Three-Day Conference to Serve as Anchor Event for Global Entrepreneurship Week
Join Hundreds of North Carolina Ecosystem Builders and Entrepreneurs “Creating Our Future”
to Redefine Equitable Economic Development Practices
DURHAM, NC – October 31, 2023 – NC IDEA, a private foundation committed to supporting entrepreneurial ambition and economic empowerment in North Carolina, announced today the final agenda and speaker lineup for the organization’s 5th Annual Ecosystem Summit to be held November 13-15, 2023 in Raleigh, NC at the Hilton Raleigh North Hills. The three-day event will welcome hundreds of North Carolina’s ecosystem builders, entrepreneurs, and business leaders “Creating Our Future” and working together to redefine equitable economic development practices.
In its fifth year, NC IDEA’s Summit will uniquely bring together the people and organizations who support, encourage, and nourish North Carolina’s entrepreneurs, plus the entrepreneurs themselves, to share what is working; address issues and concerns; meet and network with those doing similar work in other communities; and celebrate and promote successes across the state. Attendees will hear from national and local experts, visionaries, and founders through keynote talks and breakout sessions weaved together in an informative and entertaining storytelling format. The most significant headlines in today’s entrepreneurial environment will be discussed and debated, and conference-goers will have multiple opportunities to contribute to the conversation.
The Summit stage will feature over 50 thought leaders, innovators, and experts over the course of three days, including keynote addresses from:
- Elizabeth Dougherty, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
- Matt Dunne, Center on Rural Innovation
- Laura Gerald, Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust
- Victor W. Hwang, Right to Start
- S. Senator Thom Tillis, North Carolina
- Bennet Waters, NCInnovation
- Entrepreneur Spotlights from dynamic founders of BatteryXchange, Bayley, OpiAID, and WeyeZE
“Supporting and growing our state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is lonely work for too many. But it is the effort of our partners and the founders they support that makes North Carolina the best state in the nation for entrepreneurship,” said Thom Ruhe, President and CEO of NC IDEA. “That is why we come together once a year to elevate and celebrate our determination to equitably support people working very hard to realize their full entrepreneurial potential and, in so doing, redefine best practices in economic development,” Ruhe concluded.
The event will kick off on Day One with an inspired conversation on how philanthropy and the work of economically empowering people through entrepreneurship is important now more than ever. Recent attacks on economic empowerment initiatives and attempts to thwart efforts to address the incontestable disparities in funding for underserved populations will provide experienced practitioners the platform to share how we should collectively be thinking about business as a powerful platform for change. Attendees will be emboldened to stand fearless in assuring everyone has equal access to opportunity and the resources they need to succeed.
Day Two will showcase the policymakers and leaders helping to shape our state’s innovative future. Speakers will dive into the importance of fostering innovation and supporting startups to drive the state’s economic prosperity and remain competitive on a national scale. Conversations will emphasize the critical role our rural communities play in building an inclusive tech economy.
The conference will conclude on Day Three centered around everything entrepreneurial and funding. Investors and successful entrepreneurs alike will offer their perspectives on the evolving funding landscape in North Carolina while sharing firsthand accounts of their individual funding journeys. Sherrod Davis, newly appointed CEO of EcoMap Technologies, will serve on the featured panel, and will also share how his company is moving forward after the recent tragic death of their founding CEO. The conference will wrap up with live funding announcements of NC IDEA’s Fall 2023 SEED ($50K) grant recipients.
The Ecosystem Summit is the only statewide conference of its kind that uniquely brings together diverse leaders in the North Carolina entrepreneurial ecosystem and economic development professionals to address what is needed to support all entrepreneurs and create a shared vision of making North Carolina the best place to start and grow a business. Since our inaugural Summit in 2019, NC IDEA continues to foster partnerships and unique connections that make a meaningful difference for North Carolina’s entrepreneurial community.
Interested attendees should register by this Friday, November 3rd to save $100 before ticket prices increase. Register now at https://ncidea.org/summit/register/.
About NC IDEA FOUNDATION
NC IDEA is an independent private foundation committed to equitably empowering North Carolinians to achieve their entrepreneurial potential. Through our powerful combination of competitive grants and programs and a network of strategic partners, we help entrepreneurs when they need it most. NC IDEA’s resources are highly competitive, enabling the Foundation to support North Carolina’s most ambitious entrepreneurs. We believe entrepreneurs transform communities and view our work as a catalyst for positive change. Learn more at ncidea.org.
