The Collider, an Asheville-based hub for climate science startups, intends to further galvanize western North Carolina’s innovation ecosystem with a new series of short seminars outlining the most essential business development topics.
Held on a biweekly basis, the lunch and learns cover subject matter relevant to any early-stage entrepreneur—from pitching investors or partners, to navigating employment law, to designing a PR strategy.
The new programming is part of a larger blueprint to extend The Collider’s influence to more startups and projects beyond Asheville and throughout Western North Carolina as it continues to grow.
Josh Dorfman, who left Venture Asheville leadership to become CEO of The Collider earlier this year, wrote in an email newsletter last week that The Collider’s new programs are “harnessing Asheville’s world-class assets in climate science and climate data to foster companies and solutions that help the world prepare, adapt, and become resilient as the impacts of climate change intensify.”
The Collider Marketing Manager Leah Quintal further commented that the series’ speakers are “capable of responding to and supporting the most ambitious startup projects.”
So far, the community response has been engaging both in and outside of The Collider.
“We’re getting good member participation and starting to see more people from the larger Asheville community,” Quintal added. “We’re also getting good feedback that we’re incorporating into our process moving forward.”
She added that The Collider plans for the lunch and learn series to be ongoing throughout the rest of the year.
An outline of upcoming events is listed below. Stay tuned as more details are announced here. You can register for individual events on The Collider’s Eventbrite page.
- Pitching Investors | June 19, 12-1 p.m. — Porter Bayne, serial entrepreneur and founder and CEO of Antenna, will share advice with entrepreneurs on how to connect with a good funding match.
- How Angel Investors Evaluate Deals | June 21, 12-1 p.m. — Josh Dorfman, CEO of The Collider and former head of Venture Asheville and Asheville Angels, will present the 10 criteria angel investors consider and will show participants how they can position their startup for funding success.
- Creating Opportunities Beyond You | June 26, 12-1 p.m. — Entrepreneurs will learn tips for finding and identifying partnership opportunities, negotiating agreements and managing relationships with partners.
- Avoiding the HR Storm—A Startup’s Guide to Employment Law | June 28, 12-1 p.m. — Jonathan Yarbrough, partner at Constangy, Brooks, Smith and Prophete, will present practical advice and insights on employment law as it applies to small and medium-size businesses.
- Guerrilla Usability | July 10, 12-1 p.m. — Learn all about Guerilla Usability studies at this informative session led by Dave Michelson, an applied research software designer at UNC Asheville’s National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center.
- Climate Science to Solutions—The CASE Study for DailyBreath | July 12, 12-1 p.m. — HEATLHeWeather Founder and CEO Eric Klos, and CASE Consultants International President Marjorie McGuirk will lead a presentation on creating climate data-backed products. Their expertise comes from their experience in designing DailyBreath, an evidence-based algorithm that translates climate science into a personal asthma warning system.
- Diversity & Inclusion in Your Organization | July 17, 12-1 p.m. — UNC Asheville Assistant Professor of Management Susan Clark Muntean, Ph.D. will share insights on how diversity in a business and board is key to an organization’s success.
- Leveraging Public Relations to Influence the Influencer | July 24, 12-1 p.m. — PR and marketing expert Krista Valiante, who has worked with top companies including Intel and Microsoft, will show participants how to implement effective PR strategies to complement their marketing efforts.