How Charleston Is Quietly Becoming An Innovation Hub

Charleston is easy to love for its charm, food, and coast but that surface story can hide what’s actually being built here. We sit down with Jason Brown and Reagan Falvey from the Charleston Regional Development Alliance (CRDA) to pressure-test a big claim: is Charleston becoming a real innovation hub that can earn the Silicon Harbor name, or are we just repeating a flattering narrative?

We get specific about the numbers and the nuance. CRDA’s innovation scorecard shows Charleston punching above its weight, ranking far higher in innovation-driven performance than its population rank would suggest. We talk about what “innovation” really means across Charleston’s economy, from aerospace and advanced manufacturing to life sciences, logistics, defense, and port modernization. You’ll hear why outside capital is paying attention, why anchor institutions and world-class employers matter for startup gravity, and why an ecosystem can feel strong while still needing better coordination.

We also dig into the real friction: plugging newcomers into the network, retaining talent as costs rise, and building the “connective tissue” that makes access to capital, mentorship, and resources feel seamless. Jason and Reagan share how CRDA thinks about intentional growth, why quality of jobs matters, and what needs to go right over the next five to ten years including deeper venture capital relationships and stronger commercialization pathways.

If you care about Charleston economic development, startup ecosystem growth, venture capital, and the future of Silicon Harbor, this conversation is your map. Subscribe, share this with someone building in the Southeast, and leave a review with your take: what would make Charleston’s innovation story undeniable?

South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA) is a public, nonprofit organization that fuels South Carolina’s innovation economy by supporting technology-based startups, academic research, and industry partnerships. Through funding, coaching, and its investment arm SC Launch, SCRA helps early-stage companies grow, commercialize ideas, and scale within the state’s key innovation sectors.

King & Columbus is a full-service marketing and advertising agency based in South Carolina that helps brands grow through a mix of creative storytelling and data-driven strategy. They offer everything from branding and content creation to media planning, digital advertising, and PR—focused on delivering measurable results across digital, social, and traditional channels. https://kingandcolumbus.com

Transcript

Welcome And The Silicon Harbor Question

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Charleston Marketing Podcast, brought to you by the Charleston AMA and broadcasting from our friends at Charleston Media Solutions Studios. Thanks to our awesome sponsors at CMS, we get to chat with the cool folks making waves in Charleston, from business and art to hospitality and tech. These movers and shakers choose to call the low country home. They live here, work here, and make a difference here. So what's their story? Let's find out together.

SPEAKER_02 0:28

Welcome back to Silicon Harbor Hot Tank. I'm your host, Dan Bill Gray, the founder of Dick Style Tech, Venture and AI Summit, and the founder of Charleston Tech Week. This is a show where we really dive into whether or not Charleston could be called Silicon Harbor, can can own that title and how things are looking out there in the land of innovation. So today I'm I'm you know really excited in a lot of ways to welcome two of my guests who I will tee up for you in a minute. They have been uh part of an organization that is a very longtime supporter of Dig South and has been so essential to creating a technology hub here in the low country. So Charleston might be one of the most misunderstood markets in the country right now. People see charm, tourism, quality of life, it's beautiful, and they might completely miss the fact that serious companies are building here. Capital is moving, and the foundation of something much bigger is already in place. So today we're going to pressure test that idea. Is Charleston actually becoming a real innovation hub, a Silicon Harbor, if you will, or are we just telling ourselves a good story? So let's get into it. Today I have from the Charleston Regional Development Alliance Jason Brown and Reagan Falvey. Reagan and I have been colleagues in the past, so it's really nice to welcome her back. So tell us a little bit about your role with the CRDA and what the CRDA does in a nutshell.

SPEAKER_03 2:00

I'm Reagan Falvey. I'm the marketing communications manager with CRDA. So I get to help our global business development team compete for business and storytell the Charleston region in order to compete globally and get businesses to choose Charleston over other markets in the America or across the world.

SPEAKER_02 2:18

Jason Brown, tell us what you do for the CRDA.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

Absolutely happy to.

