Heather McWhorter | Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

In this episode of Amplified CEO, Richard Stroupe sits down with Heather McWhorter, Director of UNCW’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and a board member at NC IDEA. Heather shares her journey from Penn State to southeastern North Carolina—and how she’s helping shape Wilmington’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem.

They discuss:

• Building momentum at CIE and supporting high-impact startups
• The value of entrepreneurial mindset education
• Heather’s vision for Wilmington’s blue economy and future innovation hubs
• Common founder pitfalls—and how to avoid them
• What it takes to grow an inclusive and resilient startup community

Whether you’re a student, founder, or just curious about Wilmington’s rise as a startup hub, this episode is full of thoughtful insights and actionable takeaways.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/heathermcw/

https://uncw.edu/research/centers/innovation-entrepreneurship/

https://ncidea.org/

Co-Produced by Topsail Insider and Cape Fear Ventures
Edited by Coastal Carolina Network

To learn more about Amplified CEO, visit www.topsailinsider.com/aceo
To learn more about Topsail Insider, visit www.topsailinsider.com.
To learn more about Richard Stroupe, or Cape Fear Ventures, please contact Christa at (910) 800-0111 or christa@topsailinsider.com.

Transcript

ACEO - Heather McWhorter

[00:00:00] 

[00:00:00] Christa: Welcome to the Amplified CEO with VC and serial entrepreneur, Richard Stroupe, with today's guest, Heather McWhorter. She's a key contributor to Wilmington's entrepreneurial ecosystem through her role as Director at UNCW's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She also serves on the board at NC IDEA, empowering Founders across the state.

[00:00:29] Richard: Heather, good morning.

[00:00:30] Heather: Hey, good morning Richard. How are you? 

[00:00:32] Richard: Good. I've been wanting to have you on this podcast for such a long time, so I really appreciate you taking the time to come down.

[00:00:37] Heather: Thank you for having me.

[00:00:39] Richard: Yeah. So how's your summer been so far? 

[00:00:40] Heather: Summer has been great. Uh, been outside and enjoying the beaches, our beautiful coastal community, and of course, getting ready. For all of our great programs in the fall and spring at UNCW Center for Innovation Entrepreneurship. 

[00:00:54] Richard: Yeah. It's a never, never ending job, I imagine.

[00:00:57] Heather: Yes. Never ends.

[00:00:58] Richard: Year round. 

[00:00:59] Heather: Yes. 

[00:00:59] Richard: Yeah. Have you [00:01:00] done any traveling at all this summer? 

[00:01:01] Heather: Uh, no. I've been staying pretty close to home. Mm-hmm. Um, but people have been coming to visit me, had family coming to visit me, and my daughter will be coming to visit me soon. She's in Africa right now. She's an archeologist.

[00:01:12] Richard: Wow. 

[00:01:13] Heather: And so, uh, she'll be coming to visit here in a couple weeks. 

[00:01:17] Richard: Which part of Africa is she in? 

[00:01:18] Heather: Uh, right now she's in Tanzania. Okay. Uh, she was in Kenya, um mm-hmm. For about six weeks as well. 

Mm-hmm. 

[00:01:26] Richard: Now Kilimanjaro's on my list to do. Mm-hmm. I really wanna hide Kilimanjaro. 

[00:01:30] Heather: It's actually the airport she flies in and out of is the Mount Kilimanjaro airport, 

[00:01:33] Richard: right? Yeah, Tanzania. 

[00:01:35] Heather: Yeah. 

[00:01:36] Richard: Has she had any issues acclimating with the climate and the culture there or, 

[00:01:39] Heather: uh, no. This has been her third summer there. Okay. And so she's a University of Florida, uh, PhD student. Okay. And so she travels with faculty there too.

But it is, uh, even though it's their winter there, it's still pretty hot there. I'm sure there's no air conditioning where she's staying. So Yeah. 

[00:01:55] Richard: Being university from Florida, I'm sure Jim Roberts is pretty happy about that. 

[00:01:58] Heather: Yes, I think he is. [00:02:00] Yeah. 

[00:02:00] Richard: Big, big Gator fan. 

[00:02:02] Heather: Yes. 

[00:02:02] Richard: He'll remind you of that too. 

[00:02:03] Heather: Yeah.

[00:02:05] Richard: So you're, you're originally from Pennsylvania, is that right? Your family's from that area or? 

[00:02:10] Heather: I grew up in Wheeling, West Virginia. Okay. Actually, um, which is kind of near Pittsburgh. It's in that northern panhandle. Mm-hmm. And then I went to Penn State. Right. And for, as an undergrad to go to engineering school.

Right. 

[00:02:25] Richard: Yeah. I love Penn State Campus. My son was admitted there and we visited a few times and. Really enjoyed the faculty and you know, they're just very nice and warm and welcoming and Oh yeah, come on in. Show you the lab and yeah. Talk about the curriculum. And of course, can't forget about the ice cream.

[00:02:42] Heather: Oh yes. 

[00:02:43] Richard: I was gonna order some ice cream, but hopefully we, you know, the, the Yeti mug is okay. 

[00:02:47] Heather: Yes, absolutely. Well, I didn't know what your favorite part was. I never turned down death by chocolate. I'm just saying 

[00:02:52] Richard: that's actually my favorite as well. Yes. Yeah. Death by chocolate. 

[00:02:56] Heather: Yeah. So, uh, Penn State, the, the University Park campus [00:03:00] is incredible.

And that's where I lived for 30 years. Actually. I went there as an undergrad and got stuck in what they call the, um, happy Valley Vortex. Mm-hmm. So, uh, just, I didn't always work for the university. Mm-hmm. I went to school there, and then I became a defense contractor. Mm-hmm. And did that for a while. And then after I had my second baby, which is that archeologist that's in Africa now, uh, started working at Penn State to support small businesses in the community.

Mm-hmm. 

[00:03:30] Richard: So you have always had like this entrepreneurship background, it sounds like. 

[00:03:35] Heather: Yeah, so I, I guess my entrepreneurial roots go back to my grandfather. Okay. Um, that's, uh, he actually, way back when in the forties had a milk vending company. Okay. , And that milk vending company, uh, turned into, um, a company, it was called Farm Fresh, kind of like, uh, sheets is, and so you could get gasoline, you could go to the [00:04:00] deli counter and get a sandwich made. You could get milk. And so in the 1970s, that wasn't a normal business model. And he had a chain of restaurant or gas station slash stores like that . And then, uh, my parents were more in, uh, big Pharma, AstraZeneca and Merck.

Mm-hmm. And, um, I guess I've found a way to kind of merge that science and tech with entrepreneurship and my love for the community. And so that's what I do for a living. 

[00:04:30] Richard: So were you, before you traveled to Wilmington and took over the role at the CIE mm-hmm. You were doing something similar at Penn State?

