American Technology Venture Lab Announces Revised Dates for the Inaugural Cadre at the George Dean Johnson, Jr. College of Business and Economics

Listen to this article

Spartanburg, SC — American Technology Venture Lab Inc. (ATVL) proudly announces its inaugural cadre to be hosted at The George Dean Johnson, Jr. College of Business and Economics in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Dennis Hayes, best known as the developer of the Hayes Smartmodem and Hayes Microcomputer Products, a company that led the PC industry in connecting to the early Internet, and now the Chairman and Founder of ATVL expressed his enthusiasm. “We are pleased that Jeffrey Stinson, the new Dean at The George has been working with us and has agreed to host the inaugural cadre which will consist of four one-day sessions held eight weeks apart on March 1, April 26, June 21, and August 16, 2024. “The Johnson College of Business & Economics is excited to host the inaugural cadre of the American Technology Venture Lab,” remarked Dean Stinson.

“Partnering with the ATVL to support the entrepreneurial eco-system in The Upstate is a perfect match for our mission to enhance economic development of the region.”

The American Technology Venture Lab (ATVL) is a non-profit organization that delivers a next- generation, objectives-based mentoring and educational program for scalable, early stage, science and technology-based ventures. “The mission of ATVL is to empower our next genera_on to flourish near their hometowns by cul_va_ng an ecosystem where their talent contributes to innova_on and aligns with local opportuni_es. Through our forward-thinking mentoring and educa_onal programs, we champion scalable science and technology ventures, fueling regional economic growth and ensuring our youth no longer need to leave Upstate, South Carolina for top-_er careers.”

“Our goal,” Hayes commented, “is to harness technologies such as information, life sciences, transportation, and materials to drive regional development, focusing on pivotal sectors like commerce, biotech, advanced manufacturing, automation, robotics, vertical farming, medical devices, logistics, supply chain, and artificial intelligence.” Mentors who are successful entrepreneurs, subject matter experts, angel or VC investors, and corporate executives are carefully selected for their experience that matches the ventures in the inaugural cadre. Mentors volunteer to work with ventures that match their interests for four hours between ATVL sessions. Ventures that do not attract a mentor at the one-day session are dropped from the cadre, but ventures who attract a mentor to volunteer at all four sessions become a graduate of ATVL. He further noted, “We are very pleased with the initial reaction we have received from early-stage ventures throughout the region. This is the only objectives based mentoring activity of its nature in upstate South Carolina.” With preparation for the inaugural cadre underway, ATVL stands as a beacon of technology and entrepreneurial innovation in the Upstate region. Hayes concluded, “We learned a lot from other entrepreneurial development programs and believe we have found several ways to improve the overall process and make it a region-wide complement to established academic and community based entrepreneurial activities. We appreciate the participation and help of everyone in the region interested in creating more high-paying technology careers right here in Upstate, South Carolina.”

ATVL is actively seeking sponsors from corporations, economic development, and philanthropic sources in The Upstate. We are ramping up the activities with the support of paid student interns and selected faculty. We are receiving venture applications that will be processed to select the best candidates for the inaugural cadre. The candidates will be interviewed as part of an intensive selection process to create a mixture of ventures from a range of technologies that can learn from each other’s challenges. Mentors are asked to apply and will be recruited from academic, corporate, economic development, angel or VC investors, and those successful entrepreneurs who have an interest in asking a lot of questions when they meet the founders of a new venture. While we are establishing the infrastructure, systems, and procedures for success, we are seeking to develop a broad base of financial support that will sustain the success of ATVL over the coming years.

For more information about ATVL and the inaugural cadre:
ATVL encourages interested ventures to apply using the Venture Application form, interested sponsors may find out about various sponsorship opportunities, and experienced mentor candidates may express their interest in working with us through the Contact Us form on our website, www.americantechnologyventurelab.org.

Contributors can also support ATVL through the GiveSendGo crowdfunding site, https://www.givesendgo.com/AmericanTechnologyVentureLab.