CRDA’s Role In Regional Growth

SPEAKER_01 2:23

So Jason Brown, vice president at Charleston Regional Development Alliance. Um, my team mainly focuses on our investor relations and external affairs efforts. And what that means is we uh have the privilege of leveraging the expertise of a lot of professionals who invest in our company, um, other local nonprofits who support growth and development of the region, and uh the municipalities we serve in the Tri-County region in both in Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties.

SPEAKER_02 2:51

Well, the Charleston Regional Development Alliance and its leader, David Ginn, have been in the trenches working on this for decades at this point. It's it's a phenomenal story rising from the ashes, like the Phoenix of the Navy base when it closed all the way through the Boeing bounce, as some people call it, when Boeing arrived and all the growth of the technology companies. Um it's my understanding that we had uh you know fewer than 30 tech companies here in 2001 when Ernest Andrade launched the Charleston Digital Corridor. And today there are a couple of thousand plus. And of course, with startups that's in flux every day. There may be 10 more by the end of this interview. So I, you know, I'm incredibly excited to have you guys here, and you have this bird's eye view also of how the three counties collaborate, you know, and I'm sure other counties as well. Tell us a little bit about the just the general composition of the Charleston Regional Development Alliance and how that functions between those municipalities. Like, for example, a big project, somebody's looking at opening something here, like a data center or a manufacturing plant or Volvo. How does that work on the front lines with a CRDA?

SPEAKER_01 4:04

Absolutely. So we we could not do this work without the collaboration that you referenced, Dan. Um, and I think that's a that's a collaboration uh that takes place on a day in and day out, week in and week out basis among the three counties. They each have their own economic development offices and teams that we collaborate with and work with um constantly. And when an RFI or a request for information comes in for a large project like a data center or an OEM or any kind of uh large-scale operation, um, we work closely with all three of our county partners to ensure that the project is being steered to the proper location. So, you know, who can take it, who has the available workforce, who has the available site. Um it's a collaborative effort that oftentimes leads us to focusing on one part of the region over the others, but we do that in conjunction with them all at the table.

SPEAKER_02 5:01

Let's zoom out a minute and pivot over to Reagan. So, what what would you say people are missing from the the greater story here beyond hospitality, beaches, and history?

SPEAKER_03 5:12

Yeah, Charleston's quality of place and our history and identity, um, it's it makes our region special. So we always um appreciate our hospitality partners and we realize that and have experience many times where somebody comes to Charleston, experiences it, and then goes, How do I get my business here? They ultimately want to move and pick up and bring that. And so, you know, at CRDA, we still support our hospitality industry, but what really is missing right now in our market is the scale and talking

Data That Proves Innovation Scale

SPEAKER_03 5:42

about the scale of innovation and our economic transformation happening underneath the service. So CRDA produces an innovation scorecard every single year where we basically release some data sets that basically explain how the innovation really shows up in the region and what that actually means. And so last year in our report, Charleston was ranked 71st when it came to US metros by population, but it's innovation-driven economy only ranked 34th. So 34th versus 71 in population. So we're really holding our weight when it comes to that innovation economy. And we're seeing that momentum across different industries, including our aerospace and our life sciences and software and logistics and defense. And that growth is being driven by a much more connected and innovation-driven economy. So more data for regards from our innovation scorecard really reinforces the shift that we're seeing. Charleston ranks in the top 10% nationally for new business formation. High-tech industries now account for 12% of regional jobs in the region experienced a 96% increase in patentets per capita over the last decade compared to just 11% nationally. So, really, I share this just to show that we're not just a tourism economy, and those don't indicate just tourism. You know, those are signals of a region that is evolving into a serious center for innovation.

SPEAKER_02 7:05

Those are strong data points. So, what would surprise an outsider the most about what's happening, you know, looking under the hood at innovation? Like what are there a couple of examples that you they just they say you know weekly to you guys, wow, I didn't know that was true. I didn't know that happened here.

