WRAL TechWire keeps tabs on the latest and greatest meetups, summits and conferences, workshops and all things happening in the North Carolina startup world. “The Headliners” is a two-part weekly roundup of noteworthy upcoming events to add to your calendar.
This digest specifically focuses on events happening in the Triangle this month, including the inaugural Big Top Startup Crawl, a new workshops series presented by NC IDEA, a two-day conference for payments professionals, a handful of lunch and learns, some educational workshops and plenty of networking. The roundup also features a few application deadlines for competitions, grants and accelerators. A separate post previews the “State of the Region” conference coming up on May 30.
To find out what’s happening in cities outside of the Triangle, check out part two of this week’s “Headliners” column.
Another post previews hot events in June. Monthly meetups that occur on a regular basis are listed in full here.
Check out a full range of events on TechWire’s interactive calendar for more. If you would like an event to be added to the calendar and weekly roundup, feel free to send me an email.
Application Deadline: NC IDEA SEED Micro-Grant Pilot Program
May 14, 5 p.m.
Applications are officially open for NC IDEA’s Micro-Grants Pilot Program. Grants—$1,000 to $10,000—will be awarded to early-stage companies seeking to validate and advance their ideas. Recipients will receive mentorship and assistance from NC IDEA and access to its network.
CED Member Meetup
May 15, 5:30-7:30 @The Frontier
Council for Entrepreneurial Development members are invited to an evening of networking. Drinks and appetizers will be provided.
1 Million Cups RTP
May 16, 9-10 a.m. @The Frontier
Research Triangle Park, in partnership with Kauffman Labs, hosts regular informal pitch events for the startup community at The Frontier. Join for free coffee and entrepreneurial community support as Nicotrax and Next Quest deliver their presentations.
NC IDEA Summer School Series: Talking to Customers
May 16, 12-1 p.m. @Momentum Learning in Durham
The NC IDEA Foundation is hosting a summer-long series of lunch and learns for the entrepreneurial community every Wednesday. In this session, NC IDEA Senior Director John Austin will share insights on how to have a conversation with potential customers by doing a problem discovery interview.
The Future of Talent: How and Why Impact Can Develop and Retain Your Employees
May 16, 3-5 p.m. @The Frontier
Inspiring Capital has developed tools to help companies assist employees in identifying and amplifying the impact of their work. Come to The Frontier to learn how you can facilitate L&D through impact to better engage, develop and retain your employees.
Digital Health Happy Hour
May 16, 5-7 p.m. @RTP HQ
This month’s DHIT Happy Hour is being hosted at RTP’s headquarters. The focus is on “Population Health,” featuring speaker Jon Easter, director of the Center for Medication Optimization through Practice and Policy at UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
May 2018 Energy Mix
May 16, 5:15-7:15 p.m. @Duke University
At this Duke Energy Initiative-hosted event, students, faculty, staff and professionals in the local energy sector will join to share food, drink and conversation with experts from across the world.
NCRAF – The Wild Ride of Biotech: Startups, Spinouts, IPOs and Nonprofits
May 16, 5:30-8 p.m. @NC Biotech Center
The North Carolina Regulatory Affairs Forum is hosting a presentation by Foundation Fighting Blindness CEO Ben Yerxa, PhD, who will share insights on the unique risks and challenges facing the biotech industry today. Tickets are $20 for members, $45 for non-members and $25 for students/postdocs/unemployed jobseekers.
NCTech4Good: Productivity Tools—Demos, Show and Tell
May 16, 6:30-8:30 p.m. @UNC-TV
This month, NCTech4Good will be exploring several low-cost or free online tools and sharing tips and scenarios in which nonprofits might use them. The event features professional speaker and workshop facilitator Evan Carroll, who is also one of the headlining speakers for the upcoming NCTech4Good Conference in June.
Triangle TechBreakfast
May 17, 8-10 a.m. @RTP Headquarters
Developers, designers, startups and tech enthusiasts are invited to join this monthly meetup for free networking over breakfast, plus a series of showcase presentations.
Info Session: Launch Chapel Hill, Cohort 10
May 17, 1 p.m. @Launch Chapel Hill
Launch Chapel Hill’s 22-week business development program offers Triangle entrepreneurs one-on-one mentorship, resources and business services, pitch workshops, office space and more. Join this info session to learn more about the program and how to apply. May 20 is the application deadline.
RTP CFO Forum
May 17, 4-6 p.m. @Regions Bank in Raleigh
CFOs and other senior-level financial executives in the Triangle are invited to join this event to network with peers and participate in a discussion on predictive analytics in drone technology, featuring PrecisionHawk.
Freelancers Happy Hour
May 17, 5-7 p.m. @Ponysaurus Brewing Company
For its May networking event, the Freelance League of North Carolina is partnering with Moogfest—organizers will be giving away a handful of festival passes and more.
RTP180: Startup Research
May 17 5-7:30 p.m. @The Frontier
May’s RTP180 event is a nod to the local companies producing cutting-edge, bootstrapped research.
