{"id":302,"date":"2015-07-15T02:22:02","date_gmt":"2015-07-15T02:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/?p=302"},"modified":"2023-10-23T11:13:42","modified_gmt":"2023-10-23T11:13:42","slug":"durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/","title":{"rendered":"Durham Startup Ecosystem Report &#8211; the Bull City\u2019s startup resurgence"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_305\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-305\" style=\"width: 474px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a class=\"svq-fancy-img\" href=\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/2_atc_scott_faber.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-305 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/2_atc_scott_faber-1024x483.jpg\" alt=\"American Tobacco Campus - Photo by Scott Faber\" width=\"474\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/2_atc_scott_faber-1024x483.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/2_atc_scott_faber-150x71.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/2_atc_scott_faber-300x142.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/2_atc_scott_faber-768x362.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-305\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">American Tobacco Campus &#8211; Photo by Scott Faber<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/startup-ecosystem\/durham-nc-us\">Click here to View Durham&#8217;s Startup Map<\/a><\/h5>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A month ago, I sat in Durham&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carolinatheatre.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Carolina Theatre<\/a> for the <a href=\"https:\/\/riseofrest.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Rise of the Rest Tour<\/a> with Steve Case, former AOL co-founder. The historic theater dates back to 1926 and has witnessed the city&#8217;s history: tobacco boom, desegregation and the recent economic recession. Leading the &#8220;fireside chat&#8221;, Case spoke of underdog stories and cities coming back from the brink. With tech startups sprouting with increasing gusto, Durham has been home to their successes and privy to their growing pains. Tech leaders miss out on the city\u2019s history\u2014to their detriment.\u00a0 In StartupBlink&#8217;s 2019 <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/startupservices.startupblink.com\/ecosystem-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">report<\/a><\/strong>, Durham is ranked 17th in the United States and 46th globally. <!--more--><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Case himself said it wasn&#8217;t enough to innovate in cities like Durham. He stressed the importance of new startup businesses being inclusive of the communities they are being founded in. Reading between the lines of Case&#8217;s talk, I thought of wage gaps and gentrification\u2014hot potato topics in Durham (which is probably why he didn\u2019t bring it up and I had to read between his lines). In the second half of the event, Durham startups pitched their ideas for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/on-small-business\/wp\/2015\/04\/03\/with-a-bus-and-a-checkbook-steve-case-tries-to-remap-american-entrepreneurship\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">$100,000<\/a> investment from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.revolution.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Revolution<\/a>, Case&#8217;s VC firm. Among the many competitors were a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomandjennys.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">cavity-reducing candy<\/a>, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.elxrhealth.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">patient consent form automator<\/a> and a <a href=\"https:\/\/rocketbolt.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">lead generation company<\/a> with a personalized spin. Four-year old <a href=\"https:\/\/archivesocial.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Archive Social<\/a> won the event by pitching their service that stores social media content for record-keeping compliance in business as well as government sectors.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Events like the Rise of the Rest Tour have become increasingly common in Durham over the past few years. As new exits and fresh rounds of funding happen weekly in Durham, growth in the tech startup community continues to move up and to the right.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a class=\"svq-fancy-img\" href=\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/3_nerdwallet.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-307\" src=\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/3_nerdwallet-300x265.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"309\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/3_nerdwallet-300x265.png 300w, https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/3_nerdwallet-150x132.png 150w, https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/3_nerdwallet.png 703w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hometown heroes<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">With big names like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.googleforentrepreneurs.com\/startup-communities\/american-underground\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google for Entrepreneurs<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.revolution.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Revolution<\/a> spearheading tours like Rise of the Rest, it&#8217;s easy to see why entrepreneurs get excited when you talk about growth in the Bull City. One of the most recent punctuations of this rapid development was the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.revolution.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Netsuite acquisition<\/a> of local darling <a href=\"https:\/\/bronto.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Bronto<\/a>. The email marketing company was started in 2002 by <a href=\"https:\/\/upstart.bizjournals.com\/money\/loot\/2015\/06\/06\/a-couple-pints-turned-into-hundreds-of-millions-of.html?page=all\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">two partners<\/a> who, in typical startup success fashion, went from two people working in a living room to a $200M acquisition in a span of 12 years. They have an ever-expanding <a href=\"https:\/\/bronto.com\/company\/news\/bronto-software-doubles-size-headquarters-durham%E2%80%99s-american-tobacco-campus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">80,000 sq ft campus with over 200 employees<\/a> in the American Tobacco Campus right across from the Durham Bulls stadium. Bronto has a creative culture that puts employees at the forefront. Think rec rooms, casual costume days, and a happy hour to celebrate each successful week (so, every week) at the in-office bar. It feels very much like West Coast startup culture in the Southeast.