SPEAKER_01 7:22

Yeah, I mean, I think you got you have to start with um investments being made in the region. You know, how how often do you run across an MSA that's ranked 71st, as Reagan alluded to, uh, that has the amount of outside capital and resources being focused um in a region that hasn't traditionally attracted those kind of resources and outside capital? Um, whether we're talking private equity, whether we're talking um angel investors, whether we're talking um venture capital, there are an inordinate amount of individuals who have some sort of interest in the Charleston region, either because they've discovered it through tourism, as Reagan pointed out, or they they know someone here who's done some some work in a business that's adjacent to work they've done in a previous life, and they're attracted to coming to Charleston to figure out whether they can make similar investments in our market and find companies that are looking to grow who want to scale and do it here instead of going to Silicon Valley or instead of going to some of the other epicenters uh throughout the country who have traditionally attracted the same kind of uh resources and investment. Um I think that's where you have to start, Stan.

SPEAKER_03 8:33

Yeah, I'd also love to add um on that point that I think one of the biggest surprises people know are the caliber of companies that are already in Charleston. You know, we have the Medical University of South Carolina that is driving research and healthcare innovation and commercialization efforts that we're seeing impacting across the state. We have Thorne um operating and scaling from the region that's a nationally recognized science-backed wellness company where they have athletes and Olympians using their products. We have the Boeing assembling every 787 Dreamliner in Charleston alongside a growing networks of aerospace suppliers and advanced manufacturers. So we continue to see these companies, and those are some small examples across the board on what that actually looks like here.

SPEAKER_02 9:19

So, Jason, if I gave you 30 seconds to convince a founder or investor to take Charleston seriously, what might you say to them?

SPEAKER_01 9:28

In 30 seconds, I I think I could be uh I could be pretty succinct in saying uh you know, if you're looking for if you're looking for a market where you can find serious investors and world-class companies, as Reagan just alluded to, where you know, we're we we like to say we're one of the only places in the world where wide-body jets, you know, Volvo SUVs and Mercedes-Benz sprinter vans are being produced alongside uh, you know, founders and entrepreneurs who are scaling up, you know, very innovative startup, futuristic companies, right? Um in a in a market where it's not saturated um with competition yet. Uh uh, you know, we're we're growing and we're we definitely have more uh innovation-focused companies today than we did five, six, ten years ago. But you you have uh this great intersection of growth and investment that isn't oversaturated, or uh, you know, we're not we're not yet a market where people are looking to move to a different part of the country because of uh whether it's the tax regime that they're fighting, or whether it's you know, they're flooded their product or their company or their their brand is flooded because there's so many similar types of companies or uh trying to grow and scale in that region. Um I think it's a unique opportunity to be a part of something that's cutting edge.

SPEAKER_02 10:51

Was there a point at which um the you the CRDA, and this is kind of in the macro sense over the last decade, realized that this shift was happening, but the public didn't quite have an understanding or awareness of that, or is are we still in the middle of that? Have we have we jumped over an inflection point and people are convinced? It doesn't matter if we convince them as long as the companies keep moving here and and you know scale.

SPEAKER_01 11:19

Well, I think you know, Reagan, I want Reagan to speak to this question as well, but you know, we I think we're at the I still think we're at the beginning, you know, and I don't I don't say that to offend anybody or any of the efforts that are that are ongoing here, but we say that about

Building A Connected Startup Ecosystem

SPEAKER_01 11:32

our larger industrial recruitment of companies as well. You know, we coming out of the ashes, as you said, Stan, of the Navy base closure in the mid-90s, um, we had no real direction then. It was just everyone knew who was a part of the or adjacent to the business community that we needed more. We were no longer going to be propped up by the federal government and the presence of a Navy base and all the contracts that flowed from that work and that installation. Um, and now fast forward to 2026, and we have world-class companies that have helped us grow our our business industry and ecosystem here, but we're still, you know, we're still growing up. We're still in the process of growing up. We're not a fully formed adult yet in that in that sense. And I think the same is true for um our entrepreneurial ecosystem. I think we have we've come a long way, but we still have a lot to build around it to make sure people come here and they know where to go for resources and help to ensure that we're all trying to prop that ecosystem up in the right way and develop it in the right way, and that we're all working together so that it makes you know access to capital more seamless, it makes access to resources more seamless, it makes access to startup space more seamless. Um so I think we're still we're still growing up, and but we're but again, as we s as we talked about uh earlier, I think it's an exciting time, right? I think the the the exciting time in a lot of markets for growth is the front end or the the that middle point, and I think we're somewhere between there.

