Next Century Spirits, an advanced technology company that specializes in the creation and processing of distilled spirits for private label, bulk, and craft markets continues to play a vital role in shaping the entrepreneurial landscape in North Carolina through innovative technologies.
Innovation in North Carolina is creating a buzz across the country as founders spin-out technologies from lucrative research and land-grant institutions which have boosted entrepreneurship programs. In fact, the state’s capital – Raleigh – hosts a higher density of venture-growth companies per capita than cities like NYC and Seattle. Forbes article, How North Carolina is Fueling Startup Success, recently highlighted North Carolina’s booming entrepreneurship ecosystem by pointing out the Research Triangle’s three tier-one universities: North Carolina State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University. Specifically, programs combining technology commercialization and entrepreneurship out of NC State facilitate links between university-born technologies and visionary founders to create high-growth startups.
NC State was recently ranked as a top 10 school for entrepreneurship curriculum. A total of 170 startups have spun out of the university, including Next Century Spirits, an advanced technology company blending tradition with science to create distilled spirits. Co-founders, Dr. Joel Pawlak, NC State’s Associate Professor of Forest Biomaterials and CEO, Scott Bolin (MBA ‘12) launched Next Century Spirits after a successful launch of Tethis. Tethis was founded from finding its company’s niche as a patented technology for biodegradable superabsorbents in the personal care industry. Once Tethis grew to 50 employees, the founders were ready to pivot into a new venture where Pawlak’s patents could once again be put to use in the technology of Next Century Spirits.
While universities in the area create a concentrated pool of skilled students to enter the workforce, the Research Triangle is also building future generations to be flexible and expansive thinkers. Future startup founders will play a role in economic development for our state built around innovation.
Learn more about Next Century Spirits.
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