Startup Events in Durham

Have a startup idea you can't stop thinking about — but aren't sure what to do next? This hands-on workshop is built to get you moving. In a focused, small-group session led by startup veteran Chris Heivly, you'll work through a Lean Canvas to clarify your thinking, pressure-test whether you've got something real, and surface the key risks and assumptions hiding inside your idea. You'll leave with a clearer picture of your next step, and the confidence to take it. Who is this for? This is a working session for first-time and idea-stage founders ready to move from "I'm spinning my wheels" to "I know my next step." It's ideal if you: Have an idea stuck in your head and haven't launched yet Have started something but feel stuck or unsure how to move forward Want structured, practical guidance to take your next step with confidence Come with an idea or early venture you're ready to dig into. Why attend? Build a concrete plan: Work through a Lean Canvas to map your riskiest assumptions and define real next steps Pressure-test your idea: Get a crash course in startup fundamentals and customer discovery to find out if you're onto something Connect with the ecosystem: Meet other founders and plug into the RDSCo community Location & Parking Frontier RTP — Classroom 📍 800 Park Offices Dr, Durham 🚗 Free parking is available immediately outside Frontier Venue Partner Frontier RTP is a growing community at the heart of the Hub RTP development, RTP’s new downtown. Companies looking to be part of an exciting, collaborative environment will fit right in at Frontier RTP! Learn more at frontier.rtp.org/ Raleigh-Durham Startup Co. Idea to Action is part of the Raleigh-Durham Startup Co. (RDSCo) Startup Series — a free, year-round series of events that meet Triangle founders at "I'm curious" and helps them move toward "I'm building." Learn more at raleighdurhamstartup.co. Thank you to our Contributing Members for supporting the RDSCo Startup Series!

No slides. No sales pitches. Just good food, a cold drink, and a people learning AI together. All Things AI is taking the community out of the conference room and into Boxyard RTP, the shipping-container village in the middle of Research Triangle Park. Whether you've never opened ChatGPT or you ship agents for a living, you belong here. Nobody's too new, and nobody's too senior. That's the whole point. Why come Meet the builders, career-changers and curious people behind the Triangle's biggest AI community Swap notes on what's actually working, and find the person who already solved the problem you're stuck on Leave with a few new people you'll be texting next week It's Halloween week, so costumes are optional but very much encouraged. Bring a friend. A coworker, a classmate, or the person at your company who keeps asking you about AI. Food and drinks are available from the Boxyard vendors (pay your own way).

The world has problems. We have bad ideas. An evening of amazing pitches for absolutely terrible ideas to save the world. Climate change is a massive, complicated problem that will require serious innovation, collaboration, policy, investment, and action. This is not that. For RDSCo Climate Week, we’re bringing back the Bad Idea Pitch Competition and challenging teams to tackle real problems facing our planet in the most questionable ways possible. Each team will pitch live to a panel of Celebrity Judges, who will ask questions, poke holes, and ultimately cast their votes. The audience gets a vote, too, to help crown the Best Worst Idea to Save the World. Expect big swings, bad science, unnecessary apps, suspicious sustainability claims, and at least one solution that probably involves putting solar panels somewhere they absolutely do not belong. Come for the creativity, stay for the community (and a laugh!), and join us for a night of bad pitches, climate bingo, and plenty of chances to dream up a few terrible ideas of your own. The world has enough good ideas. For one night, we want your worst. Interested in forming a pitch team and being a part of the show? Please fill out our very serious application to pitch here: https://airtable.com/appwJTZLBy955Kvik/pagy2KLsI5VQeISdR/form Thank you to our Sponsors and Partners! We are thrilled to partner with Life's a Pitch! They are generously offering attendees 15% off Life’s a Pitch with the code BADPITCH15 at lifesapitchthegame.com, good through Nov 30.

The Triangle startup community has a wealth of resources for founders — but grants and accelerators all run on different calendars, and the deadlines arrive before most founders see them coming. At Spring Preview, nine Triangle startup support orgs will pitch you their spring events, programs, and application windows in 60 seconds, followed by open networking where you can ask them anything. Leave with your spring mapped, your questions answered, and new connections across the ecosystem. Location Fullsteam ATC 320 Blackwell St #101, Durham, NC 27701 Free parking available in the ATC North Deck Event Hosts This event is a collaboration between startup support orgs from across the Triangle. Questions? Email Tim — tim@timscales.com