RTCC Best in Class: Showcasing Cleantech Entrepreneurs – Joules Accelerator
May 17, 5:30-7:30 p.m. @NCSU’s PowerAmerica Institute
This Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster-hosted event will reveal the latest Joules Accelerator cohort, which includes six early-stage companies with technology for indoor agriculture, EV infrastructure and artificial intelligence. This event is free for RTCC members and PowerAmerica Institute faculty, staff and students. Tickets are $20 for non-members.
Water 2.0 Conference: Digitally Connecting the Water Industry
May 17 @Pfeiffer University Raleigh-Durham Campus
This conference convenes water and energy industry authorities, utilities professionals and EPA representatives to discuss topics surrounding the use of data analytics, software and cybersecurity for water utilities and industrial water users. Registration is $250.
Moogfest 2018
May 17-20 @Downtown Durham
Moogfest captures the synthesis of music, art and technology. See the lineup here.
Triangle Tech Net
May 18, 7:30-10 a.m. @Family Legacy Financial Solutions in Cary
This free bimonthly event offers a space for local tech professionals to build connections and find potential job opportunities.
Application Deadline: Launch Chapel Hill, Cohort 10
May 20
Launch Chapel Hill’s 22-week business development program offers Triangle entrepreneurs one-on-one mentorship, resources and business services, pitch workshops, office space and more.
#thebigidea project Lunch and Learn
May 21, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. @The Frontier
#thebigidea project is an opportunity for Triangle startups to win development and consulting services from Big Pixel. Learn more about the program at this free lunch and learn at The Frontier. Pizza will be provided.
Bee Downtown Hive Tour @ The Frontier Campus
May 21, 11:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. @The Frontier
RTP Frontier presents an exclusive tour of its beehive network, installed in partnership with Bee Downtown. A light lunch will be provided.
Big Top Startup Crawl
May 21, 5-8 p.m. @Spreedly
This event kicks off Big Top’s new Startup Crawl, which will take startup teams to the hottest startup spaces in the Triangle. First up is Spreedly’s newly renovated office in downtown Durham. Attendees will also get to hear from a few recent Startup Stampede grads—Wotter, Tracy’s Gourmet and Beard and Lady. This is an opportunity for teams to make connections, share their stories and learn from other companies along the way.
TOP TEN Google Tools Hands-On Sessions: YouTube
May 21, 6-8 p.m. @Google Fiber in Raleigh
Wake Tech’s Center for Entrepreneurship is holding a series of workshops to teach local business owners how to master essential tech tools. This track focuses on the Google Suite, with monthly sessions detailing Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Sheets, GoogleVoice and YouTube. May’s workshop continues with a lesson covering YouTube.
ReCity Roundtable
May 22, 12-1 p.m. @ReCity in Durham
ReCity Roundtable is a monthly speaker series spotlighting community leaders who are tackling complex social issues through innovation and collaboration.
Fund Your Startup or Existing Business Using Investment Crowdfunding
May 22, 12-1:30 p.m. @Wilson Chamber of Commerce
Triangle entrepreneurs are invited to attend a seminar detailing how to use the Localstake NC crowdfunding platform as a funding source for their businesses. The event, held at the Wilson Chamber of Commerce, will be led by Mark Easley of CrowdfundNC.com. Tickets are free.
NC IDEA Summer School Series: TransformationBranding w/ Jonathan Prinz
May 23, 12-1 p.m. @The Classroom at American Underground
The NC IDEA Foundation is hosting a summer-long series of lunch and learns for the entrepreneurial community every Wednesday. In this session, branding consultant and expert Jonathan Prinz will share tips on how to create and maintain a powerful brand.
Startup Grind Triangle: Celebrating Female Founders
May 23, 6-9 p.m. @Smashing Boxes in Durham
In celebration of Female Founders Month, Startup Grind Triangle has teamed up with Smashing Boxes to host an event honoring all local female founders with awards, plus an open discussion on how the community can better support female entrepreneurs.
PAYMENTSfn
May 23-24 @Carolina Theatre
Spreedly is hosting a two-day conference featuring a series of keynotes and talks for payments professionals. The programming consists of an optional half-day session with Spreedly engineers and customers, then a full-day event offering technical and practical insights from industry experts.
Pendo Open House
May 24, 5:30-7:30 p.m. @Pendo
Join the Pendo team in celebrating their expansion to the 14th floor in downtown Raleigh’s Wells Fargo building. Drinks and hors-d’oeuvres will be provided.
NC IDEA Summer School Series: Is Your Startup Camera Ready?
May 30, 12-1 p.m. @The Classroom at American Underground
The NC IDEA Foundation is hosting a summer-long series of lunch and learns for the entrepreneurial community every Wednesday. In this session, Justyn Kasierksi of Hutchison Law Group will show the audience how they can do due diligence easy when they find an investor or get acquired.
Research Triangle Regional Partnership’s State of the Region
May 30, 3-7 p.m. @Meymandi Hall in Raleigh
The 2018 State of the Region conference will tackle the challenges Triangle stakeholders need to address in order to make the region more competitive. It will also take a look at the Triangle’s strengths to determine what needs to be done to ensure even more economic growth in the future. Keynote speakers include The Pink Ceiling CEO and Founder Cindy Whitehead and Alexandria Real Estate Equities CEO Joel Marcus.
