Jumpstarting companies and economic growth
Launch Chapel Hill has become an X-factor in helping innovators and entrepreneurs at Carolina.
What started as an entrepreneurial project in 2013 has evolved into an economic force, fulfilling a vision for nurturing new businesses in Chapel Hill and the local community.
Over the past five years, Launch Chapel Hill has supported 75 startups and made a lasting impact on the region. And, along the way, it’s proved that Chapel Hill is an ideal place for startups to take root and grow.
Now an internationally-recognized startup accelerator, Launch Chapel Hill emerged as a university-town-county partnership and was co-founded by UNC-Chapel Hill leaders, the Town of Chapel Hill, the Downtown Partnership and Orange County Economic Development.
Located in the heart of the downtown area, it provides valuable resources and connections to high-potential founders who want to start and build successful businesses. Those founders include faculty and students at the University and entrepreneurial residents in the community at large.
At the helm of Launch Chapel Hill is Program Manager Dina Rousset, a senior associate director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. Since joining in March 2013, she has used her experience developing and managing entrepreneurial ventures to build the programming and staff of Launch Chapel Hill.
“I view Launch as a startup,” she said. “We are all entrepreneurs and bring that startup mentality to our programming.”
Like many of the new ventures it supports, Launch Chapel Hill is also powered by a network of strategic partners. In this case, it’s the University, Town of Chapel Hill and Orange County working together. University support comes via Innovate Carolina, the UNC-Chapel Hill’s cross-campus alliance of people and programs that gives innovators and entrepreneurs the resources and tools to put their ideas into action.
The financial support from Innovate Carolina combined with programming support and direction from the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, which is led by Ted Zoller, T.W. Lewis Clinical Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, help make Launch Chapel Hill a valuable resource for faculty and students with inventive ideas for businesses.
“Launch Chapel Hill has become an X-factor in terms of helping innovators and entrepreneurs at Carolina and in the local community go from business concept to breakthrough company,” said Judith Cone, vice chancellor for innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development, who leads the Innovate Carolina initiative. “It signals to entrepreneurs that our local area is a welcoming place for them to do business, while providing experiential learning for our students, faculty and staff.”
From new cohorts to a close-knit community
Each year, Launch Chapel Hill accepts two cohorts of entrepreneurs who are committed to building their early-stage businesses into self-sustaining enterprises. Cohorts have access to a community of peers, a network of experts, a modern workspace, and the resources needed to achieve success or reduce the costs of failure.
“It’s been fun to see the community around Launch step in and provide support to our cohorts, whether they contribute in time, treasure or talent,” Rousset said. “What’s great is the strong community that has formed among the companies and individuals who have participated.”
Launch Chapel Hill continues to pay it forward on campus and in the community. Cohort graduates and teams remain local, not only working on their businesses, but also helping other aspiring entrepreneurs. The result is a close-knit network of experts who serve as mentors, work as entrepreneurs-in-residence with University programs, stay connected at Launch Chapel Hill Pizza Fridays, and gather at cohort kickoffs to offer additional support.
“As the startup community, Chapel Hill, Orange County and the University continue to grow, there is a need for a central hub for entrepreneurship within the UNC and Raleigh-Durham ecosystem,” Rousset said. “Our desire at Launch is to be that hub, providing resources needed to fill that larger role in the community.”
