Innovate Raleigh 2013: Building on the past, creating the future

On January 24, over 200 people gathered at 227 Fayetteville Street in Downtown Raleigh to participate in an Innovate Raleigh session that featured lightning talks, collaborative breakout sessions, and networking. The following are the notes from eight different tables and lots of brain power. Add your idea at our virtual table.

Innovate Raleigh breakout sessions
 

Each table was asked to collaborate and brainstorm ideas, selecting their top three on the following topic:

What initiatives should we tackle at the next Innovate Raleigh Summit?

Table 1

Moderator: Billy Warden

Moderator notes:

  • Get in face of Silicon Valley and the world
  • Elevate the brand
  • More than Triangle
  • Inst. investors to have more permanent
  • Not just flights
  • Start small / one analysts
  • More recognition / bring more resources
  • Increase collaborations / networking out
  • More and bigger stories / successes
  • Central robust website
  • An opportunity for a _VOICE_ for everyone
  • Build stronger case for success
  • State/local resources to tap
  • Reduce friction to getting involved to making a difference
  • Big problem with drawing talent / perception of South East
  • Sports - beyond, but use it, professional sports team
  • Flights help bring _capital_
  • We're to risk averse
  • "Ask" How can we ask people for things with potency and compelling story
  • Universities isolated? Better integrated, culture of being closed. Break in.
  • Banks = $? Reinvestment program
  • Potential of new leadership
  • Layers of interest: State, region, city; role of each
  • Dix park - Qaul of life issue
  • Light rail; would have stronger impact than park?
  • Need stronger between cities, together we have critical mass
  • Sum greater parts
  • Anchors? Magnets for others
  • Family too emphasized--brand?
  • All-star stories (Brand) -- cool, hip, famous
  • Downtown assets/life-style
  • Quality of start-ups??? (Quality makes it sustainable)
  • Alumni program/mentor

Top three ideas

  1. Brand/perception
  2. Networking out = $, mentors, opportunity
  3. Life-style infrastructure

Table 2

Moderator: need

Moderator notes:

  • STEM --> STEAM
  • Telling Raleigh's story - what do we want it to be?
  • Marketing Innovate Raleigh
    • Perception
    • Getting business integrated
    • Economic Development
    • Going beyond Raleigh
  • Creating collaborative efforts, team atmosphere
  • Easier way to know where jobs are

Top 3 not specified

Table 3

Moderator: Lisa Grele Barrie, President & CEO, North Carolina Theatre

Moderator notes:

  • Branding/awareness of Innovate Raleigh
  • expand the group--build on momentum
  • Recruit more people
  • How do we incorporate art
  • Spaces: integrating artists and entrepreneurs (STEAM), real estate
  • Audience engagement/community engagement
  • Left brain/right brain
  • Giving artists a chance to collaborate
  • Getting the business world to embrace
  • Artists - giving them space to work + sell in vacant or under used spaces
  • Engage students in the process - both at the summit and getting their ideas
  • Bring innovative retailers to downtown
  • Expand the group both demographics + ID young across other platforms

Top three ideas

  1. Branding/awareness of Innovate Raleigh, expand the group, recruit more people  
  2. Spaces for art community
  3. Engage students

Table 4

Moderator: need

Moderator notes:

  • First Friday: Art focused --> Tech focused
  • Women involvement successes
  • Winning formula, lessons learned, "How to"
  • Tech Friday: second Friday, visibility of product, showcase products (either separate or with art)
  • Innovations from area
  • Leadership and team building
  • Inventory of innovation
  • Non Profit involvement
  • Funding (big problem) -- beyond angels
  • Technology bank - educate the details of how it works, regional banks, get together; pool funds, partnership loans

Top three ideas

  1. Technology bank
  2. Tech Friday
  3. Leadership and team building

Table 5

Moderator: need

Moderator notes:

  • How to foster intrapreneurs
  • Culture of innovation
  • Demystify 20/80
  • Programs: What resources are available in community
  • Lessons learned (how to solve, resources, connections)
  • Structured brainstorming
  • Connect to resources (map)
  • Physical space: what's available, collaboration, legal, mentoring, knowing what's going on, connecting/sharing
  • Topic breakouts: ask a lawyer, ask a ...
  • Showcase companies that care (keep people here)
  • Build a chain of ents
  • Creative minds <--> ent

Top three ideas

  1. Lessons learned (Obstacles, failures, etc)
  2. How to create a culture of innovation
  3. What physical spaces exist? (Map, knowledge of..., connection to...)

Table 6

Moderator: need

Moderator notes:

  • Less on facility
  • More on mentoring
  • Helping entrepreneurship initiative traffic, specifically consumer traffic
  • Create collaboration between university and entrepreneurship
  • Branding Raleigh as innovative
  • "Intra"-preneurship - creating a more risk taking growth opportunity; entrepreneurship spirit within large corporate environments
  • (publicize) Public media assistance in getting info out
  • Need more time collaborating--bring same group together monthly

Top three ideas

  1. Help entrepreneurs get more consumer traffic
  2. Branding Raleigh as innovative
  3. Encourage Intrapreneurship in existing companies

Table 7

Moderator: need

Moderator notes:

  • Better connect region while retaining individual identities
  • Reach out for more RTP connection via social media
  • How do we leverage hyperlocalism?
  • Outside VC to give perspective
  • Specific programs to continues growth for all stages
  • How do we better connect small to large companies
  • Telepresence space
  • Utilize traffic through RDU
  • How do we avoid redundancy?
  • More concise reporting from event
  • Didn't address investment community as much as we could
  • Consistent story (Delivered to whom? via?)
  • Leveraging green and amenities

Top 3 not specified

Table 8

Moderator: Amber Howard

Moderator notes:

  • Bring arts and design into community conversation (NCSU)
    • Specifically the Arts Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurs Marketing the Arts (EMA) organization
    • Having an event in August in need of sponsors
  • Make Raleigh a spot for performing arts
    • First run shows (much like a start-up) -> Start-up theater culture
    • Pop up performances
  • Leverage volunteerism to innovate?
    • Create a prompt that is appealing for people to volunteer for... something that could turn into money and does something good for the community.
      • Triangle Start-up Weekend - focus ventures to help Raleigh or other social opportunities
  • Leverage big companies
    • SAS, IBM, Cisco
    • Get them plugged in / to help start-ups
    • Innovation that leverages what these companies do
  • Network of "Innovation Centers" throughout the city
    • smaller spaces that can be used part time or full time as a network of satellite centers
    • Leverage NCSU campus resources/space/traffic
  • VC and other funding models
    • Reducing costs for start-ups is a type of funding
  • Attract international start-ups/inventors
  • More robust if we partner with Triangle cities (Durham and CH) -- unity, team

Top three ideas

  1. Start-up theatre culture (support first run sows)
  2. Integration of larger companies
  3. Collaborate and partner with Durham and Chapel Hill

Return to the Innovate Raleigh page.

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