Innovate Carolina Junction Celebrates One Year of Innovation Impact 

This week, Innovate Carolina celebrates the first anniversary of the Innovate Carolina Junction. Since opening its doors in September 2023, the Junction has quickly become a bustling innovation hub and co-working space in downtown Chapel Hill. It serves as a vital intersection between campus and community, offering more than just a workspace — it’s a thriving environment where innovators can access the resources, entrepreneurial services, and connections they need to transform their ideas and inventions into new technologies, products, services and companies

“As we mark the Junction’s first anniversary, we also celebrate the dynamic innovation ecosystem at UNC-Chapel Hill and the vibrant community that has been part of this exciting journey.  Looking ahead, the Junction will continue to serve as a vital bridge, transforming research and ideas from campus into real-world impact while harnessing the entrepreneurial energy and expertise of our local community and region.”

Dedric A. Carter, PhD, MBA, Chief Innovation Officer and Vice Chancellor of innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development at UNC-Chapel Hill.

The Junction brings together inventors, investors, corporate and philanthropic partners, as well as student and citizen entrepreneurs, fostering connections and interactions that are hard to find elsewhere. 

Key milestones for the Junction in its first year include:

• Attracting 270 coworking members, who use a variety of work spaces at the Junction—open desks, private offices, meeting rooms, and collaboration environments—and participate in the hub’s events, community activities and programs.
• Engaging more than 4,000 event attendees and hosting more than 100 events focused on entrepreneurial skills, technology trends, and startup support.
• Launching the inaugural Joan and Chester Luby Pitch Competition at Carolina, which awarded $92,000 to 11 student startup companies. 
• Implementing the first Innovate Carolina Signature Innovation Summit that brought together 50 academic, industry, and government hub leaders from 22 states to examine and help redefine strategies hubs use to shape the future of work. A summary report that outlines recommendations from summit participants for how hubs can use technologies, skill-building initiatives, and work environments to help create the workforce of the future..
• Hosting a Hill Tank startup pitch competition as part of a wider community effort to invite fans attending the FC Series international soccer match at Kenan Stadium in July to visit downtown Chapel Hill.  The Junction welcomed fans to step inside its startup alley to hear pitches from faculty, student and community founders working on innovative technologies and ventures.

“Since opening the Innovate Carolina Junction, our team has seen positive momentum build among a variety of organizations locally and regionally as we’ve activated the hub and coworking space to pull together people from area campuses, communities, and companies. We’ve seen cross-sector teams work in concert to tackle important problems and explore possibilities that simply wouldn’t have surfaced in isolation.”

Sheryl Waddell, Director of Economic Development and Innovation Hubs at Innovate Carolina

The Junction also makes an impact through tech-based economic development that spurs the creation and growth of new business.

“Being an entrepreneur can be a lonely journey, especially with the majority of my team being remote,” says Chijioge “Chi” Nwogu, CEO, GameFlo, which finalized and announced a major retail partnership deal with Target in June. “The people at the Junction have often been the first to hear good news and challenging news. When I first received word that GameFlo was awarded placement in Target, it was the community at the Junction that celebrated extra hard.”

Innovate Carolina’s fiscal year 2024 startup data shows the economic impact of startups connected with UNC-Chapel Hill continues to grow across the state. Innovate Carolina’s Data Hub presents a comprehensive snapshot, including a cumulative record of outcomes for both intellectual property (IP) and non-IP startups. 

Data from fiscal year 2024 describes the impact of UNC-affiliated startups:

As UNC-Chapel Hill’s university-wide initiative for innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic development, Innovate Carolina offers support and services to faculty, staff and student entrepreneurs at Carolina and to those outside the university. These include patent landscaping and market research services, which help entrepreneurs ensure that their ideas are market ready, as well as design thinking consultations and workshops that guide entrepreneurs to develop products and services that customers want. 

In addition, Innovate Carolina offers expertise in a variety of capacities: technology commercialization, startup formation and support, human-centered design, strategic partnership development, innovation talent and skill-building. These innovation practices help people across campus, in the local community, and across the state turn their ideas and research into real-world difference makers.