Need A Nerd earns second SBOY finalist nod in four years

Published 7:00 am Friday, June 13, 2025

Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a four-part series featuring the Milledgeville-Baldwin County Chamber of Commerce’s finalists for 2025 Small Business of the Year. The winner will be announced Saturday, June 14, at the annual Chamber Awards Gala.

A business birthed in the bedroom of a college apartment has since boomed to become a staple in downtown Milledgeville.

For more than a decade, IT service and repair provider Need A Nerd has fixed what ails customers’ devices, whether they be computers, cellphones or tablets. The company’s work has landed it a spot as a Small Business of the Year finalist for the second time in four years.

Atlanta native Mark Brownlow is the brains behind behind the business, and is glad to see his team be recognized.

“It’s an incredible honor and a real recognition of hard work, dedication, and passion that we put into the business every day,” Brownlow said. “It means the community sees and values what we’re building. That’s truly rewarding.”

Brownlow’s strong tie to technology has existed from a young age when he would take trips to Radio Shack with his father. They played video games on the original Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES, raced remote-controlled cars, and figured out the family’s first Power Macintosh computer together.

“Technology and electronics have always fascinated me,” Brownlow said. “I wanted a computer from the first time I ever saw one.”

That love continued throughout his life into college when he attended Georgia College & State University as a computer science major. He had some background repairing friends’ and family members’ computers, then went a little more legit by having business cards made up and started using his apartment bedroom as a home base in 2012. The next step along the journey was an incubator space — a designated area in an existing business for a startup venture to grow — in the former Digital Bridges downtown. That’s where Brownlow met mentor and investor David Sinclair, who, along with the business’ success, helped Need A Nerd launch into its own dedicated location.

Since 2015 Need A Nerd has called 110 N. Wayne St. home. The business sees to walk-in customers who need their phones and computers repaired, and answers the call of local small- to medium-sized businesses who need a wide range of IT services.

“We’re basically an outsourced IT department for many of our fellow business owners,” said Brownlow. “We’re a new breed of nerds that are here to save the day, one computer at a time.”

As far as walk-ins go, the Need A Nerd owner said iPhone screen repair has been a big driver on that side of the business. When fallen or dropped phones suffer cracked screens, users are left disconnected in this perpetually-connected age. It’s at that point a person has two options: get the screen replaced, or purchase a new phone, which often comes with a price tag that’s hundreds of dollars more. Like the Superman-esque superhero on the company’s logo, Need A Nerd is there to save the day and get folks back to scrolling.

“People feel like they’re missing a limb without their phones, so they’re scared to leave without it,” Brownlow said. “We try to achieve a two-hour turnaround time if we can.”

While college students are frequent customers, Need A Nerd is not one of those local businesses that is fully dependent on that market in order to keep the lights on. The mix of customer bases, along with a love of the town, make Brownlow happy to call Milledgeville home.

“My wife Kayla and I are just so happy to be part of this community, putting down roots and raising our family here,” he said. “We’re all in on investing in this community because we’re proud to be a part of something that’s bigger than ourselves.”

The 2025 Small Business of the Year is being announced at the Milledgeville-Baldwin County Chamber of Commerce awards dinner and gala to be held this Saturday at Magnolia Ballroom. Not only will the small business finalists and winner be recognized, but, for the first time ever, a Large Business of the Year is being recognized. Businesses with 50 or fewer employees are in the small category while businesses with 51 or more are considered large. The Chamber does not name finalists for the Large Business of the Year honor. Only the winner will be named at Saturday’s gala, adding a new element to a longstanding tradition in the local business community.