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This list of successful startups with funding and exits is long. In 2014, <a href=\"https:\/\/automatedinsights.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Automated Insights<\/a> won $100k from Steve Case in a Google for Entrepreneur&#8217;s event, then proceeded to raise over $10M in financing, and still later went on to be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bizjournals.com\/triangle\/blog\/techflash\/2015\/02\/lister-delgado-automated-insights-robbie-allen-ced.html?page=all\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">acquired by Vista Equity Partners<\/a>. Their application scans bulk data to generate story content on the web, such as fantasy sports articles for Yahoo.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another local favorite, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.appia.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Appia<\/a>, is a mobile acquisition network that gets fresh apps out to the market quickly. They were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsobserver.com\/news\/business\/article13877165.html#storylink=cpy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">acquired in March 2015<\/a> by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalturbine.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Digital Turbine<\/a> for roughly $100M.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Smaller companies, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/twotoasters.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Two Toasters<\/a>, have also had success. <a href=\"https:\/\/tmsdurham.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">TicketMaster<\/a> acquired the Durham-based mobile development company in May. The two founding brothers, Rachit and Adit Shukla, started the now 32-employee company <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinterviews.com\/two-toasters-rachit-shukla\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">as a bootstrapped startup <\/a>and grew from there.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Even without exits, there are also plenty of successfully funded startups like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crunchbase.com\/organization\/digitalsmiths\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Digitalsmiths<\/a> raising $38.3M, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crunchbase.com\/organization\/windsor-circle\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Windsor Circle<\/a> with $9.3M, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crunchbase.com\/organization\/shoeboxed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Shoeboxed<\/a> with $2.5M. This success isn\u2019t tech-exclusive; there are plenty of operations like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.runawayclothes.com\/#home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Runaway<\/a>, an apparel company founded by artist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.porkfriedart.com\/#0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Gabriel Eng-Goetz<\/a>, set up in <a href=\"https:\/\/americanunderground.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">American Underground<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Carolina-grown<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Success stories like these continue to attract no small number of national investors like Mr. Case. But there&#8217;s plenty of local investment in innovative startups from their downtown Durham offices. I\u2019ll rattle off a few examples: <a href=\"https:\/\/ideafundpartners.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">IDEA fund partners<\/a> have a wide mid-Atlantic network, including the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cision.com\/us\/?utm_source=vocus.com&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=vocusredirect\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Cision<\/a>-acquired <a href=\"https:\/\/ideafundpartners.com\/icontact\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">iContact<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bcvp.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Bull City Venture Partners<\/a> was started by Jason Caplain and David Jones, who went on to support the successful downtown tech savvy music business <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reverbnation.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">ReverbNation<\/a>. They&#8217;re joined downtown by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aurorafunds.com\/news\/portfolio\/2013\/007.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Aurora Funds<\/a> (one of the investors in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalsmiths.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Digitalsmiths<\/a>) as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intersouth.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Intersouth Partners<\/a>. Because of the close proximity of biotech companies in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rtp.org\/about-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Research Triangle Park<\/a>, you&#8217;ll also find <a href=\"https:\/\/hatterasvp.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Hatteras Venture Partners<\/a> right around the corner in the American Tobacco Campus looking to invest in the next <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbiotech.org\/article\/95m-incentives-put-argos-biomanufacturing-facility-230-new-jobs-rtp\/36606\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Argos Therapeutics<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Durham also boasts plenty of beta testers and top talent. Post-grads from Durham institutions like Duke University and NC Central University often stay in the area to find jobs or start their own businesses. With Research Triangle Park, and Raleigh&#8217;s tech jobs less than an hour away, people tend to stick around.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">My own business partner came here from Indiana and decided to stay after his time at nearby UNC Chapel Hill. He likes the craft beer, the lively entertainment scene, and the smaller threat of tornados. Did I mention our beaches are only a couple hours\u2019 drive east? And if you head west for three hours, you\u2019ll be in the mountains, smelling apples in the trees. Yeah, it&#8217;s not a bad spot to call home.