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Persistence and grit are two things that any successful startup founder possesses. For Abi Olukeye and Desmond Wiggan, those qualities paid off in a big way. Olukeye’s startup Smart Girls HQ and Wiggan’s startup BatteryXchange, co-founded by Aubrey Yeboah, were recently announced as recipients of NC IDEA’s $50,000 seed grants. Read more in Charlotte Inno’s […]
DURHAM, NC – April 26, 2021 – NC IDEA, a private foundation committed to supporting entrepreneurial ambition and economic empowerment in North Carolina, announced today that the organization has awarded nearly $200,000 to nineteen North Carolina startups in its sixth NC IDEA MICRO grant cycle. Since the inaugural cycle in Spring 2018, NC IDEA MICRO […]
Last week, Ventureprise — UNCC’s innovation and entrepreneurship center — was named one of 10 recipients of a nationally recognized award. Devin Collins, Ventureprise interim executive director, said the U.S. Small Business Administration and National Science and Technology Council’s Lab-to-Market Inclusive Innovation Ecosystem Prize recognizes the organization’s effort to address inclusivity, innovation and sustainable growth […]
Abi Olukeye, the founder of Charlotte-based Smart Girls HQ, began her journey through Ventureprise, the University’s center for innovation and entrepreneurship. She participated in Venturprise’s Regional National Science Foundation (NFS) Innovation-Corps (I-Corps) programming in fall 2018. This six-week curriculum is designed to take early-stage entrepreneurs through the customer discovery process, which involves 30-plus interviews to […]
Dr. Victor Chen, Associate Professor of International Management in Belk College of Business and Ventureprise Launch National Science Foundation I-Corps alumnus, has designed a course for students to assist startup ventures with global potential. At its core, the Global Launch course will focus on training business majored students’ theories and practices for global market assessment, […]
Uptown Charlotte’s 7th Street Public Market is now home to BatteryXchange‘s newest tech product, Apollo. BatteryXchange, co-founded in 2018 by Desmond Wiggan and Aubrey Yeboah, is a rental platform that provides rentable, portable batteries to cell phone users. The startup launched Hercules at Packard Place last year, a kiosk machine with 24 portable batteries and […]
For Immediate Release Contact: lsmailes@uncc.edu Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, News & Instagram UNC Charlotte’s Ventureprise Receives National Recognition for Inclusive Research and Development Innovation Programs Charlotte, NC– January 21, 2021- Ventureprise, UNC Charlotte’s innovation and entrepreneurship center, has been named one of 10 nationally recognized recipients of the U.S. Small Business Administration and National […]
College students are worth their weight in gold when it comes to lending their skills to organizations that need help but operate on a tight budget. And Samra Kanwal knew it. Kanwal, a sophomore at UNC Charlotte, founded Volunto last September alongside Lareb Khan, director of technology and a student at the University of South […]
Entrepreneur Dave Mason‘s background in software development, paired with the right team and a little luck on TikTok, has helped bring his new startup hollr to life. Mason said the concept for the Charlotte-based startup began to take shape several years ago when he was helping a company develop augmented and virtual reality software. He […]
The idea behind new Charlotte startup Just Her Rideshare is a simple one — transportation for women, by women. Founder Kimberly Evans is no stranger to the entrepreneurial life. After spending more than 20 years working for the United States Postal Service, she opened a consulting business and became owner/operator of a logistics company alongside […]
Imagine spending all of 2019 building some amazing momentum, and when you finally get to a point where you’re ready to hit the market, the rug gets pulled from under you. That was exactly how early 2020 felt, on a business level, for me. I saw competitors pack their bags and close shop, and at […]
As of today, there are 150,000 living UNC Charlotte alumni. About 70% of those alumni have stayed local and they’re making a big impact on our region. We recently talked to nine local UNC Charlotte alumni about their time at the University, what they’re doing now, and how they’re making a difference in our city. […]
On Friday Charlotte Inno announced their 2021 list of Startups to Watch and three UNC Charlotte and Ventureprise Alumni made the list. To kick off the event and announcement on Friday, Dr. Margaret Kocherga, who recently graduated with her Ph.D. in Nanoscale Science (College of Liberal Arts & Sciences) and founded Light & Charge Solutions, […]
Ventureprise was awarded the Fall 2020 NC IDEA ECOSYSTEM Partner Grant to continue their partnership with NC IDEA. Ventureprise plans to implement new programs to foster entrepreneurship and innovation across UNC Charlotte’s campus and in the Charlotte community. DURHAM, NC – December 10, 2020 – NC IDEA, a private foundation committed to supporting entrepreneurial ambition […]
Fall 2020 Ventureprise Launch NC IDEA Cohort Alumnus company Ascend is one of nine companies, and only Charlotte company, to receive NC IDEA’s Fall 2020 $50,000 SEED Grant. Ascend is an edtech startup, founded in 2019 by Reg Gabriel and Christine Nicodemus, to help schools and mentoring organizations set goals for middle and high school […]
The EPIC Innovator competition aims to identify and recognize entrepreneurial students and faculty with a focus on energy. Individuals or teams are invited to submit ideas, projects, technology concepts or prototypes that they believe are worthy of further exploration. Innovative ideas that help solve issues in the energy and power industry are being sought, and […]
Congratulations to all UNC Charlotte Alumni and a special congrats to Ventureprise Launch Alumnus De’Andrea Salvador who was elected for the first time into the North Carolina Senate. NINERS ELECTED TO POSTS STATEWIDE AND NATIONALLY
To highlight some of the Queen City’s best and brightest young tech leaders, Charlotte Inno has compiled a list of the most promising and notable entrepreneurs and technologists who are 25 and under. They range from current students, to recent graduates; startup founders to those working their way up the ladder at global tech companies. […]