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Local Media Start-Up Receives SC Launch Funding

Ryan Heafy
Mike Switzer/SC Public Radio

With traditional newspapers struggling in the age of the Internet, many competitors have emerged in the local media market.  Our next guest’s company is one of those that also caught the eye of our state’s start-up venture capital arm known as SC Launch.

Mike Switzer interviews Ryan Heafy, chief operating officer for 6AM City, based in Greenville, SC.

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After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.