RALEIGH — This week marks the third annual Raleigh-Durham Startup Week, once again inspiring new businesses and entrepreneurs in the Triangle.
As in past years, the in-person event will be held in Durham on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then move to Raleigh for sessions on Thursday and Friday. Having multiple locations is a distinguishing element of the event, and according to co-founder, Archie O’Connor, is core to the mission of those who work on it.
“It’s very much in the ethos of what we’re doing to be very personal,” O’Connor commented in a recent call. “An in-person event for networking and for building and celebrating community.”
The RDSW Team
O’Connor is very enthusiastic about the team of Raleigh-Durham Startup Week volunteers who make the event possible. Started by O’Connor and serial entrepreneur Chris Heivly, the team has expanded over the years and now includes 24 “core people.”
It takes a community: The secrets to success of Raleigh-Durham Startup Week
This “ragtag” bunch donates time and expertise, with sponsors footing the bill for other expenses. All this effort comes together to deliver Startup Week at no cost to attendees, an incredible value to the local ecosystem.
O’Connor acknowledges that the event is focused primarily on tech startups, aiming to deliver CEOs, investors, university practitioners and others to share their resources and ideas.
“We really want to focus on the founders in the entrepreneurial community,” O’Connor said. “The genesis of what creates a good company is a good founder and from a good company spawns the better community and better community then feeds back. [It] turns into a virtuous cycle.”
One piece of this cycle is the delivery of expertise to founders during the event “office hours.” Tuesday in Durham and Thursday in Raleigh each have dedicated time – 9 am until noon – for entrepreneurs to meet with investors or with experts in the legal and accounting fields. Office hours do require advanced sign-up to reserve a specific time, but the event organizers are using this opportunity to provided targeted connections. Those requesting investor hours will be matched up to investors for their industry and growth stage, as much as possible.
It’s just another example of how the week’s program serves its primary audience. But O’Connor is the first to admit that the event is continuing to evolve to achieve its goals.
“We experiment a lot. We actually behave like a startup.”
Idea, build, scale
This year’s event has evolved in a few ways, starting with the session tracks.
In the past, tracks were organized based on the size of startups. This year, three tracks will be available focusing instead on the startup stage, or phase of development. There will be an “Idea” track for very early startups and a “Build” track for those growing and moving up. The third track is the “Scale” track, also called the “Tweener” track referring to the local fund of the same name. Businesses interested in this track are moving into a more significant large-scale phase of growth, generating revenue and employing an expanding staff.
Entrepreneurial ecosystem feeds on connections at Raleigh-Durham Startup Week
The organization of the schedule by phase is one O’Connor hopes will provide a clearer track for the attendees.
“We have a whole group of panels and programs and workshops to cater to founders along each stage of that journey,” he explained.
Another shift for this year is related to the spaces. While the sessions will continue to split locations in Durham and Raleigh, the sites in each city have moved a bit closer this year. For example, last year’s Durham sessions split between American Underground and the American Tobacco Campus. This year, sessions will continue to be offered at American Underground with supplementary space a short walk away at the Self-Help Building.
“We want [attendees] to be able to interact and network with each other. Go grab a cup of coffee, go grab a beer, lunch, whatever it may be,” O’Connor said of the shift. “We want to remove the friction points as much as possible.”
Traveling between locations (not to mention cities) can be tricky, however the planning team has maps and resources on the website and a handy app to smooth transitions. Registrants can download the tool to preplan their schedule and connect with other attendees.
Networking Opportunities
Another new addition for the year is the “Job Seekers” Brunch planned for Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. Targeted at both startups, and those looking for work, the event should be a great opportunity to start the week of sessions with networking. And waffles.
There’s plenty more to see on the schedule including panels, keynotes and the insightful “fireside chats.” There will also be evening events with Happy Hours on Tuesday and Thursday in Durham and Raleigh respectively. Wednesday will feature the Tweener List Awards, celebrating startups from the recently-released 2024 Tweener List.
Tickets for Raleigh-Durham Startup Week are still available, though some events are now waitlist-only. Learn more and register online: https://www.raleighdurhamstartupweek.com/.
