Furman, Next, Kopis launch virtual entrepreneurship program

Listen to this article

Greenville’s up-and-coming workforce has a new opportunity to hone tech skills with Furman University and software development company Kopis — even while working from home.

Students selected from Furman University’s three-week Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summer Bootcamp, which ended June 24, can put their skills to work as interns through a virtual startup simulator facilitated by Kopis and the Next Innovation Network, according to a news release.

Andy Kurtz, founder of Kopis and a Furman alumnus, said the company was thrilled to be taking part in the bootcamp.

“We know they will enjoy the experience, learning about both new product development and software development, and they will exit with a much better understanding of how software development works,” Kurtz said in a statement.

Furman’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Bootcamp first offered students a refresher course in business and entrepreneurship basics to help prepare them for their virtual internship with Kopis, coordinated by Next, the college said in the news release.

Brenda Laasko, vice president of Greenville’s Next program hopes the program will help foster additional talent in Greenville’s growing tech sector.

“Working with Furman interns and helping them become more comfortable in an entrepreneurial environment … and the program with Kopis will definitely help enhance the students’ business skills,” Laasko said in a statement. 

Ian Martens, a rising junior economics major, and Mike Miller, a rising sophomore computer science major at Furman will collaborate with Kopis’ Enterprise Resource Planning team to develop automated tools used to migrate data from accounting systems like Quickbooks to Microsoft Dynamics Business Central Program, according to the release. The company’s software engineering team also will provide additional training.