Durham’s initiative to boost startup companies delivered another 13
“graduates” this past Wednesday, and all the firms plan to stay in the Triangle.
Organizers aren’t stopping, either. A new initiative is planned for 2012.
Bull City Startup Stampede 2.0 provided a variety of support ranging from free office space to mentoring and Internet access over the past two months to help jumpstart the businesses. Eight will remain in Durham, the other five in the Triangle.
Of the eight picking Durham, four had been located elsewhere before landing a spot in the Stampede office space.
In the first year of the program, the Stampede has helped 28 firms.
The Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Durham, Inc. put on the Stampede with the help of several private companies which contributed services and support valued at $55,000.
Adam Klein, director of strategic initiatives for the Durham Chamber, noted that the program has helped the Bull City land 17 of the 28 Stampede firms. “We estimate downtown Durham now has more than 70 start-ups and we plan to add to that number in the coming years,” he added.
At a celebration marking the end of Stampede 2.0, the Chamber and Downtown group said a new initiative would be launched in 2012 called “The Smaffice – A Stampede Production.” More details are forthcoming.
“We plan to run a series of initiatives next year and in the years after that will put Durham at the forefront of people’s minds as a startup destination,” said Matthew Coppedge, director of marketing for Downtown Durham.
