RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Each week, the exclusive WRAL TechWire Triangle Startup Guide is updated. Here are some of the latest updates and additions. These weekly updates are part of our Startup Monday lineup.
Latest additions
RTP Angel Fund
The annual Big Launch Challenge is a chance for startups to pitch for $15,000 in cash prizes, as well as additional capital opportunities. The event is hosted by The Launch Place, an investor based in Danville, Virginia. The organization has expanded its presence in the Triangle market with an RTP office and several local startups in its portfolio. In a decade of hosting the competition, The Launch Place has awarded $189,000 to 19 companies (as of 2023). Winners sometimes attract later investments from The Launch Place.
Previous updates
RIoT Foundations launched in 2023 to help early-stage entrepreneurs and small business owners jumpstart their ventures on a solid footing. The free, four-week program guides participants through business development best practices, the Lean Canvas business plan model, customer/market validation and financial management. While RIoT specializes in educating tech startups through its popular RIoT Accelerator Program (RAP), Foundations is open to businesses in any industry.
Previous updates
We made two other additions last week for the Accelerators and Mentorship Programs section.
We updated the First Flight Propeller listing with a link to TW’s latest article. I also embedded this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmaojifzssM
We have two other updates this week for the Accelerators and Mentorship Programs section.
First Flight Venture Center’s Propeller Program
Launched in 2020, First Flight Venture Center’s Propeller Program uses a design thinking framework to help tech and life science ventures identify and communicate their value to potential investors, partners and customers. Read more TechWire coverage here.
The next cohort, starting in September 2023, will center around ag tech startups. Apply here.
2.) We also added UNC’s Venture Catalyst program, which is seeking fellows for its next cohort:
UNC’s Venture Catalyst Program
UNC Chapel Hill’s Venture Catalyst program matches graduate and postdoctoral students with faculty-founded startups. Fellows and founders work together on market research, business development, customer discovery and other areas critical in bringing scientific and social ventures to the market. Read more coverage here.
Applications are open for the next round of fellows through July 23 at 5 p.m. The program will run from August 2023 to April 2024.
Here are the latest:
We updated the “Competitions, Grants & Other Funding Sources” section with a new listing: Venture Atlanta, an upcoming pitch event currently accepting applications from Southeast-based startups. While the guide mainly lists Triangle-specific resources, we occasionally add regional or national programs with a large impact, such as South Carolina’s prominent DIG SOUTH Tech Summit. Venture Atlanta attracts over 1,300 attendees and 350 investment funds across the Southeast annually, with more than 30 North Carolina-based startups in its alumni network.
Venture Atlanta is one of the Southeast’s premier startup conferences, featuring a pitch program targeting tech-enabled, seed- to growth-stage startups looking to raise funds over the next 1.5 years. North Carolina-based companies regularly headline the annual pitch event, with nearly three dozen local startups in its alumni network as of mid-2023. The conference launched in 2007 and now draws over 1,300 attendees and 350 investment funds per year. Its events have catalyzed $7.5 billion in investments and over $17 billion in exits.
Applications are open for the 2023 edition, held Sept. 27-28 in Atlanta. The deadline is July 28: https://wraltechwire.com/event/application-deadline-venture-atlanta-startup-showcase-live/
2) We added new data on the Triangle Tweener Fund to the “Venture Capital and Angel Groups” section. Here’s the updated listing (with changes 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 mid-2023, it had grown to 144 investors and deployed over $4.6 million into 72 local startups across 86 investments.
OTHER RECENT UPDATES
We’ve added an upcoming pitch event to the “Competitions, Grants & Other Funding” section of the guide:
Start-Up Stadium is a Shark Tank-style pitch event that launched in 2019 as a feature of the annual BIO Impact Ag and Environment Conference. Early-stage biotechnology startups present five-minute pitches to a panel of experienced investors across the agricultural and environmental industries. Participants will get feedback and potential funding to help take their ventures to the next level.
The program targets entrepreneurs who have raised less than $10 million and are focused on food/farm innovations, sustainable fuels, and bio-based manufacturing. The 2023 event will be held in Raleigh.
Applications are open for this year’s program, taking place this September at the BIO Impact Conference in Raleigh.