[00:04:38] Heather: Yeah. So at Penn State I had multiple roles. Um, part of it was I was at the Penn State Small Business Development Center. Um, at that we of course helped, uh, businesses with capital. With, uh, getting started, um, I had a big focus on technology [00:05:00] commercialization There. As you might imagine, billion dollar research institution.

Um, there's a lot of tech commercialization potential. And so, um, partnered with our friends at Ben Franklin Technology Partners, uh, which is, um, an early stage investment company, um, that is funded by the state there. Kind of like NCID but not. Mm-hmm. Um, and so worked with them and then created a whole bunch of programs there to help, uh, our community and, um, the university.

So I created Global Entrepreneurship Week at Penn State, and this is when GEW was pretty early. Mm-hmm. It became the largest in the nation with 5,000 people coming. 

[00:05:47] Richard: Wow. 

[00:05:47] Heather: We had petty cabs running all over campus. We had balloons all over campus. It was. A big deal. Mm-hmm. Um, co-created or created a, um, TV show [00:06:00] around student entrepreneurs that's still running.

It's called Inq on, uh, public broadcasting there. So I was able to get, uh, seed funding from the state to do that. So did a whole lot of things, um, in that entrepreneurial innovation, economic development space at Penn State up to, and including I could speak, um, in, in that space at the national level for Penn State.

Mm-hmm. 

[00:06:27] Richard: And you did that for how many years? 

[00:06:28] Heather: 17. 

[00:06:29] Richard: 17 years. Wow. 

[00:06:31] Heather: Yeah. 

[00:06:32] Richard: Wow. Well, that's such a successful career, but what, uh, what, what prompted you to come to Wilmington? 

[00:06:37] Heather: Yeah, so I did it for 17 years. Right. And so I was looking, I, I guess for something new, um, and I was seeing something going on on online in Wilmington.

Mm-hmm. Now I know that, I think what I saw going on was Jim Roberts in his emails. But I [00:07:00] started looking at all of the, um, economic indicators, um, because I wanted to apply, um, my, like I was always part of a land grant institution. I believe in higher ed and it's impact on the community. Um, and I wanted to see how I might be a part of UNCW and be a part of Wilmington's journey mm-hmm.

As a growing coastal community to help form its future to be the best Wilmington it can be. Mm-hmm. And so that's why I'm here, just trying to, to work, um, with the community to help. See where we can go and what together, 

[00:07:45] Richard: what, what year was that, that you? 

[00:07:47] Heather: 2017 I moved down. Okay. Yeah. 

[00:07:49] Richard: Fantastic. 

[00:07:50] Heather: August 2nd, 2017 is when I, yes.

When I started at UNCW. Yeah. Um, I, I've loved every moment of it. It was a little bit hard, [00:08:00] I would say moving, uh, because I didn't realize the value of an ecosystem. Mm-hmm. The network that I developed in Central Pennsylvania, being there for 30 years. Right. I raised my three kids there. There's only 45,000 people that live full time in state college.

So you kind of get to know just about everybody. Right. Pretty quickly. Yeah. Um, and I moved here and I was like, how do I get anything done? You know, 

[00:08:30] Richard: have to start over. 

[00:08:31] Heather: Yeah. Yeah. To start completely over. Yeah. Yeah. And so I think that's really helped me to understand. I knew the value of an ecosystem, but I didn't know the value of an ecosystem because I think I kind of took it for granted.

Mm-hmm. And now, especially with everybody moving to the community, like if they reach out to me, I make sure I, I meet with them right away and explain kind of how our city works and like where to show up. Mm-hmm. So they can [00:09:00] get plugged into as quickly as possible. Mm-hmm. Because, um, you know, human connections are important, uh, to feel settled in a community, but also to thrive in a community.

[00:09:12] Richard: Right, exactly. How important was the commitment from the university itself to kind of spearhead this, this effort to say, look, this is what we're trying to do. We wanna replicate your success at Penn State here at UNC Wilmington. Uh, was that one of the aspects of why they hired you or to 

[00:09:31] Heather: Yeah, and well, to be clear, I started at the S-B-T-D-C here, which was.

Rewinding my career a bit. Mm-hmm. Um, because I had been director at the SBDC there, but I was a hundred percent game. But, you know, I was thrilled to have that job. Um, and then when CIE director position came open, okay, I threw my hat in the ring right, right away. And so I was the S-B-T-D-C director [00:10:00] position, but I'll say when I was interviewing for that mm-hmm.

Job, I, I way overdid it. And I had like state directors from S-B-T-D-C, it's a, a federal program, every state has one. Mm-hmm. Reaching out to North Carolina saying that they should hire me for Wilmington, uh, because I really, I wanted that job. Like I've never wanted a job before. Like I wanted to be part of this community to the point where I was.

I put a down payment on a house before I had a job offer. Okay. I was coming. Yeah. Y'all were gonna be stuck with me one way or another. I was just like, I'll figure it out. Yeah. But when I was, when I went to interview, so I had my, you know, my network contact, I got my final interview. I was in the dean's office and I remember just like I brought you a couple pieces of paper here.

Mm-hmm. I went with like all the papers. I was like, this is some of the things I've done. And I went and I [00:11:00] just like, and they were like this, you know, 'cause I, you know, with Penn State Marketing, kind of like all the ecosystem stuff I've done and all the events. Mm-hmm. And Dean Burris mm-hmm. Said we want you to do that here.

I just remember him saying, yeah, do that here. Right. We don't know. I think he wasn't sure exactly. You know? But that looks amazing. Let's do it. So. It takes time, you know, it, it, mm-hmm. I was there for a long time, and it takes time to build the networks and the trust. Mm-hmm. Uh, internal to the university, external to the university.

Um, but we're definitely building momentum. 

[00:11:42] Richard: Do you feel that you have created the same level of participation and success here at U UNC Wilmington that you've had at, at the Penn State? 

[00:11:52] Heather: Yeah, I do. I do. So, uh, definitely, um, by far the, our [00:12:00] community engagement. Um, is incredible. We have more than 200 volunteers, Richard.

Uh, we are a beloved center center for innovation entrepreneurship between the mentors, our Alliance for the Blue Economy, 1 million Cups. It's fully run by volunteers. Mm-hmm. Um, and then other people that just, they help us run a variety of events. I, we could not do that without them. I did not have that at Penn State at all, and I'm just so grateful mm-hmm.

For those volunteers, like day in and day out. Um, the founders here are incredible. I've just in so, um, impressed by their passion. Mm-hmm. Their resilience, their, they just. Can do attitude. They're so smart. I love working with them. Mm-hmm. Um, I would say if there's a gap, I'm usually optimist, but I know you want me to talk about challenges too.

I, I'm really trying to still figure out spinning that Rubik's cube, if you would, [00:13:00] for your listeners who still know what Rubik's cubes are. Of course. Is that still a thing? 