SPEAKER_02 13:07

So we're not in an elementary phase and we're not a mature market in that sense, we're a tweener. I think so. Sounds like okay. So uh to the tweeners out there, what does innovation mean? What does it look like on the ground? You know, like how how are we defining that these days? You guys have the innovation scorecard, are there a lot of strong metrics there? Um you know, how can we get our head around that to sort of gauge our progress? In other words, you can't manage what you don't measure. So how do we measure it?

SPEAKER_03 13:36

Absolutely. So when we talk about innovation at CRDA and in Charleston, you know, we actually use the definition um from the Harvard Business Review, which basically references um innovation is the process of creating value through new ideas, technologies, business models, or ways of solving problems. That's important because it broadens the conversation from, oh, innovation's just a software company or a tech company. While we love those and support those, it is a bigger conversation across our key industries. You know, we have that happening here across our airspace and advanced manufacturing and defense and life sciences. And you see it ultimately by companies modernizing operations and researching commercial technology and healthcare systems advancing patient care and founders building scalable businesses here. So you can even see in organizations like the South Carolina Ports Authority, where they're continuously improving operations and infrastructure in the supply chain to make sure that our region can compete on that global scale. And so Charleston is especially exciting right now because these efforts are coming together and they're connected. And the region is really starting to build the stronger relationships between industry and academia and startups and workforce partners and crossing the path of what a traditional relationship may look like. Just because you're a tech company doesn't mean you have to only go to tech events. How can we bring those conversations across the board and innovate and bring new solutions to ecosystems that already exist?

SPEAKER_02 15:03

So within the ecosystem, is it the CRDA's view that we are converging in the right ways or overly fragmented? Or you know, what state would you say is well, what's the general state of the ecosystem?

SPEAKER_01 15:19

I think generally we would say right now you have a lot of efforts that are underway, and that some that have been underway. I mean, you mentioned Ernest earlier for years and that have helped, you know, grow this ecosystem. Um, some that are newer, like uh, you know, Catalyst by BMOC, you know, Ben Navarro has done a great job sort of jumping into this space and and trying to help grow uh the entrepreneurial ecosystem that um has existed for several years and support it in a healthy way. Um and I think there's still more coordination needed, right? Like uh the the a lot of these efforts could probably um stand to benefit from a little bit more coordination, partnerships and coordination is sort of a part of our DNA. Like we could never do what we do to recruit talent and industry to the to the market by ourselves, right? Our little organization of uh 12 individuals. It's a it's a true partnership uh between the private sector, um the South Carolina Department of Commerce, and our local municipalities here who support our work uh and bolster it. Um and I think you know, continuing to think about bolstering this ecosystem in the same way, even though a lot of these efforts uh are focused on uh different aspects of how we grow the entrepreneurial ecosystem, I think the more collaboration uh that can be infused into these efforts and the more partnerships that can be formed, um, the more we'll be be viewed by outsiders who are thinking about making investments or growing a company here as a place that really supports this type of business, right? Like we want, you know, and I and I'm not taking a shot at any individual effort, um, but we just that's that's our DNA. We think partnerships are the way to enhance and grow anything um in the business world that stands to gain from, you know, greater access to information, resources, um, capital, expertise, mentorship, all of it.

SPEAKER_03 17:30

I think that's what makes Charleston unique as well, because while we're not the most mature market and we're, you know, the tweens as we like to say, you know, there is room for us to have collaboration. It is much easier to get in rooms and get into the rooms with the people that shape entrepreneurs and board of directors and things like that in this community. So it offers a really unique perspective for a company that's coming here for the first time and trying to grow their business.

