Ecosystem Partners

Eshelman Innovation

Chapel Hill·Venture Studio

UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy's healthcare innovation arm. Operates a Therapeutics Accelerator (oncology, neuroscience, infectious diseases) and a Venture Studio that incubates digital-health startups around opioid-use disorder, food insecurity, and clinical decision-making.

24 and Up

Raleigh·Venture Studio

Raleigh venture studio from Pendo co-founder Eric Boduch. The studio acts as a hands-on co-founder rather than a check-writer: each company gets capital plus an in-house team of engineers, designers, and operators who build alongside its CEO over an initial 24-month plan. The bet is that operational involvement, not just funding, is what early-stage companies are short on.

Launch Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill·Accelerator

Downtown Chapel Hill accelerator and coworking space, run as a partnership with UNC, the Town of Chapel Hill, and Orange County. Cohort-based accelerator program runs alongside member coworking.

NC IDEA

Durham·Grants & Foundation

Independent private foundation supporting North Carolina entrepreneurs through non-dilutive grants and programming. Three active grant tiers form a ladder by check size and program intensity: MICRO for early validation, SEED for growth-stage scaling, Bold Path for under-resourced founders pursuing entrepreneurship full-time. SOAR serves additional founder cohorts.

The Seed List

Durham·Talent Program

Durham nonprofit matching current students into meaningful technical work at Research Triangle startups. The summer program pairs student teams with startup projects, mentorship from The Seed List team, and workspace access through American Underground.

Code the Dream

Durham·Talent Program

Durham nonprofit offering free software-development classes and paid apprenticeships for people from backgrounds underrepresented in tech. CTD Labs builds client software with senior developers mentoring apprentices. Employer partnerships connect companies with trained developers; joining is free, while the Tandem managed apprenticeship is separately priced and scoped.

Knox Street Studios

Durham·Accelerator

Durham community-builder at 1307 W Knox St, operated by AB Community (501(c)(3)). Programs span three pillars: entrepreneurship (Startup Weekend Durham, Launch Lab early-stage accelerator, and Launch Proof, a twelve-session accelerator for Durham business owners run with the City of Durham), STEM education, and community events. Strong support for diverse and underrepresented founders. Backed by Google, the City and County of Durham, NC IDEA, and others.

American Underground

Durham·Coworking

Downtown Durham coworking and startup community at 324 Blackwell St (the ATC building). Long-running Triangle startup hub; hosts member companies, partner events, and community gatherings, including Startup Weekend Durham VII (May 2026).

Shared workspace at 112 Broadway Street in downtown Durham for nonprofits, social enterprises, founders and remote workers. Offers coworking memberships, private offices, conference rooms and event space, with community programs including Coffee Conversations and Free Coworking Day.

Raleigh Founded

Raleigh·Coworking

Coworking community with multiple downtown Raleigh locations. Hosts member companies, peer programs, and ecosystem events. Formerly HQ Raleigh.

National coworking operator with Triangle locations across Raleigh, Cary, and Durham. Acquired by CBRE in 2024. Listed for the local footprint, not the national parent.

The Council for Entrepreneurial Development, a nonprofit running since 1984 that puts founders, investors and community partners in one network. Programs run in three communities: Forge for founders (membership, the GRO incubator), Connect for partners (Strength in Numbers, students), and Accelerate for investors (Dealroom). Its public events calendar is the densest single source of founder programming in the Triangle, and much of it is open to non-members. Annual Venture Connect conference at DPAC in Durham.

North Carolina's original science-based technology incubator, operating since 1991 at 2 Davis Drive inside Research Triangle Park. Offers lab and office space to resident companies and runs non-dilutive federal funding programs: FAST for SBIR and STTR applicants, LiftOff for grant strategy, and BARDA DRIVe for health security. Also runs the Propeller pre-accelerator, WheelsUP accelerator, Test Flight pitch practice and the Itineraries science talks.

Research Triangle Park's own innovation campus at 800 Park Offices Drive: flex office and lab space, event space for groups of 15 to 150, and free public coworking on the first floor of Building 800, Monday through Friday 8 to 5, open to anyone. Runs its own programming (Out of Office, RTP180, RTPFit) and hosts other organizers. Its address posts as Durham, as every RTP address does.

A statewide business development and technology transition entity of the North Carolina Community College System, headquartered at Fayetteville Technical Community College. Its job is to connect North Carolina businesses with federal and defense buyers: recurring virtual training such as Introduction to Federal Contracting, quarterly industry forums by sector (innovation and technology, medical, combat systems, textiles), and a technology transition office for companies new to selling to the government. Statewide rather than Triangle-based; listed because the federal buyer base is large and easy for a Triangle software or hardware company to overlook.

Wake Tech Community College's free help desk for people starting and growing businesses, on its Western Wake Campus at 3434 Kildaire Farm Road in Cary. Any Wake County resident or business can book one-on-one counseling, take training that runs from a one-hour webinar to a 10-week course, or apply to LaunchWakeCounty, a no-fee cohort program run with Wake County towns. It's part of the statewide North Carolina Small Business Center Network.

Durham Technical Community College's small-business center, with offices in downtown Durham at 701 W. Main St. and in Chapel Hill at 136 E. Rosemary St. New and existing business owners can book free, one-on-one counseling, take free seminars and webinars on business skills, and use its library of business books and local resources.

Central Carolina Community College's small-business center for Chatham County, at 764 West St. in Pittsboro. It offers free one-on-one counseling and free seminars and webinars, and Chatham County's economic development office sends its small-business requests here. Sister offices in the same college network serve Lee County in Sanford and Harnett County in Lillington.

Statewide business advisory service, founded in 1984 and run from University of North Carolina System campuses, for small and mid-sized businesses and promising startups. Three Triangle offices take appointments: NC State in Raleigh (Wake plus eight counties to its east and north), NC Central in Durham (Durham County), and UNC-Chapel Hill (Orange, Chatham, Alamance, Lee and Person counties).