She Is Rebuilding America’s Flower Industry w/ Amy Dunlap | Ep. 40

Episode 40 of Ecosysteming welcomes Amy Dunlap, CEO and Co-founder of Stemz, a Winston-Salem based logistics and technology company connecting U.S. flower farmers with floral creatives.

Host Thom Ruhe chats with Amy about the unprecedented growth Stemz has experienced over the past year, leading her team to expand beyond North Carolina and raise a new seed round. Amy shares the journey behind that momentum, from designing flowers at Walt Disney World, to closing her custom floral design studio in 2018, to building one of North Carolina’s most exciting emerging companies.

Amy’s story is also deeply connected to NC IDEA. Her journey includes NC IDEA LABS in 2019, NC IDEA MICRO ($10K) in 2020, NC IDEA SEED ($50K) in 2021, and most recently, an NC IDEA Rural Impact Grant ($20K) in 2025. For anyone looking to better understand how founders can tap into North Carolina’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, this episode is for you.