The founder of Wilmington-based Next Glass Inc. tried but failed to acquire a financially distressed California brewery in a public auction last week.  Kurt Taylor, founder and former CEO of Next Glass, the parent company of Wilmington-headquartered Untappd, recently participated in an auction for Modern Times Drinks Inc., an Anaheim-based brewery. Next Glass ...

Heather McWhorter has been named director of UNCW’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), beginning July 1, according to a news release Wednesday. McWhorter, who has been the CIE's interim director since August last year, said the role will allow her to focus full-time on the CIE "and really look forward to how we can improve our ser ...

The region recently made headlines for ranking high on a list of the world’s best places for startups, but the list also illuminated a problem the city often faces when it comes to sharing its name with Wilmington, Delaware as well as errors that can be caused by the automation of data. Not only did Wilmington make the Global Startup Ecosystem Index again this yea ...

For the Wilmington-based executives gathered Thursday at the Wilmington Convention Center, their companys' backstories are different but their results are the same: ongoing growth. To Danielle Mahon, founder and president of Topsail Steamer, that means preparing to offer franchising opportunities for her take-home seafood steam pots business, which currently has six ...

Three companies are winners of the latest iteration of the Southeastern North Carolina NC BIONEER Venture Challenge. Renaissance Fiber was recognized with the first-place prize which includes a $20,000 investment from the NC Biotechnology Center and a one-year tenancy at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, acco ...

The coveted wooden surfboard was passed on to a new temporary owner at the 2022 Coastal Entrepreneur Awards ceremony Tuesday. Hosted by the Greater Wilmington Business Journal and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), the annual Coastal Entrepreneur Awards (CEA) ceremony honors fast-growing companies representin ...

After the birth of her son, Cheeky Monkey Coffee owner Maggie Blackham searched for a place to work and access child care at the same time. “It’s not a new concept,” Blackham said, including The Wing in New York City as an example. “But I thought, ‘I just really wish Wilmington had this.'” In addition to overseeing her downtown ...

Two Wilmington startups are recipients of the latest round of the NC IDEA SEED grant program, according to a Thursday press release. CICIL and Essential Personnel have received $50,000 each aimed at supporting the early-stage companies with “critical funding they need to scale faster,” the release stated. “This group of companies demonstrates that e ...

Solar energy, hemp fiber, independent films, banking technology – these are just some of the industries represented in this year’s Coastal Entrepreneur Awards. Despite their range in services and products, the common thread is the spirit of growth fueling each of the 11 companies and organizations tapped as CEA winners. Their wins were based on whether they ...

NC Lumber & Supply was first born by a space problem: Hordes of East Coast Lumber Co.’s unwanted wood kept piling up, taking up more and more of the warehouse floor.   “We were storing quite a bit of it,” said Rob Moore, co-owner of NC Lumber & Supply.   Co-owners Moore and Carter Derrick were then (and continue to be) sales represen ...