An interview with Jess Martin, one of the organizers of the RTP Start-Up Weekend
July 9, 2008
This coming weekend is the RTP Start-Up weekend from Friday July 11th at 6PM till sometime on Sunday the 13th, location and details here. I had the chance to do an email interview with Jess Martin, one of the organizers. Here is the transcript…
NCSU Blog: How does the RTP start-up environment compare to other ’start-up hot-spots’ around the country?
Jess Marten: The web start-up environment in RTP is growing but decentralized. There are several start-ups in Chapel Hill, a few in Durham, one or two in RTP proper, one or two in Raleigh. However, there’s not a real sense of community or organization. Whereas other start-up hot-spots around the country are densely concentrated and highly connected, the Triangle start-ups are somewhat isolated from each other. That’s just the web start-ups though. There is a dense concentration of biotech start-ups in RTP that I’m not familiar with.
NCSU Blog: What do you see as the strengths in this area in terms of VC?
JM: The strengths here in terms of VC’s are their desire to grow and promote this area above others. John Glushin from Intersouth Partners in Durham summed it up well, saying “I would prefer that I never had to get on a plane to make a deal.” The VCs here genuinely want to invest in local companies.
NCSU Blog: How do NC’s agricultural roots tie in with the start-up culture?
JM: I’m fairly new to the area, so this is somewhat an outsider’s perspective. Issues of agriculture and race go hand in hand in America’s past. Historically, the different communities (Chapel Hill, Durham, Carrboro, Raleigh, Cary) have been segregated racially. Even now, the racial makeup of each of the towns is drastically different. While this racial segregation has lessened over the years, a lingering effect of segregation seems to be that members of each community still tend to socialize and collaborate only among those in their immediate vicinity. Unfortunately, there isn’t yet a collective identity for entrepreneurs in the Triangle. My hope is that community leaders will emerge that will encourage the different communities to work together and pool our resources and relationships for the benefit of all. The amount of talent and creativity in the Triangle is tremendous, but it still seems to be separated geographically. This geographical separation could be a result of North Carolina’s historical agricultural and racial roots.
NCSU Blog: What types of start-ups are likely to do better here?
JM: Biotech can thrive in RTP. It’s one of the top areas in the country for biotech. Consumer web startups is a small but rapidly growing segment of the startup market here. There is a remarkably large group in the Triangle of social media/web marketing folks who are very good at what they do. They are always using and promoting new consumer web applications such as twitter and Seesmic.
NCSU Blog: How many people have signed up for the RTP Start-Up Weekend so far?
JM: 42 as of Wednesday.
NCSU Blog: Any veterans from other weekends?
JM: About 5 people will be there who have been at past weekends (including Jess, Wayne Sutton, Brian Russell)
NCSU Blog: I understand CNBC will be covering the event. How did you get them interested?
JM: CNBC contacted us. Wayne Sutton (the other organizer) followed up.
NCSU Blog: What are your hopes and dreams for the start-up weekend?
JM: My hope is that the energy and excitement will be infectious and that many smart people from the Triangle will catch the entrepreneurial bug. Also, over the course of the weekend I hope they will establish relationships that will help support and encourage them to pursue a startup idea of their own.
NCSU Blog: Talk about your proudest accomplishment as an entrepreneur?
JM: Leaving graduate school and turning down a comfortable and high-paying job at Electronic Arts to take a risk and start something on my own without a clue as to where it might lead.
NCSU Blog: What is your biggest dream as an entrepreneur?
JM: My “mission statement” is to develop online tools that allow people to build strong communities offline. But more specifically I dream of reshaping an entire industry to tilt the balance of power towards consumers and away from large companies. I have a couple of startups in the pipeline that have the potential to do just that for the music and the advertising industries.
===
It’s not too late to sign up and join the RTP Start-Up Weekend. Look here for more about it after the event.
