About this Event
JOIN US: Something is happening in Durham. And if you've been quietly building in a silo or waiting for the right moment to build — this is it.
Startup Weekend Durham returns for its seventh edition, and this year we're going all in on the most consequential technology of our time: artificial intelligence. Not the buzzword version. The real thing — applied, practical, and built by people like you over one electric weekend.
This is Startup Weekend VII. Every edition, Knox St Studios has worked to make this event more intentional, more connected, and more useful to the people who show up ready to create. This one is the culmination of everything we've learned — and the AI focus makes the timing feel like it was built for this exact moment.
HOW IT WORKS:
From Friday evening through Sunday night, you'll pitch ideas, form a team, and launch a working venture concept. You'll move from "what if" to "here's what we built" in 54 hours. Real mentors in the room to help you build it. Real feedback on your work. Real momentum when you walk out the door. In just 54 hours, you will experience the highs, lows and pressure that make up life as a startup. As you learn how to create a real company, you'll meet the very best mentors, Investors, cofounders, and sponsors who are ready to help YOU get started. Your community Is here to help you!
No Ideas? No Worries. Join a Team and work with them!
What to expect:
Friday night kicks off with pitches, team formation, and the energy that only happens when a room full of builders gets unlocked. Saturday is full-sprint mode — workshops, customer discovery, building, testing, refining, getting in front of mentors who have actually done this. Sunday is about finishing strong and presenting to a panel that will challenge you and celebrate what you created.
Along the way: meals provided, a community that shows up for each other, and access to experienced founders who genuinely want to see you win.
Who belongs here:
You don't need a polished idea or a co-founder. You need curiosity, drive, and a willingness to do the work. Founders, Developers, designers, marketers, operators, and domain experts of every kind — this weekend works because people with different skills build together.
Hosted at the NEW American Underground at American Tobacco Campus, Durham's growing hub for entrepreneurs and builders. This is not a conference. This is a launchpad.
WHAT WILL YOU GET?
Your ticket will grant you access to:
- Hands-on activities that will give YOU the tools and resources you need to launch your startup
- A restorative yoga session on the lawn
- A chill vibe brain break event to reset
- Good food and lots of coffee!
- Access to people making big footprints in the industry
Register now. The weekend of May 15th won't wait. Space is limited. Durham's founder community has been building toward this. Come be part of it.
Event Details:
📅 Friday, May 15 – Sunday, May 17, 2026 📍 American Underground ATC, Durham, NC 🕕 Doors open Friday at 5:30 PM
We request a small donation (See tickets) so that you have some "skin" In the game, AND to ensure we can keep these events going for future Innovators and disrupters just like you!
Join us and take the first step towards turning your innovative ideas into a reality!
How do I prepare?
You can find a list of tools that can help you prepare for the weekend here:
https://www.techstars.com/communities/startup-weekend/organize-a-startup-weekend/plan-your-event/tools-for-participants
Doing some market research will give you a better understanding of the problem you are trying to solve.
Practice your pitch. You'll have 60 seconds on Friday to persuade other participants to join your team. Make it clear, concise, and convincing!
The elements of a good 60 second pitch are to:
State who you are and what your background is
Mention what problem your product is solving
Explain the product and how it solves the problem
What skill sets you need on the team like a developer, marketer or designer
Provide a name for your startup
Get familiar with some of the tools that you can use during the weekend like the Lean Canvas.
Check out our awesome Facilitators Mentors, and Judges:
Mentor: Tamette Farrington
Tamette is an entrepreneurial mindset coach and founder of T’Farri Solutions, helping founders organize their ideas, strengthen their confidence, and execute with clarity. She specializes in supporting early-stage entrepreneurs as they move from overthinking to action through strategy, accountability, and leadership development. Her passion is helping innovators build businesses while becoming the person their vision demands.
Mentor: Chip Kennedy is a Raleigh-based AI technology leader and founder. He’s building CivicReach: AI-native case management for social services. CivicReach's platform helps city, county, and nonprofit agencies across the country serve their communities faster, better, and with more dignity. Chip has been a social founder and technologist for over ten years - building technology to improve the lives of hospice patients, voters, caregivers, and travelers.
