Alright. So:
Has Raleigh-Durham Startup Week 2026 already been over for almost a week? Yes.
Was it packed with 100+ events and thus impossible to cover in a comprehensive manner? Also yes.
Did GrepBeat manage to do it anyway? …. Okay, fine. Not yes…. No, in fact.
But what we did do was piece together this Grepmalgamation of recaps, insights, notes, and photos, from ourselves and others, to provide some sense of the week that was. So—if you missed an event and want to know what it was like, if you’re trying to remember something a given speaker said, or if you just want to re-live some of the action (or maybe catch yourself in a photo), read on. Hopefully we, as an entire community, caught what you’re looking for.
MONDAY
The Monday slate was dominated largely by a sort of unofficial overall keynote (my words, not RDSW’s), a dedicated “Climate Tech Day” slate, and the presentation of some new awards for founders.
(Keynote): “With Great Disruption Comes Great Opportunity” featuring Jeff Jackson and Ronnie Chatterji in a conversation moderated by Marina Chase Carreker
- Jackson and Chatterji spoke to a packed Bay 7 at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham, with a focus on the future of AI as relates to work—as well as business and public policy more broadly.
- Catch insights and observations from: NC State Entrepreneurship Clinic Director and RDSW organizer Haley Huie here; Tesslate‘s Manav Majumdar here; and IVT founder (slash serial entrepreneur supporter) Nannette Stangle-Castor here.
(Partner Event): Climate Tech Day, organized by Carolina Climate with support from the City of Raleigh and Cotopaxi
- This brand new partner event was spread across five sessions at the NC State Plant Sciences Building in Raleigh. All together, the sessions spoke to the state of climate tech; covered how to build a mission-oriented business (including when the mission itself doesn’t always attract investment); highlighted local founders in the climate space; and helped attendees network with others interested in the space.
- The five sessions included:
- A facilitated lunch led by Coaching Connection Founder and CEO Noa Ronen
- A keynote by Cotopaxi Founder Stephan Jacob, who spoke about building his company and talked about the privilege of having choices—and the mission to uplift those whose choices are more limited. (Key Insight Alert: Choosing to go against the current “seems like a wonderful choice to me.”) This rolled into a fireside chat with Keel Labs Co-Founder and CEO Aleks Gosiewski, moderated by Malhar Shah of microWATT.
- A live recording of the “Supercool” podcast featuring Plantd Co-Founder Josh Dorfman and Hoofprint Biome CEO Kathryn Polkoff in conversation about local climate tech success stories. (Key Insight Alert: Per Polkoff, “Nature’s been around forever; it’s probably already solved whatever problem we’re trying to solve. So what did nature do [and how] can we adapt it?”
- Live pitches from three climate tech startups (Sustaera, Innatrix, and Seagull), followed by an investor panel featuring Shruti Shah, Stephanie Simon, and Pierce Gibson.
- A climate tech networking happy hour.
- Catch insights and observations from: Carolina Climate’s own Majela Fonseca here.
(Partner Event): Bold Path Fellowship Reveal, organized by ECMC Group, NC IDEA, and Provident1898.
- The Bold Path Fellowship provides selected founders with $120K in non-dilutive grant funding “intended to substitute for early ‘family and friends’ funding” This event functioned as a live reveal of the program’s inaugural cohort and a chance for attendees to meet the founders.
- That inaugural cohort is comprised of: Mikal Ali of Blossoms Village; EchoML founder Tiffany Degbotse; Rich Gilliam of STEM PLUG; Bilal Issifou of Unchained Inc.; and Ellora McTaggart of Carolina Instruments.
- Insights, observations, and photos from: NC IDEA here and Rich Gilliam here.
TUESDAY
Tuesday featured a distinctly tactical lineup of speaker and panel topics, with the bulk of the program serving to advise founders on specific strategies, things to avoid, and so on. There was also a headline fireside chat with a Durham-based unicorn founder and, in the evening, a handful of fun partner events (including our own GrepBeat Happy Hour and another—read on to find out which—that I’m dubbing the unofficial champion of RDSW).
(Keynote) “How to Make Anything Catch On” with Jonah Berger
(Product Track) “From Idea to Users in 30 Minutes” with Will Breen
- Breen described this session as being “for founders who want to focus on the work that actually matters before they start building.”
