Aaron Scarboro

Over 50 veterans, active military personnel and their spouses came from all over the country to Chapel Hill in July for Patriot Boot Camp, a startup weekend unlike any other. The weekend consisted of various speakers, panels, workshops, intensive mentoring sessions and culminated in a final pitch event on Sunday morning.    But while the attendees came from all over, the winner of the final pitch competition hails from the town just outside Raleigh known as Clayton. She’s CJ Scarlet, a Marine veteran and inventor of Tiger Eye Security Sensor (TESS), a voice-activated wearable device designed to protect people from becoming victims...

When Betsey Elbogen discovered Perch Studios in Carrboro in 2013, it was a revelation she had long been waiting for. The entrepreneur had just retired from her jewelry import business and had stumbled across an article on coworking. After a search for local spaces, she met Vinci Daro, manager of Perch.    Elbogen became so enthralled with the coworking space that when Daro moved to California for her post doc, Elbogen offered to buy Perch. Growth hasn’t stopped since then—membership has doubled, and just last month, she moved into a much larger space in the heart of Carrboro.    Thanks to Elbogen...

On the last weekend in July, active duty military members, veterans and their spouses from all over the country will converge on Chapel Hill for a startup weekend unlike any other as The University of North Carolina hosts Patriot Boot Camp.   Patriot Boot Camp is a not-for-profit organization sponsored by the national chain of startup accelerators called Techstars, and it’s designed to equip military members and their families with the necessary skills and resources to become successful tech company founders. The program takes place over a three-day weekend and features prominent guest speakers, workshops and intense mentoring sessions. The...

Student entrepreneurs coming out of UNC haven’t traditionally lacked in passion, enthusiasm, intelligence and work ethic, but any undergraduate or even graduate student aspiring to be a company founder will likely lack in the entrepreneurial experience necessary to execute.  A new program at UNC is looking to fill this experience gap by matching UNC’s top entrepreneurial talent with experienced advisors, but not in the typical mentor-mentee way.   Named for UNC benefactor, entrepreneur and pharmaceutical pioneer John Adams, the Adams Apprenticeship takes the top 20-30 student-entrepreneurs at UNC every year and matches them with a personal board of advisors—three to five mentors...

Student entrepreneurs coming out of UNC haven’t traditionally lacked in passion, enthusiasm, intelligence and work ethic, but any undergraduate or even graduate student aspiring to be a company founder will likely lack in the entrepreneurial experience necessary to execute.  A new program at UNC is looking to fill this experience gap by matching UNC’s top entrepreneurial talent with experienced advisors, but not in the typical mentor-mentee way.   Named for UNC benefactor, entrepreneur and pharmaceutical pioneer John Adams, the Adams Apprenticeship takes the top 20-30 student-entrepreneurs at UNC every year and matches them with a personal board of advisors—three to five mentors...

Last Sunday, Jason Kilar stood in front of a crowd of thousands at Kenan Memorial Stadium and told the story of his entrepreneurial journey as the founding CEO of Hulu and now subscription video service Vessel. The class of 2015 listened intently as the commencement speaker shared tales of living out of his car and struggling to make it through each day as friends and family questioned his decisions.  Kilar, who earned his undergraduate degree at UNC before attending Harvard Business School and starting Hulu, was the perfect speaker for a university that has dedicated tremendous resources to entrepreneurship and innovation over...

A year ago, University of Notre Dame student AJ Meyer traveled 700 miles to Chapel Hill and slept on a friend’s couch, all to hear from the top sports analytics experts in the nation at the first-ever UNC Basketball Analytics Summit.  This year, Meyer was invited to speak and share his expertise as the analytics manager for Notre Dame basketball. His accommodations did not include couch surfing in a dorm room this time.  Edgar Walker, a sophomore journalism student and Summit organizer, says this is proof of how transformative the event can be.    “From year one to year two this guy...