Inventors, innovators, entrepreneurs and startups have a new resource from which to draw a variety of support, including funding. It’s the Technology Commercialization Center at UNC, launching with $2.2 million in funding.

The Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler Business School announced the center’s launch Tuesday.

The center is the latest in a series of “Innovate Carolina” initiatives launched through the university to bolster startups and technology transfer.Earlier this year UNC unveiled a $5 million venture fund followed by a $250,000 social impact investment fund. A venture lab also has landed funding.

UNC also supports the Launch Chapel Hill accelerator in downtown Chapel Hill.

“The Kenan Institute has a long history of offering cutting-edge research and consulting to entrepreneurs,” said Mark Little, interim director of the Kenan Institute. “Through TCC we will expand these successful programs and serve even more innovators across North Carolina.”

The programs the center offers:

  • Patent Landscaping and Market Evaluation (PLME) helps inventors assess the marketplace and investment funding. Focusing on North Carolina counties needing economic development, the program offers custom analytical reports at no cost and provides a strategic view of the patent and competitive landscape and opportunities for grants and funding to complete research and launch new products and services.
  • Startup Consulting develops commercialization strategies for novel, high-impact technologies that result from university-based research. Teams of MBA students consult with clients to conduct market research, competitive and financial analysis, develop business models and provide strategies for moving their technologies into the marketplace.
  • The Entrepreneur Technical Assistance Program (E-TAP) is expanding through TCC to specifically assist technology-focused companies across North Carolina. With support from E-TAP staff and experts, MBA student analysts work on critical projects that add direct value to a growing business, such as financial projections, marketing strategy, business plan development, inventory control, supply chain logistics and human resources policies.

The $2.2 million includes a federal grant and matching funds from the Kenan Institute.

To learn more and apply for TCC programs, see: