Press Release
Contact: Robert Albright |
Phone: 919-549-7500 ext.123 |
CED and NC IDEA Launch Strategic Alliance to Propel
North Carolina’s Entrepreneurial Economy
Groups Form Unique Collaboration to Make North Carolina a National Leader in Entrepreneurship
April 27, 2005, Research Triangle Park, NC – The Boards of Directors of the Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) and NC IDEA today announced that the two organizations have formed a strategic alliance to help North Carolina become the country’s leading state for innovation-based entrepreneurs. Due to their closely aligned missions, CED and NC IDEA have established a formal relationship to stimulate and nurture innovation-based new company formation, increase access to capital and technical expertise, and develop a new model for entrepreneurial advancement.
Under the terms of the agreement, CED and NC IDEA will implement a unique, shared governance model in which mutual directors will take an active role in maintaining close ties. The two groups will remain independent entities but will work in close collaboration to increase the pipeline of innovators and successful entrepreneurial companies.
CED President Monica Doss said the agreement with NC IDEA establishes a new model of private sector partnership in support of entrepreneurs.
“This collaborative agreement is the first step in connecting innovation-based communities throughout North Carolina and enhancing available resources,” said Doss. “CED has long been focused on supporting high-growth entrepreneurs in the region, but there are still gaps in the services provided to them. The goal of this initiative is to attack those support gaps across the state.”
David Rizzo, CEO of NC IDEA, said CED would be an optimal partner to help North Carolina become the nation’s top entrepreneurial state, given CED’s 21-year history of providing value-added program content to more than 10,000 entrepreneurs annually.
“Establishing a formal tie between NC IDEA’s funding capacity and CED’s program resources is critical to our state’s entrepreneurial success,” said Rizzo. “Through this collaboration, we will reach out to existing and new groups to provide an expansive resource network.”
As the nation’s leading entrepreneurial support organization, CED offers a full range of education, mentoring and access to capital resources for high-growth entrepreneurs. As a complement to CED’s mission, NC IDEA will continue to provide early stage venture financing and plans to implement an early stage grants program to startup entrepreneurs and technology companies in North Carolina.
About CED: The Council for Entrepreneurial Development, located in Research Triangle Park, NC, is a private, non-profit organization formed in 1984 to stimulate the creation and growth of high-impact companies in the greater Research Triangle region. CED provides education, mentoring and capital formation resources to new and existing high-growth entrepreneurs through annual conferences, seminars, workshops and monthly programs on entrepreneurial management and finance. CED is the largest entrepreneurial support organization in the nation with more than 4,000 members representing 1,100 entrepreneurial companies, financiers and professional firms. www.cednc.org
About NC IDEA: The North Carolina Innovative Development for Economic Advancement (NC IDEA) provides grants, loans and traditional venture capital to help young companies between seed funding and Series A financing. NC IDEA further supports these companies by leveraging its strong, strategic partnerships and alliances to help them through research phases, business challenges and growth goals. NC IDEA is committed to supporting North Carolina’s economic development by ensuring young, innovative companies grow, create jobs and become contributing business leaders. www.ncidea.org
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