NEXT Finds Record Data in 2014 Entrepreneur Survey
March 13, 2015
GREENVILLE, SC – Early-stage innovation-based companies are making a significant impact on the Greenville and Upstate economy according to the recently completed 2014 NEXT Economic Impact Survey.
The annual survey data shows that the 145 companies supported by NEXT in Greenville and across the Upstate region created 221 new full-time jobs in South Carolina last year, bringing their total full-time employment to 913. This means that combined, the companies supported by NEXT would be the 11th largest private employer in Greenville County, ahead of many well-known corporate names.
The new jobs generated by NEXT companies in 2014 drive additional job creation in other economic sectors like construction, retail and services. The 221 direct new jobs created last year by NEXT companies are estimated to have generated an additional 331 indirect jobs in the region, bringing the total new job creation by early-stage innovation-based companies to over 552 in 2014.
In line with increased job creation, the payrolls of entrepreneurial ventures grew significantly in 2014 with total annual payrolls, direct and indirect, exceeding $29.6 million.
NEXT companies also attract major capital investment to the area, having raised over $221 million of capital since NEXT was founded, with over $40 million of new capital raised in 2014 alone. These capital infusions were generated from a wide variety of sources last year including angel capital and venture capital investments.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, two NEXT companies were successfully acquired by large, international firms in 2014. These acquisitions generated wealth in the community by rewarding the founders, employees and investors in these firms. They also effectively brought two major companies to the area – Hitachi Solutions with the acquisition of Customer Effective and EKF Diagnostics with the purchase of Selah Genomics. Both firms plan to continue growing their presence in the area in the years to come. The acquisitions of Selah Genomics and Customer Effective highlight the long-term results from NEXT as an economic development approach that not only creates jobs but also creates wealth in the community through ownership.
“It is very exciting and encouraging to see these kinds of results from our dynamic entrepreneur community,” explains Michael Bolick, NEXT board chair and CEO of Selah Genomics. “Our companies saw tremendous growth in 2014, and the two acquisitions represent a new stage in our ecosystem’s maturation as one of the best places in the southeastern U.S. for launching a growing, knowledge-based company. NEXT entrepreneurs are making a major impact on the South Carolina economy and that is very clear. We’re excited to see what our companies will do in 2015 and beyond.”
“Fostering the state’s startups and innovative businesses was one of the drivers behind the South Carolina Innovation Challenge grant program,” said Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt. “We are pleased to support programs in the state – like the NEXT Ecosystem Acceleration project – that bring results and position our state as a hub of innovation. Congratulations to NEXT on the impact they’re having on the greater Greenville area.”
“Seeing NEXT companies thrive in the growing entrepreneur ecosystem here is extremely exciting for us,” said John Moore, CEO of NEXT. “We need more global headquarters in the Greenville/Upstate area and NEXT works hard every day to help make that happen. When companies are founded and flourish here, everyone wins—the founders, the employees, the investors and ultimately the community.”
For more information on NEXT, visit www.nextsc.org.
