To further support North Carolina’s Black entrepreneurs, NC IDEA foundation has established the North Carolina Black Entrepreneurship Council (NC BEC), according to a Thursday news release. Establishing the NC BEC will allow the foundation to serve the entrepreneurial aspirations and economic potential of North Carolina’s Black community, the release stated. ...

Live Oak Bank Chairman and CEO Chip Mahan said plans are in the works to create a downtown Wilmington building for the purpose of creating jobs and growing businesses.  In a video interview posted online Tuesday with Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo, the discussion between Mahan and Saffo turned toward economic pathways to addressing recent social justice issues. Mahan& ...

T. Shaw Designs LLC Wilmington   Year founded: 2015 Top local official: Tom Shaw, owner/operator Company description: T. Shaw Designs LLC is a graphic design and artistry firm that offers silkscreened artwork, event posters, apparel and merchandise items, as well as marketing, branding and advertising services to corporate and music industry clients. Pro ...

Genesis Block is an initiative set up to include coworking and incubator space where people working on tech startups and small businesses can come together in a creative environment to collaborate. The founders of Genesis Block are entrepreneurial couple Tracey and Girard Newkirk. The initiative, which is expected to be located in downtown Wilmington, has also e ...

Who would you invest $100,000 in? That’s one of the pieces of advice we give our Coastal Entrepreneur Award judges each year when they’re faced with the task of making their picks. Who shows high-growth potential? Who is making a name for themselves and cutting through the noise? Who, out of these stacks and stacks of nominations, do you see as entreprene ...

Early-stage venture Isosceles Pharmaceuticals is working on developing non-opioid pain relief alternatives to opium-derived drugs such as Oxycodone. Working with a group of medical doctors and pharmaceutical Ph.D.s, the young company wants to formulate products that will be effective in treating post-operative acute pain safely, using synthetic cannabidiol manufactured und ...

NourishNC aims to raise about $1.5 million to ren­ovate and outfit its future office and warehouse space in Wilm­ington.   The award-winning local nonprofit organization purchased the building and the 2 acres it sits on off Market Street late last year for $700,000, NourishNC Executive Director Steve McCrossan said.   Although the organization waited ...

Being able to spend the last moments with your beloved animal at home is important, not just for the owner, but more importantly the pets. It avoids the natural anxiety of a hospital for the pets and allows everyone to go through a very emotional and sad experience in the most comfortable setting.”   So begins the Coastal Entrepreneur Award nomination of docto ...

So, you want a 70-inch TV streaming the latest content with theater-quality sound, music should be able to play in every room and the lights turn on when you disarm your security system and off when you leave the house. And everything should work by speaking into the air.   And NO WIRES. No one wants to see wires.   Weekend warrior, in the interest of domesti ...

When Mark Pool was 13 years old, he and his brother decided to build a log cabin, even assembling a rainwater collection system connected to an indoor faucet.   Fast forward to his adult years, and now Pool is celebrating his 35th year in the plumbing industry. But, more than that, he celebrates being an innovator.   In 2005, after two decades of operating hi ...