Jivan Achreja

This weekend, Durham will be flooded by gamers from across the country coming to the second annual Escapist Expo. The convention is the brainchild of The Escapist, a reputable member of the Durham startup scene since 2005. Last December, we covered the sale of The Escapist to Alloy Digital, a media portfolio whose sites serve over 95 million page views per month. Years before I knew The Escapist’s team personally, I was familiar with their work. In 2007, The Escapist began publishing the world’s most watched video game review series, Zero Punctuation. Outside of video reviews, The Escapist covers...

If you make your living writing code, continuing education is a crucial issue. Part of being an effective developer is keeping on top of the latest exploits, updates, and best practices. You could make a valid argument for developers requiring just as much continuing education as doctors, lawyers, and engineers. Many developers stay up to date by learning through collaboration with peers and by using different online resources such as Udacity and Code Academy. Others often turn to conferences to stay updated on the latest technological developments. The conference game is about being able to market yourself as knowledgeable...

Back in April, I covered the Cherokee Challenge and its application process. The Second Annual Cherokee Challenge Finale Event will be held on September 12th at Marbles Kids Museum in downtown Raleigh. After going through a rigorous application process, three companies survived and will be presenting at this year’s capstone event. The Cherokee Challenge Finale serves as a place for each year’s class to showcase their entrepreneurial work to the public, potential investors, and the tech community at large. The accelerator’s finale event will also be the conclusion to Triangle Entrepreneurship Week. JT Vaughn, one of the main organizers...

Lie detection, martial arts and cooking paired with design thinking and minimum viable product? That doesn’t sound like your father’s online learning curriculum. You also swear to abide by the “Superhero Oath of Draper University.” My favorite clause from the oath: “I will pursue fairness, openness, health and fun with all that I encounter. Mostly fun.”  The superhero branding extends throughout the entire Draper University experience, and students recite this oath before classes. Draper has attributed his concept for Draper University to be a mix of Hogwarts, Singularity University, and his own schooling experiences. The school is still brand...

ExitEvent Last covered the RTP New Tech Meetup last May, when it was resurrected from death by StartupSpot’s (formerly VCHub) President, Jeff Boardman. I sat down with him this week to hear about the future for the meetup. RTP New Tech helps to fill a big void that currently exists in the triangle startup ecosystem: Face to face interaction. Like ExitEvent and other similar affairs, RTP New Tech’s mission statement, according to Jeff, is to “Be a platform that allows startup communities to get feedback, pitch to an investor, show a new product, and in general get advice.” Once...