Early on in the founding of a company, entrepreneurs have to wear many different hats as they seek to grow their business. Aside from the balancing of personal life and business life, before a company has a person to fill every role, founders must assume many different positions and find new ways to efficiently scale. Luckily for those in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina, founders are not alone, as there are myriad groups, events, and opportunities for founders to be aware of where they can find help as they juggle the responsibilities of running a startup.

One of the chief concerns of any startup founder is raising capital to continue funding the growth of their new company. Most founders can only bootstrap for so long until outside assistance is necessary as they navigate towards becoming cash flow-positive, yet securing this funding is often time-consuming and distracting from a company’s mission. Institutional investors such as VC firms often have criteria that they require companies to meet before they will consider investing, such as a certain amount of monthly recurring revenue, or daily active users. If a company has not reached these thresholds yet, accelerators and incubators can help companies achieve their goals by providing the tools, guidance, and sometimes capital to do so. The following is a list of accelerators and incubators located in the Research Triangle area that can help provide this valuable guidance and capital to founders as they continue to scale.

1789 seeks to connect UNC-Chapel Hill founders to the right mentors and resources while they are in the early stages of starting a business. Powered by Innovate Carolina, UNC-Chapel Hill’s department of innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic development, 1789 provides resources including mentoring services, meet-and-greet events, and opportunities to secure funding. The 1789 Student Venture Fund provides UNC students with the opportunity to turn their concept into a real-life business, and applications are typically open from mid-August through the beginning of October. 1789 is located on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. 

American Underground (AU) has several locations across Durham where entrepreneurs can find resources for growth. Aside from providing a community for startup founders and flexible office and meeting space locations for members, AU offers the “Idea to Entrepreneur Program,” which includes a kickoff bootcamp, 1-on-1 conversations with business experts, educational curriculum, networking opportunities, the opportunity to pitch to the startup community, and free three-month coworking membership at AU. AU also partners with Google for Startups to assist black founders in raising seed capital and successfully growing their businesses in a weeklong program called “Black Founders Exchange.” 

Named for Lyn and Chip Andrews, the Andrews Launch Accelerator provides NC State founders with the resources, guidance, and funding to scale their companies. The program is 14 weeks, and occurs over the summer, which culminates in the chance for founders to receive equity-free seed capital from the NC State Acceleration Fund. Startups can receive between $5,000 and $50,000 to fund their businesses, in addition to many perks including, but not limited to: AWS or Google Cloud credits, access to angel networks, and recruiting services. Andrews Launch Accelerator is located at NC State University in Cary, and the 2022 program ran from May to July. 

The Camel Accelerator is a graduate program run by Campbell University. A result of a grant from NC IDEA and the RTP Foundation, the Camel Accelerator seeks to provide underserved founders where companies can engage in experiments that may open opportunities for growth. Founders must be minority, female, or reside in a rural area. The second cohort in the accelerator’s history  began the program, a combination of in-person meetings in Buies Creek and Zoom meetings, on February 1, 2023. 

FYSO (Figure Your Sh*t Out) was started by Christina Marie Noel, a Raleigh-based entrepreneur who also is the CEO of Noel and Co., a marketing and strategy consultancy. FYSO provides founders with the opportunity to put their big ideas to the test, providing cohorts with judgment-free, confidential spaces to share ideas and resources. The six-month program is designed to help founders ensure they have a plan going forward to make their business a success. 

GRO is an incubator by the Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED), which was formed by business leaders in 1984 to empower entrepreneurial growth in North Carolina. Cohort companies “attend weekly classes delivered by top-notch speakers, receive 1:1 coaching from industry leaders and entrepreneurs, and complete assignments to help launch their venture.” The 12-week program concludes in a demo day, a pitch to their community including their unique ask for support. CED is located in Research Triangle Park.

Launch Chapel Hill is a startup accelerator, community, and coworking space located in Chapel Hill. The accelerator has 3 cohorts per year, which begin in May, September, and January. Though it is located in Chapel Hill near the UNC campus, startups need not have any connection to UNC or the general Chapel Hill area for both the fall and winter cohorts. Though Launch Chapel Hill does not always provide startups with funding, they are able to provide scholarships on occasion, in addition to many connections to VC firms, grant-issuing agencies, and angel investors. The 14-to-16-week programs cover topics from value propositions to product testing and user experience.

RIoT is a nonprofit organization made up of entrepreneurs and technologists that have a stake in the Internet of Things industry. Founded in 2014, RIoT offers the RIoT Accelerator Program, a 12-week program that connects founders to “an industry consortium of more than 90 companies across the IoT technology stack to learn, partner, and bring your [founders’] product to market.” That being said, founders don’t need to be starting an IoT company to apply, as the program is stage and industry agnostic. The Summer 2023 Cohort will be located in Cary. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. One of Hyperspace’s portfolio companies, Rownd, participated in the RIoT Accelerator Program several years ago.

There is no shortage of fantastic accelerator and incubator programs in the Research Triangle, as this list exemplifies. Hyperspace Ventures is proud to be part of this community of both innovative founders and resourceful advisors and mentors. To learn more about Hyperspace Ventures and our work in the startup ecosystem of North Carolina, or to find out more about working with our team, send us an email at hello@hyperspaceventures.com, or submit an inquiry here!