02/26/2026
Ten years ago we unlocked these doors with a simple belief:
Small towns deserve big dreams.
Today, the front half of BGEN sits empty.
The City of Gaffney chose not to renew the lease so the space can become part of the Carolina Rising Museum’s gift shop and waiting area. That’s how civic growth works, sometimes your chapter makes room for someone else’s.
What happened inside these walls over the last decade surpassed every expectation considering I was told it wouldn't last longer than two years in a small rural town like Gaffney.
BGEN secured funding and invested over a quarter of a million dollars in upgrades to the City's building and doubled in size by year five.
We became the model other rural towns across the state looked to as an example of innovation and support.
The federal government funded our program back-to-back, something almost unheard of because the model was working.
But the real story wasn’t the funding or all the recognition.
It was the people. The risks. The first sales. The late nights. The “I think this might actually work” moments.
This place mattered.
The building is empty.
My heart is full.
And I still have too many ideas to retire.
The storefront space may be closing but the vision is expanding.
If you’ve ever supported BGEN, launched here, attended a workshop here, or believed in what we were building, I’d love for you to stay connected for this next chapter.
Join me here:
https://brianzig.kit.com/94a4e9a610
Thank you to all of BGEN's partners, entrepreneurs, dreamers, mentors, and supporters who made this space matter over all these years. I don’t know exactly what’s next, but you know me. I’ll be building something AWESOME.
- ZIG
