Keeping track with our initiative to spotlight North Carolina startup and tech events, WRAL TechWire’s weekly “Headliners” column is now divided into two parts—inside and outside the Triangle.
Following is a list of May meetups, conferences, workshops, socials and networking events happening in Asheville, Charlotte, the Piedmont Triad, and other areas throughout North Carolina.
To find out what’s happening this month in the Triangle, check out this post.
Another post previews hot events coming up in June. Recurring monthly meetups are also featured in a separate post.
These columns accompany our interactive calendar of tech and startup events. If you’d like to suggest an event to be added to the calendar, feel free to send me an email.
Write the Book: Marketing You and Your Business
April 30, 6-8 p.m. @Forsyth Tech Small Business Center at Wake Forest Innovation Quarter
In observance of National Small Business Week, the Forsyth Tech Small Business Center will be hosting a discussion with author and entrepreneur Timogi Jackson about how writing a book can be a good channel for strengthening your business’s brand.
Forsyth Business Connections (Networking Education)
May 1, 8:30-9:30 a.m. @Forsyth Tech Small Business Center 525@Vine – Innovation Quarter
Network with peers and explore the best ways to create relationships and promote your business at this event hosted by the Forsyth Tech Small Business Center.
Charlotte Venture Challenge
May 1, 4-8 p.m. @UNC Charlotte Center City
This event will showcase innovative ventures from researchers and students, followed by a keynote from NC IDEA President Thom Ruhe and a panel discussion featuring three Charlotte entrepreneurs—Lisa Ganderson of The Wed Clique, Rob Cummings of DealCloud, Inc and Ivan Howitt of InfoSense, Inc.
SYN(HER)GY Night: Building Your Personal Brand: Marketing Yourself Makes a Difference
May 1, 5:30-7 p.m. @Forsyth Tech Small Business Center 525@Vine – Innovation Quarter
Join this monthly event for an evening of networking and community-building, plus a presentation sharing the success story of a local women entrepreneur.
1 Million Cups CLT
May 2, 8:30-10 a.m.
Held on the first Wednesday of every month, 1 Million Cups Charlotte features a presentation from a local startup followed by a Q&A from the community. Free coffee is included.
1 Million Cups Asheville
May 2, 9-10:30 a.m. @Asheville Social Hall (RISC Networks)
Asheville’s entrepreneurial community meets weekly to hear local startups’ pitches and support one another in continuing to grow. For this week’s event, 1 Million Cups Asheville is hosting Safe Plus More following the startup’s third-place win at Hatch AVL Demo Day.
Creative Startups Accelerator Info Session: Winston-Salem
May 2, 5:30-7 p.m. @The Creative Community Lab
Applications are live for Creative Startups Winston-Salem’s eight-week virtual business accelerator. Drop by this info session to hear an overview of the program and learn how to apply. The application deadline is June 3.
Innovate Charlotte VMS Gathering Featuring Mac Lackey
May 2, 6-8 p.m. @Innovate Charlotte Venture Hub
At this event, part of Innovate Charlotte’s team mentorship program, serial entrepreneur Mac Lackey will share his experiences with mentorship and growing startup companies.
Small Business Roundtable: Networking Effectively
May 3, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. @Winston Salem State University Enterprise Center
Learn the best practices involved with developing and maintaining successful businesses at this roundtable co-sponsored by The Winston Salem State University Enterprise Center, Woodforest National Bank and Kernersville Chamber of Commerce.
Venture Café Thursday Gathering
May 3, 5-8 p.m. @Bailey Power Plant in Winston-Salem
Held on a weekly basis, this Venture Café event series provides all sorts of programming for Piedmont Triad entrepreneurs and innovators. Every Thursday evening, the community gathers for networking, panel talks, workshops, presentations, product demos, interviews, and more.