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">A changing Bull City<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Bull City has been seeing tremendous investment over the past decade that caters to new arrivals. The American Tobacco Campus is one such example. Located in the renovated factory of the American Tobacco Company, this campus houses Bronto, Burt&#8217;s Bees, a theater representing the famous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fullframefest.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Full Frame Documentary Film Festival<\/a>, and a host of local restaurants surrounded by green space.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_304\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-304\" style=\"width: 474px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a class=\"svq-fancy-img\" href=\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/1_americantobacco_scott_faber.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-304 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/1_americantobacco_scott_faber-1024x754.jpg\" alt=\"American Tobacco Campus - Photo by Scott Faber\" width=\"474\" height=\"349\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/1_americantobacco_scott_faber-1024x754.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/1_americantobacco_scott_faber-150x110.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/1_americantobacco_scott_faber-300x221.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/1_americantobacco_scott_faber-768x565.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/1_americantobacco_scott_faber.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-304\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">American Tobacco Campus &#8211; Photo by Scott Faber<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">With the renovation and growth has come an influx of nationally recognized restaurants that emphasize slow cooking with local ingredients. Try the El Caney at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oldhavanaeats.com\/?tmpl=unsupported\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Old Havana Sandwich Shop<\/a>, and stick around for Bull City Burgers, Mateo, Toast and Saltbox. The Federal, Cosmic Cantina and Dame&#8217;s Chicken &amp; Waffles are downtown legends. (You get the point: Durham\u2019s a foodie haven).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As real estate prices grow in the downtown area, coworking spaces are becoming the norm. If you&#8217;re looking to set up shop, there are a number of options from expansive American Underground, the welcoming Bull City Coworking, Mercury Studio for creative professionals, or newly arrived iNVICTUS.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/americanunderground.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">American Underground<\/a> @Main is the largest of these, with a coworking space on their basement level, multiple floors full of private offices for use by up to five people each, and an assortment of conference and call booths. They host events and local meetups, and they have a subscription-based incubator program in the American Tobacco Campus that offers mentorship and investment connections.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bullcitycoworking.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Bull City Coworking<\/a> is a bit more open, set up in a renovated old school car dealership with huge windows. They don\u2019t provide closed-door offices\u2014why wouldn\u2019t you want to be in all that natural light, anyway?\u2014but they have a good mix of reserved and public space with lots of open meeting rooms and call booths.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mercurystudiodurham.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Mercury<\/a> caters to creative spirits. It\u2019s difficult to claim lack of inspiration when the walls inside are covered in local art. You\u2019ll also find a little spot saved for a neat shop called the Makery that handpicks NC-made goods along. Mercury also has space for a few artists with their own studios in the back of the space.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Just launched in June, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.invictusoffice.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">iNVICTUS<\/a> is the newcomer. With a coworking space that includes private offices, meeting rooms, and call booths, iNVICTUS aims to host and organize businesses and community events as the city grows. Free info sessions for families looking for housing? They want to host it. Do your kids need to print their college applications? They want them to come iNVICTUS. The group of business leaders who founded it aren&#8217;t just saying they want to be inclusive; they\u2019re actually doing it by emphasizing the empowerment of artists, consultants and entrepreneurs already there in the local community.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Also launched in June, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nidodurham.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">nido Durham<\/a> knows startups aren&#8217;t limited to childless post-grads. They give parents space to work with the comfort of knowing your kid(s) are in the same building being supervised, and taught, by a Montessori teacher with experience. A Startup of its own, nido offers events that are both educational and social. As part of membership parents volunteer by supervising the kids and organizing community events. nido Durham is creating a community space for parents in the Triangle that&#8217;s truly unique and sure to appeal to parents on the entrepreneur&#8217;s journey.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">These coworking offices regularly provide space for locals, Raleigh residents and RTP commuters alike to mingle through Meetup events for entrepreneurs. Durham is a popular hub for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.meetup.com\/Girl-Develop-It-RDU\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Girl Develop It RDU<\/a> (1,392 members), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.meetup.com\/TriDroid\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">NC Triangle Android<\/a> (940), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.meetup.com\/Agile-Lunches\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Agile [dev] Lunches<\/a> (382), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.meetup.com\/trianglehackerhours\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Triangle Hacker Hours<\/a> (302), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.meetup.com\/triupa-book-club\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Triangle UXPA Book Group<\/a>\u00a0(214), and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.meetup.com\/The-Iron-Yard-Durham\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">The Iron Yard<\/a> (101), all of which offer the likes of free programming education and startup advice. There&#8217;s also a host of free events coming out of American Underground. Checking their <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/amerunderground\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">twitter<\/a> feed is one way to find out, but the best way is still word of mouth.