[00:13:03] Richard: Course? Yeah. Purdue, some Purdue guys just broke the record on Okay. Yeah. On millisecond. 

[00:13:09] Heather: So it's still a thing. Okay. Yeah. Well, it, it take me more than milliseconds, but yeah, so, so there, you know, kinda spinning it and trying to get things to line up for entrepreneurship programs on campus.

Mm-hmm. So UNCW has 18,000 students. 

[00:13:26] Richard: 18,000 on campus or just in, 

[00:13:28] Heather: on, on campus here. Mm-hmm. And well, and also the, you know, live in housing, so Right. How to serve those students better in a scalable way. Mm-hmm. Because statistically those students between. 60 to 70% want to start a business someday. Mm-hmm.

Um, and I'm definitely not serving that many students. Uh, last year in our programs, we had 10,600 attendees [00:14:00] across the board of participants. So more than 10,000, uh, 1100 of those were students UNCW students. So we had 11, 1100 students. So that's good. Right, right. But that's not statistically significant in my mind.

Like I wanna, I wanna make that more and serve more students so I can affect their career. Mm-hmm. Um, in an important way, because I do think that if you are exposed to these, um, entrepreneurial experiences, fun, it, it improves your communication skills, problem solving skills. Um, all the things that even if you end up getting a job, which most of them will, you end up being a better employee employer.

[00:14:47] Richard: Oh yeah, for sure. 

[00:14:47] Heather: Or, you know, once, once they paid off student debt and have a, have, you know, are settled in life and they're in the forties and they want to start a tech business, it's relevant [00:15:00] to their expertise that they've developed. They could then, because of their original, you know, experience that they had at CIE.

So I, I would say that's, um, an area of growth for us too. 

[00:15:12] Richard: So it sounds like you've led the CIE through some very strong momentum and growth. Uh, what's, what's been the biggest win for you since you've joined as director? And you talked about some of the challenges and gaps. Yeah. But what are some of the biggest challenges?

[00:15:27] Heather: So the, I would say, uh, some of the biggest wins. Um, definitely this idea of connecting the entrepreneurial community with their love of the ocean and the, their familiarity of the problems of living along the coast. And so our whole suite of, um, programs around blue economy mm-hmm. Um, and that economy related to the ocean.

Um, blue tech, so that's water tech. I'll define a few things. Right. Um, and, [00:16:00] um, we really started the flywheel with that and, uh, building momentum. Um, the last director of that Diane De Ranch CRE, came up with that nugget during COVID. Mm-hmm. Um, and I've been really like working to build out programs from our pre-accelerator program called Idea Test Lab, the startup weekend, like Eco Innovate weekend.

Um, to the, um, our conference, ocean Innovation Conference. We're getting ready for our third annual one mm-hmm. On September 30th, uh, which is going to be, uh, an incredible date with the innovation fair. Uh, world Champion Surfers coming in is going to be great. And I'll say all of that is because of our program manager, Lydia Thomas , who's incredibly talented, and she's the one really that's been doing the legwork mm-hmm.

With rolling all that out. 

[00:16:54] Richard: Oh, that's great. Yeah. Yeah. I know you guys are always busy doing conferences and Yes. Inviting guest speakers [00:17:00] and, and, and posting on social media. So it's, it's really, it's really good to see. I actually, I bragged about you guys. 'cause I'm, I'm from Appalachian State and, and I talk to the, the folks up there all the time.

Mm-hmm. And, uh, I would send them emails and say, well, you guys gonna check out what they're doing down here? Because they, they seem very active and they're engaged and they have the community's interest and, uh, just seems like they're doing a lot, you know? Yeah. Something to, yeah. To, to kind of copy, you know, at least to investigate.

Um, do you, do you talk to other directors around North Carolina at some of their other universities and exchange ideas? 

[00:17:36] Heather: And I do talk about, I actually just had a call with App State, so it's funny you mentioned that. So yeah, 

[00:17:42] Richard: I wonder if Will told 'em to call you? Maybe I'll have to call it. Maybe. 

[00:17:45] Heather: Yeah, so I just talked with App State and then, um, about every year there's a conference called the North Carolina Entrepreneurship Educators Conference.

Mm-hmm. Um, where the different [00:18:00] faculty and staff involved in that entrepreneurial journey for the students in particular get together. But that's when I get some face time with the other centers as well. 

[00:18:10] Richard: Got it. Mm-hmm. And there you can exchange ideas and Yes. Talk about the different initiatives that you're working on.

[00:18:16] Heather: Yes. 

[00:18:17] Richard: Do you feel that, um, the school system can do more about preparing. Students for entrepreneurship, or at least in, in, in motivating them to investigate more classes or perhaps even add, uh, entrepreneurship training as mandatory requirements for graduation. 

[00:18:36] Heather: Well, Richard, I think, you know, you're gonna know the answer to this 'cause I am biased.

[00:18:42] Richard: Just a little. Just a little bit. 

[00:18:43] Heather: I think, I think that entrepreneurship should be mandatory for life, not just in Right. College, you know, I think even down into middle school and high school, that these experiences really just make us better humans. Mm-hmm. [00:19:00] If you look at the ice house methodology, um, that I don't know if, um, you want me to talk about that?

Yeah. Mm-hmm. Um, and so that Gary Schoeniger is the, um, author mm-hmm. Of that. So he was curious about why some people. Who began with nothing. And I'm gonna put that in air quotes, for those of you that are listening, became very successful through entrepreneurship. Mm-hmm. So what made them different? So they were, um, amputees, single mothers poverty, um, et cetera.

Mm-hmm. So how, how did these people become very successful through entrepreneurship? He traveled the world and interviewed them, and through that he published this book called The Ice House. And The Ice House is about, um, a family that he [00:20:00] came upon that that is, um, it was a gentleman that was supposed to be in the cotton fields mm-hmm.

About the time of Jim Crow, um, in southern Mississippi. And instead he became an esteem this, the esteemed owner of the ice House and would distribute these chunks of ice. Back in, what was this, the 1940s or so? Mm-hmm. To the families. And he was very well respected. And then when it was time for his nephew, Clifton, who's the co-author of this, to um, go to the cotton fields, he was like, oh no, you're, you're not going to the cotton fields.

You're gonna come with me and learn how to run the business as well. Mm-hmm. And so through this book, it talks about the entrepreneurial mindset, which isn't about running a business, it's about how to show up to life every day. Mm-hmm. Because each of us have the same 24 hours in a day, and we can choose [00:21:00] how, what we do with it.

Mm-hmm. And we can choose to look at problems as opportunities. We can choose to have that positive outlook. You know, we can choose to, um. Not spend all our money. 'cause sometimes it doesn't matter how much you, how much money you make, if you spend more than that, it doesn't matter. Mm-hmm. So, um, that curriculum is one thing, the NC idea.

