CED - Center for Entrepreneurial Development

Founder Lounge AMA
2025-03-26 11:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | Lounge, 2 E South St, Raleigh, NC, 27601, United States
Join us in our a Private AMA (Ask Me Anything) Lounge – a space designed just for founders to connect, ask candid questions, and get real-time advice from experienced founders + operators.

Pitch Session | Future of Work & Productivity
2025-03-26 10:00 - 11:15 | Fletcher Opera Theater, 2 E South St, Raleigh, NC, 27601, United States
75 minute pitch session featuring 9 companies. More information to come.

Pitch Session | Biotech & Pharma
2025-03-26 10:00 - 11:15 | Memorial Auditorium, 2 East South Street, Raleigh, NC - North Carolina, 27601
75 minute pitch session featuring 7 companies. More information to come.

Accelerate Cleantech: A Global Matchmaking Event
2025-03-26 09:15 - 11:45 | Kennedy Theater, 2 East South Street Raleigh, Raleigh, NC, 27601, United States
CED is excited to introduce a new collaboration happening alongside Venture Connect: Accelerate Cleantech, hosted by UNC-Chapel Hill’s Ackerman Center for Excellence in Sustainability and Institute for the Environment, serves as a global matchmaking event and business gateway to the U.S. and North Carolina. It is a curated, free and invitation-only event collocated with Venture Connect on the morning of March 26, 2025. This event is designed to 1) connect investors, accelerators and more with clean-tech start-ups and 2) create partnerships for companies looking to build a presence in the United States to facilitate their growth. Attendees of Accelerate Cleantech will also have access to the UNC Cleantech Summit in Chapel Hill on March 24 and 25.
💡 If you are interested in attending: investors (venture capital, angels, corporate technology scouts, etc.) can fill out this form and entrepreneurial ventures can fill out this form. You can also email aces@kenan-flagler.unc.edu.

Opening Session | The Power of Connection – Building the Future Together
2025-03-26 08:30 - 09:45 | Memorial Auditorium, 2 East South Street, Raleigh, NC - North Carolina, 27601
Venture Connect 2025 kicks off with an inspiring session featuring key voices shaping the Triangle’s innovation ecosystem. Mayor Janet Cowell joins us to kick things off, followed by insights from CED Co-Chairs Karl Rectanus and Scott Uknes on fueling the next wave of high-growth startups.
They’ll moderate a Founder Panel showcasing top founders:

Todd Olson, Pendo (software & analytics)
Chris Chuang, Relay (wearable communication)
Justine Tiu, The Woobles (consumer products)
Tom Adams, Pairwise (food technology)
Deb Bitterfield, Lindy Biosciences (biotech)
Ramin Karimpour, Targan (animal health)

Through powerful storytelling and data-driven insights, we’ll explore how our interconnected community is scaling success—and how you can be part of the next decade of growth.
The future starts here.

Partnering & Investor Meetings
2025-03-26 07:00 - 17:00 | Carolina Room, 2 East South Street, Raleigh, NC, 27601, United States
Looking to accelerate your business growth? Bookable meeting spaces are available for one-on-one conversations with investors, partners, and key ecosystem resources. Whether you’re seeking capital, strategic guidance, or industry connections, this is your chance to forge valuable relationships that drive your startup forward. Schedule your meetings and make every moment count!

Doors Open | Registration, Check-In & Breakfast
2025-03-26 07:00 - 08:30 | Memorial Auditorium, 2 East South Street, Raleigh, NC - North Carolina, 27601
Kick off your VC25 experience with registration and a light continental breakfast. Connect with fellow attendees over coffee, fuel up for an inspiring day ahead, and get ready to dive into the conversations that will shape the future of the Triangle’s innovation ecosystem. Doors open early—see you there!

VC25 Kick-off Party
2025-03-25 18:00 - 21:00
See you for our second annual Kick-off Party on Tuesday, March 25th, to welcome founders and funders attending Venture Connect! We are excited for the opportunity to catch up ahead of the conference.
How do you get your invite? By purchasing your Venture Connect ticket!
A special thank you to our Event Sponsors – Bank of America and Centri Consulting.

Strength in Numbers (S.I.N.) Mixer
2025-03-25 17:00 - 20:00
We’re excited to see our S.I.N.ers at Venture Connect! We’ll be kicking off the summit with an invite-only S.I.N. Mixer on Tuesday, March 25th, the evening before Venture Connect begins. The private gathering is your chance to build connections with fellow female-identifying founders, operators, investors, and key ecosystem partners in a more intimate setting before the rest of the conference.
How do you get your invite? By purchasing your Venture Connect ticket! Register Here.
A special thank you to our Impact Investors – 4LV and Hutchison PLLC – and our Event Sponsors – Aprio, Michael Best, Pappas Capital and Balentine.

New Orleans Entrepreneur Week
2025-03-24 - 2025-03-29

Instant Payment Summit Global Series 2025
2025-03-24

The Small Business Expansion Summit hosted by NCCU's CEED
2025-03-22 09:00 - 16:00

Foundations of AI: Intro to Generative AI for Coders
2025-03-20 13:00 - 17:00

Future Food-Tech
2025-03-20 - 2025-03-21

Winston Starts 2025 Investor Forum
2025-03-20

GCVI Summit
2025-03-18 - 2025-03-20

LSI USA
2025-03-17 - 2025-03-21

World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit
2025-03-11 - 2025-03-12

SXSW
2025-03-07 - 2025-03-17

Village Capital Resource Panel + Networking
2025-03-04 17:30 - 19:30 | Echo, 112 Broadway St, Suite B, Durham, NC, 27701, United States

SBTDC Investor-Ready Entrepreneur Program
2025-03-04 09:00 - 16:00

Florida Venture Forum
2025-03-03 - 2025-03-05

AUTM Annual Meeting
2025-03-02 - 2025-03-05

Show Her the Money - Moving Streaming
2025-03-01 - 2025-03-06

Crafting Your Board Journey: Your Board Value Proposition and Your Board Targets
2025-02-25 16:00 - 18:00

NC IDEA MICRO and NC IDEA SEED Grant Applications due February 24, 2025 at 5pm ET
2025-02-24 17:00

Foundations of AI: Intro to AI and Deep Learning
2025-02-20 13:00 - 17:00

Intellectual Property for Life Science Entrepreneurs: Build Your Business, Protect Your Vision
2025-02-19 16:00 - 18:00 | The Citrus Room, 5141 McCrimmon Parkway, Suite 250, Morrisville, NC, United States

NC State University's 2025 Emerging Issues Forum - Future Forward Energy
2025-02-19

SBIR/STTR Funding to Launch an Innovation Small Business - Wilmington, NC
2025-02-18 09:30 - 11:30