SPEAKER_02 17:53

Yeah, I mean, as the founder of Dig South Tech Summit, we launched 14 years ago, and I've found that to be very true from the beginning and to today. A lot of people move here from New York or or Silicon Valley, and they're they're almost shocked that you can get a meeting so easily with people, which is fantastic. You know, we're very welcoming. Um what are some ways maybe that we can make uh well let me back up. So some of the the folks that I'm meeting on the investor side or founders or people might be working for companies remotely and they're here among us, and I I meet them, you know, every week. Are there some ideas around maybe ways that we can plug them into the greater ecosystem and and tell the story such that they're aware that hey, this isn't just for, you know, if you have a company with a headquarter, physical headquarters where you can walk in that we you know also view you as an asset, even though you may only be here part-time.

SPEAKER_01 18:53

Yeah, we so that's a great question, Stan. And I think, you know, in the past, I'd say 18 to 24 months, we have leaned into trying to figure out how to plug more of these individuals in as well. You know, whether you're talking about entrepreneurs or uh or investors, some of them we know, many of them we don't, or we're we're getting to know. Um so we're trying we we have made a concerted effort to um introduce these individuals as they're introduced to us or as we find them um to the work that's being done and the different groups that are that are handling different aspects of the work, but then also trying to find ways to plug them in um to the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem and community and network that does exist, whether it's through uh some platform at CRDA, whether it's another organization like Dig South, whether it's um, you know, another uh similarly situated uh venture capital uh company that we think, oh, maybe these guys could benefit from knowing each other and working together to invest but uh potentially in in a in a set of companies. And I think ultimately, you know, there there is gonna need to be some sort of um collaboration or or clearing house that is uh that is that is built um so that people can find their way into this space, right? Like I don't know what that looks like. We don't pretend to think that it needs to be uh housed at CRDA, but I I do think you know that's sort of that collaboration and partnership um we were hinting at earlier. It would be nice if people knew exactly where to where to go when they arrive here, if they don't know anyone, if they're not already well connected or plugged in. It's not hard to get to people here in Charleston. I think that, you know, like as Reagan said, that definitely helps our work. You it seems to have helped your work over the years. But I do think oftentimes, you know, it can be tough to know where to start.

SPEAKER_02 20:49

So uh the Dick South wild pitch is coming up in three weeks, and we had companies from all over the world apply. And it's it's fascinating to me. We'll have many from the southeast, several from Charleston, Wilmington, Raleigh, Durham, but then we also have some from the Seattle area, from San Francisco, one from India. And I am very fascinated by uh a population the size of Charleston's that was say under a million, but with the presence of so many interesting German companies, Indian companies, and you know, Chinese tire companies, and and you name it. What are you guys seeing on on the international front or how how does that connect back to the CRDA? And maybe what are a couple of examples of something that's really fun and interesting, you know, the about that international community?

SPEAKER_01 21:40

I would say um, you know, the right now on the international front, it is a bit of a mixed bag, honestly. I mean, we're uh, you know, there the the one thing that is certain is uncertainty right now in the world. Exactly. And you know, that that did not slow down a lot of our investment. And it did not slow down our pipeline, but we are seeing that the timeline to make decisions for companies and projects coming out of the EU and the UK,

