OPINION: Can Wilmington Become The Silicon Valley Of The East Coast? Why It Depends On How We Grow Next
Startup Guide: Wilmington, NC: Diving deep on The Port City’s startup scene and resources for entrepreneurs.

Wilmington, North Carolina is often best known for its beaches, historic port, and film-industry roots — but over the past decade, it has quietly become one of the Southeast’s most compelling emerging startup hubs. What was once perceived mainly as a coastal lifestyle city has evolved into a dynamic innovation community shaped by fintech wins, […]
NEW’s Second Annual #910 Day Packs Ironclad Brewing In Wilmington

Jim Roberts of NEW welcomes the crowd to the second annual #910 Day at Ironclad Brewing. On Wednesday evening, Jim Roberts and the Network for Entrepreneurs in Wilmington (aka NEW) hosted folks from around the Wilmington and broader North Carolina entrepreneurial ecosystem for the second annual #910 Day. The event took place at Ironclad Brewery and was packed to […]
Life Science Industry Buzzing

The life science industry is thriving these days in the Wilmington area, professionals in the field said at a recent event. Nearly 300 people from 15 states gathered in downtown Wilmington at the third annual Investor Buzz In at the Beach event, held May 16 at Cape Fear Community College’s Union Station. The event, hosted […]
Ecosysteming: The Blueprint for a Thriving Entrepreneurial Ecosystem w/ Jim Roberts | Ep. 1

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]https://www.buzzsprout.com/2396970/episodes/16748271 To mark ten episodes of Ecosysteming, host Thom Ruhe is joined by Jim Roberts, Founder of the Network for Entrepreneurs in Wilmington, the WALE Angel Network, and NC IDEA ECOSYSTEM partner. With years of experience as an ecosystem leader and NC IDEA reviewer, Jim has contributed to several entrepreneurial ecosystems and now focuses on supporting Wilmington’s rapidly growing startup scene. […]
Carolina Beach Worker Training Startup Nets Success

A Carolina Beach-based startup, Skillmaker.ai, can cut down the time it takes to train an auto technician from two years to just 25 days, according to the company’s founder and CEO Robin Cowie. The platform uses extended reality (XR), including immersive technologies like virtual reality and mixed reality, to train workers. Skillmaker.ai won the Council […]
A Wilmington start-up roundtable: Jessica Kovar, Rob Cooley, Christian Pardue, and Morris Nguyen

On this episode of The Newsroom, we sit down with four Wilmingtonians working in the tech start-up space: from diagnostic wearables to solving workforce issues to managing federal contract applications, they’re bringing the entrepreneurial spirit to some tricky issues. We asked them about tech culture, saving your sanity while you start your company, and some […]
Coastal startup community still NEW after almost a decade

Jim Roberts is the founder of Network for Entrepreneurs in Wilmington (NC) NEW, a vibrant organization that supports startups in Coastal Carolina. Roberts started the organization almost 10 years ago and has seen the Wilmington community of entrepreneurs grow over the last decade. “In 2024, Wilmington is now ranked the number one ecosystem in the […]
Podcast on the Wilmington ecosystem with guest Jim Roberts of Network for Entrepreneurs in Wilmington
Guest opinion: To Be Rather Than To Seem, Y’all

Editor’s Note: This column was authored by Jim R. Roberts, the founder of the Network for Entrepreneurs in Wilmington (NEW) and the WALE Angel Network. In addition, Roberts is a core reviewer for NC IDEA and the recipient of multiple NC IDEA ECOSYSTEM grants. Roberts is the founding executive director of the UNCW CIE incubator, […]