Jon Mareane

Blockchain: Full of confusion, speculation – and opportunity

Posted by Jon Mareane | Oct 13, 2017

Duke University Professor Cam Harvey has a problem with journalists who cover blockchain. He also has a problem with CEOs, ICOs and the banking industry as a whole. Harvey is annoyed about a lot of things, actually. During his hour-and-change exchange with attendees of the first BlockHack Conference and Hackathon he took some not-so-insignificant time to throw some not-so-subtle shade around. He’s open about his “aggressiveness” in discussion, but that term might not adequately describe his incendiary manner of speech. The writers who try to explain the aforementioned technology, CEOs and businesses who use blockchain to exploit interested but clueless...

ExitEvent: How to develop rock-solid banking relationships (for when your startup needs money)

Posted by Jon Mareane | May 2, 2017

Say you’re having drinks with some smart friends on the weekend and you come up with a half-baked app idea. You take some time after work to try and refine the idea. A few hours after a day in the office turn into all nighters. Phone calls with your friends from the bars turn into meetings or Skype sessions. The sketches turn into lines of code, and the conversations turn from fantasy into reality. Now you’ve built a product or prototype. You’ve started market research to begin identifying customers. Things look good. You’re getting close. Now comes the hard...

Duke Law’s lab could make Durham a legal tech hub

Posted by Jon Mareane | Apr 14, 2017

While last week’s Duke Law Tech Lab Demo Day was the first in the nascent Duke-based accelerator’s history, it signaled the start of an effort grand in both ambition and scope. Seven startups from across the country—with specialties ranging from machine learning to Microsoft Suite training for less tech savvy lawyers—were represented in a cohort of companies disrupting the field of law with technology. It’s a big opportunity. CB Insights reports a generally upward trend in capital raised and deals made over the past several years within the legal technology sector. In 2016, legal tech oriented startups raised $155 million across 67...

Afrofuturism emerges as key theme at Moogfest

Posted by Jon Mareane | May 24, 2016

Diversity, inclusivity and tolerance were front and center at this weekend’s Moogfest technology and music festival, and for some of us, that meant an introduction to a new term: Afrofuturism. Afrofuturism was one of nine key content themes at Moogfest. But even though several workshops, demonstrations and discussions touched on the topic, one particular panel did the best job of explaining and debating it. Kimberly Drew, community manager at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and digital tastemaker, moderated the lineup of heavy hitters of the hip hop world in their discussion entitled “Can You Remember the Future?” on Saturday...

You can help reinvent public media at UNC-TV hackathon

Posted by Jon Mareane | Apr 15, 2016

Just a few days ago, I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Tivi Jones and Cathy Dobbins of UNC-TV about the UNC-TV Design-Thinking Hackathon happening this weekend in Durham. The event is the first of its kind for UNC-TV, and one of the first for the public media industry as a whole. It aims to “bring together college students; marketing, business and IT professionals; and creatives and public media fans to find innovative solutions to challenges plaguing UNC-TV as a public media organization.” Any media provider needs to know a few things, starting with who is the...

Snapshots: These 11 Triangle startups help transform sports and fitness

Posted by Jon Mareane | Feb 11, 2016

SaaS businesses, app development startups and digital media groups have flourished in the Triangle for years. But a growing sector of the entrepreneurial ecosystem entwines the region’s largest industries with its longtime interest in sports. Led by sport-focused tech players like Automated Insights, Soccer.com and StraightCast Media, along with...

NC IDEA winner: Brand Assurance, the first winner from Wilmington

Posted by Jon Mareane | Dec 15, 2015

Editor’s note: On Tuesday, economic development group NC IDEA picked six recipients to share among $300,000 in its latest round of non-dilutive grants for startups. Here’s a profile of Brand Assurance as reported by ExitEvent. WILMINGTON, N.C. – Brand Assurance is one of six startups to win ~$50K in grant funding from the nonprofit Durham-based NC IDEA Foundation. Since 2006, the foundation has awarded nearly $4.2 million to 104 startups around the state. The six companies were narrowed from nine finalists, 22 semifinalists and 130 total applications for the Fall 2015 cycle. Brand Assurance is a small Wilmington-based startup...