(Product Track) “Founder F*ups to Avoid” fireside chat with Jud Bowman
- Insights from Jack Fleming here.
(Product Track) “From Enterprise SaaS to Social Media Famous: Blair Reeves’ Journey from Product to Nonprofit Leadership” with (sorry for the spoiler) Blair Reeves
- This session was identified by RDSW organizer Tim Scales as one to target for those who wanted to hear the inside story of what it takes to build a successful company. Attendees were treated to the full story that took Reeves from product leadership at Hubspot to Raleigh nonprofit Carolina Forward.
(Strategy Track) “Building and Fundraising for Startups in the Southeast” with Marc Minor and Paul Jaglowski, moderated by Carly Connell
- Insights from Jack Fleming here
(Strategy Track) “Building Agents to Help Run Your Startup” with Andrew Parker
(Strategy Track) “Fireside Chat: Founder Lessons From a $1B+ Journey in the Triangle” featuring Zach Maurides in conversation with Scot Wingo
- This fireside chat with Teamworks Founder and CEO Zach Maurides delivered what was promised in the title: a walk through the journey of building a $1B-plus company in Durham. Maurides and Wingo dived into a lot of what has to happen with company culture (and good old-fashioned hard work) to reach this point.
- What may have made the biggest impression was the extent to which Maurides ties the Teamworks culture to the industry in which it works. While it’s obvious to anyone who glances at their LinkedIn page that this company is stocked with former athletes, listening to Maurides makes it clear that they also still operate with the precision, preparation, and team approach of a pro sports organization.
- Additional insights from Evan Boyer here
(Revenue Track) “How We Book 10,000 Meetings a Year Using Cold Email” with Christian Oland
(Revenue Track) “How to Generate Leads and Sales from Social Media” with Dareen Mckee and Aaron Dinin
(Revenue Track) “How to Price, Package, and Position Your Revenue for Maximum Value” with Taylor Schaude, Zakiya Lee, and Dave Sonders, moderated by Sarah Davis
- Insights from Jack Fleming here.
(Partner Event) Tweener Awards
(Partner Event) GrepBeat Happy Hour
- It was our pleasure here at Team GrepBeat to uphold what has become an annual tradition and partner with RDSW for an end-of-day Happy Hour. We were back in our old stomping grounds at Bull McCabe’s and were happy to welcome so many of you for a drink at the end of a long day.
- Additional insights from some editor here.
(Partner Event) Tweener Awards
- This annual event was held at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park and ran for about three hours and change. The program was comprised of the release of the latest Tweener List as well as an awards ceremony and celebration concerning some of the success stories we’ve seen in NC startups over the past year.
- Insights from Curious Ant’s Robert Birnbach here and Element451 Founder Ardis Kadiu here
(Partner Event) Bad Pitch Competition
- I think it’s safe to say that this brand new event at the new American Underground at the American Tobacco Campus stole the show during RDSW. Hosted by Catie King, Dr. Sarah Glova, and Shannon Varcoe, the event brought in five fake startup teams (including indoor forest bathing venture Fäthe, a product of yours truly and Jenn Summe) to serve up ridiculous pitches that 1) addressed real founder problems, 2) are utterly un-fundable, but 3) leave the judges wondering: but why not, though?
- Burnout (Co-Founded by Laura Zabinski and Carolyn Cade) took the top prize, with real-life Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Wallace “Walker” Renfrow, Jr. and Mohansingh Udhwani Jr. taking the audience prize for Clanker Nootropics
- Additional recap from organizer Dr. Sarah Glova here and insights from Christina Marie Noel here.
WEDNESDAY
(Keynote) “Break Through: Rewiring Your Mindset When it Matters Most” with Josh Perry
- Insight from Jack Fleming here
Founder’s Clinic
- This was a new initiative for 2026 that RDSW organizer Tim Scales described as a “new twist on office hours” (and also likened to urgent care for startups).
- Perhaps more preview than recap, but you can learn more from Empower All, Inc. Founder and CEO Valencia Hicks-Harris, PhD here.
