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KickStart Venture Services, a department in Innovate Carolina’s Office of Technology Commercialization at UNC-Chapel Hill, supports research-based startup formation and growth by providing education, early-stage funding and on-campus accelerator space. KickStart also connects founders to key service providers, management, and investors in the local innovation ecosystem.

Founded in 2008, KickStart has had an incredible impact on startups, particularly through our KickStart Commercialization Grant Awards. The grant award program alone has given more than $2 million in awards to over 60 companies, and that only scratches the surface of the value our resource-rich program adds to the ventures we support.

Our KickStart team has decades of combined experience in research, technology transfer, investment strategy, venture creation and innovation management. They have worked with institutions to foster seed funds, launch accelerator programs, and develop strategies that make an entrepreneurial impact through industry-academic collaboration. We can also help connect you to our extensive network of business partners, startup service providers and investors.

Explore our services for research-based startups

Considering forming a research-based startup of your own? Explore how you can get started or take the next step with your venture.

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Learn

From courses and graduate certificates to webinars and live events, there is a steady stream of ways to expand your knowledge and experience with startups.
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Assess

Tap into a variety of resources built around data, research and business strategy, including business case creation, customer discovery and market landscape assessment.
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Launch

When it’s time to launch your company, you can turn to a variety of resources and get trusted advice on how to operate as a University-affiliated venture.
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Fund

Speed your company’s progress by pursing a variety of university, regional, national and private funding paths: awards, grants, angel investments and venture capital.
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Grow

Grow your venture by taking advantage of support services like advisory meetings, entreprenurial mentors and incubation spaces design to help your company thrive.

KickStart Accelerator

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Faculty who are ready to launch a startup have a cost-friendly option just a few steps from their on-campus labs. Located in the Institute for Convergent Science on the second floor of the Genome Sciences Building in the heart of campus, the KickStart Accelerator provides a great home for startups, offering space designed to foster collaboration and encourage innovation.

The 7,500-square-foot accelerator and its programming are managed by the KickStart Venture Services team, and offer wet lab and office space, including shared equipment, cubicles, meeting spaces and common areas that support collaborative innovation for Carolina-affiliated life science companies.

The accelerator has a total of eleven benches, which can be rented by the whole or half. It also includes six private lab rooms for lease and five rooms with shared equipment and facilities for all tenants.

For more information, please contact Jeff Speakman, KickStart Accelerator Lab Manager.

Chats with Changemakers – Mireya Mckee, KickStart Venture Services

Connect with our team

Our team of startup experts are ready to collaborate with and help you to plan, launch and grow your research-based venture.

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Our Partners

KickStart Venture Services provides support and is actively partnered with key departments within the University, including Eshelman Institute for Innovation (including Digital Health Venture Studio), Institute for Convergent Science, and the NC TraCS Institute.