I know you had some questions I think you wanted to ask me about NC idea. 

[00:21:29] Richard: Oh yeah. 

[00:21:30] Heather: NC idea, um, is on a mission to make sure that a hundred thousand North Carolinians are, um, educated in this ice house as well. Because it's just really about showing up to your life and doing good for the world. Mm-hmm. And doing good for yourself.

Right. Um, being your best self, you can. So, um, I would encourage everybody to just Google the ice house. 

[00:21:56] Richard: Yeah. I definitely will research that. 

[00:21:58] Heather: Yeah. 

[00:21:58] Richard: As well. Do you [00:22:00] believe it's, is it lack of access, knowledge, or motivation that's the difference between someone who has the courage to start their own business versus one who.

We'll just, you know, I wanna call it a layup, but it'll be like, all right, I'll just go get a job, you know, at GE or Google or somewhere and just be a cog in the wheel, kind of employee 

[00:22:22] Heather: knowledge network. And then also those entrepreneurial mindset mm-hmm. That, you know, can do attitude. Uh, most times when people are starting that business, they, um, still have a day job mm-hmm.

To fund that business, but they, they fall in love with the problem that they're solving. Mm-hmm. Um, and so, uh, I do think though, like you said, a lot of it has to do with the knowledge and network and just, just the simple fact of if you're around other people that have started [00:23:00] businesses, started even tech startups.

Mm-hmm. Or if you're familiar with what a scalable. Business looks like, um, if it becomes part of your culture mm-hmm. Um, that can be a huge game changer for you. 

[00:23:12] Richard: Absolutely. Yeah. I also think, uh, environment plays a big part. Mm-hmm. Because obviously if you're living here in Surf City, Hampstead area, you look around the economy and like, okay, where's all the money going in, going out?

Yeah. You know, it's hospitality, it's restaurants, it's breweries. Well, how many do I really need to start another restaurant or do we need another brewery? Yeah. Um, or do I need another, um, you know, vacation rental company, you know, become a realtor. Mm-hmm. So you, you tend to kind of feed off of what the environment you are in tells you to do it.

Just like if you lived in Washington DC you'd become a defense contractor. Right. Um, I know that's a big, big aspect and I tell a lot of folks, like when I talk to students all the time, I'm like, really? I. [00:24:00] It's, it's access to network and environment. Mm-hmm. That kind of will dictate what you can and can't do.

You, obviously you need to learn to, you know, you know, run a business and, and do all the things you need to do, but really the environment will tell you. Mm-hmm. What 'cause your customer is basically what you're servicing. Like they will tell you what they want and what they need and that's what you have to service.

Yep. Um, but even talking to some other business owners, small business owners, like, you know, technology type business, they'll, they'll work for a company for 10, 20 years and then they'll have courage like, okay, I'm gonna start my business. And then they'll go out and get four or five employees and, uh, they're still working their day job.

'cause they're engineers like us at heart. Mm-hmm. But then they get to running payroll and doing AR and having to process contracts and business development and recruiting. You know, it's, it's a whole different ball game. And usually they, they tap out around 10 or 20 employees. Yeah. There's a [00:25:00] lot of small businesses under 20 FTE mm-hmm.

In Northern Virginia. Um, and typically they just become lifestyle business or they end up selling for much less than what they're worth. Yeah. But, you know, I give 'em courage. 'cause at least they have the courage to, to start something and give it a shot, whether it's successful or, or failed. At least they tried.

[00:25:22] Heather: Yeah. 

[00:25:23] Richard: So CIE supports, um, many founders across many different industries. Mm-hmm. Um, how do you keep the support structure relevant and inclusive to that community? 

[00:25:33] Heather: Yeah. So, uh, CIE has a pretty broad mission. We have a two part mission, uh, one is to support high impact startups, so those that are science and tech based.

And so that's where you'll see things like our founders round table. Uh, so that's the. The round table for those founders in the region that are venture backable, that's invitation only. Mm-hmm. So they can get together [00:26:00] monthly and share tips with each other, peer to peer network. Um, and that didn't exist in Wilmington until we created that about a year and a half ago.

Mm-hmm. Um, so that's part one of our mission. Part two is to create a vibrant innovation hub in southeast North Carolina. That's when we do a whole lot of other things. And so that relevancy, uh, question is um, uh, very, um, very good one. So a lot of it has to do with listening. Right. And um, also you have to stay relevant to the entrepreneurs, founders who there are.

Of utmost importance. Mm-hmm. Of course, the university, we have to stay relevant to their strategic plan. And then, um, the sponsors mm-hmm. Of who's, uh, you know, paying for the programs. And so it is always listening to, um, all three of those mm-hmm. And trying to create [00:27:00] the best programs for everyone. Um, and so that's why you'll see we do a little bit of everything.

Mm-hmm. Um, because building an invi invitation in, uh, innovation economy takes a little bit of everything. Mm-hmm. Um, if I had more money, I'd do a lot of everything. 

[00:27:18] Richard: Right. Yeah. Right. Are there certain disciplines that are driving more interest in participation than others? 

[00:27:25] Heather: Yeah, so, um. Well, what we're interested in and what we see the future of Wilmington in is that ocean innovation.

Mm-hmm. And we did a community survey, um, and there was, it did come back very positive that people wanted more programming in that. So I don't wanna lose that nugget. Uh, but for sure, um, FinTech, because of nCino, uh, live Oak Bank, there's a natural cluster there. Logistics and tech associated with that.

Mm-hmm. Is, I think is an interesting one. And then [00:28:00] health innovation for sure. Especially with, um, the endowment in the region and looking at community, not regen, but county, new Hanover County in particular. Mm-hmm. Um, looking at health outcomes and com, the community impact and how to improve New Hanover County's, um, citizens' lives through health innovation, I think could be, um, a big opportunity for us.

Mm-hmm. 

[00:28:28] Richard: Are there any specific, uh, companies that have been successful to graduate from your programs and go on to start their business? 

[00:28:35] Heather: Yeah, so, um, we'll start with, um, I'll mention a few Ocean Innovation. Mm-hmm. So, okay. So, um, across the board, um, I'm going to talk about Sandbar Oyster. So we love Sandbar Oyster Company.

They, I would classify them as, um, coastal Resilience. Mm-hmm. [00:29:00] So they have a manufacturing facility in Leland now. Um, and what they have is a substrate that they'll put out in the water that oysters can grow on. They do grow on, not can grow on, they do grow on because they like this substrate that it is.

Mm-hmm. But it also stabilizes the shore, so we're not losing the beach. Mm-hmm. Um, and so it's like a win-win. You get oysters. Yeah. Who doesn't love to eat oysters, right? Right. Yeah. And then it, it stabilizes the shore. And so, uh, that's one example. Um, somebody that just came out of our idea test lab this spring, so brush off the presses is Sherpa.

