Joe Erwin launches new company and creative community

Endeavor to be located in ONE Development

GREENVILLE, SC – When Joe Erwin, co-founder and former president of Erwin Penland, announced his departure from the company he built into one of the largest advertising agencies in the South, he already had an idea of what was next. Erwin Creates is not another ad agency, but a company that will continue the legacy Erwin has built over the last 30 years of cultivating, growing and influencing a creative community throughout the state. Erwin Creates will support the Erwin Center for Brand Communications at Clemson University and Erwin’s personal consulting requests, but its centerpiece will be a new creative community called Endeavor.

 

Photo: Shannon Wilbanks, Erwin Creates managing partner; Joe Erwin, Erwin Creates president; Dr. Lori Pindar, director of Erwin Center Initiatives for Erwin Creates and interim director of Erwin Center for Brand Communications at Clemson University; and Doug Erwin, managing director of Endeavor.

 

Endeavor will be a membership-based co-working community for independent companies and freelancers in the creative services fields. Endeavor’s premium location in the ONE Development will provide members with state-of-the-art work and meeting space, and uniquely, will surround them with a diverse array of creative peers who offer a broad range of marketing services and experience. By facilitating daily face-to-face collaboration among these entrepreneurs, Erwin’s goal is to foster increased business-building opportunities, idea generation and professional growth for Endeavor members.

Endeavor will also offer access to the expertise of Joe Erwin, who will be among the community’s first members with Erwin Creates, and provide a gateway to Erwin’s extensive network of business contacts and industry resources to provide training, mentoring and potential business development opportunities.

“Through the success of Erwin Penland over the years, we helped attract a highly innovative creative class to Greenville, and dozens of creative firms have spun off, while even more independent professionals with clients across the globe have located in Greenville for quality of life, among other reasons,” said Erwin. “As a result, there is considerable critical mass of creative firms and independent contractors in the area. Endeavor provides a central, formalized location to bring them together for networking, project collaboration and knowledge sharing.”

Endeavor will occupy the entire 20,000-square-foot fourth floor of the ONE Building at 1 North Main Street, and will feature multiple open work areas with shared community space, private desks and dedicated offices. Members will also have access to technology-equipped conference rooms and a state-of-the-art gym on the floor. Memberships to the community are tiered, ranging from five-days per month passes to use the shared spaces, to having 24-hour access to lockable offices that can accommodate whole companies. The space will also include several venues for corporate meetings, celebrations and private dining. Information on membership and event usage is available at www.endeavorgreenville.com.

As the heart of Greenville’s creative community, Endeavor will also serve as a destination for companies and individuals looking to connect with and help cultivate the Upstate’s vibrant creative class. Memberships will be available to corporate marketers, marketing professionals working for national agencies but living in the Upstate, creative vendors and resource reps, and Community sponsors.

“Creative people, by nature, feed off of energy and collaboration. At Endeavor, they will get that buzz and energy, along with the ability to meet and work with new people within the community,” said Erwin. “Plus, it will give them access to high-end space and technology for client meetings and pitches.”

The Endeavor space is currently under renovation and is expected to be ready for charter company members to move in by mid-April, with daytime-access memberships coming online in May.

“I don’t know of any individual who has brought more talented and creative people to Greenville than Joe, and his work helped lay an incredible foundation for Greenville’s success,” Mayor Knox White said. “We are excited about Joe’s new investment in downtown Greenville with Erwin Creates and Endeavor, not only for potential job growth, but for the community it will create.”

In addition to Joe Erwin, Erwin Creates includes Shannon Wilbanks as managing partner, Doug Erwin as Endeavor’s managing director, and Dr. Lori Pindar as director of Erwin Center Initiatives at Clemson University’s Erwin Center for Brand Communications.

 

About Erwin Creates

Erwin Creates was established in 2016 by Joe Erwin, co-founder and former president of national marketing agency Erwin Penland. It serves as the platform to support Erwin’s continued entrepreneurial involvement in business consulting, education, training and civic activities, including his commitment to growing The Erwin Center for Brand Communications at Clemson University. In spring 2016, Erwin Creates will open Endeavor (www.endeavorgreenville.com), a creative, collaborative community which will offer co-working space and business-building opportunities for creative services professionals — and serve as a destination for companies and individuals looking to connect with and help cultivate the Upstate’s vibrant creative class.