September 1, 2015

Charleston Mayoral Candidates Talk Tech

Charleston Digital Corridor Foundation

Charleston, SC - Six candidates seeking to be the next Mayor of Charleston will come together at a tech mixer at the Digital Corridor's Flagship2 business incubator to share their ideas regarding accelerating the growth of the city's tech economy while also listening to some of the challenges facing Charleston's rapidly growing tech community.

The Mayoral Candidate Mixer event on September 10th at 6:00pm, to be attended by (capacity limited) 200 members of the city's robust tech community, is being sponsored by tech companies Bibliolabs, BoomTown, Blue Acorn and PeopleMatter.

Charleston's tech community has grown from a handful of companies in 2001 to 300+ companies and now accounts for approximately 5% of the regional economy. The development of Charleston's high-wage community, a high priority under the Riley Administration through the Digital Corridor initiative, is largely credited with per-capita wage growth and high-wage economic diversification in Charleston above the national average.

"The energy in the Charleston tech scene right now is magnetic," said Grier Allen, CEO of BoomTown. "From the explosive growth of tech companies to the rise of organizations championing their initiatives, there is an incredible sense of community and opportunity. It is our hope that this meeting between tech industry leaders and Charleston mayoral candidates will further identify our collective priorities for ensuring this sector's continued growth and expanding the opportunities it brings for all."

The event will be streamed live onĀ Stre.am, an app developed in Charleston that allows users everywhere to stream and share live video with their mobile device.

###

About the Charleston Digital Corridor

The Digital Corridor is a creative initiative to attract, nurture and promote Charleston's tech economy through a combination of technology enabled initiatives and business incentives, private business support and member-driven programming. More: www.charlestondigitalcorridor.com