Um, so Mac is launching a business that writes Bill right now. And I would say it's a cross between TaskRabbit and Uber maybe. Okay. And so think about your day at the beach and think [00:30:00] about if you're parents with three kids, what part of the beach don't you like? It's walking out with all the, with all the stuff, right?

Yeah. Yeah. Well, his team will come to your car and carry all that stuff out and set it up for you. Okay. Sherpa Sherpa. So they just launched it at, uh, Wrightsville mm-hmm. As the first client feedback, you know, getting that, uh, early stage feedback, um, trying to figure out the business model. But I, I think there's something there.

And then there's other, uh, industry there that he'll be able to apply that too. Um, of course more, uh, established ones. I think all of us have heard of predicate, you know, our Coastal Entrepreneur awards, uh, taking on sepsis. Uh, they were our Coastal Entrepreneur Award winner. Mm-hmm. Two years ago. Frontier Scientific was our Coastal Entrepreneur award winner this year.

Mm-hmm. That was a billion dollar. Um, [00:31:00] I like the early stage innovators. I'll talk about the ones fresh off the planet, but like, there's, there's more. Yeah. Uh, established ones. Um, love opioid and what Dave Reeser Right, uh, is doing. Um, I, I always hesitate talking about the founders 'cause it's like talking about favorite children.

It's like, what if I leave one out? Uh, but I know I have to give examples, right? 

[00:31:28] Richard: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. 

So what are some of the programs? Gimme some examples. Uh, so if a student walks into the CIE and says, okay, I wanna learn, what are some of the opportunities? 

[00:31:39] Heather: So if somebody just walks into CIE, which happens all the time, uh, we always point to 1 million cups.

So that's every Wednesday, 9:00 AM it's wilmington's only weekly business networking event. Mm-hmm. Um, and at 1 million Cups, Wilmington, one or two entrepreneurs talk for six minutes, and then the community provides suggestions and [00:32:00] connections to help them. Okay. So that is. Every Wednesday, 9:00 AM at CIE, which is 8 0 3 South College in Wilmington.

[00:32:09] Richard: So 9:00 AM every Wednesday. 

[00:32:10] Heather: You don't have to register, you just show up. Get a me mediocre cup of coffee made by my interns. 

[00:32:15] Richard: Right. Can anybody off the street walk in and see this? 

[00:32:19] Heather: Yeah. Okay. So it's open to the general public. Open to the general public. You just show up. Yeah. And it is, it has a really good turnout.

Yeah. And so, because people are curious about entrepreneurs and they want to help them, um, the, to speak anybody in business five years or less mm-hmm. Can speak unless you're MLM, uh, other than that. So, um, 

[00:32:40] Richard: why, uh, why five years or less? 

[00:32:42] Heather: Uh, because, uh, that's just it. Uh, 1 million Cups is tied to Kaufman Foundation's national.

Okay. And it's really, 'cause that's what, it's the charter. Okay. Rules. 

[00:32:54] Richard: So these are people who are kind of fresh in the scene just to kind of say, look. Yeah. Trying to figure out, here's, here's what I'm working [00:33:00] on, here's some of the challenges I've had. 

[00:33:01] Heather: Yeah. And yeah. You know, and, but I'll say if it's an established business and they're, uh, launching a new product, opening a new office, we have accepted them too.

Mm-hmm. Because I'm sure Kauffman's not listening. Right. Of course not. Just kidding. So, um, that's every Wednesday, 9:00 AM and it's usually our go-to place to get people started. Okay. Because they can meet other, the, um, Josh Hallingse from the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce is going to be there. Mm-hmm. Uh, Genesis Block is going to be there.

Like, um, S-B-T-D-C is gonna be there. There's going to be also ecosystem partners in the re in the room that they can get connected to. Mm-hmm. And Jerry Coleman from Cape F Community College. Of course. So, um, after that, if they're working on something scalable in nature, I might. Plug them into that Idea Test Lab.

Mm-hmm. Our next one this fall is around health tech. Mm-hmm. And biotech, um, that was funded by [00:34:00] NCID, uh, ecosystem grant, as well as a, a sponsorship from, uh, North Carolina Biotech Center. Mm-hmm. And so, uh, that might be a good place for them sometimes, um, our mentor program, if they're de dedicated to that idea.

So we have, uh, an incredible mentor program. Uh, we do team-based mentoring. Mm-hmm. Um, I have about 140 mentors in that program that have been CEOs. They've, they're software developers, they're attorneys, um, they've been founders, et cetera. Mm-hmm. And they just wanna help the next generation of, of startups succeed.

Right. Yeah. And so, um, might get them into that program. Um, I think that that would be the most logical places for them to get started. 

[00:34:56] Richard: So the mentors, are they traditional, like entrepreneur and [00:35:00] resident type folks? EIRs or they are just folks that show up occasionally and can kind of be a peer group of some of these other students?

[00:35:09] Heather: Yeah. So the way, and this is, um, this is for community entrepreneurs. It can be for a student, it could be a lot of times, um, the faculty startups as well mm-hmm. Will participate in this. So they have, um, they're all volunteers and they don't have EIR roles. Mm-hmm. Like, uh, titles. Um, the way that they operate is that they meet monthly.

Mm. And the entrepreneurs come and present to them about what they're working on and why they wanna mentor team. And then based on their list of what they need, they, um. The mentors will form a team. Mm-hmm. That kind of checks those boxes and then the mentor team work meets with them monthly for six months.

So it's kind of like an unpaid [00:36:00] board mm-hmm. To help get them started. And we accept founders that are pre MVP up to an inclusion raising their first round. 

[00:36:08] Richard: Does your program help entrepreneurs get funding? Mm-hmm. Do they connect them with V VCs? Yeah. Mm-hmm. And how does that work? 

[00:36:14] Heather: Yeah, so I think it says same thing like the, the connections.

Mm-hmm. Um, we have had a pitch coach in the past mm-hmm. And we do, uh, pitch, pitch scrubs. Okay. For sure. Um, and getting back to connecting with Jim Roberts as well, of course. You know, and getting, making sure that they're, uh, showing up to all the Buzzin events and, uh, his events at ironclad, um, idea Test lab that I mentioned.

Mm-hmm. Earlier our pre-accelerator program. Each of those, each week, they're fine tuning their elevator pitch and it culminates in a demo day, the fifth week mm-hmm. Where they're, um, they [00:37:00] have a pitch deck that they're pitching to judges, a panel of judges for cash. So we give away $10,000. Mm-hmm. Um, that last week, which is a lot of money for us, not a lot of money for receive.

And it's, you know, so it's for these, um, early stage so they can, and it's not really cash, it's so they can prototype. Mm-hmm. They can, uh, meet, uh, work with the developer. They can, uh, talk with an attorney, that sort of thing to move their idea forward. Um, and so. As part of that, Lydia in particular. Mm-hmm.

