Among all the efforts focusing on boosting startups in the Triangle these days, Groundwork Labs is unique.

It’s free.

And now the three-month mentoring program, which is funded by economic development group NC IDEA, is reaching beyond the Triangle to help startups by the offering of a housing stipend. Groundworks is based at The American Underground in Durham’s American Tobacco Historic District.

John Austin, director of Groundworks since its launch in 2012, talked with WRAL TechWire about the new program, how Groundworks is different, and the success it has had so far in helping grow new businesses from the ground up.

The stipend will be based on the needs of the startup teams and will cover the cost of a short-term apartment in Durham, Austin explains. Applications for the faull program, which begins Oct. 6, are now open.

Our Q&A:

  • What were the key factors in driving the stipend decision?

We spoke during the last year with folks in Charlotte, Winston Salem, Wilmington, and Greenville about the possibility of creating Groundwork Labs locations around the state – they had all approached us at one time or another. But we found it just wasn’t feasible – either the cost, logistics, or density of startups made it difficult.

Since NC IDEA’s mission is statewide, we did want to find a way to make it easier for those teams to participate.

Then we got to thinking, why not just NC, why not try and attract teams from outside the area, bring them here, show them our great community and maybe they’d stay.

Which is a little different than the NC companies – with them we are not trying to lure them here to stay but after 2-4 months carry back to their community expertise and connections that they can share with other startups in their area.

  • Are you seeing any change (up, down) in the “deal flow” of companies looking to Groundworks for support?

It’s been pretty consistent year-to-year, but surprisingly lumpy within each year. We get a lot of applications with NC IDEA grant submissions in February and September, we get a fair number in spring and fall, and things are quieter in the summer and December.

  • Are you getting any more/less inquiries from companies from outside the Triangle – and if so why?

There has been some increase, I think coinciding with NC IDEA’s actively reaching out more across the state. We have had 4 NC teams participate from outside the triangle, 1 from out of state, and housing has been a pain for all of them. We have had several other inquiries about the program and housing was a deterrent.

  • Are HQ Raleigh, Thinkhouse and other startup-focused efforts having negative/positive impact on what you are trying to do?

Each is a little different and appealing to startups in different situations. The only negative impact is the challenge in each effort clearly articulating their differences and why a startup would want to be involved in each program. There is a tendency to lump things together that are quite different efforts.

  • How do you measure success with what Groundworks is doing?

Our metrics are the same as NC IDEAs – we measure employment and revenue generated by the entrepreneurs we help. It’s still early to have much meaningful data on those metrics yet, so in the meantime we measure steps along the way: grants received,investment capital raised, and accelerator acceptances.

We have had 60 companies go through the program. About 20 are no longer active, another 10 are struggling, 15 it’s too early to tell, and another 15 are doing well.

We have produced seven NC IDEA grant winners, seven accelerator acceptances (four to The Startup Factory [in Durham], one to Tech Stars Chicago, one to Tech Wildcatters Dallas, and one to Healthbox Nashville).

In the aggregate, following their time at Groundwork Labs 15 companies have raised more than $1.5 million in equity and recieved more than $1.1 million in grants.