Happy Week Before Raleigh-Durham Startup Week, everybody!
Two things are true this year: The first is that the RDSW team has done an excellent job laying out a massive agenda spanning five days, Raleigh, Durham (and the ecosystem venue-littered lands that lie betwixt the two). The second is that it would be virtually impossible for any prospective attendee to maintain a full grasp of everything being served up.
“When we started planning this year’s event, we decided we didn’t just want 2026 to be bigger—we wanted it to be richer,” said Co-Organizer Tim Scales. “That means more opportunities for meaningful connections, niche topics, and hands-on learning. And you’ll see that in the breadth and diversity of the 100-plus sessions that make up the full schedule.”
In short, the RDSW agenda will feel familiar in nature, but with added depth and new dimensions. And since I can’t (okay, fine, won’t) preview all of those 100-plus sessions here, this precap will focus largely on some of the more distinct (and in some cases new) standalone events throughout the week.
“As it scales, Startup Week is meant to be a platform for the startup community to build on,” Scales told GrepBeat. “Our volunteer team organizes the core event, but we’ve opened up the week for others to host everything from workshops to meetups to parties. This year, these ‘partner events’ make up almost half the full schedule.”
It is primarily (but not exclusively) those events that you can read a bit more about here. With that said, here’s your official GrepBeat Week Before RDSW26 Partial Preview (let’s get #GBWBRDSW26PP trending—we’re in this as a community).
MONDAY (April 20)
Climate Tech Day (register for all Climate Tech Day events here)
The big new initiative on Day One of RDSW—and indeed one of the most significant additions to the program in general—is a dedicated Climate Tech Day. A collaboration between Carolina Climate and RDSW (with support from the City of Raleigh and Cotopaxi), this full-day event will highlight climate innovation from across the Triangle.
The full track consists of five events.
12pm—Shaping the Future of Climate Tech in NC (NC State Plant Sciences Building; register here)
- This will be a facilitated lunch, led by leadership coach Noa Ronen, with “guided conversations and small group exchanges” meant to spark founder and ecosystem leader connections.
1pm—Threads of Impact: From Breakthrough Materials to Global Brands (NC State Plant Sciences Building; register here)
- Cotopaxi Founder Stephan Jacob will deliver a keynote about scaling a company globally while “staying committed to circularity, ethical sourcing, and community impact.” Following this, Jacob will be joined by Keel Labs Founder and CEO Aleks Gosiewski for a fireside chat moderated by Malhar Shah, Founder and CEO of microWatt.
2pm—Supercool Podcast Live: Climate Tech Success Stories from the Triangle (NC State Plant Sciences Building; register here)
- This will be a live recording of the “Supercool” podcast, which is hosted by Plantd Co-Founder Josh Dorfman. For this episode, Dorfman will speak with Kathryn Polkoff, who is CEO of Raleigh-based Hoofprint Biome—which recently raised a ~$15M Series A in support of its methane-reducing cattle feed additives (which, you know… I was working on, but I guess they got there first).
3:30pm—Pitching Climate: Founders and Funders (NC State Plant Sciences Building; register here)
- Here we have a pitch event entirely about climate tech (and not structured as a competition). Three climate tech founders will pitch live and then receive feedback from an investor panel consisting of Josh Grehan (Helios Climate Ventures), Stephanie Simon (Blueridge Climate Ventures), and Shruti Shah (Symphonic Capital).
5pm—Climate Tech Networking Happy Hour (NC State Plant Sciences Building; register here)
- This will be a straightforward happy hour (and-a-half) where founders, investors, climate leaders, and other attendees can network and digest a full day of conversations and exhibitions concerning climate innovation.
And that will wrap up the first-ever fully dedicated Climate Tech Day at RDSW. But that’s not all Monday has to offer….
Bold Path Fellowship: Founders, Funding & What’s Next (Register here)
The Bold Path Fellowship was announced last October as a collaboration between NC IDEA, Provident1898, and the ECMC Group. It was described at the time as a “two-year full-time program including mentorship, educational programming, $120,000 in non-dilutive grant funding” and more, and is designed for “individuals from under-resourced backgrounds who have earned a degree or credential to pursue entrepreneurship.”
On RDSW Monday, beginning at 4:30pm at Provident1898 in Durham, this session will function as an introduction and celebration of five founders selected as this year’s Bold Path Fellows in the Triangle. It will consist of a networking reception, a brief awards ceremony, and “beverages and good bites” on the Terace at NC Mutual in Downtown Durham.
TUESDAY (April 21)
GrepBeat Happy Hour (register here)
Okay, so GrepBeat partnering with RDSW to host a gigantic Happy Hour is not a new thing this year. But hey, we’re biased… and we want to see you there!
We’ll be back at our old stomping grounds (Bull McCabe’s Irish Pub in Durham) on RDSW Tuesday with the Happy Hour slated to run from 5-7pm. It’ll be a great chance to unwind after what will have been another full day of speaker sessions, workshops, and the like.
If you’ve never been to a GrepBeat Happy Hour before, or you want some sense of what this specific one will look and feel like, check out the recap of last year’s edition. We’ll see you Tuesday night.
1st Annual Bad Idea Pitch Competition (register here)
If you’re reading this, and you’re part of the North Carolina entrepreneurial ecosystem, you’ve seen plenty of good pitches for great startups…. But have you ever wanted to see decent pitches for bad startups?
Hosted by Catie King, Dr. Sarah Glova, and Shannon Varcoe, this event promises “an evening of the most amazing pitches of the worst startup ideas you’ve ever heard.”