Global Investment Pipeline And Trends

SPEAKER_01 22:12

it's being stretched out, right? Like because so many companies don't know um exactly what which shoe is going to drop next. Um we still have a very healthy uh project pipeline. We still have a very diverse project pipeline. Um everything from, you know, uh, as you can imagine, defense companies and defense projects to um uh food processing and and paper processing projects to large uh OEMs that uh are looking to produce uh vehicles in the US. Um and then a lot of projects that are, you know, we're seeing a lot of interest from emerging markets, places we haven't traditionally recruited industry from. Um I mean, so our wheelhouse for 30 years has been Europe, Asia. We've done some work in India, um, but that's slown over the last couple of years for a variety of reasons that's related more so with uh that has to do more so with India than uh the US. Um but then a lot of you know a lot of encouragement by the federal government to near shore or onshore projects is seeing, you know, a revitalization of manufacturing in spaces that we haven't seen in years, like pharmaceuticals. Um and I think there's a desire, a heavy desire among a lot of companies that exist in other parts of the country to move their operations to the southeast. Um, you probably probably uh read about Starbucks uh shifting a lot of folks from their Seattle headquarters and opening uh an office uh here soon in Nashville. Um we're seeing a lot of companies show interest in corporate office space in the Southeast and South Carolina, given you know our more favorable tax structure, um, you know, the environment to have more of your supply chain in the southeast and be close to um a large port. It's a there's there are a lot of advantages right now, um, even as it relates to projects that will be moving from other places and not necessarily Europe. But we but that said, we still see a lot of strong interest coming out of Europe. I think this is uh we're Reagan and I and the rest of the team, we talk about it a lot um internally right now. The next two to three years are really exciting because it's gonna we're gonna be able to focus on our traditional clusters, aerospace, uh, you know, advanced automotive companies and OEMs, life science companies, tech. Um, but then we're also gonna get we're gonna do a lot more work in the defense space, we're gonna do a lot more work with uh corporate and regional headquarters and corporate offices, um, and we're gonna be able to capitalize on a lot of companies who are rethinking or repositioning, you know, where their operations should should exist in the US.

SPEAKER_02 25:06

So a lot of assets, a lot of things converging at once. I love that. I mean, of course, we have a phenomenal port with a you know a deep water harbor, and we have a lot of energy out there. What in terms of attracting the talent that they need um and the capital, what gives us an edge here in Charleston, in your opinion?

SPEAKER_01 25:26

Yeah, I mean, uh, you know, it's a it part of this goes back to quality of life, right? And that that happened that's true as well for the for the projects themselves, but talent in particular, like we, you know, so of course everybody's read about us being the fastest growing state in the country by percentage last year. I think it's 1.5, 1.6 percent. Um by sheer number of people, we're number three behind Texas and by uh maybe less than 2,000 people, and then several thousand uh behind North Carolina. So the Carolinas

Talent, Retention, And Growth Pains

SPEAKER_01 25:58

in general fastest, fastest growing part of the country, right? And you look at, okay, what are the what are the commonalities between North and South Carolina, where we're both coastal states with uh an element um of uh mountain terrain also, and you know, two to three uh city centers or major metros. So you can get a little bit of everything, right? And North Carolina's larger than us, but I think you know, having our MSA is about 890,000 people, so we're just under the million, that million population you referenced earlier, Stan. To us, we think that's gonna be a competitive advantage, right? Like we we're seeing even large companies um who are moving operations to the southeast, and you know, they a lot of wins have occurred in Austin and in Nashville, um in Raleigh and Charlotte here, you know, we've won a lot. The upstate of South Carolina, the Greenville Spartanburg area has won a lot. But as we as we look at what's attracting people, it's quality of life, it's proximity to things that have nothing to do with their day-to-day, like you know, what they do for work or what they do for business. Um, and and you look at the resources around us, you know, from a from a business standpoint, you have all the resources and assets you might need for your company to grow and thrive, um, especially if you need um access to a viable airport or a viable port, as you referenced earlier, Stan. Um, and then I think about you know who's coming here. So the you know, the 40, 42, 43 people a day, a lot of those individuals are well educated. You know, we're not, you know, it's it's a I think it's a misnomer that South Carolina, with its history as an advanced manufacturing state, you know, we don't typically the jobs that are provided by companies in that space, they're going to South Carolinians who are either uh brought up to speed from a training standpoint, an education standpoint, to occupy those roles. Um, you know, we're not we we do target, you know, Reagan, Reagan can talk a little bit more uh depthly about this, but we do tar we send some targeted ads to our friends in the in the uh Midwest when it's cold and snowy and rainy. Right. You know, come come see what it's like here in March versus versus Michigan. But we're you know, we're a right-to-work state. A lot of people who work in manufacturing in those states are are used to unions. So, you know, we don't pull as many people away, but we are pulling a lot of highly educated, highly skilled folks from other states um who want to start companies and who want to work for companies here in like a corporate office. Um so I think you know, I just think that we can't we don't necessarily sell quality of life in our work, but it it helps us that we get to recruit companies and people to a place that a lot of people like dream about or come here for vacation, right? Like that's uh that's huge, that's huge for us.

