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Triangle Startup Guide 2023: More additions made to TechWire’s exclusive feature
Each week, the exclusive WRAL TechWire Triangle Startup Guide is updated. Here are some of the latest updates and additions through the end of 2022 and…
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Each week, the exclusive WRAL TechWire Triangle Startup Guide is updated. Here are some of the latest updates and additions through the end of 2022 and entering 2023. These weekly updates are part of our Startup Monday lineup.
Our latest additions:
- We’ve added TechWire’s latest Tweener Fund coverage and some new information to the existing listing in the VC and Angel Groups section of the guide. Updated description below (in bold):
The Triangle Tweener Fund is a sort of “index” targeting early-stage startups in the Triangle area. The fund mainly invests in companies featured on the Triangle Tweener List, an annual roundup of the region’s most promising tech startups compiled by local serial entrepreneur and investor Scot Wingo. The Tweener Fund launched in December 2021 with support from more than 20 Triangle-based entrepreneurs. By the end of 2022, it had grown to over 125 investors and deployed $2.8 million into 48 local startups.
- We’ve also added the Next Level program (a startup accelerator in Pittsboro) to the Accelerators and Mentorship Programs section. Applications are open for the upcoming cohort through Jan. 31. Description below.
Run by the Central Carolina Community College Small Business Center in Chatham County, this 10-week accelerator guides emerging entrepreneurs through the process of validating their business concepts using the lean startup strategy. Next Level participants will narrow down a target market, test and prove their ideas, and learn how to pitch to investors. Classes are free and located in Pittsboro.
Other recent updates apply to the inspiration/advice/more resources section:
1.) We’ve added Tom Snyder’s recent column about the Triangle’s tech scene:
Tom Snyder, a local tech leader and head of Raleigh-based RIoT, reviews the Triangle tech scene’s top accomplishments since the mid-1980s. The column offers a brief history of the leading organizations supporting local startups, from CED to NC IDEA to Raleigh Founded.
2.) We’ve added RTP’s newly released 2022 Community Impact Report, which recaps the RTP ecosystem’s growth last year:
Research Triangle Park’s annual Community Impact Report provides a look into the continued growth of the RTP ecosystem. It includes an overview of RTP’s newest projects, partnerships and initiatives, along with a list of accolades and recent announcements about companies expanding or relocating to RTP. The latest report documents the community’s growth in 2022, reaching over 375 established companies and startups and more than 60,000 employees.
Other recent updates apply to the “Accelerators & Mentorship Programs” section of the guide:
1.) One new addition: Campbell University’s Camel Accelerator
Campbell University’s Lundy-Fetterman School of Business launched its first Camel Accelerator cohort in 2021, aiming to bring together students, new business owners and mentors to help local startups grow. The annual program selects 10 to 20 North Carolina-based entrepreneurs who are female, minority or reside in a rural area. For 10 weeks, participants learn sales and marketing tips, connect with mentors, expand their networks and get connected to educational resources. Sessions are held in a hybrid format via Zoom and at Campbell’s Buies Creek campus.
Applications are currently open for the next cohort, running from February to April. The deadline is Jan. 5.
2.) Also updated is our Launch Chapel Hill listing with new data from its website (the updated portion is in bold below), and I replaced its old logo with a new one (see attached).
Launch Chapel Hill, a coworking space and incubator, has an accelerator program open to early-stage startups. It offers entrepreneurs on-site tools, resources and knowledge they can use to grow their ventures, covering areas like business models, how to evaluate market timing and assessing certain risks or growth potential. Since its founding in 2013, the program has graduated more than 170 startups, which went on to gain over $105 million in revenue and raise $63 million in capital.
As a side note: Applications are currently open for the spring 2023 Launch Chapel Hill cohort. The deadline is Jan. 5.
More recent additions
Every year, the Council for Entrepreneurial Development’s Venture Connect conference brings together over 1,000 local and regional entrepreneurs, in-state and out-of-state VCs, and other investors and stakeholders. The event features a much-anticipated pitch competition, in which high-growth startups present their products/services to gain visibility among investors, other entrepreneurs, corporate executives, potential customers and talent. The program eyes scaling companies in the tech, biotech, agtech, food innovation and consumer packaged goods markets. As of 2022, Venture Connect’s 6,700 alumni companies had raised about $6 billion in funding.
As TechWire reported, CED is now accepting applications for the 2023 event, scheduled for March 29-30 at GSK’s campus in RTP. Applications are due on Jan. 13.
- Here is startup financing news from Wolfpack Investor Network and Harbright Ventures:
Wolfpack Investor Network strikes partnership with Cary-based Harbright Ventures
- The Durham Success Summit recently opened applications for its Summit Scholars and Founders programs. The Summit Founders program to the “Accelerators/Mentorship Programs” section, as it’s relevant to local entrepreneurs.
Hosted by the Durham Success Summit, the Summit Founders Program is a free, six-month incubator offering training, mentorship and seed funding for ventures founded by Black men ages 16 to 24. Cohorts meet weekly in person and gain access to the Success Network, an online networking community. Separate from Summit Founders, the Durham Success Summit also hosts a three-month Summit Scholars Program for professionals to hone their networking and leadership skills.
Applications are open for the next cohort, scheduled to kick off in January. The deadline is Dec. 9.
Previous updates
Duke Angel Network recently changed its name to Duke Capital Partners. The existing listing on the “Venture Capital & Angel Groups” page has been changed to include the new name, along with some new information about its average investment and portfolio statistics. The updated listing is below:
Duke Capital Partners (previously known as the Duke Angel Network) funds student- and faculty-led startups, so long as the ventures have a founder, executive/board member or major investor who’s a student, alum, employee or parent. The group invests in early-stage companies, with its average contribution ranging from $500,000 to $2 million. As of November 2022, Duke Capital Partners’ portfolio features over 40 companies that went on to raise more than $900 million.
