Wilmington entrepreneurs had a REALLY GREAT Week !!! Did you notice? Read the statistics in the picture above that was presented by NC IDEA staff in front of 500 people.

Ok, it was really 8 magical days. (Isn't that a Beatles song?) EIGHT days a week … 

First, let me say GOBBLE GOBBLE, Happy Thanksgiving to all of our members of NEW.

If you go from November 10th to November 18, it was a magical week for Wilmington entrepreneurs who actually participate in the ecosystem.

November 10th - SOLD OUT 1/2 Day Life Sciences event in Wilmington. Yes we have local startups.
- Several local Life Sciences startups were able to talk to hard to find regional angel investors and venture capitalists.
- Several people from the RTP area got to see the MARBIONC labs
- Wilmington met new experts in SBIR grants and available programs to learn more to grow their companies at the coast

November 14th - R_E_S_P_E_C_T ----- The annual NC IDEA Summit was held in Winston Salem and that magical slide in the picture above appears
Notice that WILMINGTON is in all three graphs on that slide.
Graph #1 - Wilmington was ranked by StartupGenome in the top #100 EMERGING startup ecosystems in the world
Graph #2 - Wilmington ranked in top #55 in a Tech Index and more than 100 spots above our population size by NC Tech Association report
Graph #3 - Wilmington ranked #1 startup ecosystem in USA and #2 in the WORLD by StartupBlink.

I stood and gave Wilmington a solo standing ovation in front of 500 people. And yes some people laughed but they paid attention...
Why is it that our startup ecosystem gets more respect across the state than in our own city?

I was one of the speakers at the NC IDEA Ecosystem Summit and this is my summary of the event for the Raleigh media.
https://wraltechwire.com/2022/11/16/guest-opinion-to-be-rather-than-to-seem-yall/

November 15 - OpiAID wins $50,000 NC IDEA SEED Grant AND this article 
https://www.wilmingtonbiz.com/technology/2022/11/16/data_science_startup_opiaid_receives_50000_grant_to_scale/23863

November 18th - WALE Angel Network portfolio client and Wilmington startup, Telios get some local recognition
https://www.wilmingtonbiz.com/technology/2022/11/18/email_for_a_web3_world/23867

NEW member Brett Lanier of Isoceles Pharma get a little press in Info Junkie in Wilmington Business Journal
https://www.wilmingtonbiz.com/info_junkies/2022/11/18/info_junkie_brett_lanier/23868

And the most famous Wilmington startup expands even more , nCino , and real estate folks LOVE that
https://www.wilmingtonbiz.com/banking_and_finance/2022/11/18/ncino_unveils_newest_space_and_a_commitment_to_continued_growth/23877

And Heather and UNCW CIE had 5 days of events for Global Entrepreneurship Week

And we reached our stretch goal for our 4th annual fundraiser, THANK YOU to our donors and sponsors.
Half of the total money donated came from THREE people.

If you are still curious what an Entrepreneur Support Org (ESO) does for local startups...My writing in Raleigh media
https://wraltechwire.com/2022/11/14/guest-opinion-hey-leaders-do-you-spend-time-kissing-rings-or-getting-results/


NEWS and INSIGHTS

Are you thinking too SMALL with your startup?
https://www.inc.com/joe-procopio/hey-founders-stop-thinking-small.html

Want to help North Carolina entrepreneurs this holiday season? Buy North Carolina made products for gifts.
https://ncchamber.com/wp-content/uploads/2022-NC-Chamber-Holiday-Gift-Guide.pdf

And now an important Public Service Announcement
MANY of your favorite college football traditional rivalries have been moved to FRIDAY games (day after Turkey Day )
Such as my Florida Gators (top five public university) vs the Clown College is now on Friday night
https://circus.fsu.edu/about-us


TWO EVENTS to have on your calendar

November 29th - NC Tech Association Awards (Essential Personnel of Wilmington announced as a winner.)
https://www.nctech.org/events/signature-events/nc-tech-awards-finalists.html

December 13 - POWER BREAKFAST - Watch George "Set Fire to the Rain" as Adele sang about
(NEW and WALE will have a table of ten.)
https://www.wilmingtonbiz.com/eventDetails?eventID=189