Show us an early-stage startup founder, and we’ll show you someone who’d probably like to connect with potential investors. For decades in the Triangle, one of the very best times and places to do that is at CED’s Venture Connect summit.
This year’s event will be held at the Citrix Building in downtown Raleigh next Wednesday and Thursday (March 20-21). And its celebration goes perfectly hand-in-hand with CED’s celebration of its 40th birthday this year.
Kelly Rowell, CED’s President and CEO, reveres their annual Venture Connect as the “first flag [they] put in the ground” to connect founders with one another and to the resources needed to scale their companies. So this year’s summit feels all the bit more nostalgic.
From healthcare to product design and agtech to biotech, this year’s startup presenters offer a little bit of everything from a little bit of everywhere in the Southeast—a perfect representation of its diverse startup scene and not only CED’s but also the Triangle ecosystem’s central roles within it.
It’s no secret that NC experienced a notable decline in VC funding last year, in line with national and global trends. As noted in CED’s recent Venture Report, 2023 saw a more than $2.5B decline from 2022 in total funding, in large part because there were no mega-deals like Epic Games’ $2B raise in 2022.
While the top-line funding amount was down, the number of deals and individual startups that received checks were roughly in line with 2020 and better than 2019 and 2018, showing the resilience of the NC startup ecosystem even after the pandemic-fueled tech boom cooled. Plus, Rowell shared that NC has already seen over $1B in investment in our region so far in the first quarter—a major improvement from 2023 and a testament to the growing interest in the region’s value.
And Venture Connect is quite familiar with this region’s attractiveness. According to the CED website, previous Venture Connect presenters have raised over $9 billion combined. With over 200 VC’s and other investors invited and ready to build relationships—and potentially write checks—Rowell said that this year’s event will be hyper-focused on connecting investors to founders.
“[Venture Connect] highlights what we do 365 days a year, making over a thousand investor connections throughout the year,” Rowell said. “One-to-one connections are just a way to make that activity more visible not only in the state, but also across the nation and other ecosystems. And that’s why this particular event is valuable in that it summarizes activity from a regional level to an out-of-region audience.”
Fun happenings and celebrations
Though Venture Connect won’t hear from as many startups as its record-breaking 180 from last year, Rowell said they’ve included a new, interactive element that will give this year’s event a distinctive feel.
Audiences will have the chance to hear from the 125 pitching companies in groups of eight—and get to vote from each group for the “best” pitch. The winning founder will receive a number of mentor sessions from the serial entrepreneur that’s emceeing each group. The winner will also receive a clunky, gold turnover chain—similar to those you can find on college football sidelines—that automatically evokes bragging rights for being the “crowd favorite.”
“We wanted to add some fun kind of gamification in the event because we love this community and this community loves each other,” Rowell said. “The more important thing is the company that is chosen gets to spend more time with a serial entrepreneur… there’s a deliberate connection that’s been made there with a mentor/advisor relationship with a scaling company, which I think is incredibly valuable for our region’s startups.”
Tickets range from $399 for startups (if purchased through March 19; they’ll be $499 if purchased at the event) and $799-$899 for others to attend.
Separate tickets are also available for those interested in just attending the post-conference celebration, which will take place from 4-8 p.m. after the second day (Thursday, March 21) on top of the Citrix building parking deck. Celebration-only tickets are $99 for startups and $249 for everyone else if purchased by March 19 (the latter will be $299 if purchased at the event).
“The celebration is a great opportunity for the broader community to attend and get together to celebrate innovation and all of the activities of the companies,” Rowell said. “It overlooks the city and an ecosystem that we’re also proud to be a part of. It’s an inspirational place and space to celebrate all the work that goes into having a successful startup ecosystem.”
