REGISTER

Agenda

2025 ecosystem summit

This Thing of Ours

DAY ONE

Monday, November 17, 2025

Morning 
  • Registration & Networking
  • Welcome Remarks: Featuring Triangle Region Local Leadership
  • Opening Keynote: Thom Ruhe, NC IDEA 
  • Panel: Regional leadership on entrepreneurship and growth + Q&A    
  • Entrepreneur Spotlights
Midday 
  • Lunch & Networking
Afternoon 
  • Panel: Lessons from Beyond North Carolina + Q&A
  • Panel: North Carolina’s Defense Innovation Economy + Q&A
  • The Role of Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIRs) + Q&A
  • Spotlight: Giving Back to the North Carolina Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
Closing 
  • SEED Grant Announcement & Closing
  • Reception & Resource Fair
10:45am – 11:30am | Featured Panel: Engines of Innovation through Textiles
  • Moderator: Tony Pipa, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
  • Molly Hemstreet, Founder and Co-Executive Director, The Industrial Commons
  • Anne Wiper, CEO, The North Caroline Textile Innovation and Sustainability Engine

How can entrepreneurship and innovation drive the economic revitalization of rural communities? North Carolina’s recent NSF grant award for the North Carolina Textile Innovation and Sustainability Engine (NC TISE), led by The Industrial Commons, is leading the way to disrupt the $96 billion textile industry. This panel will explore how the organization is leveraging the grant to foster innovation, empower local entrepreneurs, and build sustainable industries that can rejuvenate communities once known for tobacco, furniture, and textiles. Panelists will explore strategies for harnessing entrepreneurship to not only create jobs but to build long-term, resilient ecosystems that drive both social and economic impact.

12:20pm – 1:40pm | Lunch

Vendor Spotlight: Spencer Barbera, Founder, Laboosh

DAY TWO

Tuesday, November 18, 2025

Morning 
  • Breakfast & Networking
  • Welcome & Setting the stage for Day 2
  • Panel: Insights from leaders strengthening rural entrepreneurship + Q&A
  • Breakout Sessions: Choose from a variety of topics, including advocacy for entrepreneurship, rural-focused conversations, and more.
Midday 
  • Lunch & Networking
Afternoon 
  • Entrepreneur Spotlights
  • Panel: The Venture Capital Landscape in North Carolina + Q&A
11:00am – 12:00pm | Breakout Sessions
Investing in Entrepreneurs in Under-Resourced Communities
  • Moderator: Stuart Bridgers, Business Banking Relationship Manager, PNC Bank
  • Lee Gray, Associate Director, Knox St. Studios
  • Sean GL Johnson, Director, The Center of Excellence in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, NC A&T State University (HBCU Community of Practice Member)
  • Christina Williams-DeBrew, Cofounder, Innovative Networking Group
This session highlights effective strategies for fostering entrepreneurship within under-resourced populations, particularly emphasizing collaboration and community-driven solutions. Key themes include the successful implementation of the Ice House Entrepreneurship Program, which equips participants with the mindset and practical skills necessary to start and sustain their businesses. Panelists will also discuss the importance of multi-stakeholder partnerships in amplifying the impact of entrepreneurial initiatives and how these collaborations have removed barriers for entrepreneurs, providing them with the resources, mentorship, and network opportunities needed to thrive.
The Resiliency of Western NC
  • Moderator: Jeffrey Kaplan, Executive Director, Venture Asheville
  • Christine Laucher, Strategic Partnership Manager, Mountain BizWorks
  • Will McGuire, Founder and CEO, incolo.io
  • Gwendolyn Dare Hageman, Founder and CEO, Darë Vegan Cheese
This session will explore the current entrepreneurial landscape of Western North Carolina and the resilience shaping the region after Hurricane Helene. Panelists will describe the challenges the local ecosystem has faced, along with the remarkable ways they have united to rebuild and support one another. Learn what’s next for Western North Carolina and how the broader ecosystem can support its entrepreneurs.
DEI Under Fire: Co-Designing Solutions for the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
  • Fay Horwitt, President & CEO, Forward Cities
  • Andy Stoll, Founding Executive Director, Ecosystem Building Leadership Network (EBLN)
The Ecosystem Building Leadership Network (EBLN) will facilitate a convening for entrepreneurial support organizations and champions exploring potential action-based solutions to the recent anti-DEI movement – and its impacts on entrepreneurs, support organizations, and funders. National ecosystem building experts will facilitate a generative discussion, provide an update on emergent solutions from across the national ecosystem building field, and lead attendees in a collaborative design session to collectively emerge.

Proud Participant of: