The Kopis Edge

What's Next for The Greenville Chamber

Host Cody Edgar sits down with Greenville Chamber President and CEO Carlos Phillips as they chat through Carlos's experience in Greenville and what the Chamber is looking forward to in 2020.

The Evolution of Media with Ryan Heafy

On this episode of The Kopis Edge we're joined by Ryan Heafy, COO of 6AM City. 6AM City is best known by it's local email products, which over the past 3 years have garnered hundreds of thousands of subscribers and millions of impressions. Since launching in Greenville in 2016, 6AM City has experienced exponential growth and is now open in 5 other markets - Charleston, Columbia, Asheville, Lakeland, and Chattanooga. We kick this episode off by talking about the start of 6AM City, the importance of facilitating conversation within your community, and some of the challenges that come with launching in a market where you don't exist. From there we dive into the processes that make 6AM City and it's email products so successful, along with some of the tools that help their team work as efficiently as possible. We wrap up the conversation by talking about 6AM City's relationship with advertisers, the importance of knowing when to say "no" to certain business opportunities, and what the future holds for Ryan and 6AM City.

Everything IoT with Ralph Heredia

For this episode of The Kopis Edge we switch things up a bit by having two guests. Our very own Adam Drewes, General Manager of the Kopis ERP division, interviews Ralph Heredia, Co-Founder of Zipit Wireless. The big focus of this episode is the Internet of Things, better known as IoT. Both Adam and Ralph work extensively within the IoT space and bring interesting perspectives on how connected devices are changing our businesses, our lives, and our world. Over the course of this discussion we cover the basics of IoT, the challenges and benefits it presents to businesses, and the impact we can expect from IoT in the next 5-10 years. We also dive into how Greenville is being impacted by IoT, and how it’s reputation as a tech hub is impacting IoT businesses like Zipit Wireless.

Videography & Technology with Chris Brank

This month on The Kopis Edge we're joined by Chris Brank, CEO and Founder of Let People See. Let People See is one of the largest and fastest growing production companies in South Carolina, having recently expanded to Charlotte and Atlanta and growing nearly five times in the past three years. Chris tells us his interesting story of entrepreneurship, explaining how he turned a hobby into a career and illustrating the challenges and advantages that come from exponential growth. We dive into the evolution of videography as technology has advanced with the advent of things like DSLR cameras and faster processing speeds, and also talk about the possibilities that are opening up with cloud and AI. We wrap up our conversation by looking to the future as Chris explains his long term vision for Let People See.

Learning from History with John Boyanoski

This month we're joined by John Boyanoski - author, historian, and CEO of the public relations firm Complete PR [http://completepr.net/]. We had a lot of fun talking with John about everything from technology and brand awareness to his books and even some local ghost stories. We start the episode by exploring the historical impact of technology in Greenville, diving into the impression it's made and how it will continue to impact the area for years to come. From there we talk about John's book on Greenville's history, thinking about how the area can retain what has made it so special and reflecting on the challenges faced by a rapidly growing city. We then discuss how tech companies can differentiate in a saturated market, and John wraps things up by telling his favorite ghost story!