Innovate Now Series
Make an impact with your ideas – anytime, anywhere.
Innovate Carolina’s Innovate Now series helps you put your ideas into action anytime and anywhere that works for you.
For some sessions, you'll choose to sign up ahead of time. For others, you might watch on demand. Either way, this online series offers you new opportunities to learn from – and collaborate with – other innovative-minded experts in a variety of ways.
When is the best time to make your idea work?
Whenever you’re ready to say “now.”
Maybe you’re working remotely – or just looking to carve out a few minutes from your demanding schedule to ideate, innovate and plan your next steps. Whether you’re launching a startup venture, inventive initiative, new mode of teaching or an impact-driven program, we understand that what you want to work on shouldn’t be dictated by when you have time to work on it.
Engage with a mix of entrepreneurs, startup founders, faculty, students and others from our campus and local innovation community. You’ll make valuable connections, discover new possibilities and design creative paths forward … starting now.
See events and engagements below
Maybe you’re working remotely – or just looking to carve out a few minutes from your demanding schedule to ideate, innovate and plan your next steps. Whether you’re launching a startup venture, inventive initiative, new mode of teaching or an impact-driven program, we understand that what you want to work on shouldn’t be dictated by when you have time to work on it.
Engage with a mix of entrepreneurs, startup founders, faculty, students and others from our campus and local innovation community. You’ll make valuable connections, discover new possibilities and design creative paths forward … starting now.
For Students
Training: How to Become a Startup Consultant
When: Every other Wednesday, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
How: On-demand video available after sessions
Length: 1 hour
Overview: Innovate Carolina is hosting this series of virtual lunch-and-learn training sessions that will provide you and other students with an introduction to the skills and knowledge you need to provide venture-based consulting services or work as interns at startup companies. By participating in in these sessions, you’ll get high-level tips and direction on what it takes to help young companies identify new markets, pursue funding, engage in customer discovery and tackle other challenges. If you’re interested in working with – or getting a position at – a startup company, these sessions will get you started. Each session features a 30-minute presentation by a startup consulting expert, followed by an interactive Q&A session.
Sessions Created in Collaboration With: KickStart Venture Services, Carolina Graduate Consulting Group, Kenan-Flagler Business School Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Club
Who Should Attend/Watch: Graduate students, professional degree students and undergraduate students interested in startups and entrepreneurship.
Upcoming Sessions
● Creating an Effective Pitch (Oct. 28)
● Identifying Financial Milestones (Nov. 11)
● Fundraising Strategies for Early-Stage Companies (Dec. 2)
Archived Sessions
Marketing 101: Branding, Logos and Social Media
Presenters: Brock Pierce and Shellie Edge, Innovate Carolina
On-demand video available soon
Introduction: Venture Catalyst Fellows Program
Presenters: Sheryl Waddell, Innovate Carolina and Mireya McKee, Judy Prasad and Hallie French, KickStart Venture Services
Watch on-demand video
Secondary Market Research
Presenter: Patrick Kastian, research analyst, Innovate Carolina
Watch on-demand video
Customer Discovery
Presenter: Chris Morrison, owner, ViaVerus LLC
Watch on-demand video
Company Valuation and Due Diligence
Presenter: Chelsea Eshraghi, director, Carolina Angel Network
Watch on-demand video
Meet the 1789 Mentor
When: Available now
How: Live Zoom meetings, on-demand video
Length: 1 hour
Overview: Did you know there are 15 entrepreneurship mentors at 1789 ready to talk with students about their ideas and how to make them work? Let Innovate Carolina personally introduce you to them. This team of local entrepreneurs, business and innovation pros, and startup pros usually hangs out at the 1789 Hub on Franklin Street. But, now they’re available to connect with you virtually – to introduce themselves and see how they can help you wherever you are. During each session, you’ll get to meet three 1789 mentors to understand what they do and how they can help. Then, leaders from Innovate Carolina and other UNC-Chapel Hill programs will open it up for Q&A between you, the mentors and other Carolina students who are interested in entrepreneurship.
Many of our mentors have their own personal experiencing founding companies or working for startups. Some are faculty members. Some are staff. Some are graduate students. All are available to you and ready to provide guidance on how to:
● Build prototypes
● Complete secondary market research
● Consider social impact
● Incorporate your venture
● Brand your organization
● Visualize data
● Raise funding
Who Should Attend/Watch: Any UNC-Chapel Hill undergraduate or graduate student interested in working on an entrepreneurial idea or venture.