(Partner Event) LiLa Presents: “The State of Venture Capital Funding” with Jenn Summe, Mahati Sridhar, Jackie Lipkin, and Mariliis Holm, moderated by Allison Wood
- This was a thorough and thoughtful panel featuring four women with experience at different stages of VC funding (and in different spaces).
- Broadly, they discussed topics like how they’re adjusting in light of changes brought about by AI (which can help founders build faster, help money go further, etc.); what they prioritize in founders; what makes a founder coachable; the milestones and timelines that matter; and the importance of emotional intelligence. Among the key takeaways were:
- Funds are having to work more closely with companies for a longer period of time.
- A lot of venture firms are investing earlier because companies are able to build faster.
- Investors are looking to back someone building a good business, not just getting to the next round (This game from Jackie, who noted that it was obvious, but I suspect some could use the reminder).
- An investor likes to see a founder obsessed with their customers/users.
- A founder should give off the vibe that in “the cave times” (loved that one, Mariliis) they’d be by the fire telling a story or trying to find a way to reach an island they can see.
- Additional insights from Primordial Ventures here and Susan Wall here.
(Product Track) “Fireside Chat” with Allen Mask
- As promised by Tim Scales in his preview of events fit for those who want to learn what it takes to build a successful company, Mask offered career perspective from three different spaces: big tech, startups, and investing.
(Product Track) “How to Build a Consumer Brand That Breaks Through” with Alphonzo (Phonz) Terrell
(Product Track) “Bootstrapped, Mission-Driven, Profitable: Lessons From 10 Years Without VC” with Laura Tierney
- Another session identified by Tim Scales as a good pick for those seeking inside stories about building successful companies, this one focused on what some might view as the unlikely combination of bootstrapping, maintaining a focus on a core mission, and becoming profitable.
(Strategy Track) “The New Startup Playbook: Why 2-Person AI-Native Teams Are Outshipping Their Competition” with Alec Coughlin
(Strategy Track) “Beyond VCs: Triangle’s Hidden Investor Network” with Kevin Barry, Suresh Bhagchandani, Brandon Kashani, moderated by Josh Guter
(Strategy Track) “Different Games, Different Stages: How Marketing Changes From 0 –> Scale” with Dan London, Rachel Walter, and Grayson Leverenz, moderated by Matt Williamson
- Insight from Jack Fleming here
(Revenue Track) “How to Sell Without Being Salesy” with Josh Hein
(Revenue Track) “What to Say When You Don’t Know What to Say: Using ‘Yes, And’ to Navigate Sales Conversations” with Carrie Painter
(Revenue Track) “How to Upsell, Crossell, and Renew” with Jordan Cain
(Partner Event) Bullhouse grand opening
- The Wednesday slate rounded out with the grand opening of Bullhouse, a new Durham “living room for startups” headed up by Austins Carroll and Armstrong.
- The Austins welcomed a pretty big crowd to their (very cool) new space, gave tours and explained the multi-pronged mission(s) of Bullhouse, and then handed the floor over to more founders than I could count to offer one-minute pitches in a rapid-fire competition.
- More on what they’re up to here
THURSDAY
(Keynote) “Conviction Capital: How to Build What the Market Doesn’t Yet Understand” with Cindy Eckert
(Product Track) “Prototype Like a Pro: Real-Time Vibe Coding” with Akshar (AP) Patel
- An inspiring call to see what you can do with vibe coding in a single weekend
(Product Track) “Shut Up and Sell: Why the Best Founder Sales Calls Are 80% Listening” with Chelsea Bullock
- Per Catie King (who headed up the product track and offered some quick-hitting commentary here), the takeaway here was to “stfu on sales calls.”
(Product Track) “How to Do Customer Discovery (And Stop Asking Sh*tty Questions)” with Phillip (Craig) Chadwell
- Per Catie’s recaps, again: “Sometimes the best way to evaluate customer pain is to agree with them that there’s no pain at all.”
(Strategy Track) “Escaping the Sunk-Cost Trap: When to Pivot, Quit, or Double Down” with Lonny James
(Strategy Track) “Do Moats Exist in the AI Era?” with Scot Wingo
- Insights from… well, the talk itself. You can check it out on YouTube.
(Strategy Track) “Strategy Lessons From a Serial Founder and Venture Studio Operator” with Eric Boduch in a fireside chat with Dusan Babich
- A combination of discussion about Boduch’s experience as a co-founder of Pendo and the continued importance of strategic thinking in the age of building with AI.
