Just two blocks off the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, Launch Chapel Hill serves as the unofficial headquarters for startup activity in Chapel Hill and Orange County.  Results since its January 2013 launch include” 49 startups, 94 jobs, and $3.7 million in funding. Out partner site Exit Event provides a closer look at the accelerator.

In recent years, UNC-Chapel Hill has committed to making entrepreneurship one of the school’s cornerstones. The ever-growing Entrepreneurship Minor is now enrolling more than 150 students per year; the Carolina Challenge continues to develop as a premier year-long business competition, and a $100 million gift to the School of Pharmacy was used to create the Eshelman Institute for Innovation earlier this year. (Here’s ExitEvent’s overview of UNC entrepreneurship activities)

Part of that commitment to entrepreneurship came in the form of Launch Chapel Hill, a partnership between the university, the Town of Chapel Hill and a private donor. Opened in January 2013, the 3500-square-foot office space hosts a mix of UNC students and faculty and local residents, all looking for help growing and scaling their startups.

Since opening its doors, Launch has graduated 42 companies from the accelerator, with seven startups participating in the 22-week program now.

Launch Chapel Hill By the Numbers


7 — Companies currently going through Launch Chapel Hill’s 22-week accelerator program
11 — Launch accelerator program alumni that are continuing to work out of the space as “tenant ventures”
49 — Total companies that have gone through the 22-week accelerator program since January 2013
37 — Companies still in operation
33% — Percent of the companies that won Carolina Challenge honors in 2015, spanning all three competition categories
94 — Total number of employees (full and part-time) hired by companies that have gone through Launch Chapel Hill program
$3.685M — Total funding raised by Launch startups through December 2014
*24 of 34 teams served through December 2014 responded to survey

For the full story at Exit Event see: http://exitevent.com/article/launch-chapel-hill-overview-151009