Lydia Thomas, her program manager, um, is really helping with those pitch scrubs to get, uh, it ready for that demo day as well. Mm-hmm. 

[00:37:47] Richard: Yeah. It sounds like you guys have a tremendous amount of programming to, we do not only help educate the students and local communities and get them involved and networked with, uh, successful entrepreneurs [00:38:00] and learn the lessons learned, and, and of course, you're connecting them with VCs and helping them get their pitches down.

Mm-hmm. And it, it sounds like it's an end-to-end solution for anybody that wants to start a business. 

[00:38:10] Heather: Well, we, we try our best. I mean, it's me and Lydia full time right now. Wow. Just you two. And Yeah. And we do have one other position. Usually we have operations manager and they really help with. Um, our tenants.

So we have offices that we run out. We have our coworking space and our rentals, and so the operations manager usually focuses on that, but we're in between operations managers right now. Right. Um, and then we have two part-time people who are incredible, uh, Rosalva and Sonya, um, and then our volunteers mm-hmm.

And our interns. So, so yeah, it's like a lot of moving pieces, but we're very passionate about what we do and 

I can tell. Yeah. Yes. And of course, I've been to several events that you hosted and it's, it's top notch. So thank you. You've done a really good job. 

Thank you. 

[00:38:57] Richard: Do you provide feedback back to the faculty or the [00:39:00] deans at UNC Wilmington and say, look, you need to focus more time.

We need more students to have this foundation of knowledge on entrepreneurship before they come into us. And was, can you, can you identify some gaps there that. That maybe they can help in the classroom? 

[00:39:16] Heather: Yes. So I have just last year, about this time last year, I convened the deans and, um, provost and some of their top faculty mm-hmm.

To get together to talk about entrepreneurship at UNCW. Mm-hmm. Um, that's the first time I think we've done that before. Mm-hmm. Um, because, but I know it'll probably gonna be shocking, but between the colleges, they don't really talk. I mean, there's a lot going on with everybody. Mm-hmm. And I wanted to make sure that, for example, like, um, as an example, art, um, the Department of Arts is very interested in entrepreneurship because they want their arts students to continue [00:40:00] on mm-hmm.

To be entrepreneurs. But they might not be aware of programs in the College of Business, and they might not be aware of COL programs in the College of Health and Human Services. So anyway, I convened everybody as a first, um, step last August, and then we had the follow on meeting in January. So the, the, the thing you'll find about me, I'm a long-term thinker.

Mm-hmm. Like with so many things in, um, so many things in the works, I think that, um, things, especially with higher ed, they can take longer. Mm-hmm. But if you get the boat going in the right direction, it can have a big impact, right? Mm-hmm. And so getting those right things in the foundation, um, making sure that everybody knows about each other's programs and we get them into the, the students into them.

Mm-hmm. And so, like as an example, um, college of Business has an incredible program. Uh, for [00:41:00] non-business majors and making sure that all the other colleges know about that and they're referring, their advisors are referring their entrepreneurial, curious students into those programs. Mm-hmm. Like, that doesn't even have anything to do with CIE, but Right.

Being the best university we can be, let's just, you know, break down their silos and make sure that all of our students are thriving. 

[00:41:19] Richard: Right. Exactly. Yeah. Recently, CNBC awarded North Carolina as the best state to mm-hmm. Have a business, which is really good for us. Yeah. As a state, I can only imagine other universities who adapt your mindset of, of having such a passionate entrepreneurial programming for the students that we can, you know, lift all boats and kind of continue the momentum that we're, we're building in the state.

[00:41:43] Heather: We definitely could. I, we have an incredible, um, higher ed system and that's. I think one of the things that I feel like I bring to the table, and one of the reasons that Tom might have asked me, or the board might have asked me to be on the NCI idea. 

[00:41:55] Richard: Right? Yeah. Let's talk about that. Is it, 

[00:41:58] Heather: yeah. It's just because [00:42:00] I've being at Penn State for so long right.

And being at UNCW now for eight years mm-hmm. So that doesn't feel like long, but I guess it's starting to become long. Absolutely. It's been fun. Yeah. So it doesn't feel like it's that long. Right. Um, but I really am always looking for how we can make our community thrive mm-hmm. While making individuals thrive and both of those through entrepreneurship and innovation mm-hmm.

While also, um, hoping to be the university as good as it, like it excel. Right. Right, right. That's not an easy thing to do. It's something that, um, I, I really believe is important for individuals mm-hmm. For our communities. But then also to think bigger picture for us as a nation. Mm-hmm. For our innovation economy, for our national competitiveness.

I used to be a defense contractor, so I don't, I don't wanna go down that rabbit hole too [00:43:00] much, but I really feel like if we're, if we're innovative at a regional level mm-hmm. That will like it, we can just keep, um, bubbling that up and we'll become mm-hmm. Uh, innovative at a national level. Right. So I'll do my piece of the pie and make us innovative here.

NC IDEA is a foundation that, um. Really is here to help founders get started mm-hmm. And help our entrepreneurial ecosystem partners thrive as well, and our communities thrive. Mm-hmm. So probably a lot of what I've all been talking about here.

So it's very aligned with my values. Um, they were formed, um, by North Carolinas. They have a foundation. Um, so they provide grants twice a year mm-hmm. To founders. $10,000. It's called a micro grant, $50,000. It's called a seed grant. Um, it is a very [00:44:00] competitive process, but in addition to the money, they really have an excellent wraparound suite of services.

And what you're in the NC IDEA family, you're always in the NC IDEA family. Mm-hmm. Um, and they will support your long-term success from connections mentoring. You know, uh, programming, et cetera. Mm-hmm. Um, and so they're there to help the North Carolina economy mm-hmm. Succeed through entrepreneurship. Um, in addition to that, they also do things like, they convene all of the, um, ecosystem partners at, at a statewide level.

Mm-hmm. Every November at a ecosystem summit. Okay. And so that's an incredible, time to get together and see other, other, uh, programs. Mm-hmm. And then they also provide grants to programs, individual programs, and then to ecosystem partners. Um, so [00:45:00] ecosystem grants can be up to a hundred thousand dollars to advance an idea in a ecosystem.

And that goes to partners like CIE we've received. Three ecosystem partners to date in our history. Mm-hmm. Um, and they also have a black entrepreneurship co council as well. So I, I would say another hat is that I do review all the grant applications, not as a board member.

Mm-hmm. Um, I do that as a core seed grant reviewer. Okay. And I've done that for years now. I see all of those $50,000 grant ones. And, um, and then we get, I travel a couple times to Durham and we meet statewide to discuss the top ones. Mm-hmm. And to arm wrestle over who gets the top, you know, the grants, right?

