Announcing the Charleston Build Guild meetup. What is it? It will be a monthly gathering for all web folks that enjoy chatting over drinks. The group is growing and aiming to have their first meetup after reaching 50 members (currently they are at 39). So why not join now?

So who is at the helm of this new group? That is none other than Aaron Carpenter, a recent transplate to Charleston by way of Traverse City, Michigan. I encourage you to checkout his venture Legendary Lion Web Design as well.

Georgetown, South Carolina recently had its first ever Startup Weekend. It was also the first Startup Weekend in South Carolina. Great news, for the local area entrepreneurs. We (Startup Chucktown) were unable to make it there, due to scheduling conflicts, but we hope to make it to the next one they host if possible.

If you are unfamiliar with Startup Weekend and their events, they are structured to bring people together in teams under specific business ideas that are pitched at the beginning of the event. After a fast paced weekend of brainstorming, building and collaborating the ventures are pitched again at a panel of judges and prizes are awarded for the best ideas and presentations.

The reason I am just now writing about it is that Georgetown has become a talking point in a recent Inc. Magazine article about collaboration (How Collaboration Can Spur Execution). I encourage you to read the full article as it covers some good points.

The main point that I want to touch on that is also mentioned within…

The South Carolina Governor signed the "South Carolina Abandoned Buildings Revitalization Act" into law on June 11, 2013. This will greatly help revitalize unused and empty warehouse space into thriving commercial opportunitiy. There are incentives for the 3 R's, renovation, redevelopment and rehabilitation.

The McNair Attorneys website provides the full detail, below is an excerpt from their article:

"Taxpayers meeting the requirements of the Act can receive a tax credit equal to 25% of the cost of rehabilitating property against either (1) state income taxes and corporate license fees, or (2) property taxes.

In order to qualify for the credit a taxpayer must rehabilitate an abandoned building for commercial use. A building with an immediate preceding use as a single-family residence cannot qualify for the credit. A building is considered to be abandoned if 66% of the space in the building has been vacant or nonoperational for five years."

Let's be honest, most of us looking for commercial spa…

Just this month the South Carolina House of Representatives passed High Growth Small Business Access to Capital Act (H.3505). The bill provides a state income tax credit of 35% of investments in qualified startups. The credit is partially taken during the year of the investment (50%), while the remaining portion is taken the following year.

The Guidelines State: For businesses to qualify for investments under the bill, they must be headquartered in the state; started within the last five years; employ fewer than 25 people and accrue annual revenues of less than $2 million.

Read the rest of the article here.

We are delighted to get this venture moving in the right direction with our first post. Startup Chucktown is striving to be the go-to destination for entrepreneurs and startups in the greater Charleston, South Carolina area.

We welcome you no matter how big or small you and/or your team are. We aim help provide useful resources and a great community that spans all industries. We want representation from all sectors, technology, healthcare, financial, makers and everything in between.

We plan to organize local events and projects to grow the startup community here in Chucktown. Watch for more developments that will be coming in the near future.