April Kelly of Greenville decided to feed her infant daughter a soy-based formula, but her baby had an allergic reaction, so Kelly, who is vegan, made her own doctor-approved plant-based formula.
The baby’s health immediately improved, and when Kelly told other mothers her story, they wished they had fed their own babies the formula.
“That was my light bulb moment,” Kelly said, as she decided to start a business selling plant-based milk for babies and toddlers that would help prevent future food allergies.
After years of development with help from the Food Innovation Lab at North Carolina State University, she launched her first product this year, called “Sure!”, a name that gives parents peace of mind about feeding their kids.
Kelly, 32, is part of an entrepreneurial boom in North Carolina and across the nation that began and continues amid the disruption and personal reassessment caused by the pandemic, bolstering President Joe Biden’s efforts to rebuild the economy from the middle class up and countering former President Donald Trump’s claims that the economy was in a terrible state.
Before the pandemic, 100,338 new business registrations were filed with the North Carolina Secretary of State in 2019. In 2021, the number of registrations jumped to a record high of 178,291. Last year’s total was 171,657.
The Economist recently reported that while the national average monthly number of new business applications is up 80% compared to the decade before COVID-19, in Europe it is only up 20%.
The surge in entrepreneurship appears to be driven by a number of factors: The pandemic lockdowns caused many people to think about what they wanted from work and life. The rise in remote working has created opportunities to test out business ideas. A strong job market has given people confidence they can find other work if their new venture doesn’t pan out.
These factors were some of the reasons why Ellen Bravo decided to start her own business. Bravo, a 30-year-old U.S. Army veteran, began considering going into the hospitality business while working remotely as a civilian contractor for the Department of Defense in Arlington, Virginia. She found a historic home in eastern North Carolina on Facebook and renovated it into a boutique hotel. It is now her new home. Elle Hotel opened in Washington, North Carolina in 2022.
For Bravo, remote work was key to making the change. She was able to work on her hotel project while still keeping her salary in Washington, DC. “Remote work makes starting a business much more doable,” she says. “If the business doesn’t take off, you still have a paying job.”
Kelly, who worked as an account manager before starting her own business, said the disruption caused by the pandemic had left many people wanting control over their work.
“What I hear from other entrepreneurs is that they wanted to take more responsibility for their situation,” she says. “A lot of people were laid off. No one knew what was going to happen. It was a time when they wanted more certainty.”
Increased entrepreneurship, especially in towns outside metropolitan areas, strengthens the state’s economy. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, 98 percent of North Carolina businesses have fewer than 19 employees.
Of course, starting a business is one thing; maintaining it is another. According to the North Carolina Secretary of State’s Office, about a quarter of new businesses in North Carolina go bankrupt after three years, and about half are out of business after seven years.
Jamie Jones, director of innovation and entrepreneurship at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, said that whether these new ventures succeed or fail, it’s inspiring to see so many people willing to try. “It takes a lot of courage to go out and start your own business,” she said. “It takes a lot of hard work to bring a new idea to fruition, so I applaud everyone who takes the first step.”
A strong economy breeds that kind of confidence, and North Carolinians are enjoying both.
Deputy Opinion Editor Ned Barnett can be reached at 919-404-7583 or nbarnett@newsobserver.com.