Charlotte Biomedical Science and Engineering 2018 Symposium
May 4, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. @UNC Charlotte Center City
UNC Charlotte’s Center for Biomedical Engineering and Science is hosting a full-day symposium featuring speakers from Levine Cancer Institute, Cannon Research Center and OrthoCarolina Research Institute, plus a keynote from Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine Director and Chair Anthony Atala, MD.
Creative Startups Accelerator Info Session: Winston-Salem
May 4, 12-1:30 p.m. @Advent Coworking
Applications are live for Creative Startups Winston-Salem’s eight-week virtual business accelerator. Drop by this info session to hear an overview of the program and learn how to apply. The application deadline is June 3.
Learn UI/UX: Prototyping and Testing Your Next Idea (Presented by BLKTECHCLT)
May 5, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. @BLKTECHCLT Headquarters in Charlotte
In May’s BLKTECHCLT Learning Lab event, participants will learn the tools and techniques needed to create an interactive product mockup. They will also get to test their product and receive helpful feedback. This workshop is led by Quick Usability Founder Feleesha Sterling.
WomanUP Workshop: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
May 7, 8-10:30 p.m. @Diana Wortham Theatre in Asheville
This event, hosted by the Asheville Chamber of Commerce aims to provide insight on how to create a healthy workplace environment for everyone. Panelists include Jackie Grant of Roberts & Stevens, Jessica Leaven of Grimes Teich Anderson LLP, Carol Steen of Mountain Area Health Education Center, Inc., and Robin Sersland of Our Voice.
Flywheel Idea Tap
May 8, 5:30-7:30 p.m. @Flywheel Coworking
Idea Tap is an opportunity for local startups to present their products/services to an audience and receive feedback on how to refine their pitches. The format involves: a five-minute pitch, a five-minute Q&A and five minutes of audience feedback. This monthly event is always free.
Tech After Five Charlotte
May 8, 5:30-7:30 p.m. @BlackFinn Ameripub
With the aim of connecting local tech communities, this monthly event brings together IT professionals, service providers, startups and entrepreneurs for an event of networking and peer-to-peer exchange of ideas. Tickets are divided into five categories: tech professional, jobseeker, tech startup, recruiter and other/non-tech.
WS Black Chamber of Commerce – City of Winston Salem
May 8, 6:30-7:30 p.m. @Winston Salem State University Enterprise Center
The Forsyth Tech Small Business Center and the Winston-Salem Black Chamber of Commerce invite current and future entrepreneurs to join together at the Winston-Salem State University Enterprise Center to discuss how the two organizations can help grow their businesses.
Red Hat Summit 2018
May 8-10 @Moscone Center in San Francisco
Join the 14th annual Red Hat Summit for two days of exploring topics surrounding cloud computing, platform, virtualization, middleware, storage and systems management technologies.
Charlotte PitchBreakfast
May 9, 8-11 a.m. @The Garage at Packard Place
A handful of Queen City-based companies will headline May’s Charlotte PitchBreakfast, presenting their products and services for a total of five minutes, after which they will answer questions from the audience and a panel of experts. The goal of PitchBreakfast is to give startups a comfortable environment to test out pitches they can later present to investors.
Demystifying the Patent Process
May 9, 3-4 p.m. @The Garage at Packard Place
At this workshop, John Sotomayor, patent attorney and co-founder of SotoIP, will guide participants through the patent process—from planning to filing to following up to building a patent portfolio.
Venture Café Thursday Gathering
May 10, 5-8 p.m. @Bailey Power Plant in Winston-Salem
Held on a weekly basis, this Venture Café event series provides all sorts of programming for Piedmont Triad entrepreneurs and innovators. Every Thursday evening, the community gathers for networking, panel talks, workshops, presentations, product demos, interviews, and more.
Creative Startups Accelerator Info Session: Venture Cafe
May 10, 6-7 p.m. @Venture Cafe
Applications are live for Creative Startups Winston-Salem’s eight-week virtual business accelerator. Drop by this info session to hear an overview of the program and learn how to apply. The application deadline is June 3.
