Connecting Entrepreneurs to Opportunity Through Data

For years, Cape Fear Community College’s Small Business Center has served as a resource for entrepreneurs across southeastern North Carolina with the education and relationships they need to grow. Through his work leading the Center, director Jerry Coleman has built strong ties throughout the region’s entrepreneurial community and helped connect people who are working to strengthen local businesses.

One of those connections brought together entrepreneur Girard Newkirk and technology entrepreneur Scott Thomas.

Through initiatives such as Genesis Block and Conversations to Contracts, Newkirk spent years working alongside entrepreneurs. Along the way, he noticed a common challenge. Many business owners had promising ideas but lacked the resources, connections, and support needed to grow.

Now, Newkirk and Thomas are working to address that challenge.

Together, they developed NewKirklytics OS, a platform designed to map the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, assess business readiness, and connect entrepreneurs with coaching, capital, contracts, and other resources.

A Vision Years in the Making

Newkirk describes the effort as a way to make the region’s “invisible economy” visible.

He estimates that tens of thousands of entrepreneurs and small businesses operate across the Cape Fear region. Yet many are overlooked in traditional economic development discussions despite their contributions to local communities.

The idea behind NewKirklytics grew out of more than a decade of working directly with entrepreneurs and seeing the barriers they faced.

“A lot of entrepreneurs aren’t market-ready. They think they are,” Newkirk said. “Everyone’s asking for funding, but they’re not ready to go to market. They can’t compete in the market.”

That realization changed his approach. Instead of focusing only on access to capital, he began looking for ways to help entrepreneurs prepare for funding, contracts, and growth opportunities.

“Most tools are designed to look at capacity,” he said. “They look at things like credit, financial history, and whether a business is ready for a loan. What’s often missing is a way to understand readiness, where an entrepreneur is in their journey, and what support could help them take the next step.”

Building the Technology

While Newkirk brought the vision, Thomas brought the technology that made it possible.

After spending nearly 30 years in the technology sector, Thomas connected with Coleman in the Small Business Center. Thomas credits Coleman with helping him better understand the local business community and introducing him to relationships that eventually led to his partnership with Newkirk.

“Jerry helped with connections, helped me develop multiple businesses, lots of different technology, and relationships,” Thomas said. “He was unbelievably helpful.”

As Thomas and Newkirk discussed the concept, Thomas realized many of the technology tools he had already developed could support the project.

Through the platform, entrepreneurs can create business profiles, track their progress, and receive guidance based on their stage of growth. The system also maps businesses across the Cape Fear region that creates a clearer picture of the local entrepreneurial landscape.

“It’s built. It’s functional. It’s really ready to go,” Thomas said.

Connecting Entrepreneurs to Resources

At the center of the initiative is the belief that better data can lead to better outcomes.

The team is working with university partners to study information collected through the platform and better understand what contributes to a healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem.

As businesses use the platform, it tracks milestones and growth over time. The information helps entrepreneurs demonstrate their progress while giving investors and funding partners a better understanding of where support is needed.

“The goal is that if I’m ready, I can get access to contracts. I can get access to investment,” Newkirk said. “I have a realistic objective to get to that place.”

A Community Effort

The initiative took a major step forward through NEX Connect, an event hosted at Cape Fear Community College that brought together approximately 120 entrepreneurs, business leaders, educators, and community partners.

They plan to expand NEX Connect events into Brunswick and Pender counties. A regional summit is also scheduled for October.

“This is a local economic intelligence network,” Newkirk said. “It’s entrepreneurs, businesses, banks, institutions, and capital partners. They’re all connected by the local economy.”

“When you invest in local business owners, those individuals live in the community, reinvest in the local economy, create jobs, and help drive sustained growth over time,” he said.

Coleman said the initiative highlights the importance of collaboration in supporting entrepreneurs.

“From a broader perspective, I hope policymakers recognize that this is a significant missing piece of the economic development puzzle. We can do more together. It takes a community,” Coleman said.

Small Business Center

The Small Business Center at CFCC provides free and confidential counseling to people who are exploring the opportunity to open their own business. We also provide counseling and advice to existing small businesses at their request.

In addition, we offer annually 80+ free seminars on many varied business topics targeted towards potential or existing entrepreneurs.

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