SPEAKER_02 29:01

That's the elephant on the beach, so to speak. It's pretty obvious to everyone. Well, um you know, I've heard David Genn recently talk about focusing on quality versus quantity in in the innovation realm. You know, and and it's obvious to anybody who lives lives here that we struggle a little bit with keeping up our infrastructure and our housing and some of those challenges to the workforce. Is that um directing or informing you the new strategy you guys are rolling out this fall? And if so, what are some you know interesting elements of that that um you think are are pointing in the right direction where you know where we can all get behind it and push the sled?

SPEAKER_03 29:42

Yeah, I'll kick off this question and then pass to Jason. I think it absolutely is a problem that we're considering in a sense of the region and how we're growing and what that actually looks like. And so while CRDA does work to recruit, they are doing it and we are doing it more intentionally. We're looking at higher paying jobs, we're looking at the types of companies that are coming here and what they're actually bringing to the region. It's not growth just to grow. But I will say in order to um continue to be innovative, we're looking at really important solutions in these kind of niche areas in regards to talent. It's not just about attracting talent from outside of market, it's retention as well. It's the people that live here who want to live here who maybe couldn't initially because it's gotten so expensive. What kind of companies are here? And one of the things that CRDA does to do that in regards to talent retention is we offer an intern network series for summer college-level interns in the region. And it's a free program for all employers and all interns that are coming here. And they get opportunities to do resume building workshops and also going to a Charleston River Dogs game while maybe hearing from one of our key partners, like Boeing and their hiring programs and the two-year program that allows them to work in four different sections of Boeing to learn more. And so we also do um leadership workshops and just showcasing that quality of life while also giving them real access to resources that they need to feel set up and so that they may want to stay here, come back here, and really make their life here in Charleston and getting that inside look, I think, is sometimes um really helpful to see. And so that's a way we try to include retention of our talent here in an innovative solution that we're implementing. But Jason can talk more a little bit on the Charleston Workforce Housing Fund and how that's been an innovative solution to workforce housing in the region.

SPEAKER_01 31:28

Yeah, absolutely. Um, great start off, Reagan. I mean, that so the way we also I want to back up a little bit, Stan. Like we you you know we had we commissioned EY to draft our latest five-year economic development, regional economic development strategy focused on innovation. Um, and it's really, you know, Reagan and I were talking about this on the way over to your studio. It's it's really the both ends, right? Like we're we are who we are as a state as it relates to economic development. We're structured a certain way, our incentives are geared towards recruiting certain types of companies. We have world-class companies here like Boeing, like Volvo, like Mercedes-Benz Vans, um and many others, and we're gonna continue to support them, whether it's recruit recruiting suppliers, you know, so they can be successful and have suppliers in their general vicinity and make doing business and getting parts and all the things that much easier for them. Um, and then we're also embracing, you know, the second rail um of innovation and driving investment and growth and capital to the market to bring in, you know, the kind of jobs Reagan referenced. You know, we we call them professional services sector jobs now. We don't say white collar anymore, uh, I guess, but that those that not only diversifies our economy, right? Like so it gets us prepared for the future, and it also helps us to not have all the eggs in the manufacturing bucket in perpetuity. Um, but it also supports it supports the people who have either been attracted here by an effort like Dig South or Charleston Digital Corridor, or just moved here organically, um, to help us, you know, grow that into something that at some point down the road um will eventually be looked at as a model. You know, like people could potentially be talking about Silicon Harbor, and it's not um, oh, what could be, or it's not sort of tongue in cheek, but it's it's really become a hub for uh that kind of business and innovation. So we we've just I think internally um and with our board and with our investors, we've embraced this mantra of okay, we have we have two lanes now. You know, like we we're the traditional helps keep us stable and has gotten us to this point and has grown Charleston into a legitimate uh place for doing business, not just a place to visit for history lessons and uh beaches if you know not to go to Myrtle Beach. Um but uh but also um you know we could be one of the hubs uh of innovation and entrepreneurial entrepreneurialism um and and sort of uh an example for the rest of the country.

