Have you heard about LAUNCH?

It’s a fabulous collaborative effort between The Town of Chapel Hill, Orange County, UNC-Chapel Hill and the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership. It will help entrepreneurs develop new ideas into businesses that will grow and stay in Chapel Hill.At last week’s Friends of Downtown meeting, entrepreneur and Chapel Hill-Carrboro Citizen of the Year, Jim Kitchen (that’s him in the photo) explained that the logo, includes everything :
  • UNC (of course in blue)
  • Chapel Hill
  • Orange County (represented by the orange circle)
  • Moving up, acceleration (represented by the arrow)

Before sharing more about Jim’s presentation, I’d like to share a bit about his background.

While in school at UNC, he launched several businesses including the local time-temperature-weather service and a marketing company. Then – when frustrated by trying to plan Spring Break trips with friends, the idea for his next business was born. He launched Spring Break Travel shortly after graduation, ran it for 18 years from his upstairs office on Franklin Street. See the blue awning? That’s the entrance to Jim’s office.

In 2005, he sold Spring Break Travel to a multi-national company.

Now what? What would he do with all his time, energy and talent?

In addition to earning an MBA and running in multiple marathons, he’s been helping children and their families through his involvement with Make a Wish Foundation of Eastern North Carolina, The Public School Foundation, UNC Childrens Hospital and Cramden Institute.

And what to do with all that empty space upstairs on Franklin Street?

Jim opened it up to UNC students so they could work on and accelerate business ideas. Now called Franklin Innovation Center, the desk space is currently occupied by: ABAN, Sweeps, BaseBald and FilmLab.

Great work. Great results. Why not do more of it?

Why not launch LAUNCH?

So back to Jim’s presentation to the Friends of Downtown…here are a few key points he shared before inviting the group to walk over and take a look at the space:

  1. It’s not an incubator, it’s half accelerator and half co-working space.
  2. They are seeking to create a positive culture, surrounded by other entrepreneurs.
  3. Students and residents were invited to apply.
  4. The selection committee is looking for high potential founders and ideas, great teams as opposed to necessarily great ideas, passion and a healthy combination of students and local residents.
  5. The businesses that are accepted will get high speed internet, desk space, use of conference room, parking, mentoring by experienced entrepreneurs, fundraising assistance, feedback, access to relevant workshops, access to business services like legal counsel and subsidized rent for those in need.
  6. There will be a full-time administrator. Details on that job can be found here.
  7. They are open now, softly. The grand opening is in March.

So next – we went over to see the space which is a 321 W. Rosemary Street.

This is what you see as soon as you walk in the front door, although I can’t promise Jim and Bobby (Bobby Funk is Assistant Director of the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership) will always be standing there. But you will see the wonderful logo designed by 3 Birds Marketing.

As you walk through, you’ll see walls and steel beams painted a variety of bright colors.

   
Then when you get tired, you can sit in a colorful chair. 

And speaking of furniture, all of it was donated by Triangle Office Equipment.

It’s a total of 3500 square feet. But as Jim pointed out at the end of his presentation to the Friends of Downtown…

This is not about a 3500 square foot space…it’s about the future of Chapel Hill.

Thank you Jim, UNC, Orange County, Town of Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership, 3 Birds Marketing, Triangle Office Equipment – and all the other individuals and organizations that have helped in so many ways.

The collaboration…the representation…the contributions… the innovation…such good business by many…with much opportunity and promise for more… ready to LAUNCH.

For updates about LAUNCH,

  • Visit their website: http://launchchapelhill.com/home
  • Follow them on Twitter: @LaUNChapelHill
  • Follow them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LaunchChapelHill/timeline

– See more at: https://chapelboro.com/Good-Business-by-Jan-Bolick/9737365#sthash.7Pgy2Sxj.dpuf

Related Stories
‹
Orange County Board Makes CITEL Deal Official, Offers Tax Incentives
The Orange County Board of Commissioners passed an agreement with CITEL to move its American manufacturing operations to Hillsborough.
The Rookery Opens on West Margaret Lane, Offering Cocktails and 'A Place to Nest'
Hillsborough welcomed a new bar to its community over the weekend — as it formally started operations in the prominent former home of another popular bar. The Rookery officially opened to customers on Friday at 115 West Margaret Lane. The business is the latest venture of B.J. Patel, who is also behind the restaurant Nomad […]
How US Changes to ‘Noncompete’ Agreements and Overtime Pay Could Affect Workers
Written by CATHY BUSSEWITZ and MAE ANDERSON For millions of American workers, the federal government took two actions this week that could bestow potentially far-reaching benefits. In one move, the Federal Trade Commission voted to ban noncompete agreements, which bar millions of workers from leaving their employers to join a competitor or start a rival business […]
Downtown Starbucks To Relocate on East Franklin Street in Chapel Hill
According to Starbucks' store manager Daniel Reutzel, the new location is expected to open between mid-July and August 1st, before the new school year starts at UNC. Reutzel said Starbucks has been "looking into" the new location for at least two years, and he is excited to expand.
Small Businesses, Big Changes: Owners Share Local Challenges and Access to Resources
With more demand for property and land in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, small businesses are being priced out. This year, during 97-9 the Hill’s annual Forum on The Hill series, FRANK Gallery, The Gathering Place and The Purple Bowl came in to talk about the stages of change they have experienced as a result.
Buffalo Market Reopens to Debate Over Healing, Sensitivity
Written by AARON MORRISON Cariol Horne started her morning outside the Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, placing white roses at a colorful memorial to the 10 Black people slain there two months ago by a white gunman. Across the fenced-off parking lot, the supermarket chain’s president and employees were preparing to lead media on a […]
Seafood Destiny Express To Open in Downtown Chapel Hill Tuesday
A new Chapel Hill restaurant on the corner of Franklin and Columbia Streets will open its doors to the public on Tuesday. Seafood Destiny, a Greensboro-based eatery that cooks “soulful seafood,” announced its plan to move into the vacant storefront on 100 West Franklin Street under the name Seafood Destiny Express in July. Owned by […]
Major Outage at Amazon Disrupts Businesses Across the US
Written by FRANK BAJAK and BARBARA ORTUTAY A major outage in Amazon’s cloud computing network Tuesday severely disrupted services at a wide range of U.S. companies for more than five hours, the latest sign of just how concentrated the business of keeping the internet running has become. The incident at Amazon Web Services mostly affected […]
Virus’ Impact: More Relaxing and Thinking, Less Socializing
Written by AMY DiPIERRO The eruption of COVID-19 last year caused the proportion of people working from home in the U.S. to nearly double, with the shift most pronounced among college graduates and workers in such fields as finance and professional services. The share of employed people working from home shot up from just 22% […]
Apple Announces 1st East Coast Campus in North Carolina
Written by SOPHIA TULP Apple announced plans on Monday to invest more than $1 billion in North Carolina to build the company’s first East Coast campus, a move expected to bring at least 3,000 new jobs to the state. The development comes as part of an effort by Apple to up investment as the U.S. begins […]
›