South Carolina Business Review

Helping small companies find research grant money

Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio

Kyle Salazar, 3Phase SC program in Columbia

Provided

You may have heard us interview companies who have received SBIR or STTR grants to help them fund the research that their young companies depend on to continue to grow and validate their business models. However, applying for these grants or practically any grant can be a daunting process. And that’s why the SC Department of Commerce is now making available free services to companies and entrepreneurs in our state to help them with these grant programs. Kyle Salazar is with the department’s 3PhaseSC program in Columbia. (This is a replay of an episode that originally aired on April 7th, 2023)

Mike Switzer

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.

See stories by Mike Switzer