UNCW’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) provides excellent resources, professional advice and a great facility in which new businesses can prosper. By providing these resources and assistance, we are able to speed up the process that startups go through to get their feet squarely on the ground. The CIE’s business experts help entrepreneurs to develop their ideas before they launch a full-blown business. Incubating businesses is more than what we do – it’s our passion. This passion stems from our vision of an improved local business community. We aim to help lower the unemployment rate, foster great business ideas and creativity in our area, and give tenants the competitive edge that it takes to succeed as entrepreneurs.
 
Keith Markfield, entrepreneur and CEO of MoorForLess.com, is proud of his relationship with the CIE. One of the CIE’s tenants, Markfield works hard to make his ideas become reality. MoorForLess.com, a local Web startup, is bringing innovation and passion to Wilmington’s boat slip market. Connecting boat slip owners with potential buyers and renters in a single marketplace is now easier than ever. This is due in part to the extremely targeted focus that the website’s highly filterable search capabilities provide.
 
When searching for a boat slip, a person must get answers to many questions. Will my boat fit? Is the location right? Who’s selling the boat slip and why? Those looking to sell or rent a boat slip can benefit from the targeted exposure and excellent value that MoorForLess.com offers. Even someone who has a boat slip deeded to his or her home can earn passive income by offering short- or long-term rentals. The site offers good exposure and a targeted audience without brokerage fees. MoorForLess.com is designed to ensure that sellers get the maximum value from their boat slips by saving 6 percent to 8 percent on commissions that would have been paid to a broker.
 
With the support of the CIE, Markfield has launched his website, which has already begun to flourish, and has set his goals high for the future. “There are about 12 million registered boats in this country. That means there are a lot of people looking for somewhere to dock their boats. With more than 800,000 boat slips, many private and public owners want to sell or rent their boat slips as well,” Markfield says. He would like to include more markets as his business grows; once the Wilmington boat slip market is satisfied, opportunities can be found in other markets where the demand is high. With so many lakes, rivers and oceans, Markfield believes there will always be a need for MoorForLess.com’s services.
 
For more information about MoorForLess.com, contact Keith Markfield by phone at (910) 420-0008 or by email at [email protected].
 
If you are a student, UNCW faculty member, new inventor, or budding entrepreneur, please contact me to explore how the CIE might help you make your business idea a reality. You can email me at [email protected] or call (910) 962-2886.
 
Chuck Whitlock is the Interim Executive Director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at UNC Wilmington. The CIE is an incubator for the start-up community to help diversify the local economy with innovative companies. For more information, visit www.uncw.edu/cie.