Durham North Carolina Gets More Space For Startups

American Underground, Durham startups,startup space,startup accelerator,NC startupsThe Research Triangle in North Carolina, consisting of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill has always been a hotbed for technology. Over the past few years, tech startups have started to spread like wildfire in the region. Now a new startup hub and accelerator in the American Tobacco Historic District of Durham is adding to that growth.

American Underground, will offer another 22,000 square feet of space for up to 50 new startups in the Research Triangle Region, according to wral.com.  The space is formally called Underground@Main Street. 15 startups have already committed to moving into the space which will occupy 2 floors of the Self-Help Credit Union Building. They expect to open their doors in April.

The space is operated by Capitol Broadcasting which owns media holdings across the east coast including WRAL.  Capitol Broadcasting has been supporting the regions startup and entrepreneurial community with investments and now this space. They also own the American Tobacco Historic District where the new space will be housed.

“The Underground is full with a growing wait list,” Adam Klein Chief Strategist for American Underground said to WRAL. “We see the strongest demand coming for smaller private offices, which is one of the reasons we are expanding to Main Street.”

“Capitol Broadcasting believes its success is tied to the success of the communities in which it operates,” he told WRAL News. “We see the growth of the startup community as essential to the development of a talented, creative workforce that will lead this region for the next 50 years. Our investment in the Underground allows CBC to nurture and support the transformative and disruptive technologies that will create a new and bold future for the Triangle.”

The Durham area alone has seen startups increase from 30 in 2010 to over 80 now. The new accelerator will allow Capitol Broadcasting and the leaders of the Durham startup community to better serve companies at their earliest stages.

Capitol Broadcasting isn’t alone in this endeavor. NC IDEA, the Self Help Credit Union. Research Triangle Foundation, and Bandwidth.com have all partnered with Capitol to open the new space. Bandwidth.com will be providing tenants of the space with internet.

Here are the startups committed to the space already:

  • ArchiveSocial, a social media archiving firm
  • Green Plus, which focuses on sustainable development
  • HaitiHub, an online learning site for Haitian Creole
  • iKlaro, a mobile marketing technology company
  • Impulsonic, a developer of sound simulation software
  • Mint Market, which focuses on local food purchasing for restaurants
  • Pluribus, which is developing security software for mobile payments
  • PlusDelta Technologies, a pharmacy technology company
  • Privateer Digital, a social media firm
  • SalesTags, a software developer for jobs and careers
  • Song Backer, a web-based venue for musicians
  • Sqord, which focuses on games and increased activity for children
  • StartupSpot, a company focused on helping startups find financing
  • SyncHear, which is developing technology to deliver audio to smartphones in environments such as bars and restaurants from TVs
  • Thryv, an online site to track and share fitness

Linkage:

Check out the American Underground here

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Bull City Stampede Launches Seven New North Carolina Startups

Last week, people from all over the Raliegh/Durham/Chapel Hill area, known as the Triangle, showed up for the final presentations of the Bull City Stampede startup program. The end result was seven new North Carolina startups were launched.

Bull City Stampede is a sixty day accelerator program which provides startups with office space, furniture, wifi and other resources that they need to grow their companies. The 60 day program culminated with a demo day event to a packed house, at Beyu Caffe in downtown Durham, North Carolina.

This sessions Bull City Stampede Class included some tangible product startups in the fashion industry, jewelry industry, financial services, social media and even a jazz non profit. This variety showed off the new types of businesses and startups that are calling the Raliegh Durham area home. This is great news for the region as they plan for the launch of their Startup North Carolina regional partnership of Startup America which launches on August 20th.

“This was a special group of entrepreneurs that supported each other and built better companies because of their time with startups outside of their industry,” said Adam Klein, Startup Strategist for the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce. “We had non-software companies receiving help from the techies and vice versa. It shows the power of putting creative people together in a creative environment.”


While the event launches seven startups out of North Carolina, one of the startups Alekto, relocated from Washington DC for the Bull City Stampede program and has decided to stay in North Carolina. Five of the startups will continue growing their business in NC.

The Bull City Startup Stampede also partnered with Pruvop, a digital products lab in downtown Durham, to award one startup a prize package including $5,000 in custom software development & consulting. Pruvop co-founder Adam Schultz announced The Art of Cool as the recipient of the software package. The Art of Cool is a jazz presenting non-profit working to launch an international jazz festival in Durham.

“In addition to sharing the vision of a prospering, culturally vibrant Durham, we were personally impressed by Cicely’s (AOC founder) drive, hunger for feedback and the ability to pivot and grow rapidly based on the feedback she was given,” said Schultz. “It’s organizations like hers that we love to work with.”

“The Stampede is the launching ground for startups in Durham,” said Matthew Coppedge, Director of Marketing at Downtown Durham, Inc. “We are part of the pipeline developing in Durham that helps early-stage entrepreneurs go from concept to market quickly.”

To date Stampede has done a good job of accelerating startups and then keeping them in North Carolina. So far 28 companies have gone through the program and 15 have remained in downtown Durham, a statistic that you don’t typically find with accelerators who open up their applications nationwide or globally.

Bull City Stampede has provided this list of all of this sessions class and their Twitter handles:

• Alekto empowers consumers through innovative credit reporting management services. @AlektoCo

• Directed Deposits helps individuals find and fund high interest, FDIC-insured savings accounts that are good for your wallets and the issues & communities you care about. @DirectedDeposits

• Freshly Given embraces minimalist style, creativity & sustainability through accessories, handmade from genuine re-purposed leather. @FreshlyGiven

• Offline Media is envisioning a world where “social” means more than just sitting behind a computer. @offlinemedia

• Seam Happy designs and makes custom promotional products, decor, and apparel. For business, home, and general happiness. @SeamHappy

• Social Media Phobia Solutions is a fearless digital media consulting and business management firm. @BreeLDavis

• Sweeps helps you get just about anything done by motivated college students for $25 per hour. @SweepsJobs

• The Art of Cool Project is dedicated to preserving, presenting, and promoting the local vibrant, varied, and surprisingly under-appreciated jazz and art scene in Raleigh-Durham. @theaocproject

 

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Check out Bull City Stampede Here

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