Mentor: Laura Zabinski is a strategic operator and trusted right-hand partner to founders, teams, and growing organizations ready to scale with intention. As the former Executive Director of American Underground, she brings deep experience supporting founders, building ecosystems, and leading through growth. With a decade of expertise spanning operations, sales, partnerships, and finance, she helps businesses create clarity, strengthen systems, and unlock sustainable success. Known for pairing big-picture thinking with hands-on execution, Laura brings a warm, steady presence and practical leadership that moves ideas forward and gets results.
Mentor:Geraud Staton is a strategy consultant, business coach, and proud multipotentialite. He has over 12 years of experience, and has had the privilege of guiding hundreds of small businesses and entrepreneurs towards their unique vision of success. He's walked the challenging path of entrepreneurship not once, not twice, but three times - and lived to tell the tale! As a US Air Force veteran, Geraud cares about veterans in business and has had the pleasure of working with many veteran-led businesses. And though he takes coaching very seriously, Geraud believes that business, like life, should be filled with fun. Whether working through a strategic plan, untangling a business conundrum, or simply sharing stories of his entrepreneurial journey, Geraud strives to infuse a sense of joy and excitement into every interaction. "My journey hasn't been linear, and that's exactly what makes it exciting. From safeguarding our nation's security in the Air Force to safeguarding our pets as a trainer and pet sitter, to exploring the depths of my creativity as an oil painter, every experience has enriched my perspective and added another tool to my coaching toolkit.
Facilitator: Lee Gray Associate Director, Knox St Studios
Lee has had the joy of playing in diverse professional sandboxes, including Design, Project and Retail Management, Ecosystem Building, and Entrepreneurship. Lee is a North Carolina A&T State University graduate, and her career path has seen her lead teams in Design and Visual Merchandising for well-known national clothing brands such as Nordstrom, Belk, and Bevello. Her experience extends to Social Impact and Community Development at the state level, where she contributes her skills and expertise. She has also been selected as the Ecosystem Builder-in-Residence for the statewide Black Wall Street Forward initiative.
Currently, Lee holds the position of Associate Director at Knox St. Studios. In this role, she effectively manages programs, oversees project implementation, and sets the strategic direction for the organization. Lee's educational background is diverse and includes a Masters in Operations Management, a B.S. in Marketing and International Business, and career certificates in Non-Profit Management, Fashion Design, and Merchandising.
Mentor: Adam Schultz is a Durham-based serial entrepreneur with 20+ years experience building companies at the intersection of digital products, behavior change, and social impact. He has mentored hundreds of founders across countless startup programs and accelerators from Durham, NC to Kyiv Ukraine. He currently serves as CEO of Mindr, a digital health startup tackling dementia prevention that he built with employee equity when fundraising efforts stalled, taking it from customer discovery to monthly paying customers with very limited capital.
Adam spends every day doing exactly what Startup Weekend is all about: turning ideas and scrappy teams into real companies, real fast. He mentors founders on product development, growth strategy, and building with limited resources.
He performs improv comedy in his spare time with Rigsbee Ave, which turns out to be excellent training for both leading, teaching and mentoring.
Mentor: Angel Brown is a mother, wife, daughter, sister, neighbor, and person of faith. The child of immigrants, she honors her paternal grandmother in Jamaica through her middle name, Sylvia.
From her childhood in Houston, Texas, to playing Division I lacrosse at Duke University, her creative work has centered on facilitating, stewarding, and crafting stories that spark compassion, confidence, and consciousness in children and families. Her writing and storytelling explore the chaotic, poetic, and comical realities of multigenerational households, cultural traditions, and identity.
In addition to her creative work, Angel is an educator and community organizer. She founded Angel S. Brown Consulting, LLC to partner with organizations and individuals in cultivating a legacy of impact rooted in dignity, community, and love across generations.
Angel has lived in Durham since 2011. In her intergenerational home, she can often be found reading in the window seat, tending the garden with her children, playing dominoes with her father, Latin dancing with her husband, or running in nature.
Judge: Magalie Yacinthe Magalie Yacinthe is Co-Founder and Executive Director of HUSTLE Winston-Salem, a nonprofit building inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems for underestimated entrepreneurs in the Triad region of North Carolina. A Florida A&M University alum born in Nassau, Bahamas and raised in Miami by Haitian parents, she brings a deeply personal lens to equitable ecosystem-building, resource development, and organizational capacity. Through HUSTLE, she works to create genuine access — not just programming — for the entrepreneurs most often locked out of traditional support systems. She is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and a recognized leader in the Winston-Salem community.
