CO-LAB inspires innovation

Community gathers to celebrate, anticipate collaborative future

More than 150 people gathered at CO-LAB at UNC Charlotte Center City on March 12 to mark the innovative space’s grand opening and to envision its future.

“CO-LAB is more than just a space — it’s a catalyst,” said Charlotte Chancellor Sharon L. Gaber. “It’s where entrepreneurs and innovators can access the expertise of UNC Charlotte and work together to tackle real-world challenges. We are proud to sponsor CO-LAB, and we can’t wait to see the ideas and breakthroughs that will emerge from this space.”

As the evening unfolded in the dynamic space across from The Dubois Center at UNC Charlotte, the community’s energy and creativity were on clear display.

“The phrase ‘to be daring in design and deliberate in delivery’ from the book “Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.” resonates deeply with me tonight,” said Brad Yeckley, executive director of the Belk College of Business’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, of which CO-LAB is part. “It encapsulates the essence of CO-LAB’s journey from inception to today. As I reflect on that journey, I am reminded of the incredible collaboration and multitude of entities and individuals that have brought us here.”

The CO-LAB celebration drew entrepreneurs, innovators, corporate leaders, and a range of community members, along with UNC Charlotte leaders, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and supporters.

Among those who attended were inaugural members of the CO-LAB Founders Society, who were recognized at the event for their early backing of the evolving space. Initial members are Murray Grenville, Gene Johnson ’73, Ryan Lambert ’01, David Longo, Hugh McColl and Post Ventures.

Heart of the city

“As an essential element of the North Tryon Tech Hub, CO-LAB brings together corporate innovation, entrepreneurship, academics and research to drive economic growth here in the Queen City,” said Belk College of Business Dean Richard Buttimer. “Including our student incubator, known as 49er Foundry, we now have five entrepreneurial support organizations operating here in CO-LAB. EO Charlotte, Gener8tor, RevTech Labs and The Boost Pad have found a home here. This is precisely the entrepreneurial synergy for which the city of Charlotte has been asking.”

Gaber described North Tryon Tech Hub as an ambitious effort to create a dynamic innovation district in the heart of Charlotte, with the University, Charlotte Center City Partners and leaders from the public, private, and philanthropic sectors working together.

“As the academic anchor of this initiative,” she said, “UNC Charlotte brings deep expertise in artificial intelligence and machine learning, cybersecurity, energy, fintech, computer and data science, and more. And tonight, we celebrate one of the first major milestones of this collaboration: the opening of CO-LAB.”

CO-LAB will offer access to expertise and knowledge, as well as dedicated work spaces and hot desks for entrepreneurs and innovators, and collaborative areas intended to spark innovation and ideas. Event space also is available for lease by the community.

Power of innovation

Two aspects of the CO-LAB celebration in particular illuminated the potential of innovation and entrepreneurship. One was a panel discussion focused on “The Future of Entrepreneurship in Charlotte,” and the other was the “CO-LAB Ventures: Bridging Business & Computing” student competition.

Buttimer moderated the entrepreneurship panel, which comprised:

• Abhishek Mehta, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Tresata 
• Rob Cummings, former software entrepreneur and private equity professional, and Belk College adjunct faculty member
• Kate Frear ’12 M.A., ’14 Ph.D., Co-Founder and CEO, Joyntly
• Mike Barugel, Program Manager, gBeta Charlotte Accelerator program with Gener8tor

Panelists walked through the challenges of being an entrepreneur in Charlotte, what is needed for Charlotte to become a hub for entrepreneurship today, how their organizations are evolving, and what they each envision for CO-LAB’s future.

Prior to the grand opening event, five teams of Belk College of Business and College of Computing and Informatics scholars participated in the student competition. With guidance from mentors from the business community, each team developed ideas for innovative projects and presented their concepts to judges Johnson, Frear and John Hill, VP Story with Whop.

The winning teams were:

• First place: team Open Spot; team members: Caroline Tello, Faty Mbaye, Rohitha Sanka and J Smith; $6,000 prize.
• Second place: team BinTech Solutions; Team members: Isabella Lain, Jake Fabrizio and Michael Spitz; $3,000 prize.
• Third place: team Zerrah – A Move Toward Zero Waste; team members: Elizabeth Akinfenwa, Sage Auton and Utkarsh Jain, $1,000 prize. 

Other teams chosen as finalists to compete on March 11 were:

• NEXT140; team members: Ayemhenre Isikhuemhen, Caitlin Liversgowdy and Ira Samant.
• Drive Buddy; team members: Precious G., Poornima Tushir and Emely Ruiz