The Bull City Startup Stampede, an initiative of the Chamber, Downtown Durham, Inc., and their economic development partners, is geared toward attracting and scaling more startup companies in downtown Durham. The Stampede offers 60 days of completely furnished, free space at 201 W. Main St., a Self-Help building. Participating companies will have access to technical assistance from startup experts as well as opportunities to network with founders of successful Durham startups.
This is the second time this year that the Stampede has been offered to startup companies. The Stampede is part of the Chamber’s broader economic development strategy focused on job creation through business recruitment and retention, workforce development, and startup growth.
Fifty-five startups from across the southeast and North Carolina applied for the Stampede. Applications were received from companies in Georgia and Connecticut as well as from cities such as Washington, D.C., Charlotte, and Wilmington. Concepts ranged from technology and software to cleantech and social entrepreneurship.
“We saw a very strong applicant pool for Stampede 2.0,” said Adam Klein, Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce. “The quality of the teams and ideas was rich. It’s exciting to see so many people looking to start their company in Durham.”
The companies that were not selected for the Stampede have already been connected to the many business resources available in Durham such as Bull City Forward, N.C. Institute for Minority Economic Development, Durham Technical Community College Small Business Center, CED, LaunchBox Digital, Joystick Labs, and the Small Business and Technical Development Center.
“This group of participants builds on the economic clusters and strengths of the Triangle,” said Klein. “We have companies in the cleantech and sustainability space, companies in technology and media as well as unique product concepts. These startups are all eager to grow and scale in North Carolina.”
The Bull City Startup Stampede is being underwritten by Alliance Architecture, A Small Orange, Center Studio Architecture, Square1 Bank, Hutchison Law, Rankin McKenzie, Relevance Software, Thomas Knight Trent and King, Time Warner Cable Business Class, Self-Help Credit Union, Morris Manning Martin, Smashing Boxes, Duke University, North Carolina Central University, City of Durham, Downtown Durham, Inc, and the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce.
Thirteen companies were selected to participate in Stampede 2.0, including companies from Washington, D.C., Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill and Morrisville. Company descriptions are listed below:
Blackberri Entertainment and Urban Media: Blackberri Entertainment is designed to help emerging artists in a variety of artistic mediums establish themselves to broader populations.
CityFabric: (http://www.cityfabric.net/) CityFabric is a civic-minded design and apparel company set out to inspire people to talk about their place.
CleanHatch: (http://cleanhatch.com/) CleanHatch serves as the premier matchmaker for clean tech and renewable energy projects, leveraging a web-based clearinghouse platform to make it easy for projects to find the capital, developers, and incentives they need to launch quickly and efficiently.
DiscoverLit: (http://discoverlit.com/) DiscoverLit provides on-the-go readers with an engaging, innovative experience in literature.
GreenSky Wind Systems: (http://www.greensky-windsystems.com/) GreenSky Wind Systems delivers innovative, efficient and silent wind turbine solutions for commercial facilities dedicated to our planet.
iBuzzn: (http://ibuzzn.com/) iBuzzn is a software platform designed to disrupt the restaurant industry by introducing a customer focused mobile application that will enhance the overall dining experience.
MotiveLogic: (http://www.motivelogic.biz/) Constant Coaching™ is the culture created by the use of High Octane Business Performance Dashboards™ from MotiveLogic to achieve maximum efficiency and productivity from automobile dealer service departments.
Organic Transit: (http://www.organictransit.com/) Organic Transit designs pedal/solar Hybrid Vehicles that produce zero carbon, fill the space between bicycles and cars and are intended for commuting and local deliveries.
Pluribus: (http://pluribussystems.com) Pluribus makes it safer and easier to shop online with your debit or credit card.
RxAnalytics: RxAnalytics is developing a web and mobile tool that will identify critical drivers of performance in individual athletes as well as weaknesses and biases, allowing the athlete to train smarter and maximize performance.
Sqord: (www.sqord.com) Sqord is a social gaming website where kid users can earn points and rewards through real-world play.
Vybee.com: (www.vybee.com) Vybee.com is a way to find, share, and keep up with what's going on in your local interests.
Zeek: (www.getzeek.com) Zeek has digitized the coupon book, providing non-profits, schools, churches, and groups everywhere with a 21st century fundraising solution, all accessible from a smart phone.
For additional information and updates about the Stampede, go to www.startupstampede.com or follow the Stampede on Twitter @StartupStampede.
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About the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce:
The Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce is Durham County’s leading business organization, serving more than 1,000 business, government agency and non-profit member firms. Through its community collaboration, programs and activities, the Chamber strives to help create and sustain a healthy economic climate ensuring that Durham is a great place to live, work and play. The Chamber also serves as the economic development entity for Durham County. In the last decade, the Chamber’s economic development efforts have assisted numerous companies with relocation of operations or expansion of current operations in Durham, resulting in more than $3.3 billion of investment in Durham and thousands of jobs.
Contact:
Adam Klein
Director of Strategic Initiatives Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce
aklein@durhamchamber.org
919-328-8755
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