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, <a href=\"https:\/\/exitevent.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">ExitEvent<\/a> is for confirmed entrepreneurs (that&#8217;s right, they check out your website before they let you in) who get together to socialize and talk business. They are a self-proclaimed &#8220;anti-networking&#8221; event that hands out free drinks and says &#8220;no&#8221; to selling. Check out their website; it does a stellar job of keeping up with startup news.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Challenges<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">When new money streams into an area where communities established themselves long before old tobacco warehouses started filling with server racks and coworking spaces, challenges arise. Local government officeholders provide incentives for new companies to roll in and construction to start on complexes to house their employees. Parts of the city are sold off as commodities with little consideration for folks who have been living there for generations. Realty prices spike. Existing businesses like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bizjournals.com\/triangle\/blog\/real-estate\/2014\/11\/blue-coffee-cafe-durham-nc-kickstarter-new-shop.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Blue Coffee Cafe<\/a> have to move when their buildings are &#8220;revitalized&#8221; into hotels. And places like American Tobacco Campus, which brands itself as hosting public space in the form of a sprawling lawn where families can attend concerts, aren&#8217;t actually public (as in, you won&#8217;t see any demonstrations being held there, despite Durham being home to brilliant activists).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">But there&#8217;s a precedence for sustainable entrepreneurship that works in the community.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">That precedence is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=t8_IBSQE2GQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Black Wall Street<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 a triumph against the odds in a Jim Crow South, and a chapter conspicuously missing from many history textbooks. In a city like Durham, honoring those business leaders of the early 1900s should be a given. Instead, I get the feeling many present startup success stories are (white) washing over it. The people behind Black Wall Street showed a strong entrepreneurial resilience, and banks invested in community businesses to bring success without dividing a city. Black folks have been holding it down in Durham long before white tech investors came along.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_306\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-306\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a class=\"svq-fancy-img\" href=\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/4_blackwallstreet.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-306 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/4_blackwallstreet-300x269.jpg\" alt=\"Durham's Black Wall Street in the early 20th century\" width=\"300\" height=\"269\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/4_blackwallstreet-300x269.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/4_blackwallstreet-150x135.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/4_blackwallstreet-768x689.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/4_blackwallstreet.jpg 878w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-306\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Durham&#8217;s Black Wall Street in the early 20th century<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Carolina Theatre was actually the <a href=\"https:\/\/durhamcountylibrary.org\/exhibits\/dcrhp\/carolina.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">site of protests<\/a> against segregation in 1962, with Black and white activists requesting tickets at the front entrance rather than the side. Did Steve Case know about this piece of history? I don\u2019t know; he didn\u2019t mention it.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The first thing those coming in from outside Durham can do is pay attention. This is a city&#8211;with people&#8211;not an empty playground. History continues to speak, and startups are causing strife (the community&#8217;s as well as their own) with their inattention.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Durham has its rhythms; put your ear to the ground, and you&#8217;ll hear American Underground is pushing for <a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/2015\/03\/23\/smallbusiness\/american-underground-women-entrepreneurs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">50 percent of its startups members to be women<\/a> by the end of 2016. And business growth, which has largely been in the central downtown area, is moving south, according to iNVICTUS founder, Joe Biggs.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">But business as usual isn&#8217;t going to cut it. Since the recession and with the shifts in technology, Durham millenials and entrepreneurs don&#8217;t want to work in office cubicles. We may live in separate neighborhoods, says Biggs, but we&#8217;re all human beings. One of his aims is to provide a community table at iNVICTUS where all sorts of Durham businesses can set up and leave their materials to share and lift each other up. &#8220;We&#8217;re changing the way you work because the way you work has changed.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">About the author<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em><strong>Patrick Sheegog<\/strong><\/em> is a North Carolina native who has a passion for technology and how people interact it. He works in a Durham based web startup called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pennypipe.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">PennyPipe<\/a> that automates reconciliation between payment gateways and cloud accounting software for CPAs and business owners.