We’ve all seen it: the Triangle’s entrepreneurial economy continues to blossom. Joan Siefert Rose, president of CED, wrote in a Forbes column recently that the Triangle is among a growing number of “adolescent” innovation regions. As the community continues to mature, WRAL Tech Wire will continue to tell stories from the startup ecosystem across the region: the whole region, not just Raleigh, Durham, RTP, and Chapel Hill.
Cities and towns across the Triangle have designed and launched initiatives to support, spur, and house local entrepreneurs, supplementing the entire ecosystem as it continues to grow and develop into a robust innovation center in the Southeast and in the nation.
The Town of Cary, for example, supports two initiatives: the Cary Innovation Center and CoFounder’s Lab. The Cary Innovation Center started in 2012 as a “Main Street Incubator,” said Ian Henshaw, managing director of the Cary Innovation Center. “The Town of Cary provided a small grant to the Cary Innovation Center to begin operations in space owned by founder Sheila Ogle.” The facility contains 15 shared and private office spaces with shared conference rooms. Henshaw also started the Cary Coworking and Collaboration Center, which is a coworking facility across the street. According to Henshaw, one of the Center’s first tenants, Shelli Dallacqua of Shelton Media increased her business by more than 600 percent while participating in the programs provided by the Cary Innovation Center.
CoFounder’s Lab is the brainchild of David Gardner, a Cary resident and active investor with CoFounders Capital. The Town of Cary worked with Gardner to utilize surplus space and transform it into a viable startup incubator, said Kyle Greer, vice president of economic development at the Cary Chamber of Commerce. “We’re very excited to have them working in the town,” said Greer. The facility opened earlier this year, and companies that have worked in the facility continue to rack up accolades–and funding.
HOTTovation began in Morrisville in 2013. The program is run by the Morrisville Innovation Foundation, which is a program supported by the Morrisville Chamber of Commerce, yet is its own independent organization (a 501(c)3), said Sarah Gaskill, President, Morrisville Chamber of Commerce.
“Our goal is to make sure that we’re giving entrepreneurs a good foundation,” said Gaskill, “A practical way to start their company.” The program is a place for entrepreneurs to perk an idea into action, said Gaskill, and also provides five months of free work space at Campbell University’s RTP campus in Morrisville.
“It’s really a living and breathing program,” said Gaskill, “we have a core group of volunteers that help mentor the companies, and they reach out to their networks to ensure that each company in the program has the expertise they need to succeed.” Because mentors come from many different walks of life, said Gaskill, startups get valuable perspectives from a diverse range of backgrounds and expertise.
The program takes applications starting at the beginning of the year, selections are made in April or May, and companies start in the program in June. The program runs through October, with a closing pitch event. The program just closed its third year in operation and has seen some successful companies emerge as a result.
Dignify Therapeutics participated in the first iteration of the program in 2013, successfully raising capital upon completing the incubation period. The company received a $159,000 SBIR grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the middle of 2014, and was the start of a push to raise $3 million to develop DTI-100, its lead product. The drug development company is developing novel pharmaceutical treatments for bladder and bowel dysfunction which will significantly improve the quality-of-life for individuals that rely on bladder catheters and bowel programs for voiding. Funding to the company has also been provided in the past by the NC Biotechnology Center.
“They went through the program and then went on to secure additional investment,” said Gaskill, “which really allowed them to launch and grow.”
The Chamber hopes that the companies elect to stay in Morrisville, said Gaskill, but if they choose to locate somewhere else in the Triangle, that’s okay as well. Dignify is now located at the First Flight Venture Center in Research Triangle Park.
“It’s hard to see a direct result from investing time and effort into companies in the startup phase,” said Sarah, “but we also know that if we’re not involved with the startup space, then the Chamber would have less relevancy later down the line.” Our ultimate goal is to help businesses be successful and thrive in our community, said Sarah, so we see this as another space in which we can invest time and energy in so that we can create a successful entrepreneurial environment for our community.”
To get an idea of the impact of these initiatives, and others outside of the beltway, WRAL Tech Wire’s Jason H. Parker interviewed Adrienne Cole, Executive Director of Wake County Economic Development.
Jason H. Parker (JP): How have these projects and initiatives changed the landscape of Wake County and the Triangle region?
Adrienne Cole (AC): Over the last five years, startup companies in Wake County have generated economic activity of over $1.1 billion from IPOs and over $7.5 billion in acquisitions.
JP: Sure, that’s one measure of success. Economic development agencies also track new business growth and investment, as well as existing businesses that relocate to the region, correct? How has the entrepreneurial economy impacted those recruitment efforts?
AC: From a business recruitment standpoint, having an innovation economy is very important to companies looking at our market. We are seeing entrepreneurial initiatives, co-working spaces and incubators springing up across Wake County, which are increasing our concentration and density as a startup hub and making us more competitive. An innovative and creative climate was very important to MetLife when choosing Cary, for example. Larger existing companies are also very interested in a business climate that is innovative and creative, since this transcends into their corporate culture. Red Hat and Citrix’s investment in the Raleigh Innovators Program is a great example of this.
JP: What’s been the largest success story, thus far, for a startup company involved in one of these newer projects?
AC: CoFounder Capital’s David Gardner in Cary has invested in FilterEasy and Undercover Colors, two great startup success stories. Morrisville has a great success story in Dignify Therapeutics. The Wireless Research Center has several success stories including companies like FokusLabs that developed a product designed to get kids with ADHD back on task through an “anti-distraction vibrating wristband.”
The quality of place that these communities have to offer makes them great choices for entrepreneurial support. Many of these startup initiatives have both public and private support, providing a competitive foundation for their success. For example, the Town of Wake Forest initially funded the Wireless Research Center and remains a strong partner, Cary Cofounders Lab receives strong support from the Town of Cary and Morrisville’s HOTTovation program partners with the Morrisville Chamber of Commerce.
JP: How does the increased startup density in surrounding cities in Wake County impact Raleigh, RTP, and Durham?
AC: As we increase density in the communities surrounding Raleigh, RTP and Durham, we are increasing our footprint as a whole, which helps attract outside resources to Wake County and the Triangle.
This density is also compelling as we look to continue to be recognized as an emerging startup hub nationally, which helps with our business recruitment efforts and impacts our economic growth. This is one of the reasons Wake County Economic Development (WCED) launched a national storytelling campaign in 2014 in partnership with the City of Raleigh, to place stories in the national media about Raleigh, Wake County and the Triangle’s innovation ecosystem.
JP: How important is supporting startup incubators/accelerators and startup companies directly for Wake County’s economic development?
AC: In addition to a strong innovation economy being important to existing companies, and for recruiting companies to Wake County, companies that launch and scale here have a huge impact on our continued prosperity. Some great examples of this include SAS and Cree growing out of NC State, and ShareFile which was acquired by Citrix and continues to thrive in the warehouse district.
