RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – With weekly updates to keep content fresh, WRAL TechWire’s Triangle Startup Guide offers a timely resource package for anyone looking to start or grow a business in the Triangle area.
Last week, we recapped every update made to the guide in 2021, and now we’re back another set of resources for local entrepreneurs.
The latest addition comes to our list of COVID relief programs for local startups and small businesses. We started this section back in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic.
Today, we added a line about an upcoming informational webinar covering the NC Department of Revenue’s new Business Recovery Grant for businesses dealing with pandemic-related losses. The Downtown Raleigh Alliance, an organization serving local small businesses, will host an informational webinar this Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. to discuss the program’s provisions, eligibility criteria and how to apply. We added a link to the webinar in our COVID relief program list.
As we covered a few weeks ago, the Business Recovery Grant consists of a hospitality grant for hotels, restaurants, bars and other food service and accommodation businesses, as well as arts, entertainment and recreation businesses. A reimbursement grant is also available for other businesses that have not received funding from other relief programs, such as the Paycheck Protection Program or the Job Retention Grant.
Applications launched in December and will close on Jan. 31.
Other recent additions to the Triangle Startup Guide
Every week, we update the guide with new resources for local entrepreneurs for our exclusive Triangle Startup Guide.
If we missed something, please feel free to suggest it for inclusion. You can email me directly or use this contact form.
Here’s a review of the additions we’ve made in recent weeks:
- In the “Venture Capital and Angel Groups” section of the guide, we added the Triangle Tweener Fund, a sort of “index” targeting early-stage startups in the Triangle. The fund launched in December with support from more than 20 local entrepreneurs.
- In the “Inspiration, Advice & More Resources” section of the guide, we added the Tech Innovation Index, a new report from the North Carolina Technology Association (NC TECH). The annual publication provides a detailed snapshot of how the state’s metro areas compare to other top metros nationwide, measuring tech innovation across three broader categories: talent supply, talent demand and innovation. The inaugural report, released earlier this month, ranked two Triangle metro hubs—Durham-Chapel Hill and Raleigh-Cary—within the top 10 metro areas in the U.S.
- In the “COVID-19 Funding, Assistance & Resources” section, we added a few Small Business Administration programs with deadlines coming up on Dec. 31: Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), Targeted EIDL Advance and Supplemental Targeted Advance.
- In the “Competitions, Grants & Other Funding Sources” section of the guide, we added NC State University’s upcoming Make-A-Thon program, in which student teams are tasked with creating the best solution to a sustainability challenge. At the end of the weekend, participating teams will pitch their ideas to judges and local companies for a chance to win cash prizes. This year’s competition, held Jan. 27–30, will offer $2,000 to the winning team, $1,000 to the runner-up and $500 to the third-place winner. The deadline to register is Jan. 16.
- In the “Accelerators and Mentorship Programs” section, we added LaunchWENDELL—a new 10-week program from the Town of Wendell and Wake Technical Community College that aims to support entrepreneurs and small business owners in Wendell. Applications for the first cohort are open through Dec. 1, and classes are set to kick off in January 2022. Participants will be assigned a mentor from the business community to guide their business development strategy.
- We added the Southern Opportunity And Resilience (SOAR) Fund to the COVID-19 resources section of the guide. The program provides low-interest loans of up to $100,000 to small businesses and nonprofits in 15 states across the southeastern region, including North Carolina. To qualify, small businesses must be experiencing pandemic-related economic disruption and have 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees and annual revenues of less than $5 million.
