Laura Corder
Co-Host of Of Note
*A graduate from the University of South Carolina’s Journalism and Mass Communication School, Laura stumbled into entrepreneurship and economic development. *
After starting her career with Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union, Laura joined the leadership team at the USC/Columbia Technology Incubator as their Director of Communications and Programs Manager. The Incubator is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the Midlands startup community. Laura connected entrepreneurs with statewide resources, developed unique programs, and maintained critical relationships with media and community leadership.
During her tenure, the Incubator experienced growth in technology companies with 45 tenant companies reflecting approximately $30M in annual revenue and over 200 employees paying an average salary of $65,000. This success gained the attention from media across the nation, including Inc. Magazine recognizing the Incubator as one of the top 3 university tied programs ‘to watch.’
As momentum continued, Laura transitioned to USC’s newly formed Office of Economic Engagement (OEE) as Director of Communications. OEE connects enterprise to the resources of the university to create jobs, accelerate innovation and drive economic prosperity. Specifically, Laura instigated strategies to highlight USC assets and infrastructure to private industry, resulting in partnerships with IBM, Boeing, and Fluor Corporation.
With the itch to learn among her peers, Laura became a ‘weaver’ at Cyberwoven and managed a portfolio of clients, aiding in brand positioning, project management, and overall communications. The South Carolina Department of Commerce would soon become the new professional home for Laura and officially joined Team South Carolina in 2017 as Managing Director for the Office of Innovation. In this role, Laura is an advocate for innovation, exploring the best strategies to enable the flow of technology and information among people, industries, and institutions.
Laura Corder has hosted 19 Episodes.
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19: Ramy Harik, Combating Corruption Through Manufacturing
January 19th, 2021 | Season 2 | 38 mins 45 secs
aerospace, aerospace industry, aerospace innovation, aerospace trends, engineer, engineering, innovate, innovation, innovator, ramy harik, ramy harik research, ramy harik usc, research, researcher, sc, south carolina, university of south carolina, usc, usc mechanical engineering
"If you have corruption in institutions, the only way to lift a society, lift a county, lift a state, lift a country, is through smart manufacturing. Data has no emotion. There is no question when it comes to data."
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18: Dr. Laura Boccanfuso, Journey From the Books to Bots
November 17th, 2020 | Season 2 | 36 mins 2 secs
academics, building robots, business, business advice, entrepreneurship, innovation, innovation podcast, invention, leadership, marketing, robot building, robots, scribble, scribble sc, shark tank, small business, south carolina, start up
"Innovation is really solution-finding. It's about looking at a challenge or a problem and finding an effective solution." Dr. Laura Boccanfuso of Van Robotics is changing the landscape of education through ABii - the smart robot tutor. Listen now.
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17: Stella Mercado, Innovating Cybersecurity for National Defense
October 20th, 2020 | Season 2 | 30 mins 42 secs
business growth, business management, engineering, entrepreneurship, federcal government, government contracting, government innovation, innovation, innovation podcast, invention, leadership, marketing, scribble, scribble sc, south carolina
“Cybersecurity is like a blanket that goes around everything with technology.” Stella Mercado of Mercom is providing innovative solutions to the government. Listen now.
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16: Shawn Valenta, Changing the Way We Approach Healthcare
September 15th, 2020 | Season 2 | 32 mins 1 sec
business growth, business management, engineering, entrepreneurship, innovation, innovation podcast, invention, marketing, scribble, scribble sc, south carolina
"The one thing that I can predict in healthcare is that it's going to continue to change." Shawn Valenta, alongside MUSC Telehealth, is changing the way think about healthcare. Find out how on this episode of "Of Note."
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15: Ed Currie, The Inventor of the World's Hottest Pepper
August 18th, 2020 | Season 2 | 37 mins 24 secs
business growth, business management, engineering, entrepreneurship, innovation, innovation podcast, invention, marketing, scribble, scribble sc, south carolina
A “chile head” in the truest sense of the word, Ed Currie – the man behind the Carolina Reaper, the world’s hottest pepper – knows hot enough is never hot enough. Listen to his journey to the pepper on this episode of "Of Note."
