Four startups – Gift Boogle, Prepped, Queue and Students and Teachers Employing New Criteria in Learning – make up the new group of entrepreneurs joining Carolina Launch Pad, UNC’s pre-commercial technology startup incubator, for the coming year.
Started in 2009 by Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI), the Office of Technology Development (OTD) and Kenan-Flagler Business School, Carolina Launch Pad helps faculty, students and staff turn their ideas and prototypes into viable businesses.
In addition to office space with advanced technologies and supplies, each company has the chance to consult RENCI technical staff, many of them experts in their fields, and learn from the professionals with OTD, Kenan-Flagler and the local business community.
“What we’ve seen is a growing culture which supports entrepreneurship in Chapel Hill,” said David Knowles, director of Carolina Launch Pad and RENCI’s director of economic development and engagement. “A lot of people thought they’d have to leave the area to start a company. Carolina Launch Pad keeps the job-creating entrepreneurship here.”
Published June 29, 2012.