Mm-hmm. Um, so I've already been doing that, but the board doesn't make decisions, um, at that level. It's more of like. Overall [00:46:00] taking care of the fund and the direction of the fund. Mm-hmm. And yeah, higher level. Yeah. 

[00:46:05] Richard: Sounds fun. 

[00:46:05] Heather: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm, I'm excited. They asked me. It's the first time somebody from Wilmington's been on it.

[00:46:11] Richard: I know. I've read about that. And so, yeah. That's great. 

[00:46:13] Heather: Yeah. Yeah. So I'm honored that they asked,

[00:46:15] Richard: obviously in your background, you've worked with hundreds, if not thousands of mm-hmm. 

Of students and entrepreneurs. Yeah. Um, what are some of the hallmarks that stand out that, that define success and failure? Like what, what, what works, what doesn't work in some of these startups?

[00:46:32] Heather: Yeah. So what works listening to your customer? Um. Pivoting when needed. Not getting too in love with your solution. Fall in love with the idea mm-hmm. Instead of your solution. That's a lot of times, especially the first time entrepreneurs, they'll come in and they'll be like, this is what I'm developing this app, this, they'll, they'll come in and hand me a prototype [00:47:00] they've already developed.

Mm-hmm. And they'll say, what do you think? And I'll say, it doesn't matter what I think, what does your customer think? 

[00:47:08] Richard: Right. Yeah. 

[00:47:09] Heather: And they'll say, well, I, I, I don't know. Yeah. 

[00:47:13] Richard: I don't know yet. 

[00:47:15] Heather: And so, yeah, I always recommend The Mom Test by Rob, uh, Fitzpatrick. Mm-hmm. Um, also available on Audible. 'cause not everybody reads books now, but all 

[00:47:27] Richard: The, The Mom Test?

[00:47:27] Heather: Yeah, The Mom Test. Okay. And so basically the idea there is if you ask your mom if they like it, what are they gonna say? 

[00:47:36] Richard: Love it. Of course they love it. 

[00:47:37] Heather: Yeah. They'll buy it. Yeah. She loves it. Mom loves everything. 'cause she loves you. Yeah. And so, um, this book is around how to actually ask customer discovery questions.

Mm-hmm. So you don't get false positives. Okay. And it's really easy read. Uh, it's easy, listen on audible. Um, and I recommend that to most of the entrepreneurs that, that [00:48:00] come in to get started with learning how to do that. 

[00:48:02] Richard: Right. So it's just getting customer discovery, that early decisions, whether it's successful, unsuccessful, what works, what doesn't work from a customer's perspective, 

[00:48:10] Heather: and continuing to listen.

Mm-hmm. Continuing to listen long term. Uh, the other big thing is, um, I, uh. Resilience, self care, taking care, like having a full balanced life, depending on the individual. Um, sometimes they might throw their whole self into their startup, and you have to take care of your personal relationships, right? You have to take care of your health.

You have to take care of yourself financially. Mm-hmm. Um, I teach a class every January called Intentional, and it's like, it's the anti New Year's Eve resolution. It's like, how are we really going to have an intentional year, um, and just plan so we can take care of our whole self, including our startup, but also, um, having a life worth living.

Mm-hmm. That matters. Mm-hmm. I [00:49:00] would argue that that is one of the reasons I think that the Wilmington entrepreneurial community in Wilmington, I say generally meaning Southeast North Carolina. Mm-hmm. And being Southport, you know, Leela. Right. Everywhere here. Yeah. But I think that is why. We could be one of the best is because of our, um, our work life balance, if that's such a thing.

But like, we're always close to water. We have access to go out and have fun. So if, if you lose a customer, if you have a bad day, you can go out and surf. Mm-hmm. And then you can turn around and get right back in and do, and get back into your startup and work on it again. Right. Yeah. I really think that can build resilience.

There's, um, uh, another not to talk about another book. Sorry. That's okay. I feel like I'm becoming the person that talks about all the book, uh, gentleman named Wallace, Jay Nichols wrote a book about Blue [00:50:00] Mind. Mm-hmm. And so that's how your mind changes when you're around, near on under the water. Mm-hmm.

Um, and that can lead to enhanced creativity, innovation. Mm-hmm. Um, and so, and, and. Just general wellbeing. Right. And that Blue Mind book, he came and spoke at our conference two years ago. Mm-hmm. And that just, it makes so much sense for why people are moving here. Mm-hmm. Why people are staying here, why people are thriving here, and why our entrepreneurs can thrive.

Mm-hmm. Um, I do think they, they are more creative. We just need more programs around them and more infrastructure. Right. And I think we can really take off as a community community, 

[00:50:44] Richard: how can we, how can we fill that gap on the infrastructure gap? 

[00:50:46] Heather: Yeah. I, I just think we need some, um, big checks cut and we'd be good to go.

I think we have the right, I'd say that's a smart 

[00:50:53] Richard: more sponsorships. 

[00:50:54] Heather: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But I, I really think that the entrepreneurial ecosystem partners [00:51:00] have a lot of great ideas, CIE and beyond. Mm-hmm. Like gym, um, community college, et cetera. The coworking spaces. I think everybody's ready and willing to serve entrepreneurs.

Um. Our community has been growing rapidly, but the support for our programming has not. Mm-hmm. And, and so, uh, we're trying to do more with less and trying to be as responsive as we can to make sure that we build the future of Wilmington. Mm-hmm. Um, I do believe it'll, it'll come. Yes. It's gonna come. Yes.

[00:51:38] Richard: Absolutely. 

Well, you're doing a great job. 

[00:51:40] Heather: Thank you. 

[00:51:41] Richard: Yeah. I know from a venture capital point of view, uh, I enjoy investing in companies in Wilmington just because, you know, the operational burn rate is cheaper mm-hmm. Than say Northern Virginia. Mm-hmm. You know, just the, the, uh, standard of living Yep. Is much higher, higher taxes.

Higher [00:52:00] expenses for housing and food versus here. Mm-hmm. So there's, there is a positive side and of course you have access to the ocean and the culture. Yep. So what's one mistake you see early stage founders make and how can they avoid that? 

[00:52:15] Heather: Well, I've already talked about develop 

[00:52:16] Richard: customer discovery.

Yeah, yeah. Developing a solution before they've even talked to a customer. Disaster. Just don't do it. 

Is that where, if they have an idea, um, do you, do you normally tell your students to go test the idea as theory and the economy to figure out who are your customers? 

[00:52:35] Heather: Yeah. 

[00:52:36] Richard: Find out, find out exactly what's missing.

Right. What, what do they need, and then come back and build your company and vision off of that. 

[00:52:43] Heather: Yes. Build the MVP and then go back and get more feedback. Keep getting feedback mm-hmm. As you build it out. Um, and. Um, other, other mistakes not understanding how long it's going to take. 

[00:52:56] Richard: Right. The timing. 

[00:52:57] Heather: Yeah.

Right. I think people [00:53:00] see the overnight successes that actually took, you know, it takes seven years to be successful As a tech founder. And so if you don't have the runway, um, personally or mentally, you know, um, to get there, um, the, the startup will fail. Right. You know, if you don't have either the, the personal savings or you're willing to have that part-time job to fund your startup, um, for the next five, seven years, it's a long time.

Right. But then, you know, it's totally worth it if you love the problem you're solving. 

[00:53:39] Richard: Right. Is that typically the access where. An an inspiring entrepreneur will get a full-time job somewhere to generate capital and then on the side kind of test the theory of the idea and eventually launch the business.

And once it becomes successful, can transition full-time. 

[00:53:57] Heather: That's what I see often. Yeah, I see that. [00:54:00] Um, I'll see the second mortgages, of course, friends and family. Mm-hmm. Um, that those early years are really hard to find capital. Right. Um, even to get the early stage grants you need to have done a bunch of legwork.

[00:54:17] Richard: Yeah. The grants actually are very hard to chase and to Yes. To obtain, you know, when you think about the applications and the timeframe and everything takes a long time like you mentioned. 

[00:54:27] Heather: Yeah, yeah, yeah. You have to be in it for the, the long run. And so that's why you just have to be in love with the problem.

Develop, um, your networks around you, uh, develop. Friendships with other founders in a similar stage as you. Mm-hmm. So maybe you can cry on each other's shoulders, go get a adult beverage if you need to. Right. Um, and then it's worth the journey. 

[00:54:55] Richard: Right. What piece of advice would you give to a startup founder working [00:55:00] here in the ecosystem of Wilmington to connect?

[00:55:03] Heather: Connect to connect? Um, I'm big on entrepreneurial ecosystems and the, uh, importance of networks. Mm-hmm. And so, um, connect with, uh, the Wilmington Coalition, uh, which is it? Um, wilmington business resources.com. Mm-hmm. And, um, that's where all of the different, uh, programs that support entrepreneurs and small businesses are listed.

Mm-hmm. Um, and then keep, um, keep asking programs, find individual founders. Connect with them, um, talk with industry partners, industry experts. So I think it's just about like the connections. And if you like, don't, um, don't get frustrated if you talk to a couple entrepreneurial ecosystem partners and they're not the right matches.

Mm-hmm. Like, they're going to send you [00:56:00] to the one that's the right match. Right. So, um, sometimes maybe you're too advanced or not advanced enough, or they're, they're serving a different market. Just keep asking questions and bump around the entrepreneurial ecosystem and we'll get you to the right place.

[00:56:15] Richard: Oh, fantastic. Yeah. So where do you see this program over the next five to 10 years and what's your future vision for the CIE and the blue economy that you've Yeah. Created. 

[00:56:26] Heather: Well, I see, um, CIE, um, if I could dream big, if. We, we are at a hundred percent capacity of our building. I would love to have a new innovation center.

Mm-hmm. If we're, if I could dream big mm-hmm. That really could serve more founders in a bigger way. Mm-hmm. Maybe with a makerspace, maybe with the, um, zoom rooms that everybody keeps asking for in a podcast room that everybody keeps, like, I'm just [00:57:00] outta space and I'm at a hundred percent. Uh, we are buzzing.

Like every day people are in there and it is like a big slumber party some days. Like it is like the best problem ever. Right. Um, and so that, that I would say is my dream as far as like having that place for entrepreneurs to be mm-hmm. In a bigger way and the students mm-hmm. And the faculty. So everybody feels welcome and they feel like they belong there.

Mm-hmm. Um, continuing to build on that momentum. Of ocean innovation. Mm-hmm. Um, I dream of having an accelerator program. Mm-hmm. And I keep applying for different big funding sources for it. So someday somebody's gonna say yes. Um, and so, uh, I really feel like we're ripe for an accelerator program. Mm-hmm.

Um, that is the next log logical step. Mm-hmm. For CIE, um, health [00:58:00] innovation as well. I think we do really well with an accelerator. There's a lot of different faculty interested in that. Mm-hmm. Uh, of course a lot of community members, um, just doubling down in that space. 

[00:58:12] Richard: Well, you've done a very wonderful job of, of taking something that was a good idea, but you've made it so much better.

[00:58:19] Heather: Thank you. 

[00:58:20] Richard: And it continues to get better and I can feel the energy and when I stop by and see you and Lydia and other teammate members and other folks that are there, just there's a lot of. A lot of great success and energy flowing from that center, so I think you've done a great job. 

[00:58:34] Heather: Thank you.

[00:58:35] Richard: Absolutely. Well, other than this, what else keeps you busy? Sounds like a full-time job. 

[00:58:41] Heather: It is a full-time job. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I was disappointed as vice chair to the Leland Economic Development Committee. 

[00:58:48] Richard: Oh, congratulations. 

[00:58:48] Heather: Yeah. Yeah. And I'm on the Southeastern Biotech board. 

[00:58:53] Richard: Wow. 

[00:58:54] Heather: So I have a few other volunteer roles as well.

[00:58:58] Richard: When is, uh, when are gonna run for [00:59:00] mayor of Wilmington? 

[00:59:01] Heather: Uh, well I don't live in Wilmington, but maybe, maybe of Leland. So we'll see. 

[00:59:05] Richard: You live in Leland? Yeah. Yeah. It's a beautiful area. 

[00:59:07] Heather: Yeah, it is. Yeah, it's growing like crazy. 

[00:59:09] Richard: I know My mom lives in Shalotte, so Yeah. I pass through there all the time and yeah, it seems like south side of Wilmington is just exploding.

Mm-hmm. Into Brunswick County, but 

[00:59:18] Heather: yeah, it really is. 

[00:59:20] Richard: Yeah. When's the last time you've been to Hampstead? Have you been North side lately or 

[00:59:24] Heather: It's been a little bit, yeah. Yeah, because I'm usually going the other direction. Yeah, yeah, yeah, 

[00:59:30] Richard: yeah. Well they're building the bypass. Yeah. So hopefully that'll help.

You know, folks get downtown pretty quick. Yeah. Once that's in. But 

[00:59:35] Heather: yeah. 

[00:59:36] Richard: Well, thank you again for coming by and spending time with us today, and tell us more about you and yourself and your background, and obviously the CIE and wishing you all the best success. 

[00:59:45] Heather: Well, thank you and thanks for having me.

[00:59:51] Christa: Amplified CEO is produced by Topsail Insider, edited by Jim Mendes-Pouget, and sponsored by Cape Fear [01:00:00] Ventures. For more information about Amplified CEO, Richard Stroupe, or Cape Fear Ventures, please contact Christa at (910) 800-0111 or christa@topsailinsider.com.