Session 1
Meet these mentors:
● Melissa Carrier, UNC Office of Social Innovation director
● Jonathan Collins, restaurant, food and beverage consultant
● Nancy Lovas, UNC e-ship information consultant/librarian
Watch on-demand session
Session 2
Meet these mentors:
● Ethan Peikes, analyst at VC firm IDEA Fund Partners
● Collin McKinney, director of UNC CRiTCL Electronics Core Lab and Nano Device Characterization Lab
● Niki Shamdasani, founder and CEO of Sani, a South Asian-inspired fashion brand
Watch on-demand session
Session 3
Meet these mentors:
● Trevor Scanlon, project coordinator for MetLife Complex Problems team
● Liz Chen, Innovate Carolina design thinking lead
● Arden Rosenblatt, business launch specialist at Small Business & Technology Development Center
Watch on-demand session
Session 4
Meet these mentors:
● Patrick Kastian, research analyst at Innovate Carolina
● Mirah Alix, UNC grad student with a passion for social enterprise and environmentally responsible business
● Kimi Yingling, student engagement and events manager at Innovate Carolina
Watch on-demand session
For Faculty
Workshop: Designing Teams and Cultivating Creativity Virtually
When: Available now
How: On-demand video recordings
Length: 90 minutes
Overview: Team formation is done all the time, but how intentional are the teams you build or the teams that you are part of? This workshop will discuss how you can think differently about designing teams for specific outcomes, how you can get team members to invest early in the team project and outcome, and how you can facilitate an efficient and meaningful onboarding experience so that your team can gel faster. In addition, how do you assess and describe your current team culture now that we’re remote? How do you set expectations for the team virtually? And how do you acknowledge and embrace tension during meetings on Zoom? Join Liz Chen, assistant professor at the Gillings School of Global Public Health and design thinking lead at Innovate Carolina, for this interactive workshop where you’ll explore the answers to these and other questions.
Who Should Watch/Attend: UNC-Chapel Hill faculty who are interested in practicing skills and methods that can help them accelerate innovation projects, explore inventive curricular methods, and launch new initiatives, nonprofits and startup ventures.
Workshop: Understanding Users Amidst Social Distancing: How to Empathize Before Problem Solving
When: Available now
How: On-demand video recordings
Length: 90 minutes
Overview: The first phase of IDEO.org’s human-centered design process is Inspiration. While many of us tend to start problem solving once problems or challenges are already defined, it is important for us to step back and engage with real people first. This direct engagement, now virtual, is important for us to better understand the wants and needs of the individuals we are trying to design for (e.g. patients, community members, end users) so we are confident that we are setting out to solve problems or challenges that align with real people’s lived experiences. Join us for this session to learn more about and experience a variety of inspiration methods that you can employ amidst social distancing. Liz Chen, assistant professor at the Gillings School of Global Public Health and design thinking lead at Innovate Carolina, will lead this interactive workshop.
Who Should Attend/Watch: UNC-Chapel Hill faculty who are interested in practicing skills and methods that can help them accelerate innovation projects, explore inventive curricular methods, and launch new initiatives, nonprofits and startup ventures.
Workshop: The Art and Science of Brainstorming – How to Foster Convergent and Divergent Thinking
When: Available now
How: On-demand video recordings
Length: 90 minutes
Overview: The second phase of IDEO.org’s human-centered design process is Ideation. Many of us have taken part in “brainstorms” in the past. Think: how freely were you able to brainstorm in these past experiences? How often were truly out-of-the-box ideas generated? This session will provide actionable steps for facilitating better brainstorming sessions that will yield a wider range of ideas. In addition, we will also discuss ways teams can strategically choose ideas once they have been brainstormed. Divergent thinking (creating choices) is different from convergent thinking (making choices) and we provide methods to facilitate both sets of activities in your virtual teams.
Who Should Attend/Watch:
UNC-Chapel Hill faculty who are interested in practicing skills and methods that can help them accelerate innovation projects, explore inventive curricular methods, and launch new initiatives, nonprofits and startup ventures.
