“We moved to Beaufort not for the job. We came for the scenery. We came for the lifestyle. And when we got here, we had to figure out what we were going to do. I knew I wanted to become deeply involved in the fabric of the community and see what I could to make it thrive,” said Jess O’Brien in a recent interview.
Having worked in digital marketing with tech start-ups during a previous stint at an agency in the Atlanta Tech Village, she was a natural fit for the Beaufort Digital Corridor (BDC) which had opened its doors in 2017.
The seeds for Beaufort’s thriving tech sector were planted when Ernest Andrade, Executive Director of the Charleston Digital Corridor, partnered with then-Mayor Billy Keyserling, City Manager Bill Prokop, Councilman Stephen Murray, and other community leaders. Together, they envisioned a new economic opportunity for Beaufort, recognizing that the area’s natural beauty and quality of life made it an ideal home for tech entrepreneurs, digital nomads, and remote workers.
“With the military and tourism already key pillars of our economy, the tech industry was identified as the perfect third leg to create a well-rounded, sustainable future,” said Jess O’Brien, Executive Director of the Beaufort Digital Corridor. “Thanks to [the initiative of] Hargray (now Sparklight) to provide high-speed broadband throughout the city, we were able to attract and support tech talent with minimal infrastructure changes. This laid the foundation for Beaufort’s emerging innovation hub.”
In 2021, it was an easy decision to tap Jess O’Brien as the new Executive Director of the Beaufort Digital Corridor. At the outset, she had two main goals: to create a major fundraiser to benefit the center and bring the Techstars Startup Weekend to Beaufort. In three years, she has accomplished so much more. Under O’Brien’s leadership, the BDC has grown from 18 companies in that first year to 70+ companies today and is recognized as a model for high-wage, high-tech, knowledge-based economic development.
The Beaufort Digital Corridor’s 501(c)(6) is a membership organization which primarily focuses on facilitating networking and collaboration among tech businesses. The incubator primarily services tech start-ups working on unique technology products and a select group of tech service providers and venture capitalists while the BASEcamp facility provides scalable office space for tech startups and coworking desks for remote workers. BDC offers networking opportunities, continuing education, and member-driven programs to help grow the tech economy in the Lowcountry. They include: Women in Tech, Pitch Practice, Lunch & Learns, and TechConnect. This past summer, the BDC hosted a coding camp every first Friday to teach kids how to code. The program has now expanded due to the evolving role of AI in coding. The camp now also includes entrepreneurial foundational skills for 7th and 8th grade students where they are responsible for forming teams and creating a website based on their startup idea.
Techstars Startup Weekend – March 24-26
The Beaufort event, held at the USCB Center for Performing Arts, featured an exciting showcase of innovation and entrepreneurship.
“The focus is on mastering market validation, building a startup, and pitching to investors. Each team follows a structured template, learning the core principles of tech entrepreneurship, and working through key milestones over the course of the weekend. By Sunday night, teams come back to re-pitch their refined ideas, incorporating everything they’ve learned, in a five-minute presentation to a panel of esteemed judges, competing for exciting prizes,” said O’Brien. “Our goal is to encourage participants to focus on the foundational skills of building real startups, not just attending for the competition or the prizes.”
At this year’s event, the competing teams showcased a diverse range of ideas, including BarkLink, Words of Beaufort, and MySafeCyber. BarkLink proposed a concept aimed at sourcing support for animal shelters through crowdsourced dog food purchases, while Words of Beaufort presented an app designed to provide walking history lessons about Beaufort’s rich heritage. MySafeCyber, a cybersecurity company focused on aiding small businesses with their cyber needs, won first place under the leadership of Walt Gnann, ISLC and Angel Kern, TCL Cybersecurity Director.
Beaufort Digital Corridor Foundation
This past June, the Beaufort Digital Corridor announced the launch of the Beaufort Digital Corridor Foundation (BDCF), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to advancing digital literacy and fostering economic empowerment through education and talent development in the Beaufort community. The Foundation’s mission, encapsulated by the theme “A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats,” underscores its commitment to ensuring that every member of the community thrives in the digital age.
“By launching the Foundation, we are addressing the immediate need for digital skills while laying the groundwork for long-term economic prosperity. We envision a future where every individual navigates and excels in the digital landscape. Investing in talent development not only empowers individuals but also strengthens our local economy,” said O’Brien, now also the BDCF Executive Director.
Beaufort Shrimp Festival Run Forrest Run 5k – October 5
After all, nobody knows shrimp more than Forrest Gump and Bubba.
The 4th Annual Run Forrest Run 5K will lead runners through beautiful, historic downtown Beaufort where the race, which begins on Bay Street, takes racers over the same iconic bridge Gump treks across in the Forrest Gump movie. This family-friendly event welcomes runners, walkers, pets, and children of all ages to participate. All participants are encouraged to don their best Forrest Gump getup and race to the finish line in hopes of claiming the Fastest Adult and Kid Forrest Award. Last year, the race drew in just over 500 runners from across the Lowcountry and neighboring states. The Run Forrest Run 5K has become the major fundraising event for the new Beaufort Digital Corridor Foundation.
Bringing the Tech Industry to Beaufort
As we brought our interview with Jess O’Brien to a close, she said:
“It’s been interesting to be on the ground floor to see all the thought and planning that goes into making an area have economic diversity and thrive in meeting the needs, particularly of young working professionals. I think Beaufort is in its training phase right now. We’re building the infrastructure so that when people look back 20 years from now, they’re going to be like, wow, we have all of this here because of what innovative thinkers did back then and I am super proud to play a small part in it.”