SPEAKER_02 34:14

Love the vision. So let's let's dive into that for a second. It could be a five-year horizon or a 10-year. What does the Charleston Regional Development Alliance see as in the crystal ball that maybe makes us an undeniable top innovation region? Yeah, what would that look like? What's what's gotta go right to not derail us? And who needs to step up to help us make that happen?

SPEAKER_01 34:42

So uh short answer, a lot of things, right? Like a lot of things have to go well for this to materialize and and truly form something that can be looked at as a model. But I think you know, one of the one of the

What Must Happen Next

SPEAKER_01 34:55

one of the ingredients that's really incumbent is is continued investment. So we have to have, and we're you know, we've stepped up recently and partnered with MUSC and uh the South Carolina Research Authority and South Carolina Department of Commerce to bring uh legitimate uh venture capital firms to our market um with the sole purpose of uh and our our CEO, David Ginn, he took part in uh two days worth of meetings um to host these individuals who represented, I think, 30 uh venture capital firms from around the country um to introduce them to our market, to introduce them to the resources we have available, to introduce them to the uh the fund that MUSC has set up to help commercialize um some of the products and and ideas and and companies that are coming out of out of the medical university and from some of their founders and creators. Uh, you know, people again, like as much as we like to think Charleston is on the map, and our friends and partners at Explore Charleston do a wonderful job, we're not on the map for all things industry related, we're not on the map for all things uh uh tech, entrepreneurialism, private equity, venture capital. We're still growing in those spaces. And so the more you can bring people to our market and say, hey, here's what's happening. Here are the companies that have had successful starts, some of them have had successful exits already. Um you could be in a wave of investors that really gets in on the front end of this thing and helps take us to the next level. Um, we feel like it's incumbent upon us as the Regional Development Alliance, who is trying to run in both lanes to catalyze and bring these kinds of individuals into the market and make them aware of these opportunities. And uh one of our colleague, Melissa Levesque at CRDA, you know, she she came up with a fun analogy the other day and she was like, I think we're we are we are trying to become Netflix while everybody is still using Blockbuster and doesn't realize Netflix is the next thing. And I said, I think that's perfect because I I I really do think with this strategy we have and knowing how we're gonna also continue to support the traditional work we've done for the past three decades, um, I think we really feel like that's where we're headed.

SPEAKER_02 37:17

So, Jason, it sounds like the raw ingredients are already here and we just need to connect the dots on some of this, right? And uh and the people out there who may be listening to this podcast today, what are some ways? Well, kind of two-part question, how should they plug in and and rig, and how do they find you and find out more about the the innovation programs for interns, especially for recent college graduates? You know, how do they learn more?

SPEAKER_03 37:44

Yes, absolutely. Well, you can head to our website, www.crda.org, to get all of this information, as long as following us on LinkedIn at Charleston Regional Development Alliance to get direct access and updates on when these events are launching and when these programs are launching. That is the first place that we're gonna share it. I also would love to share, we do manage a job board that pools over 200 vetted companies right here in the Charleston region to one source. So you do not have to go and search through and find positions. These are from very good vetted employers that have jobs posted right now. So you can find that at charlestoncareers.org and you'll be able to see jobs are open right

How To Plug In Locally

SPEAKER_03 38:25

now in the region.

SPEAKER_02 38:26

You've been listening to Silicon Harbor Hot Tank today. I'm your host, Dan Phil Gray. We've had the great fortune of welcoming one of the sponsors of Dig South Tech Summit, the Charleston Regional Development Alliance. We've had Reagan Falvey here and Jason Brown. I want to thank you guys so much for being with us today and sharing, you know, your vision for innovation in the low country. There are so many ways to get involved and plug in. I think everybody should realize it's not just about heads and beds in hotels, it's also about growing and scaling globally competitive companies from right here in the low country. So thank you for being here.

SPEAKER_01 39:02

Thanks for having us, Dan.