Workshop: Testing and Prototyping Your Ideas
When: Available now
How: On-demand video recordings
Length: 90 minutes
Overview: The third phase of IDEO.org’s human-centered design process is Implementation. In addition to finding solutions that are desirable, it is equally important that solutions are feasible and viable. That being said, we need to test and prototype different pieces and versions of solutions with real people to gather real-time feedback so we can adjust and strengthen our solutions. In a world where we are social distancing, we need to be a little more creative here. This session will put forth prototyping methods that UNC faculty can use to engage with end users (e.g. patients, community members) virtually. Liz Chen, assistant professor at the Gillings School of Global Public Health and design thinking lead at Innovate Carolina, will lead this interactive workshop.
Who Should Attend/Watch:
UNC-Chapel Hill faculty who are interested in practicing skills and methods that can help them accelerate innovation projects, explore inventive curricular methods, and launch new initiatives, nonprofits and startup ventures.
For Startup Founders & Entrepreneurs
Customer Discovery Workshop
When: Five Wednesdays over 10 weeks (Oct. - Dec., 2020)
How: Live Zoom meetings
Length: Two hours per session (five sessions)
Overview:
As a researcher or founder, you may find yourself ready to move off the bench or the drawing board but uncertain of and unprepared for the next steps. You know that you have to get out of the lab or office and talk to potential customers. But where do you start? Like most in your position, you may find yourself with little or none of the training required to conduct your initial customer discovery.
If so, the AME Customer Discovery Workshop is for you. The workshop provides:
> Step-by-step instruction with support from a seasoned professional at your side.
> The answers you need today and the skill set required for tomorrow.
> Highest integrity data to confidently make the mission critical decisions.
> Health care industry specific addressing issues such as dealing with medical professionals, healthcare reimbursement and FDA regulation.
Who Should Attend: Academic founders looking to translate their research; inventors commercializing their ideas; Clinicians with a product concept; R&D and sales and marketing execs; student entrepreneurs
Class 1: October 15
Goal Setting and Customer Identification
Class 2: October 22
Designing Customer Outreach and Interviews
Class 3: October 29
Conducting Customer Interviews
Class 4: December 3
Evaluating Customer Data
Class 5: December 17
Synthesizing Discovery Outcomes
Workshop: Catalyst Coaching Sessions
When: Every other Wednesday starting May 20 at 4 p.m.
How: Live Zoom meetings
Length: 1 hour
Overview: Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network was launched in the Triangle Region of North Carolina in 2011 with a gift from The Blackstone Charitable Foundation. The Network’s mission is to catalyze the regional development of the Triangle’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and thereby strengthen economic development in the area. Harnessing the talent of a regional pool of seasoned entrepreneurs, the Network created a tightly connected team of entrepreneurs-in-residence (EIRs) to support marketable innovations, created by area universities and regional startups, with the greatest potential to become high-growth companies.
Innovate Carolina is relaunching this service to form a virtual coaching team of EIRs. This group of highly experienced and successful EIRs work together to mentor local startup entrepreneurs – helping them achieve significant business milestones, build advisory boards, and make connections to a wider network of entrepreneurial experts and funders. The EIRs partner with student fellows, who are current master’s or doctoral students at UNC-Chapel Hill, to support participating startup companies in a variety of ways. These companies enjoy access to industry experts across many sectors, venture coaches, angel investors, and administrative and marketing support provided by the student fellows.
Who Should Attend:
UNC-affiliated startup companies that seek business guidance and connections.
Format
Company presentations (15 min
Q&A (30 min)
EIR Updates (10 min)
Note: These sessions are not open to the public. However, if your startup is interested in learning more about this support service, please visit the Venture Catalyst Program page or contact Sheryl Waddell.
KickStart Presents: Webinar Series
When: Monthly
How: Live Zoom meetings
Length: 1 hour
Overview: KickStart Presents is an interactive, online series hosted by KickStart Venture Services. Intended to bridge the knowledge gap for startup founders, the series was created by the team in April of 2020 and includes a broad range of topics from founder support to securing funding.
Who Should Attend:
UNC-affiliated startup companies that seek advice, skill-building and mentorship.
Format
Presentations by expert startup consultants, coaches and peer ventures
- 919-966-3929
- innovate@unc.edu
-
109 Church St.
Chapel Hill, NC 27516