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Durham\u00a0currently does not have an active <a href=\"https:\/\/startupservices.startupblink.com\/communityleaders\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">StartupBlink community leader<\/a>. We would love for you to join us as one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Click here to View Durham&#8217;s Startup Map A month ago, I sat in Durham&#8217;s Carolina Theatre for the Rise of the Rest Tour with Steve Case, former AOL co-founder. The historic theater dates back to 1926 and has witnessed the city&#8217;s history: tobacco boom, desegregation and the recent economic recession. Leading the &#8220;fireside chat&#8221;, Case [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10091,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,61],"tags":[33],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Durham Startup Ecosystem Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Durham also boasts plenty of top talents. Post-grads from Durham institutions often stay in the area to find jobs or begin their Startup.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Durham Startup Ecosystem Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Durham also boasts plenty of top talents. Post-grads from Durham institutions often stay in the area to find jobs or begin their Startup.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"StartupBlink Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-07-15T02:22:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-23T11:13:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/durham-.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"483\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"StartupBlink\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"StartupBlink\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"StartupBlink\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/156f99bfd698e3d4c74d79db37799fe4\"},\"headline\":\"Durham Startup Ecosystem Report &#8211; the Bull City\u2019s startup resurgence\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-07-15T02:22:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-23T11:13:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/\"},\"wordCount\":2202,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/durham-.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Ecosystem-Report-Pop-Up\"],\"articleSection\":[\"North America\",\"Startup Ecosystems\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/\",\"name\":\"Durham Startup Ecosystem Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/durham-.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-07-15T02:22:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-23T11:13:42+00:00\",\"description\":\"Durham also boasts plenty of top talents. Post-grads from Durham institutions often stay in the area to find jobs or begin their Startup.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/durham-.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/durham-.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":483},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Durham Startup Ecosystem Report &#8211; the Bull City\u2019s startup resurgence\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"StartupBlink Blog\",\"description\":\"The global startup map\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"StartupBlink\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/logo-1.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/logo-1.svg\",\"width\":219,\"height\":36,\"caption\":\"StartupBlink\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/156f99bfd698e3d4c74d79db37799fe4\",\"name\":\"StartupBlink\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/avlogo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/avlogo.png\",\"caption\":\"StartupBlink\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Durham Startup Ecosystem Report","description":"Durham also boasts plenty of top talents. Post-grads from Durham institutions often stay in the area to find jobs or begin their Startup.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Durham Startup Ecosystem Report","og_description":"Durham also boasts plenty of top talents. Post-grads from Durham institutions often stay in the area to find jobs or begin their Startup.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/","og_site_name":"StartupBlink Blog","article_published_time":"2015-07-15T02:22:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-10-23T11:13:42+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":483,"url":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/durham-.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"StartupBlink","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"StartupBlink","Est. reading time":"11 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/"},"author":{"name":"StartupBlink","@id":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/156f99bfd698e3d4c74d79db37799fe4"},"headline":"Durham Startup Ecosystem Report &#8211; the Bull City\u2019s startup resurgence","datePublished":"2015-07-15T02:22:02+00:00","dateModified":"2023-10-23T11:13:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/"},"wordCount":2202,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/durham-.jpg","keywords":["Ecosystem-Report-Pop-Up"],"articleSection":["North America","Startup Ecosystems"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/","url":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/","name":"Durham Startup Ecosystem Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/durham-.jpg","datePublished":"2015-07-15T02:22:02+00:00","dateModified":"2023-10-23T11:13:42+00:00","description":"Durham also boasts plenty of top talents. Post-grads from Durham institutions often stay in the area to find jobs or begin their Startup.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/durham-.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/durham-.jpg","width":1024,"height":483},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/durham-startup-ecosystem-report-the-bull-citys-startup-resurgence\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Durham Startup Ecosystem Report &#8211; the Bull City\u2019s startup resurgence"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/","name":"StartupBlink Blog","description":"The global startup map","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"StartupBlink","url":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/logo-1.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/logo-1.svg","width":219,"height":36,"caption":"StartupBlink"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/156f99bfd698e3d4c74d79db37799fe4","name":"StartupBlink","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/avlogo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/avlogo.png","caption":"StartupBlink"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20331,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302\/revisions\/20331"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupblink.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}