On Nov. 18-19, Hilton Raleigh North Hills played host to the 2019 NC IDEA Ecosystem Summit. An official event of Global Entrepreneurship Week and held in conjunction with the Governor’s Entrepreneurial Council, the two-day conference was an opportunity for thought leaders and stake holders from the North Carolina entrepreneurial community to come together.
It was the first conference of its kind from NC IDEA, the private foundation that offers grants and mentorship to foster innovation in the state. The Ecosystem Summit was an expansion of that mission, with a goal of "redefining economic development through entrepreneurship."
Gov. Roy Cooper, who gave welcome remarks on the second day of the conference, emphasized how events like these set the state apart.
"One of the great things about our innovation and entrepreneurship economy is networking and getting people together; putting ideas together with money; making sure that educational institutions are ready to work with people to help them generate a new business," Cooper told Charlotte Inno. "And so getting ideas from people and networking and hearing from people who have been successful is one of the best ways to increase our entrepreneurship and innovation."
Sessions and speeches throughout the two-day event were created to do just that, with discussion centering around topics like diversity, establishing the next generation of entrepreneurs, and the policies and practices that best spur in-state innovation.
Cooper argued that North Carolina's business community has "all of the ingredients to be wildly successful," citing the lower cost of living and running a company as especially noteworthy. "North Carolina values diversity and we're open for business," he said.
