Greer entrepreneurial program receives SC grant funding.

The Greer Development Corp.'s the Platform at Greer Bootcamp is one of 15 Relentless Challenge 2023 grant recipients named by the S.C. Department of Commerce.

The GDC said the grant will help expand its program for entrepreneurs, which they hope to turn into the state's premier pre-accelerator program for startups.

As a program located in the heart of Greer, Platform at Greer is designed to promote a culture of entrepreneurship and help local business owners thrive. This two-day immersive program strives to help take businesses to the next level through a selective, fast-paced intensive course that participants consistently describe as one of the best things they've ever done for themselves or their business, said the GDC.

Greer Development Corporation Executive Director Reno Deaton, who oversees Platform at Greer, said the curriculum is based on Stanford Design Thinking principals and the final part of the program is to present a pitch to a panel of judges "Shark Tank" style to help receive funding. The panel of judges includes professional innovators.

"It requires companies to take action with a low-risk, low-expense program to help move their companies forward," said Deaton.

The grant will expand the bootcamp, which is one of the five events under the platform and the first event to launch when the program started in 2019. Forty-two companies have gone through the bootcamp since its inception, and the Platform at Greer has served close to 1,000 entrepreneurs and innovators since then, said Deaton.

"We feel strongly about the positive benefits that come from this program, first and foremost the Greer community being seen as one that is entrepreneur and innovator-friendly," said Deaton. "We have the opportunity to attract new businesses and keep the current ones in place, and to nurture and grow some of these companies in their early stages of development, which in turn will lead them to be job creators. We think that's remarkable."

The S.C. Department of Commerce announced on Feb. 8 its 2023 Relentless Challenge grant recipients, which totaled more than $750,000 granted to 15 organizations around the state.

Relentless Challenge grant recipients support projects designed to enhance the state's innovation ecosystem specifically in the areas of high growth entrepreneurship, talent development, access to risk capital, and industry and higher education partnerships that may lead to commercialization of innovative products.

"South Carolina's...