Another update applied to the Competitions, Grants and Other Funding Sources section:
In light of the NC Department of Commerce opening its latest round of One NC applications, I updated the “One North Carolina Small Business Program” listing to include additional information about reimbursements, as well as the number of recipients (over 340 companies) as of 2022. I also added the new logo. The updated listing is below:
Administered by the North Carolina Department of Commerce, this state program offers grant-matching to NC-based startups that have received Phase I awards from the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) federal programs. It also reimburses businesses for a portion of the costs of preparing and submitting SBIR or STTR proposals. Since 2006, One NC grants have supported more than 340 companies (as of November 2022). Read more TechWire coverage here.
Recently, Allstacks announced it had closed a $12.3 million fundraising round, NC IDEA announced the five individual winners of annual awards, and Greensboro-based fractional jet ownership company disclosed it had raised $16 million in new funding.
Taking off: Fractional ownership firm Jet It flies away with $16M in new funding
Week of Oct. 24:
Recent updates include the addition of 2ndF to the VC and angel groups section.
2ndF: With a focus on bringing the Triangle’s inclusive growth to the national stage, 2ndF aims to establish minority education programs, drive more growth in the tech sector, and invest in early-stage startups at both the angel and venture levels. The organization was founded in 2022 by Raleigh entrepreneur Bill Spruill, co-founder of the now-exited Global Data Consortium. Read more TechWire coverage here.
We also added the latest “Startup Hubs” feature to the inspiration/advice/more resources page:
- ‘The future of RTP:’ Horseshoe at HUB RTP celebrates groundbreaking: TechWire caught up with Jan Mactal of the Research Triangle Foundation to discuss Horseshoe at the Hub, a 125,000-square-foot mixed-use space coming to RTP soon.
‘The future of RTP:’ Horseshoe at HUB RTP celebrates groundbreaking on Tuesday
Week of Oct. 17:
We made two additions. Both apply to the “Inspiration/Advice/More Resources” section.
We added a new “Startup Hubs” feature:
- Coworking and daycare? Yes – that’s what makes Blush Cowork in Cary unique: Blush Cowork Co-Founder Alison Rogers talks about the Cary-based coworking space and what sets it apart: It’s North Carolina’s first women-focused coworking community offering childcare.
We also added NC TECH’s latest Tech Innovation Index report:
Through its Tech Innovation Index, the North Carolina Technology Association (NC TECH) provides a detailed snapshot of how the state’s metro areas compare to other top regions nationwide. Launched in December 2021, the annual report measures tech innovation across three categories: tech talent supply, tech talent demand and innovation. The latest edition ranked two Triangle hubs—Durham-Chapel Hill and Raleigh-Cary—within the top 10 metro areas. Find the 2022 report here and more TechWire coverage here.
Durham, Raleigh crack top 10 metros in new tech innovation study
Oct. 10 updates
We’ve added last week’s “Startup Hubs” feature to the “Inspiration, Advice and More Resources” section:
- Triangle Startup Guide exclusive: Inside 79 West entrepreneurial hub: Lee-Moore Capital Company CFO Kevin Scanlon discusses Pittsboro’s newest startup space, 79 West, which aims to bridge the economies of Orange and Chatham counties and support a variety of entrepreneurs, not just those in tech.
Recently, we’ve made two new additions:
- Equity Raise Podcast: Produced by American Underground and hosted by entrepreneur Naya Fela Powell, the Equity Raise Podcast features diverse startup founders sharing their experiences, how they overcame barriers, the lessons they’ve learned along the way and more.
- Welcome to Durham Bottling Co. – bringing a community-focused approach to startup hubs: TechWire spoke to Durham Bottling Co. Founder Nick Jordan and Community Manager Irene (Hui) Bowditch on the new space’s community-focused niche, trends in demand, plans for growth and more.
Coworking and daycare? Yes – that’s what makes Blush Cowork in Cary unique
From earlier updates:
The following listing has been added to the “Inspiration/Advice/More Resources” section.
Bull City Summit Podcast: The Bull City Summit launched in 2022 as a multi-day festival to connect the region’s entrepreneurs, musicians, artists and creatives. As an extension of the event, the Bull City Summit podcast features interviews with local and national entrepreneurs, business leaders, investors and more.
And here’s looks at new hub listings added recently in Chapel Hill and Pittsboro:
Heading: Industrious Chapel Hill – The Gwendolyn
Address: 101 Glen Lennox, Chapel Hill, NC 27517
Blurb: This coworking space opened in summer 2022 near UNC-Chapel Hill’s east campus and U.S. Highway 15/501. It features private offices for small teams, network memberships for hybrid workers and virtual addresses for businesses and individuals. The space is owned and operated by Industrious, a New York-based coworking firm that first expanded to the Triangle in 2015.
Photo (attached below)
Photo caption/credit: Industrious
Heading: 79°West Innovation Hub
Link: https://79westhub.com/
Address: 367 Freedom Pkwy Suite 130, Pittsboro, NC 27312
Blurb: 79°West Innovation Hub opened in August 2022 to provide office suites, conference rooms, coworking and programming for Chatham County’s growing entrepreneurial community. The space is situated inside MOSAIC, a 44-acre mixed-use development in Chatham Park.
Photo (attached below)
Photo caption/credit: 79°West, via Instagram
79 West Innovation Hub
The post Triangle Startup Guide 2023: More additions made to TechWire’s exclusive feature first appeared on WRAL TechWire.
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