About The Flywheel Foundation
The Flywheel Foundation is dedicated to promoting a healthy entrepreneurship ecosystem through education, research, events, innovation challenges and business accelerators. We accelerate home-grown economic development with diverse pathways for inception-stage startups, micropreneurs, students and alumni working in supportive innovation communities. In just five years of operation we have supported sixty-two companies, and more than 50% have received growth financing, are rapidly hiring new employees, and are entering the commercial real estate market.
Where Startups and Innovators Learn
These self-directed, progressive online courses are offered online-only and facilitated by experienced startup founders. Meet a cohort of peer founders and actively build your company.
Accelerating Local Economic Development
With Supportive Innovation Communities
Mission
To support entrepreneurship through research, ecosystem development, education and investment.
Vision
We envision a world where entrepreneurship is accessible to anyone and the resources needed are readily available.
Values
Healthy communities through economic opportunity. Diversity of thought and experience. Action and progress.
Success Through Collaboration
We recognize that a healthy startup ecosystem has multiple program partners who serve specific groups and provide mentorship and capital access. We collaborate to eliminate gaps, reduce risk and optimize chances for success with a continuum of developmental resources and funding from inception to growth stage.
COLLABORATION PARTNERS
Programmatic
- Venture Café
- Winston Starts
- Small Business Centers
- Groundworks Labs
- Launch Lab
- Swerve
- Hustle
- Seed the South
Accelerators/Incubators
- Winston Starts
- QC Fintech
- Mito Station
- Velocity
- New Ventures
- Nussbaum Center
Investment
- New Ventures LLC
- NC IDEA Foundation
- Idea Fund Partners
- Venture South
- NC Angel Networks
- Seed the South