Advaero / Greg Bowers

The Pitch: Nanotechnology is causing a revolution in manufacturing. Advaero is leveraging nanoscience to build high-performance composites that are safer, stronger, and lighter. Our response to problems like weight or corrosion has exponential benefits for industries including defense, marine, and aircraft.

Entrepreneur: Greg Bowers
Age: 59
Company: Advaero Technologies
Industry: Composite Materials
Founded: 2008
Start-Up Funding: $600,000 – $700,000 from Founders
Employees: 4
Hometown: Amarillo, TX
Good Reads: Popular Science , Scientific American

Q: What was your “aha” moment?: Greg: I met Dr. Ajit Kelkar in my driveway one day; we are neighbors. He started telling me about a new technology he was working on and as soon as I heard it I knew there was opportunity. I had already licensed two [technologies] and knew how transformational this business could be. Dr. Ron Bolick, a co-inventor, also joined the team and together the three of us started Advaero about two years ago.
Q: When did you decide you wanted to be an entrepreneur?: Greg: I worked for BASF for 11 years. It is a very successful company, but I felt constrained. Sometimes great ideas get smothered in larger corporations and it just wasn’t what I wanted. So that realization started me down the path. I’ve been involved in five start-ups since then. There was a company called Bioprogress Technology that we took public some years ago, and I am also developing a company called Helical Sciences now.
Q: Why Greensboro?: Greg:Personally, I love living here in Greensboro. Professionally, being located at Gateway University Research Park near the Joint School for Nanoscience and Nanoengineering is key. The opportunity to collaborate with Gateway and the JSNN offers small companies like ours leverage and resources that we might not otherwise have. The relationship provides us access to a set of tools and equipment that we could never afford and allows us to focus our resources in the best interest of our company. We believe that this will allow Advaero to achieve success at a faster pace than if we had located elsewhere. We have formed a win-win relationship with Gateway, the JSNN, and the Universities.
Q: Could you see Advaero hiring some local students down the road?: Greg: Definitely. Every student I’ve seen at JSNN would fit the category of being a great potential employee. They have recruited some very high quality students into their program. Plus, we get to see how they are trained, who shows the most potential, who is most proficient on the instruments and machines – that sort of thing. We will get to pick the best of the best.
Q: Biggest Challenge?: Greg: Right now, our biggest challenge is managing all of the opportunities that are coming to us and remaining focused on two or three core projects that will build the business. The whole industry means new and evolving business opportunities, so we have people in here almost every day with great ideas. We’re turning down really exciting ideas because we’re not yet big enough and we don’t have all of the resources. In a nutshell, we’re trying to stay focused. Trying to pursue all those potential projects would spread us too thin and eventually consume all of our resources.
Q: What advice would you give an entrepreneur who is just starting out?: Greg: You have to be a supreme optimist. You have to go to bed every night thinking that tomorrow you will solve a problem. Tomorrow will be a fun day because we’ll figure out how to solve that problem.
Q: Is Advaero looking for investors?: Greg: Our current balance sheet is solid so we are not actively seeking investment today. However, if the time comes when we need to launch a new technology quicker than our current resources can support, we will consider outside investment. We are talking to a select few large strategic partners that have expressed an interest in our technology.
Q: What do you do during your time off?: Greg: Entrepreneurs never really have time off or weekends, but, when I can, I love flying a Cherokee 235 to the beach or the mountains. Warren Ludlam, our business development manager, is also a pilot. He volunteers with an organization called Angel Flight. They fly chronically ill children and adults to specialized medical care that is only available at a few places in the US.

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