The award
In February 2026, the Cabarrus Regional Chamber of Commerce named FocalGroove its New Business of the Year. For a company that opened its doors in downtown Concord not long before that, it means more than we can fit in a press release.
What we take from it isn't that the work has been perfect. It's that showing up locally — for clients, at Chamber events, in the rooms where Cabarrus County businesses actually gather — gets noticed. That was the bet when we started, and the award says the bet is working.
What got us here
The honest answer is our clients. The bakery that trusted us with a social audience it built over years. The IT company that let us rebuild its site from scratch. The consultants, roofers, and creatives who took a chance on a new local firm. Their results are the resume; the award just put a frame around it.
It's also the community work: The Groove Studio at Flywheel Coworking, and the two meetups we host there every month — the Concord AI Lab on third Tuesdays, and Concord Software Developers on second Thursdays. Those rooms have become some of our favorite hours of the month.
What's next
More of the same, on purpose. More local businesses with real problems solved well, more sessions in the studio, more people in the meetup rooms. If you're building something in Cabarrus County and want a hand with the marketing, the website, or the studio work, come say hello — the door's at 57 Union Street South.