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Several groups around the Triangle and beyond are available to help with early seed money and other early business stage tools to get you started.
General
Bootstrap Advisors
Bootstrap focuses primarily on very early stage, pre-revenue companies. Bootstrap has considerable expertise in working with tangible, differentiated and low-tech products, and with startups that allow for branding opportunities.
Cofounders Capital Lab
Cofounders Capital helps with prototyping, vetting, and lining up beta customers. The most promising of these ventures are then funded through Cofounders Capital’s $12M seed fund. Cofounders Capital provides free lab space to entrepreneurs who receive expert help modeling and vetting their startup ideas.
Inception Micro Angel Fund (IMAF)
IMAF is a member-managed, seed-stage angel capital fund model designed to capitalize on the growth in entrepreneurial activity and venture financing. The Fund contains a mixture of new and successful investors from various industries in the Research Triangle Park area.
NC IDEA
NC IDEA is a private foundation with a mission to maximize the economic potential of the people of North Carolina by supporting the formation and fruition of high-growth entrepreneurial endeavors in the state. NC IDEA’s mission is best achieved by working to foster a diverse, generative and collaborative community, Identify and impact promising companies, facilitate the formation and multiplication of capital, nurture and attract world-class talent, and optimize internal (statewide) and external (U.S.) connectivity.
Piedmont Angel Network (PAN)
The Piedmont Angel Network (PAN) is a committed capital angel fund that focuses on investment opportunities in early stage companies that present high growth opportunities. PAN has invested in 23 companies since 2002 with a primary focus on the life science, technology, software, and advanced materials fields. While the Fund has a preference to invest in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, PAN has made investments across North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.
Sustainability and Social Good
Acorn Innovestments
Acorn Investments is focused on innovative business concepts/products. Acorn uses its network and expertise in the manufacturing of advanced materials to nurture and grow new innovations and new companies that are solving current and future environmental problems.
Technology
Cofounders Capital
Cofounders Capital is an early-stage seed fund focused on software ventures in the Triangle. The company helps with prototyping, vetting, and lining up beta customers. The most promising of these ventures are then funded through Cofounders Capital’s $12M seed fund.
Triangle Angel Partners (TAP)
Triangle Angel Partners (TAP) is an experienced group of angel investors who invest their time, analysis and money into early life cycle companies in the high tech and life sciences industries. Our members are executives, PhDs, successful entrepreneurs and professional investors. With TAP’s exclusive network, we get the first look at the best new ideas coming out of the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and the Research Triangle Park areas.
Alumni and University Networks
Carolina Angel Network
A network of University of North Carolina alumni, donors, and friends of UNC who are passionate about helping early-stage companies. They screen early-stage companies with early revenue or customers, perform due diligence for the members through dedicated resources and allow members to make their own choice of investment.
Duke Capital Partners
Duke Capital Partners is uniquely dedicated to connecting, supporting, and cultivating the Duke entrepreneurial community.
Wolfpack Investor Network
The Wolfpack Investor Network (WIN) brings together the NC State entrepreneurial community, NC State alumni network, and innovative private companies to empower the businesses that drive our future. WIN’s mission is to support the global NC State entrepreneurial community with an angel investing platform and co-investment fund (the Seed Capital Endowment Fund) that engages and leverages the power of the NC State alumni network.