The Charger Issue 2 | Page 4

COMM/WORLD

What resources does the Queen City have for aspiring entrepreneurs?

by Thomas Groenhout

m

Our very own city has many unadvertised resources available to entrepreneurs and startups.

We have multiple no-commitment office spaces that are exactly what startups need. Namely, we have Cowork Uptown and Industry Charlotte. Both of these places are a location where entrepreneurs can set up without much overhead cost and get their business off the ground. According to their respective websites, both office companies strive to promote the startup vibe and have many resources available to entrepreneurs. Kevin Carney, an entrepreneur who has started multiple businesses, says that Packard Place, another coworking company, is a big tech incubator he hears about often. Also, we have many city and state grants designed to promote high-growth entrepreneurship.

As a matter of fact, there are currently over 30 job openings at startups in the Charlotte area. If you ever dreamed of working at a startup, it's definitely possible right here in the Queen City.

According to Forbes.com, Charlotte is ranked #14 for best places for business and careers. Further, Forbes tells us that our economic indicators are pretty average, with unemployment of 5% and a median household income of $52,777, $2,000 over the national average.

We are the second largest banking city in the United States behind New York City. Generally, it seems that we are more of a city for established big businesses, not new companies. Our biggest industries are, not surprisingly, banking, energy, and motor sports. Even with some big industries, the Charlotte City Council has still said it wants to support high growth companies, attract venture capitalism to Charlotte, and increase the amount of federal research money that goes to local universities.

Another available resource is the Charlotte Regional Fund for Entrepreneurship, which has the motto, "support organizations and initiatives that cultivate high growth entrepreneurial, innovative enterprises and create economic prosperity in the Charlotte region." This fund was created to help entrepreneurs in Charlotte.

There is an organization called Ventureprise that runs one of the best business plan competitions in the the southeast. In this way, it promotes entrepreneurship in Charlotte through competition. Ventureprise also provides office spaces to high-growth companies.

Another entrepreneurship-promoting organization is Queen City Forward. Their website states that Queen City Forward is a non-profit organization that aims to help increase the creation, scale, and impact of social ventures in Charlotte, NC. It is guided by the conviction that “in purposefully encouraging, enabling, and scaling high-impact social ventures and socially driven entrepreneurs, Charlotte can create a robust cluster of innovation for the region that spurs economic development, improves the lives of citizens, and drives a new model of sustainable growth.”

According to CharlotteBusinessResources.com, our city is trying to increase the culture of entrepreneurship in Charlotte and dwell in the spirit. City council is also trying to further develop multiple business corridors to make Charlotte more attractive to all kinds of businesses.

An interesting piece of the puzzle is why companies choose to relocate to Charlotte. As reported by confidential sources, North Carolina offers big tax incentives for companies who bring their headquarters here dependent upon the number of employees that the company brings to Charlotte. For example, a company that brings 500 jobs to Charlotte would get better tax incentives than a company that only brought 100.

Despite all of these promotions and resources available to entrepreneurs in Charlotte, many entrepreneurs do not think that these resources are very useful. None of the entrepreneurs questioned used any resources specific to Charlotte in starting any of their respective businesses.

From Ventureprise to tax deductions, we have many good options to promote business in our city. In the future, City Council has said that it wants to promote business as well as they can.

All aspiring entrepreneurs should look into these amazing resources Charlotte has to offer its people, but not be too hopeful.

Is Charlotte not only home to big banks?

Industry Uptown office space. Photo courtesy of their website.

Charlotte is one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S,, and it attracts entrpreneurs from around the world. Photo courtesy of jacreative. is licensed under CC 4.0

Have a comment or question? Email us!

[email protected]