Good Times

In only six months, Check What’s Good has become a central spot to discover what’s happening in Wilmington. The website and its supporting social media, which serve as a resource for cool things to do in the ILM, have already reached three million people, according to Check What’s Good cofounder MEGAN ROWE. 

She has continuously improved the website, and she is brimming with ideas to further enhance the business. Along the way, Rowe hopes to grow Check What’s Good’s profitability.  

“We have big ideas and are trying to do a lot of things at once,” Rowe says. “Now we have to narrow in on how to make a profit and make it sustainable for us, our users, and the businesses we work with.” 

While her entrepreneurial spirit was a major factor in developing the website, she also wanted to create something of value for the community. Rowe, who graduated from the University of North Carolina Wilmington in 2020, built an algorithm and website with her brother in 2023 that compiled information about local events and small businesses. She had been working at the digital marketing agency Brave Creative in the Cargo District, and that experience showed her the marketing difficulties many small businesses face. 

“From my work at a creative agency, I knew cool things that were happening here,” she says. “But I would talk to my friends, and they would say it is so boring in Wilmington. I wanted to give businesses one place to be found, and there was not an option for that.” 

Rowe has already made several changes to the Check What’s Good website to ensure both users and businesses get what they need. For example, to improve the user experience, she made the website function more like an app, and users can now create an account. That allows users to save a list of things they want to do, Rowe explains, adding that they can also sort events geographically. 

Another new feature to the site, and one that Rowe plans to expand, is its “Our Top Picks” section. In addition to Rowe’s seal of approval, selected businesses get a short description and video showing potential customers what they can expect.  

“Businesses in Wilmington put so much heart and soul into their businesses and plan events they think people will like,” she says. “Through Check What’s Good, I amplify their voices.” 

Rowe hopes to add more cities to Check What’s Good, as she reasons that travelers are always seeking things to do in other places.  

Though getting Check What’s Good off the ground isn’t without its challenges, Rowe says she has the perfect job. She loves learning about local events, restaurants and bars, activities, and sharing her finds with the community.  

“I love what I do,” she says. “My goal was to connect with the community and make that a viable career. I have fun and engage in the community and show off the best of Wilmington.”

To view more of photographer Daria Amato’s work, go to dariaphoto.com.

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