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Be sure to check out this post about why your startup might benefit from an accelerator program: Accelerating your startup’s growth: How joining an accelerator can help
Two earlier changes were made in the “Venture Capital & Angel Groups” section:
1.) We added QHP Capital to the list:
Raleigh’s QHP Capital funds middle-market life science and pharma companies offering tech-enabled solutions to critical challenges in the medical field, such as reducing the cost of care, improving efficiency and minimizing unnecessary procedures. As of 2023, the firm has around $2.5 billion in assets under management. Read more coverage here.
2.) We also updated an existing listing (originally added in 2019) to include new information about the firm’s scope and projects:
Durham-based Leyline Renewable Capital invests in development-stage renewable energy projects across the solar, wind power and battery storage markets. The fund has backed a few projects in North Carolina, including distributed generation and utility-scale solar energy developments
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Last week’s update features the addition of the City of Raleigh’s new Small Business Insights tool, which launched last week. Details are below, along with two screenshots of the tool (from this page).
Headed by Raleigh-based Black Dollar Corp., Raise Up! is a free platform where small business owners, startup founders and organizations can request funding, sponsorships, donations or other forms of support from the broader community. The platform serves as a crowdsourcing tool for financial assistance and resources.
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1.) We’ve updated the listing for Duke’s Office of Translation & Commercialization, which oversees the university’s tech transfer and commercialization activities. The updated description (with the latest data in bold) is below:
2.) We’ve added TechWire columnist Jes Averhart’s podcast:
Jes Averhart, a local entrepreneur and former executive director of Leadership Triangle, hosts the Reinvention Road Trip podcast. Launched in 2020, the program features women founders sharing their insights on a range of subjects, from burnout and imposter syndrome to leadership strategies and successful pivots.
Other recent changes, additions:
And there’s this news from Raleigh:
In April 2023, the City of Raleigh launched a series of in-depth “Startup Roadmaps” to help local businesses navigate the business formation process in their respective industries. Links to each roadmap are below.
- Restaurants: This section covers zoning, special districts, the site plan review process, hiring licensed design professionals, building and sign permits, outdoor seating, curbside pickup zones, food service and alcohol regulations, city beer/wine licensing, and more.
+++We are in the process of making several changes to our interactive map listing incubators and coworking spaces. We’ve added a new site and updated several links to spaces in the Triangle.
Other news:
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Pull-Up at Provident is a free monthly event that brings together Durham’s bustling community of startup founders and small business owners to connect for networking and support. The program includes workshop sessions covering hot topics such as legal considerations, tax preparation, contracting certifications, budgeting, and tips for raising capital and landing grant funding. The series is held at Provident1898, a Durham-based coworking space home to a diverse and growing community of entrepreneurs and creators.
Two more resources were recently added to the “Inspiration, Advice & More Resources” section. Details + links below.
1.) I added Sarah Glova’s recent report on The Wright Village to the list of “Startup Hubs Series” stories.
Summary:
2.) I also added NC IDEA’s customer discovery guide. Summary:
NC IDEA’s multimedia Customer Discovery Guide features several videos, bite-sized steps for customer interviews and additional guidance for startups interested in applying to the organization’s grant programs.
More recent additions
- Oak City Biz Labs update in the COVID relief section at the bottom of the grant funding page.
Calendar link for the deadline: https://wraltechwire.com/event/application-deadline-oak-city-biz-labs-grants/
CED Venture Report
More recent updates:
More recent additions
This update applies to the VC/angel groups section:
Established in 2022, Jemison Alexander is a Chapel Hill-based venture capital firm investing in early-stage startups that have at least one founder who identifies as female. With initial investments typically ranging from $250,000 to $500,000, the firm is open to companies of all sectors. However, it’s especially interested in ventures pursuing digital health, SaaS, enterprise, consumer, finance and climate solutions.
- We’ve recently 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):
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:
2.) We’ve added RTP’s newly released 2022 Community Impact Report, which recaps the RTP ecosystem’s growth last year:
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.
More recent additions
- 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.
Previous updates
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.
We added a new “Startup Hubs” feature:
We also added NC TECH’s latest Tech Innovation Index report:
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:
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.
Coworking and daycare? Yes – that’s what makes Blush Cowork in Cary unique
From earlier updates:
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
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)
