Furman creates Entrepreneur in Residence to offer business expertise to students, campus

Photo by Owen Withycombe, Furman University

In a fast-moving, unpredictable world, Furman University’s students need to be nimble, flexible and resilient – all skills the university’s new entrepreneur in residence has in spades.

Shane Grivich is co-founder and chief strategy officer at ChartSpan. Founded in 2013 in Greenville, South Carolina, ChartSpan has grown to be among the largest chronic care management organizations in the country. It connects more than 175 health care practices with their Medicare patients.

Now, he’s brought that business acumen to Furman. As the university’s entrepreneur in residence, Grivich serves as a mentor and colleague to students, faculty and staff. People will have access not only to his advice and guidance, but to the extensive network of business relations he’s built throughout the Southeast and beyond.

“I’m a product of my mentors and the many colleagues I’ve had in this community,” Grivich said. “Now I get to work with the brilliant people at Furman and the Hill Institute to try and make my successes into teachable lessons I can share with up-and-coming entrepreneurs.”

Furman had an entrepreneur in residence in 2019, said Bryan Davis, executive director of the Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. During the pandemic, the position went unfilled and has remained vacant. Since then, student interest has driven investment and expansion of entrepreneurship programs at Furman.

“We now have students who are CEOs raising money for their companies before they even graduate,” Davis said. “That wasn’t happening six years ago. We have a great entrepreneurship center up and running, but how do we continue to level up? Like this.”

Furman was again acknowledged this year as one of the most innovative universities in the country by U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges rankings, coming in at 11th most innovative. Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Beth Pontari said the way Furman crests the Top 10 is by supporting students, faculty and staff to think in new ways about the work they do.

“When you think of the skills of an entrepreneur – synthesizing information quickly, effective communication, confidence and resilience – to me they’re very similar to the approaches we take in the liberal arts,” she said. “Whether they’re going to be a doctor, teacher or lawyer, the founder mindset is one that will serve them well.”

Grivich will be a judge at this year’s GVL Starts Venture Showcase, an event where the GVL Starts program’s cohort pitch their startup businesses for three $5,000 grants. He’s already begun connecting with students, faculty and staff at Furman, and Davis said to stay tuned to updates from the Hill Institute for more ways to interact with him, including community events, drop-ins and other meetups.

“I’ve been utterly floored by the support and energy around this role, and I’m excited for what we think it can do for the university and community,” Grivich said.

Release is online:
https://tinyurl.com/5n7rya9y