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14: Juan Caicedo
February 28th, 2020 | Season 1 | 34 mins 9 secs
business growth, business management, engineering, entrepreneurship, innovation, innovation podcast, invention, marketing, scribble, scribble sc, south carolina
Many people have dreams of shaping the future, and for Dr. Juan Caicedo, those dreams are a reality. A professor and department chair of the University of South Carolina College of Engineering and Computing, Juan specializes in Structural Dynamics to make our world safer and more efficient. From floors that sense the vibrations of your footsteps to walls that stand strong against storms, he and his department utilize their one-of-a-kind equipment to run experiments and come up with new solutions to everyday problems.
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13: George Wicks
December 9th, 2019 | Season 1 | 30 mins 15 secs
business growth, business management, engineering, enrepreneurship, innovation, innovation podcast, invention, marketing, scribble, scribble sc, south carolina
Innovation can oftentimes be slow. Ideas and projects can't always be completed by the team that starts them — especially in the world of science. Even in retirement, George Wicks, CTO of Applied Research Center (ARC) in Aiken, South Carolina and adjunct professor at several universities, is helping to continue to breathe life into his innovations. One of George's most groundbreaking projects is the research and development of microspheres. These tiny glass spheres have potential applications in the medical, automotive, and security fields, among many others. In this episode, George discusses his work, approach to innovation and how he prepares the next generation of scientists.
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12: Boyd and Nicole Johnson
November 6th, 2019 | Season 1 | 46 mins 26 secs
business growth, business management, engineering, enrepreneurship, innovation, innovation podcast, invention, marketing, scribble, scribble sc, south carolina
Craft. Passion. Family. These are the virtues that define Boyd Cycling, the creator of one of the world's fastest bike wheels. Started by competitive cyclists Boyd and Nicole Johnson, the Greenville-based husband and wife team got their footing in the industry as one of the first manufacturers to sell directly to consumers online, disrupting deep-pocketed established brands. Ten years later, the company focuses on creating handbuilt, well-engineered wheels and aims to be one of the best wheel companies in the world.
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11: Nancey Tsai
October 10th, 2019 | Season 1 | 37 mins 57 secs
blink reflexometer, blinktbi, business growth, business management, charleston, charleston sc, charleston south carolina, dr. nancey tsai, entrepreneurship, innovation, nancey tsai, podcast on innovation, scribble, scribble sc, start up
We all like to think that innovation and creativity come as a spark, an epiphany, as the "light bulb" moment. But that isn't always the case.
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10: Greg Higgs
September 26th, 2019 | Season 1 | 38 mins 15 secs
auto customization, business growth, business management, custom auto parts, entrepreneurship, fab fours, greg higgs, innovation, lancaster, lancaster sc, lancaster south carolina, podcast on innovation, scribble, scribble sc, start up
Many enthusiasts dream of starting a business around their obsessions. Greg Higgs is one of those entrepreneurs that actually did it.
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9: Sherine Chan
September 11th, 2019 | Season 1 | 27 mins 2 secs
business, business podcast, entrepreneur, epilepsy, innovation, innovation podcast, of note, parkinson's, parkinson's disease, research, scribble
Sherine Chan and her business partner are developing compounds that could potentially treat severe neurological diseases, such as epilepsy and Parkinson's. As a lifelong scientist, she's now entered the unfamiliar world of business pitches, grant writing, and fundraising. Playing two roles — researcher and entrepreneur — is no easy task. See how she aims to bring her innovative ideas to the big stage and what you can learn from her journey. This is Of Note.
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8: Srikanth Pilla
August 28th, 2019 | Season 1 | 26 mins 37 secs
automotive industry, business, business podcast, cars, clemson, clemson composites center, clemson sc, clemson south carolina, clemson university, cu-icar, cuicar, dr. pilla, futuristic cars, innovation, innovation podcast, of note, scribble, srikanth, srikanth pilla
Electric vehicles, connected vehicles, autonomous vehicles — we're all familiar with the innovations currently happening in the automotive space. However, in the future world that Dr. Srikanth Pilla dreams of, cars will be fully recyclable with all of their parts being totally reusable. Through his background in biocomposites, or new materials created from both natural and synthetic sources, Srikanth aims to bring the circular economy concept to the automotive industry.