A pair of UNC-Chapel Hill seniors have launched what they’re calling North Carolina’s biggest collegiate startup competition – with a $500,000.
Ilyas Colie and Manas Takalpati, co-founders of Triangle Ventures, were inspired by their internships in Silicon Valley. Over the past two summers, Colie said he got enmeshed in the Silicon Valley culture.
“We saw that the community ecosystem, the access to mentors, the access to funding … it was just an incredible environment,” Colie said. “Coming back here to UNC, we really want to build a similar community.”
Colie, a native of Asheville, had initially envisioned a career in public policy when he came to Chapel Hill as a Morehead-Cain scholar. He was attracted to policy because of the “opportunity for impact.” But at UNC, he realized “there’s really significant opportunity for impact in startups.”
He fell in love with the “fast-paced environment … just how effective you can be in that world and ecosystem.”
Last year, he and Takalpati started Triangle Ventures – or TriVent. Through a mutual connection, they partnered with Fusen, a Georgia-based entrepreneurship support group.
Now, in partnership with Fusen and UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, they’ve launched a competition with a top prize of $500,000 for “investable” teams. The expectation is for 600 startups to apply, Colie said.
It could be just the start. The pair are having conversations with other venture capital players – including those in the Triangle. If the idea takes off, there could be additional ways to support entrepreneurs in future months, including additional competitions, Colie said.
The TriVent 2023 Startup Competition is open to all undergraduate and graduate students with an idea or startup. TriVent will provide resources to turn ideas into startups, Colie said.
