From supporting entrepreneurs to launching new economies, UNCW Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) has a variety of year-long, recurring programs to get involved with.
Every Wednesday at 9 a.m., entrepreneurs and the community gather at CIE to hear from an entrepreneur or two and to provide suggestions and connections to help them.
1 Million Cups is about connecting, educating, and inspiring entrepreneurs and the community through a million cups of coffee. The Wilmington 1 Million Cups chapter meets at CIE. Zoom and Facebook live options are available as well.
If you are an entrepreneur and have been in business less than 5 years, please visit the website and apply to present.
To see past entrepreneur presenters at 1MC Wilmington, visit CIE's Youtube Channel for 1MC Wilmington here.
Hustle n Harvest is a pre-Celerator for Southeast NC. It provides a guide to founders for scaling their ventures. A series of videos by entrepreneurs and ecosystem builders guides participants through the Lean Business Canvas as a roapmap to success for scaling and obtaining investment.
This program was developed by the Network for Entrepreneurs in Wilmington in partnership with CIE, the Thomas Hub for Entrepreneurship at UNCP, and Genesis Block with a grant from NC IDEA.
Take the online course any time here. (It's free!)
Propel offers participants in the shellfish mariculture industry a business incubator curriculum and process to assist growers through the stages of business launch and growth. This fully online business
training series presents new growers with concepts and challenges of business ownership unique to shellfish growers. This program also provides resources that can be used after the course has been
completed.
Propel was created because of a need for:
1. Increased finance and business support for the shellfish growing community
2. Growing complexity in finance and business support
3. Increasing shellfish cultivation in more remote locations
Additional information about this online course, which is available any time is on this webpage. To sign up, email cie@uncw.edu. (It's free!)
The CIE Mentor Program assists both campus- and community-based ventures by engaging a team of professionals to guide them through their next business milestone. Most mentor teams work with early stage startups that could be or are becoming scalable.
Learn more about the CIE Mentor Program here. CIE Mentors meet monthly to determine if they will form a team for applications received from startups. If a team is formed, they work with the founder by meeting monthly for six months.
If you are interested in becoming a CIE Mentor, visit this webpage.
The Alliance for the Blue Economy ("All Blue") is a local, multidisciplinary initiative to establish Wilmington and the southeast North Carolina as a national and global leader in the Blue Economy. A core part of the mission is to support high-impact entrepreneurs and innovators who are working on blue economy solutions.
To learn more about the All Blue initiative, visit allbluenc.org. The volunteer group meets monthly, works in subcommittees to accomplish goals, and shares information to advance knowledge. All Blue has made several significant accomplishments such as the Blue Economy Index, Ocean Innovation Conference, and Shellfish Mariculture Propel.
If you don't see the exact program or event for you, no worries! CIE collaborates with partners across the region to ensure that all entrepreneurs in our region succeed. Check out the Coalition website for a list of regional partners and the list of this month's events to help entrepreneurs and small businesses succeed.
A global index was created to measure the performance of the oceans and waterways with a focus on the environment. This Index will give investors access to growing impact of this economy, while giving UNCW students a learning experience for managing this index and reporting on the blue economy. Read more about this new Index here.
In the past, CIE has organized the Youth Summit for UNCW. We are actively seeking sponsors so we can hold this program in 2024.
The Coastal Entrepreneur Awards, a joint effort of CIE and the Greater Wilmington Business Journal, honors standout startup companies and businesses that keep innovating in the Cape Fear region each year.
Who would you invest $100,000 in? Applications for the Coastal Entrepreneur Awards open in February. Get prepared to nominate a business. Ten to eleven category winners will be selected in areas such as film, hospitality, manufacturing & distribution, minority-owned, nonprofit, professional services, real estate, and technology. At the Coastal Entrepreneur Award celebration, an overall winner is announced that wins the coveted CEA surfboard made by Kids Making It that is passed from winner to winner each year in the region.
New in 2023 (and anticipated to be an annual event!), the Ocean Innovation Conference connects innovation, entrepreneurship, blue economy, and blue mind. Learn more about the Ocean Innovation Conference here.
For a week in November which is National Entrepreneurship Month, ecosystem partners across the Wilmington region have programs for entrepreneurs and small businesses. GEW Wilmington is about supporting and inspiring entrepreneurs and showcasing the best of our region.
Programs are listed on the GEW Wilmington website.
CIE's programs such as Mentor Madness and Entrepreneur Day are listed on the GEW Wilmington website.
Throughout the year, CIE interfaces with the national GEW organizers as the community organizer.
The goal of Startup EQ is to prepare entrepreneurs to recognize and restore their energy, develop the ability to have healthy conversations, create sustainable cultures, and create startups that last. This program is about helping founders to lead themselves, lead their business, and lead others.
Startup EQ is a program of Go-od Consulting that was initially piloted in April 2022 with funding from NC IDEA and in partnership with Network for Entrepreneurs in Wilmington (NEW) and the Thomas Hub at UNC Pembroke.
It is anticipated that this program will be run again in starting in October 2023 with funding from the City of Wilmington in partnership with Channel powered by Live Oak Bank.
The CIE Consultant Portfolio Services program offers one-on-one consulting to prepare entrepreneurs for success in presenting to investors, applying for competitive accelerators and seeking grants. The program has evolved out of the work Leveragent has provided to CIE entrepreneurs since in 2016.
Originally brought in for his program PerfectPitch, a training seminar to help entrepreneurs develop and effectively present to investors and to work individually with four entrepreneurs. Chris Mather quickly became the CIE’s ‘go-to’ resource for entrepreneurs preparing for any type of competitive presentation.
About Chris Mather
Chris is president of Leveragent, a consulting firm that offers fractional executive services, designs entrepreneurial development programs, provides exit strategy planning, and delivers training programs to help entrepreneurs deliver effective presentations. Chris was formerly a regional advisor for Jumpstart Community Advisors, president of JumpStart TechLift Advisors, and vice president – entrepreneurship for NorTech.
Entrepreneur Cathy Maready captures how portfolio clients benefit from this program:
"I cannot tell you how much I have appreciated, but more importantly, learned from Chris as a coach for my start-up with Vavaroom. His attention to all details, both large and seemingly minute, made it possible for me to be able to consolidate thoughts, numbers and theories that were so needed to present to a larger audience. The skills I learned not only helped me in a presentation to NC IDEA/SOAR, but they continue to help me in interactions with prospective investors and customers."
Serving 28 Entrepreneurs & Counting
Through mid-2019, the Portfolio Program has included services to 28 entrepreneurs. Among them are:
Entrepreneurs with innovative ventures planning to present to investors or applying for competitive programs or grants (including NC IDEA SEED and MICRO grants) are encouraged to request Consultant Portfolio Program services.