Carolina Startup

UNC CAMPUS STARTUP RESOURCES
CAROLINA CHALLENGE: UNC's cross-campus startup competition for students, faculty and staff. In the fall there are idea competitions; the spring hosts the main venture competition with $50,000 in prize money. CAROLINA KICKSTART COMMERCIALIZATION AWARDS: These awards help early-stage company meet commercial milestones either on the technical side (prototype development, animal studies) or the business side (regulatory pathway, freedom to operate). Requests for proposals (RFAs) are solicited on a quarterly basis from faculty founders. The awards are in the $25,000 to $50,000 range depending the on the company's needs.
Carolina Challenge Pitch Party -- over 200 attendees, 50 ideas being pitched, $1000 for top idea. The Minor in Entrepreneurship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill teaches students the necessary skills to start successful ventures. This interdisciplinary minor in UNC's College of Arts and Sciences encourages students to think and act entrepreneurially. Students will gain knowledge and skills to start successful ventures of all kinds: commercial, social, scientific and artistic.
UNC OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT INNOVATION SEMINAR SERIES: A monthly series of seminars with guest speakers covering a range of topics related to technology commercialization. Networkng at Top of the Hill follows each seminar. CHANCELLOR'S FACULTY BOOT CAMP ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP
UNC's Carolina Innovation Emerging Company Showcase Series connects University innovators with industry leaders. This event showcases UNC-Chapel Hill's most promising technologies and innovations to an audience of investors, entrepreneurs and senior executives. Attendees hear from top researchers and are provided a first look at cutting edge technologies and/or early stage companies built around them. LAUNCHING THE VENTURE is a series of courses that help faculty, staff and students from across the UNC campus turn ideas into new ventures. Two-day workshop for Duke and UNC faculty and students designed to teach practical aspects starting a biomedical/life science company.
MBA and BSBA Classes: Both graduate and undergraduate students at the business school have many entrepreneurship course options. These courses are sometimes available to non-business majors.
IDEACRUNCH: Our mission is to educate and provide opportunities for graduate students and postdocs to learn about research commercialization and facilitate meaningful interactions among students who share an interest in entrepreneurship. Several programs around campus have entrepreneurs in residence to coach aspiring UNC entrepreneurs.
As part of Carolina’s innovation agenda, and in partnership with the College of Arts and Sciences, the Campus Y has launched an interdisciplinary hub for social innovators at UNC, providing legal, accounting, communications and assessment services to start-ups, high quality capacity-building workshops for their leaders, as well as seed capital to help grow these ventures into sustainable organizations that can successfully spin out of the University and scale up. The Incubator facilitates peer-to-peer learning, mentoring and coaching, creating an intensive support network for entrepreneurs grappling with challenges in their organizational development. CAROLINA LAUNCH PAD is UNC's pre-commercial business accelerator for early-stage information technology startups from the UNC community. Medical Technology Innovation & Design (Medtech-ID) is a four-part series of courses for graduate students at NCSU and UNC. The program brings together entrepreneurial teams to identify unmet medical needs and generate novel solutions.

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Carolina Entrepreneurship Resources include:
  • Minor in Entrepreneurship: The Minor in Entrepreneurship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill teaches students the necessary skills to start successful ventures. This interdisciplinary minor in UNC's College of Arts and Sciences encourages students to think and act entrepreneurially. Students will gain knowledge and skills to start successful ventures of all kinds: commercial, social, scientific and artistic.
  • Carolina Kickstart: These awards help early-stage company meet commercial milestones either on the technical side (prototype development, animal studies) or the business side (regulatory pathway, freedom to operate). Requests for proposals (RFAs) are solicited on a quarterly basis from faculty founders. The awards are in the $25,000 to $50,000 range depending the on the company's needs.
  • Carolina Challenge: UNC's cross-campus startup competition for students, faculty and staff. In the fall there are "idea" competitions; the spring hosts the main "venture" competition with $50,000 in prize money.
  • LAUNCH: Launching the Venture: Launching the Venture is a series of courses that help faculty, staff and students from across the UNC campus turn ideas into new ventures.
  • OTD Innovation Seminar Series: A monthly series of seminars with guest speakers covering a range of topics related to technology commercialization. Networkng at Top of the Hill follows each seminar.
  • Carolina Launch Pad: The Carolina Launch Pad is UNC's pre-commercial business accelerator for early-stage information technology startups from the UNC community.
  • UNC Emerging Companies Showcase: UNC's Carolina Innovation & Emerging Company Showcase Series connects University innovators with industry leaders. This event showcases UNC-Chapel Hill's most promising technologies and innovations to an audience of investors, entrepreneurs and senior executives. Attendees hear from top researchers and are provided a first look at cutting edge technologies and/or early stage companies built around them.

 

Above is for current Carolina students, staff and faculty to find resources on campus.

Below is for alumni and others to connect with each other and UNC startups.

Carolina Startup

Carolina Startup | get engaged

Below are programs, activities and resources for Startups for UNC alumni,
students, faculty and staff. Scroll down for on-campus resources.

Carolina Startup Link | Apply to compete in the Carolina Challenge. Deadline February 5.
Apply to pitch your venture at a VCIC event. Become a coach for a Launch team.

 

Supporters of Entrepreneurship at Carolina

Pruvop Topo Alston Hutchlaw

Support entrepreneurship at UNC.
Individual gifts to Carolina Challenge.
Corporate Sponsors for Challenge and campus-wide initiatives.

 

If you have any questions,
contact Patrick Vernon at the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies.