Raleigh Founded

Around 2019, I thought it would be fun to take the companies in the Tweener List, find all their addresses and map it out. I immediately saw that on the Raleigh side of the Triangle, many of them were clustered in one area - I zoomed in, zoomed in further and at the epicenter of that explosion of Tweeners was what today we call Raleigh Founded. (old location, old name, but same vibes). Because of that, when you look at the list of people that have the biggest impact on the Triangle’s startup ecosystem, Jesse Lipson (Jes) is in the top 5. Not only is he a serial founder, but founding Raleigh Founded has had a profound impact by giving local startups not only a place to work, but a community that supports them, educates them and has a lot of success launching them onto the next step. On top of that, he’s always very generous of his time, does a lot of angel investing and with all that he has ever right to do some chest pounding, but he’s the most humble, approachable person you’ll ever meet. Speaking of being generous with his time, Jes sat down with me and told his story all the way through which was awesome as I've known him forever but heard a lot of new stories myself. We cover everything from his time at Duke, crypto, Progress ShareFile and, of course, Levitate. The pod is available in audio and video. Details here-> https://lnkd.in/ew2n-3Bi

We’re teaming up with Consuela Chapman LCSW and Choices in Wellness to support Soles4Souls in their mission to bring new shoes and clothes to those in Western Carolina through the 4RELIEF program! 👟 🧥 Soles4Souls acts as a second and third responder, mobilizing resources and funding to get essentials where they’re needed most. To help, there is a collection bin at our Gateway location (2409 Crabtree Blvd Ste 107, Raleigh, NC 27604) for new shoes and clothing. You can also donate below to support transportation and logistics, ensuring families receive these critical items. Every donation makes a difference in helping Western Carolina communities get back on their feet! If you contribute, drop a comment with your Founded location to track our collective impact!

We had the pleasure of speaking with Brittaney Robinson-Whitenhill, founder of Our Backyard, LLC, and the visionary behind Raleigh Founded’s first edible garden. With her green thumb and contagious enthusiasm, Brittaney inspires our community—and countless others—to cultivate a greener, more vibrant world for future generations. 🌿 Discover more about Brittaney’s passion for community and the environment, why she was our June Member of the Month, and her pick for our next Member of the Month! ⤵

Calling on friends + connections! CivicReach.AI is a finalist in Founders Live's Pitch Challenge and we need help to move forward - it won't take more than 100 seconds of your time! 👇What we need: 1. Watch our pitch at the link below (99 seconds) 2. Vote at the end of the video (1 second) 🚀 Why this is great: CivicReach.AI is at the start of a journey to radically improve government customer service for public officials and for everyone. Early pitches like this bring more attention so we can spread the word, bring on investment, and bring in governments to partner with. 💪 Bonus points: - re-share and tell your network why you're excited for us and excited for this technology to exist! Calling on friends who are good at LinkedIn and can help spread the word - Sunny Su ⚡️ Brand ✦ Product ✦ Design, Scot Wingo, Lilly Tesfai, MPA, Vivian Nguyen, Tim Scales, Cody Charland, Michael Hale Jr., Mark Friese. 👇 Video + Link to Vote 👇 https://lnkd.in/egfr7Krt

Congratulations to two of our incredible community members: Chip Kennedy (CivicReach.AI) and Paula León, MID (BLEAN) for being recipients in the 13th NC IDEA MICRO grant cycle, which awards $10,000 in funding and an eight-week customer dicovery and product program to all recepients! 💬 CivicReach.AI reimagines how residents communicate with their governments, utilizing generative AI to make communication easier, equitable, and affordable. 🌸 BLEAN is a compact and innovative device designed to make cleaning your menstrual cup or disc easy and discreet, even in public settings. BLEAN allows for a seamless and hygienic experience that promotes sustainable menstrual care. We can't wait to watch these two amazing startups grow! Learn more about the other amazing NC startups that were awarded this cycle ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eq9qRxAJ

You're invited to the Business Bloom Demo Day, hosted by Five One Labs + City of Raleigh Municipal Government Parks! Business Bloom Demo Day is a celebration of impressive refugee and immigrant-led startups launching in the Triangle Area. Join us at our Gateway location on Thursday, November 21st, from 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM for an evening of innovation, networking, and hearing pitches from new founders in the city. Learn more and RSVP ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eqxpsBHq

🎤 Lindsay Wrege, CO-Founder of 321 Coffee, is continuing her conversational speaker series a week from today at Raleigh Founded's NC State Centennial Campus location—and you won’t want to miss this one! Lindsay will be chatting with Calvin J. Crosslin, VP, Chief Diversity Officer & President at the Lenovo Foundation, and Patricia LaPaglia, Sr. Director of Global Spaces Employee Experience at Pendo.io. Chatting about what?? All about how you can make an impact for inclusion in the workplace, regardless of where you work or what kind of role you have! This series is open to everyone—from seasoned professionals and CEOs to students and start ups. And yes, we’ll have coffee and pastries ready for you! ☕ ️📅 Thursday, October 24th ⏰ 8:45 AM - 10 AM 📍Raleigh Founded - Centennial 🚗 Park in Oval West Deck, and we will validate your parking once inside! If you can’t make it this time, no worries! There’s one more chance this year: 📅 Tuesday, November 19th with Maggie Kane (TAG) #321coffee #NCState #CoffeeShop #Drink321Coffee #Inclusion #InclusionMatte

Had a great time last Thursday representing EisnerAmper with Max Belsinger, CPA at the Kickball for a Cause event hosted by Raleigh Founded. $5,000 was raised for the Journeymen Youth Mentor Program. A huge shoutout to Lauren Romer and the Raleigh Founded team for making it happen, and all for a good cause.

What a night to remember! Last Thursday, Raleigh Founded and Cary Founded hosted our very first #KickballForACause, and I couldn’t be more proud of how our community came together. It was a perfect blend of fun, connection, and purpose, as we gathered to raise $5,000 for Journeymen Triangle, a local charity doing incredible work in our area. A huge congratulations to the Coworking Team for taking the win! Super Stars: Jordan Bowman, Sawyer Stone, Brandon Kashani, Homayoon Ershadi, Jacob Molz, Chris Leithe, Ally Brabant, Jason Widen, Max Belsinger, CPA, Christopher Williams, CPA We are beyond excited to make this a yearly tradition, and I can't wait to see what we can achieve together next year. Thank you to all our sponsors, participants, and volunteers—you made this possible! 💙 Some of the many amazing people that made this event a success: Devon Lewis Zach Gregory Christian Ulrich Fred Whipp Owen Stone Lauren Griffin Camden Conekin Daniel Burniston Ryan Diaz Jenny Diaz Jeremy Kerzner Courtney Kinsey-Manwarren Shire Thompson Jen McFarland Jason L. Amen Hetep Crystal Ricevuto #CommunityImpact #KickballForACause #RaleighFounded #LocalGiving #TeamSpirit #Gratitude

The weirdest and coolest fashion show is coming to Raleigh this Friday 🌟 Join Weird Productions for the Raleigh Renaissance Fashion Show at Smoky Hollow at 6 PM on 10/18 to see some amazing work put on by 6 local designers (and modeled by some familiar faces in the shape of local leaders ... Lauren Romer!) Use code FOUNDEDVIP for a discount on your ticket! ➡️ https://lnkd.in/esjdi_e2 ✨💃 See you there!