Hostess Cakes brought D.J. Oates to North Carolina; fire kept him here, where he founded Optimum Fire & Security six years ago.   Beginning with two employees, he has built the business to more than $5 million in annual revenue and 36 employees working in more than two dozen states on federal, commercial and residential jobs.   The company’s federal ...

Genesis Block will officially open its doors later this month with a jobs and investment strategy to help grow the minority-owned and women-owned business community in the Cape Fear region. The community collaborative is focusing on a three-year goal to help spur companies that will create 400 jobs and add $13 million in investment in the area, said Tracey and Girard Ne ...

Husband-and-wife team Ronald and Karen Pinney have been creating beach-themed decor for about five years.   Despite the COVID-19 pandemic impacts, business for the couple's home decor and furniture operation, 341 Repurposed, has been booming, so much so that they’ve had to add a storefront and new workspace to keep up with the orders coming in.   Bo ...

No matter how big your home is, the coronavirus pandemic could be making it feel smaller after six months of working, learning and mainly just staying at home.   Inspired by his work with Wilmington’s Cargo District and its use of containers, Bryan Kristof has been working on a new company that offers a potential solution: backyard flex spaces made of shipping ...

Lighthouse Films is the 2020 Coastal Entrepreneur of the Year.   The company, which is based in downtown Wilmington, took home the wooden surfboard Tuesday evening during a pared-down Coastal Entrepreneur Awards ceremony.   Because of COVID-19 restrictions, this year’s event took place outside at Wrightsville Beach Brewery with this year’s 11 CEA ...

Three minority-owned small businesses came away from Genesis Block Demo Day Tuesday with awards that will help them strengthen their ventures. The area business owners whose presentations earned the judges’ nod were Travis Corpening of All Your Cool Ideas, an education startup that brings STEM awareness to young people of color; Ada Suter of Innate Health Family C ...

An event coming next week aims to recognize the economic impact of minority- and women-owned businesses.  UNCW's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, in partnership with UNCW's Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, is hosting the Virtual Cape Fear Region Minority Enterprise Development Week from Monday to Saturday next week, Oct. 5-10. ...

The Greater Wilmington Busi­ness Journal is publishing the winners of the fifth annual MADE Awards competition again in this issue because the coronavirus pandem­ic’s spread to the U.S. in March postponed the WilmingtonBiz Conference & Expo, which would have included this year’s MADE Awards winners. But there is some good news. Several of this ...

To further support North Carolina’s Black entrepreneurs, NC IDEA foundation has established the North Carolina Black Entrepreneurship Council (NC BEC), according to a Thursday news release. Establishing the NC BEC will allow the foundation to serve the entrepreneurial aspirations and economic potential of North Carolina’s Black community, the release stated. ...

Live Oak Bank Chairman and CEO Chip Mahan said plans are in the works to create a downtown Wilmington building for the purpose of creating jobs and growing businesses.  In a video interview posted online Tuesday with Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo, the discussion between Mahan and Saffo turned toward economic pathways to addressing recent social justice issues. Mahan& ...