Facilitator: Tim Scales
I’m an entrepreneurial ecosystem builder, with a focus on the design and delivery of experiences that move founders forward.
Over the past decade, I’ve played a number of roles within the startup community — from founder to mentor to ecosystem convener. I’ve built workshops, bootcamps, accelerators, and conferences for early-stage and idea-stage entrepreneurs, always with a focus on supporting founders and their growth. My strength lies not only in program strategy and design, but also in leveraging a deep network of mentors, coaches, and investors to enrich every founder experience.
Whether it’s shaping a meetup, a workshop, or an accelerator, I bring a balance of strategic insight and ecosystem connectivity that will help you feel confident, effective, and impactful in your work with founders.
Facilitator: La-Tasha Best-Gaddy
La-Tasha Best-Gaddy, Chief Strategist at Infinity Bridges Inc., 25-year diverse career across Economic & Business Development, Accounting, Insurance, Financial Services, and Non-Profit sectors. An innovative thinker and dedicated entrepreneur, La-Tasha actively supports her two children's business endeavors. Deeply involved in her community, she serves on several boards and committees, including Chairperson of the Black Business Alliance for Chapel Hill-Carrboro, Facilitator of Durham Business Collaboration, and Co-Facilitator of Triangle Entrepreneur Support Organization. Additionally, La-Tasha serves as Board Treasurer of The Collaborative, Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce Board Member, Durham Workforce Development Board, Durham Women’s Commission and Board Treasurer & Co-Founder of the NC Employee Ownership Center.
Libations Host: Che Ramos- The Black Bourbon Guy
Che Ramos is a restaurant-and-bar kind of guy: He has spent nearly 20 years working at Triangle restaurants and bars, notably the Vidrio and STIR, both in Raleigh, along with the University Club and Counting House at the 21c Museum Hotel, both in Durham.In late 2020, Ramos started The Black Bourbon Guy to offer professional training as well as private whiskey tastings, cocktail classes, and restaurant consulting with the goal of increasing the presence of people of color both behind the bar and among the patrons at the bars he likes to visit.
Mentor: Anjanette Miller
Anjanette has 20+ years experience in entrepreneurship and program development. Currently she is the co-founder and CEO of Echo - an entrepreneurial support organization in Durham, NC supporting any age, any stage entrepreneurs. Prior to Echo, Anjanette helped a startup nonprofit, Audacity Labs - a youth-centered entrepreneurial program originated by a Duke student in collaboration with the Museum of LIfe and Science - scale and receive a $1 mil award from the City of Durham. She moved to Durham, NC in 2019 after successfully exiting an educational advocacy organization that she founded in Dallas, TX. Moving to Durham had been a dream of hers for many years, and she is honored to call it her home, enjoying all of the many wonders that NC offers.
Mentor: Mel Wright
Agenda
🕑: 05:30 PM - 10:00 PM
Friday Kick Off
Info: Participants typically arrive at 5:30 p.m., begin networking, and have dinner. After an ice-breaking game and an introduction by the Facilitator, there will typically be a short talk with a speaker. Then, the “Pitchfire” will commence: anyone intending to pitch will have 60 seconds to give their best pitch. No presentations are needed for Friday, it will just be you and a mic. After pitches are finished, all participants will vote on their favorites, and using these votes, the top ideas will be selected to be worked on over the weekend. The Facilitator will provide guidance on team formation. Then teams will form organically, consolidate, and get to know each other and begin working.
🕑: 08:30 AM - 09:00 PM
Saturday
Info: Teams will have workshops and work all day, with the occasional breaks to eat and enjoy a yoga session. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks will be provided. In the afternoon, expert mentors and coaches will be available to guide and assist you. Dinner and a kickback with drinks music, and community partners will kick off at 7pm!
🕑: 09:00 AM - 08:00 PM
Sunday
Info: Sunday is for completing work. Expert mentors and coaches will be available to guide and assist you.Breakfast and lunch served, final pitch presentations with our expert panel of judges. After dinner- networking, and celebrations!
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
American Underground, 324 Blackwell Street, Durham, US
USD 0.00
