Anil Chawla earned $100,000 in seven minutes on stage Tuesday night, yet it was years in the making.

Chawla, who founded the Durham-based company Archive Social, beat out seven other finalists pitching to five judges including Steve Case, the CEO of Revolution and co-founder of AOL, to take top honors at the Rise of the Rest Pitch Event held at the Carolina Theater in downtown Durham yesterday.

The pitch event was the culmination of a day of activity for Case’s Rise of the Rest bus tour, which started the day over breakfast with local policymakers and Gov. Pat McCrory.

“Our story is the story of entrepreneurship in the region,” said Chawla in an interview after receiving the $100,000 check. “For us to win this competition,” said Chawla, “it really reinforces how impactful it can be to build a company here.

The Triangle welcomes Rise of the Rest Tour

Case and the Rise of the Rest team toured hubs of entrepreneurial activity across the Triangle on Tuesday. After breakfast with policymakers, the bus pulled into the American Underground’s facility in downtown Raleigh, and then headed to HQ Raleigh to meet and interact with entrepreneurs.

“We are really impressed with the Triangle,” said Andy Stoll, an entrepreneur from Iowa City, who helped develop, organize and run the tour. Afternoon events included touring American Underground’s two facilities in Durham and a fireside chat with Case before the finalists made their pitches.

The tour was designed on the hypothesis that thriving entrepreneurial communities can be created anywhere, said Stoll, and the Triangle is an excellent proof of concept for that hypothesis.

“This is by far the most advanced ecosystem that we’ve seen,” said Stoll, The tour has made stops in Detroit, Minneapolis and Kansas City.

The Triangle is the eleventh stop on the tour. “The number and diversity of people involved in the ecosystem is really impressive,” Stoll said,

Fostering growth in the entrepreneurial sector

It’s in this ecosystem that Archive Social has grown and flourished. The company provides clients a software-as-a-service product that automatically captures and stores social media posts and content.

Chalwa launched the company in January of 2012 after working on a different project during Durham’s Startup Stampede. He landed the company in the inaugural class of The Startup Factory (at the time known as Triangle Startup Factory) in March of that year, and has been committed to growing the company in Durham since.

“To be honest with you guys, we have milked and squeezed everything we could out of every local entrepreneurial support program,” joked Chawla on stage during his pitch.

It has paid off major dividends. In fact, said Chawla, every city and county government in the Triangle uses Archive Social’s product.

“One of the things that is really special about the Triangle is the spirit of collaboration and camaraderie,” Case said.

Even amidst a contest against other finalists, the companies worked together to distribute and stash sample packs from Tom & Jenny’s, a company producing healthy candies that actually prevent cavities, under each of the auditorium seats prior to the event.

“I’ve never found a community that’s so invested in everyone else’s success,” said Stoll, the entrepreneur from Iowa City, “It’s a fantastic region.”

Community focus is reaping dividends

It’s paying off, too, said Stoll, and the world is noticing. Companies from the Triangle have won Google Demo Days in two straight years (Matt Williamson and Windsor Circle in 2014; Tatiana Birgisson and Mati in 2015). Six companies in the past 24 months have exited for a total of more than a billion dollars.

“There’s a reason we come here,” said Stoll, “It’s because you have excellent companies here.” While eight of them pitched on stage Tuesday, Stoll said there are hundreds more in the Triangle, making it an incredibly promising region.

Finalists included (in order of presentation):

  • Tom & Jenny’s, led by husband and wife team Tommy Thekkekandam and Dr. Jenny Citineni (also the founder of Nourish International);
  • Elxr Health, led by co-founders Paul Emanuel and Clinton Racine;
  • Archive Social, led by Anil Chawla;
  • Stealz, led by Jim Zidar;
  • Personalized Learning Games, led by Tim Huntley and presented by Melissa DeRosier;
  • Reveal Mobile, led by Brian Handly;
  • Antenna, led by Porter Bayne; and
  • RocketBolt, led by Aaron Dinin and Matt Hofstadt.