I can’t give you a rundown of the startups involved, because they don’t really exist. But your job, should you attend, will essentially be to wonder: should they? That will also be the question on the minds of the event’s “celebrity judges”—Venus Liles (of Liles Law), Wendy Coulter (Hummingbird Creative Group), and Jess Ekstrom (Mic Drop Workshop)—as they watch five would-be founders pitch how they’d “solve real founder problems in the most unfundable ways.”
This will all take place on RDSW Tuesday, beginning at 7pm at the new American Underground.
WEDNESDAY (April 22)
1 Million Cups (register here)
As GrepBeat newsletter readers are well aware (and if you aren’t one, it’s never too late to better yourself), 1 Million Cups has become a weekly event in Durham. The program recently returned to the Triangle after a years-long absence and will get something of a spotlight as an RDSW partner this time around.
If you aren’t familiar, 1 Million Cups is described as “part coffee break, part brainstorm, part community spark.” Specifically, it’s a weekly gathering of innovators and entrepreneurs in the community, typically with one or two speakers presenting local businesses.
The RDSW 1 Million Cups session will take place from 9:00-10:30am at 112 Broadway Street, Suite B, in Durham.
The Founder’s Clinic (register here)
This is not a partner event, but it is new to RDSW in 2026.
Scales described it as a “new twist on office hours” that is modeled on urgent care clinics. “Founders start at ‘triage,'” he said, “to diagnose their key problems, and then are matched with ‘specialists’ for one-on-one sessions. We have amazing experts volunteering their time to work with founders.”
This interactive RDSW Wednesday session will be another one at the new American Underground in Durham and will take place from 10am-12pm. (Another session will be held Friday, April 24th at the same time at Raleigh Founded’s North Street location; register for that one here.)
Bullhouse Founders & Investors Open House (register here)
Approval is required to attend this event (though you can request to join via the registration link just above), but it’s one that Triangle founders and startup supporters would do well to take note of.
This will function as the grand opening of the Bullhouse, which will be a private, invite-only coworking space-slash-community. It consists of offices, meeting rooms, a podcast studio, and a robot dog apparently (naturally), and is meant to function something like a “living room” for startups.
The Bullhouse is a product of Austins Carroll and Armstrong. This grand opening event will include drinks, a welcome address, networking time, and, per the registration page, “special surprises.” Also… I mean, kudos on classing the place up with that logo.
Hang at the Bullhouse from 5:30-8:00pm on Wednesday.
THURSDAY (April 23)
Female Founder Happy Hour (register here)
Lest GrepBeat stumble into an RDSW Happy Hour monopoly, Thursday evening will see another end-of-day get-together over drinks—and specifically for female founders.
Hosted by Venus Liles (of Liles Law) and Cherith Roberson (Flourish in Growth), this one is described as “a casual shindig” (always good) where women who are building businesses can “connect, unwind, and meet other female founders in the community.” It will be free to attend with a cash bar (though per the invite, each of the first 20 founders to arrive will receive a “glass of bubbly” on the hosts).
The Female Founder Happy Hour will take place from 5-7pm at Wonderland Kitchen & Cocktails in Raleigh.
F’Up Night – RDU Startup Week (register here)
Somewhat like 1 Million Cups, F’Up Night is something that already exists but which is operating in partnership with RDSW for this week.
These events’ tagline is straightforward: “We’ve all heard the success stories… but what about the F’ups?” Essentially, F’Up Night provides founders who have made mistakes and tasted failure with a chance to talk about their experiences (and lessons learned) in public. The idea here is not to spotlight failure so much as to show that shortcomings and errors are often (maybe just about always?) part of the equation for entrepreneurs.
F’Up Night will be hosted by Kimberlee Blocker and will take place at the Transfer Co. Ballroom & Event Venue in Raleigh, from 5:30-6:00pm.
GrepBeat & The Seed List Present: College Night (register here)
This will be GrepBeat’s second-ever “College Night,” and if you want a sense of what it will look like, you can have a look back at the first. Basically, though, the idea is to provide a space where area university students interested in entrepreneurism and the startup scene can connect with each other and meet founders and ecosystem leaders.
This time around, we’re doing it in partnership with The Seed List and RDSW (and with support via the NC IDEA Engage Grant). We’re expecting student turnout from Duke, UNC, NC State, Meredith, Elon, NCCU, Campbell, and SKEMA, but all are welcome to register.
The event will take place from 6:30-8:30pm on RDSW Thursday at Boxyard RTP.
FRIDAY (April 24)
Joan & Chester Luby Pitch Competition (register here)
Near the very end of RDSW and following a day packed with speaker, panel, and workshop sessions around the Triangle, this pitch competition—now in partnership with RDSW—will take place in Chapel Hill.
The event is specifically for “entrepreneurial initiatives led by UNC students,” some of whom will pitch their startup projects with a total of $95,000 in cash prizes on the line.
The competition will kick off at 4pm and run for about two-and-a-half hours at the Innovate Carolina Junction on East Rosemary Street in Chapel Hill.
One final time, I cannot stress enough that there are a lot of great sessions that aren’t represented here. If you’re interested in attending any portion of RDSW, have a look at that full agenda and you’re sure to pick up on aspects of the program that offer you the most value.
For new events, (some of the) partner events, and certain activities outside of the speaker-and-panel realm, though, I hope the guide above will be of some use.
Here’s to a great RDSW26! Teams GrepBeat and Primordial will be bopping about; come say hello.
