Back in November, Erwin Penland Co-Founder Joe Erwin left the agency after 30 years. Now he's on to something new. He's launched something called Erwin Creates, an entity that will support the Erwin Center for Brand Communications at Clemson University and Erwin's personal consulting service. But the new, new thing will be a creative community called Endeavor.
Endeavor will be a membership-based co-working community for independent companies and freelancers in the creative services fields. Endeavor will be located in downtown Greenville and will provide members with work and meeting space. The aim is to foster face-to-face collaboration among these creatives, to enable business opportunities and to spark idea generation and professional growth for members.
Endeavor will also offer members consultative access to Joe and provide access to Erwin's network of business contacts and industry resources to provide training, mentoring and potential business development opportunities.
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Of Endeavor, Erwin said: "Both through the success of Erwin Penland over the years and due to the fact that Greenville is becoming known as one of the top small cities in the country, we now have a considerable critical mass of creative firms and independent contractors in the area. This project fits well with the entrepreneurial and collaborative spirit and business support network that has helped propel Greenville into the national spotlight. Our role is to nurture these companies and enable them to collaborate with other creative services professionals to grow their business, and in turn, attract more opportunities and creative startups to Greenville."
Endeavor will occupy a 20,000-square-foot space in the ONE Development area of downtown and will feature open work areas with shared community space, private desks, dedicated offices and conference rooms. Membership to the community will be tiered, ranging from five-days-per-month passes to use the shared spaces, to having 24-hour access to lockable offices that can accommodate whole companies.
Endeavor also aims to be a connecting conduit between brands and individuals looking to connect with the city's creative class.