Application Deadline: NC IDEA SEED Micro-Grant Pilot Program
May 14, 5 p.m.
Applications are officially open for NC IDEA’s Micro-Grants Pilot Program. Grants—$1,000 to $10,000—will be awarded to early-stage companies seeking to validate and advance their ideas. Recipients will receive mentorship and assistance from NC IDEA and access to its network.
Flywheel Coworking Indeavor Club Lunch
May 15, 12-1:30 p.m. @Flywheel Coworking
Indeavor, a networking club offered to all Flywheel Coworking members, is an opportunity to get to know fellow entrepreneurs and swap helpful resources with one another. The lunches are held on the third Tuesday of every month at the the Center for Design Innovation in Winston-Salem.
Packard Place Public House (Formerly #CLTStartupSocial)
May 16, 5:30-8 p.m. @Packard Place
On the third Wednesday of every month, the Queen City’s entrepreneurial community joins together for an evening of networking and connections over free beer and snacks.
Building A Website That Gets Your Brand Noticed
May 17, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. @Winston Starts
At this workshop, participants will learn how to design an engaging, user-friendly website that represents their brand well.
Venture Café Thursday Gathering
May 17, 5-8 p.m. @Bailey Power Plant in Winston-Salem
Held on a weekly basis, this Venture Café event series provides all sorts of programming for Piedmont Triad entrepreneurs and innovators. Every Thursday evening, the community gathers for networking, panel talks, workshops, presentations, product demos, interviews, and more.
The Techstars Experience: 3 Female Founders Share Their Story
May 18, 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. @Camp North End Hygge
Three Charlotte entrepreneurs—Dina Carey of Milkful, Haley Bohon of Skillpop and Meggie Williams of The Waggle Company—return from the latest class of Techstars Austin to share the experience with the Queen City community.
Certified Global Business Professional Workshop at UNCW
May 21-22 @UNCW Swain Center
In this workshop, participants will learn the knowledge and skills needed to compete in today’s marketplace with a Certified Global Business Professional (CGBP) credential.
Connect X & Autonomous Vehicles
May 21-24 @Charlotte Convention Center
The Connectivity Expo (Connect X) showcases the latest innovative connectivity solutions driving the future of communications. Sessions will cover a range of topics, from private LTE networks to macro cells to innovations in infrastructure to connected property. Keynote speakers represent industry-leading companies including Dish, Verizon, NASCAR and AWS.
Venture Café Thursday Gathering
May 24, 5-8 p.m. @Bailey Power Plant in Winston-Salem
Held on a weekly basis, this Venture Café event series provides all sorts of programming for Piedmont Triad entrepreneurs and innovators. Every Thursday evening, the community gathers for networking, panel talks, workshops, presentations, product demos, interviews, and more.
Application Deadline: Innovate Charlotte Pilot Program
May 28
Innovate Charlotte, an arm of the Charlotte Regional Fund for Entrepreneurship, is seeking applicants for its upcoming pilot program, which aims to serve entrepreneurs looking to bring their startups to the next level. Five companies will be admitted to the three-month mentorship program.
Hatch AVL Pitch Party
May 30, 6-8 p.m. @Hatch AVL
Entrepreneurs are invited to test and develop their pitch at this monthly event hosted by Hatch AVL. Presenters will receive helpful feedback from the audience, and the best-voted pitch will land a spot at 1 Million Cups Asheville.
Skookum Volcano Tour
May 31, 12-1 p.m. @Skookum Charlotte
Join an open tour of the Skookum office to get an introduction to the tech and ideas powering the community. The Skookum team will be available for any questions or comments participants may have. Lunch will be provided.
Venture Café Thursday Gathering
May 31, 5-8 p.m. @Bailey Power Plant in Winston-Salem
Held on a weekly basis, this Venture Café event series provides all sorts of programming for Piedmont Triad entrepreneurs and innovators. Every Thursday evening, the community gathers for networking, panel talks, workshops, presentations, product demos, interviews, and more.
