WILMINGTON – The Network for Entrepreneurs in Wilmington (NEW) is launching a new event format to spur active communication and mentorship between Wilmington-based founders and successful entrepreneurs from the Triangle.

The program, dubbed “Mystery Startup Theater,” takes place at Ironclad Brewery on October 15 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Three entrepreneurs and three mentors will switch roles when pitching an audience.

Informed by a month of communication ahead of the event, the mentors will present the companies’ products/services and answer questions that are typically seen in a pitch to VC or angel investors. Entrepreneurs will then join the mentors on stage to answer more questions and share what they learned through the month-long mentorship experience.

Following the presentations, the startups will be assigned a table so the audience can approach with any ideas or contacts they may have to assist them.

NEW is keeping the startups’ identities off-the-record until the night of the event. The three mentors, however, have been revealed.

Among them is Nick Jordan, CEO of Durham digital product agency Smashing Boxes, who spoke to TechWire this week about what led him to agree to represent an entrepreneur he’d never met before.

Jordan says, “This is what we do all of the time, whether it’s going to an event to network, watching a ‘pitch day,’ signing up for office hours, or getting invited to be a coach or mentor. When someone does this (like me), we do it because we are here to help the entrepreneurs and help the organizations they are working with.”

The other two mentors participating in Mystery Startup Theater are Frank Pollock, president of Durham-based Pioneer Group, LLC and a mentor for RIoT, and Tom Collopy, a mentor for NC IDEA, RIoT, the MetLife Techstars Accelerator as well as startup programs at UNC and NC State.

Network for Entrepreneurs in Wilmington Founder Jim Roberts says he got the idea for Mystery Startup Theater in March while attending the DIG SOUTH Tech Summit in South Carolina. “The entrepreneur I saw at DIG SOUTH seemed to be going through the motions like he was frustrated about the number of times he had given the presentation but not attracted any resources,” Roberts recalls.

Roberts wondered what the presentation would look like if it was refreshed in a new visual format presented by someone else who was not burned out from the process.

“I know these entrepreneurs get plenty of coaching and training, but if they had to be the understudy while someone else is presenting their ‘baby,’ maybe more will be learned,” Roberts said.

The idea of Mystery Startup Theater is to show what an active mentor-startup relationship can look like. On a deeper level, Roberts says he hopes the three presenting members will stay involved with the startups and maybe make some introductions on their behalf to “kickstart new growth and lead to job creation in Wilmington.”

“The largest underutilized asset of the Wilmington economy is the high number of potential mentors who have retired or semi-retired to the coast,” he adds. “We struggle to get these potential mentors to play an active role in the startups, whether as a board member, kitchen cabinet/sounding board or as an executive with the startup.”

Roberts says he envisions Mystery Startup Theater to be a once-a-year event. He’s seen a good deal of interest the program so far—one audience member has already asked if they could invest in the startups who are presenting. Additionally, entrepreneur ecosystem leaders in Virginia, New Orleans and other areas around the southeast have expressed interest in potentially adopting the theme in their communities.

As of Wednesday morning, the event has drawn over 100 people registered on Eventbrite. Turnout for NEW events typically averages around 125 attendees, though the past couple events have brought in larger crowds, with 255, 202 and 168 people registered.

Jordan says Roberts’ take on the “mystery theater” concept is the most unique format he’s seen in the past 10 to 12 years he’s been active in North Carolina startups.

“I love the idea of community building and economic development through startup activity, but not in ‘just another startup event kind of way,'” Jordan adds. “I love helping entrepreneurs with their pitches, and what better way is there than to deliver it myself?”

https://wraltechwire.com/event/network-for-entrepreneurs-in-wilmington-mystery-startup-theater/