued learning , he realized he was extremely talented at it and most importantly , he enjoyed doing it .
When Brownlow decided it was time to give
Need a Nerd an official home away from his college apartment , he and a few business partners began renting a small space in downtown Milledgeville . Not too long after , David Sinclair , a local Milledgeville resident , met Brownlow at a computer center supported by Georgia College called Digital Bridges . Sinclair immediately took Brownlow under his wing .
“ As a mechanical engineer , I appreciated the work Mark was doing and I recognized him as a young entrepreneur . Mark knew exactly what he was doing and was very much the type of young person my wife and I wanted to support ,” Sinclair says .
Sinclair then went on to become an investor of Need a Nerd and purchase the current location of the business . Brownlow claims this was a dream come true . He was able to design the store from the ground up and watch his business really come to life .
Today , Need a Nerd is a break and fix operation meaning residential consumers bring in their iPhones , tablets , or computers to have them repaired . Everything is fixed in the store by Brownlow or his dedicated staff .
Although Brownlow ’ s heart will forever be in repairing devices , he now spends most of his time on administrative duties in the business as well as acting as an outsourced IT department for local businesses . Brownlow combines his knowledge of IT and his passion of helping those around him to allow smaller businesses in Milledgeville to save money .
Helping out the community is something Brownlow strives to do indefinitely . Need a Nerd has been able to make it through the pandemic without any adversity which is due to the people of this community keeping the business in high demand .
“ My wife and I have a big sense of community appreciation . We want to get more involved in this community because it has really given us something special and we want to return that favor ,” says Brownlow .
Kayla mentioned that he really wants to do well and works so hard to ensure that his business is successful , while showing his customers , employees , and family care and attention .
Brownlow says he has always been his biggest critic but lately he has been able to appreciate his accomplishments . He is constantly dedicated
38 Milledgeville Scene | 20 Under 40 2022