(Revenue Track) “Cold to Closed: How to Combine AI, Automation, and Authentic Relationship” with Parker Mayes
(Revenue Track) “Bring Your Sales Problem. Let’s Work Through It Live” with Adrienne Lester, Cameron McClain, Derek Conlin, Ron Cygnarowicz
(Revenue Track) “The Path to $1M: Real Talk From Founders Who Actually Did It” with Kathryn Shah, Ted Baxa, David Baron
(Partner Event) “College Night” presented by GrepBeat and The Seed List
- This was the second time GrepBeat has hosted “College Night,” and this time we did it in partnership with The Seed List and as part of RDSW (with support from an NC IDEA Engage grant as well). This event is a chance for area university students with interest in entrepreneurism to gather, network with each other, and get to know startup teams and others from around the ecosystem.
- We recapped this one on its own right here.
FRIDAY
From a keynote focused on young entrepreneurs, to a younger collection of panelists throughout much of the day, to a UNC-based pitch competition that rounded out the week, the Friday slate focused on highlighting a kind of next generation of local entrepreneurs and startup founders.
Founder’s Clinic
- (See Wednesday for details)
(Keynote) “Next Generation Founders: Young Entrepreneurs on the Future They’re Building”
(Product Track) “Dorm Room to Board Room: Lessons from Successful Local University Founders” with Sydelle Bernstein, Sam Marcom, Ellora McTaggart, moderated by Kenyetta Hall
- A talk that emphasized the “hunger” (again, per Catie King) of the next generation of founders
(Product Track) “Brand and Positioning for Early Stage Founders” with Emily Schwartz
- Emphasizing the importance of focusing on customer trust early in the brand-building process
(Strategy Track) “The Builder’s Dilemma: Onshore, Offshore, or AI/No-Code?” with Ally Brabant, Ankur Patel, David Shaner, moderated by Mallorie Langston
(Strategy Track) “Going Global: Opportunity, Distraction, or Strategic Advantage?” with Cameron Walker, Tobi Walter, Zach Milburn, moderated by Chase Summers
(Revenue Track) “How to Hire Sales Teams and Sales Leaders” with Julee Held, John Rosar, Matt Williamson
- Insights from Leithe Labs’ Chris Leithe here
(Revenue Track) “How to Build a Brand That Stands Out and Scales” with Amanda Sabreah
(Partner Event) Joan & Chester Luby Pitch Competition
- This is an annual pitch competition dating back to 2024 and hosted by Innovate Carolina. This year it served as one of the final events of RDSW as student startup pitched in competition for a total $95K in prizes.
- Safeli Shop won 1st prize and $35K, with Sensible taking 2nd and $25K and KAIRS winning the $15K “viewers’ choice award.”
(Partner Event) Final Toast hosted by Ariso
- Unofficially capping off RDSW with a happy hour hosted by Erkang Zheng’s new startup, Ariso.
AND THE WINNER IS….
I decided there has to be a winner.
And the winner is the Bad Pitch Competition. I said it to the organizers immediately following the event, and I told them I’d put it in print: I have simply never seen people have that much fun at any ecosystem event, ever. @TimScales (I know you’re reading), run this one back.
SPECIAL SHOUTOUTS
- Parker & Otis, for producing enough sandwiches and coffees on Durham Days to presumably approach unicorn status (and also for hosting CED’s “Coffee & Cornhole” gathering)
- Nannette Stangle-Castor, Jack Fleming, and Robert Birnbach for unknowingly making so many contributions to this Grepmalgamation
- Katelyn Crespo and Sonali Sanjay for actually knowingly making contributions to said Grepmalgamation
- Catie King for being my new instant bestie even though she refused to rig the Bad Pitch Competition for Fäthe*
- The Weather for being suspiciously reasonable
- Fullsteam @ Boxyard for stocking my beloved Southern Basil, which makes great nights greater
- ATC for generally exceptional vibes
- But also Raleigh Founded (North Street) for handling similar activity to the entire ATC
- All RDSW organizers and volunteers, naturally. They’re not going to shout themselves out.
*Too good of an idea to win a bad ideas competition
