Entrepreneurs, investors convene at ConvergeSouth 2026

Winston-Salem's Innovation Quarter hosted ConvergeSouth

Opportunity had plenty of doors to knock on at ConvergeSouth 2026, held August 27-28 in downtown Winston-Salem’s Innovation Quarter. More than 500 enthusiastic entrepreneurs, investors and support organizations made sure the doors were wide open and the welcome mats out.

Now in its 10th year, the multi-venue event was organized by Flywheel Foundation, a nonprofit supporting impact-driven entrepreneurship through ecosystem development, education and impact investment. Biotech Place and Bailey Power Plant hosted programs and exhibits, while 500 West 5th, a downtown building home to entrepreneurship support resources and the foundation, hosted the investors reception. All are located in Innovation Quarter, a planned, mixed-use hub of innovation, creativity and economic activity and one of the country’s leading innovation districts.

“ConvergeSouth is a place where some of our region’s most visionary entrepreneurs, and the investors and industry thought leaders who want to support them, come together in one place to learn, network and grow their businesses to the next level,” said Peter Marsh, Flywheel Foundation board member and founder. “The event showcases Winston-Salem as a hub of innovation.”

Marsh is also a founding partner of Flywheel, a company that designs and operates co-working innovation space in partnership with universities and communities, with North Carolina sites in Winston-Salem and Concord and one in Greenville, South Carolina.

This year’s ConvergeSouth, the largest ever, was made possible through title sponsorships from Johnson & Johnson, Pegasus Tech Ventures, Reynolds, NCInnovation and Innovation Quarter. See here for a complete list of sponsors.

The busy exhibit hall showed off companies in three main tracks: healthtech/biotech, artificial intelligence/ business-to-business SAAS and food/beverage/agtech, plus support organizations such as the North Carolina Biotechnology Center (NCBiotech); NC IDEA, which helps North Carolinians grow high-potential companies; and the North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center. SBTDC is a business advisory resource for growing and developing small to mid-size businesses.

Attendees could schedule one-on-one discussions with investors, attend “office hours” hosted by experienced innovators and support organizations, organize independent meet-ups with other attendees, participate in “mastermind” presentations and panel discussions, hear from renowned industry leaders, attend an investor reception and exchange contact information by scanning the QRS codes on name badges. Attendee interactions were facilitated through Whova, an event-management app, with help from a small army of Flywheel Foundation staff and volunteers.

Attendees could schedule one-on-one discussions with investors, attend “office hours” hosted by experienced innovators and support organizations, organize independent meet-up with other attendees, participate in “mastermind” presentations and panel discussions, hear from renowned industry leaders, attend an investor reception and exchange contact information by scanning the QRS codes on name badges. Attendee interactions were facilitated through Whova, an event-management app, with help from a small army of Flywheel Foundation staff and volunteers.

About 75 exhibitors participated in “pitch” sessions, competing for a $1,000,000 investment by Pegasus Tech Ventures in the Startup World Cup Competition. CHONEX, an agtech company developing biological products for agriculture, won the regional title and earned a spot at the Startup World Cup Grand Finale in San Francisco in November.

Pitching and 'Mastermind' sessions

Nancy Johnson, executive director of NCBiotech’s Piedmont Triad office, described ConvergeSouth 2026 in a LinkedIn post as, “an incredible two days that brought together highly engaged entrepreneurs, investors, innovators and ecosystem leaders from across the Southeast to North Carolina, the Piedmont Triad region and to Winston-Salem!”

She thanked Marsh, the Flywheel Foundation team, and all speakers, conference partners and attendees. She also expressed gratitude for her NC Biotech colleagues, including Kyle R. Bartholomew, Ph.D., who led planning and development of the healthtech/biotech track. Johnston served on the event’s Organizing Committee and was biotech track leader on Day 2. “We look forward to the partnerships and opportunities that will grow from the conversations started at ConvergeSouth 2026,” she added.

Healthtech/biotech presentation topics ranged from engaging with strategic pharma companies to an overview of the current regenerative medicine ecosystem. NCBiotech sponsored an exhibit and staff participated in two standing-room-only “mastermind” presentations:

• Building Biotechs in the Southeast: Panel Discussion on Life Science Startups in North Carolina. Mike Carnes, MBA, NCBiotech’s vice president of emerging company development, was the facilitator, with three other participants: 
  • Ed Field, co-founder and general partner, Cape Fear BioCapital
  • Anil Goyal, Ph.D., CEO, co-founder and board member, IMMvention Therapeutix (an NCBiotech portfolio company)
  • Heather Madsen, CEO and operating partner, Hatteras Venture Partners
• Biomedical Funding Opportunities with the Department of Defense. Zach Zabarsky, Ph.D., NCBiotech’s senior director, science and technology development, provided insights on various Defense agencies, where and how to engage, and what opportunities and resources exist for those seeking biomedical funding.

Building connections, relationships

In building IMMvention Therapeutix, Goyal described a systematic approach of talking with partners and clinicians. “You have to talk to the people who are treating the diseases,” he said. The company is now in a strategic collaboration with Novo Nordisk to develop oral therapies for sickle cell disease and other chronic conditions. He also recommended using existing resources such as NCBiotech’s research library to gather competitive information. “It’s very cost-effective and will help you learn about other companies.”

Carnes noted it’s not always easy to get to the right people, “but you need to be relentless in getting to people who have the information you need,” especially in non-traditional life sciences hubs. Madsen agreed. “If you’re in Boston or the Bay Area, you are in contact with a constant volume of people,” she said. “You have to start with meeting people. Make contacts in the traditional life sciences hubs such as Boston and San Francisco and ask for invitations to meetings.” Innovators can also join relevant national organizations to expand their network, she added.

Field, also an entrepreneur, serves as president of BioLabs NC, which offers wet lab space to innovators. He describes himself on LinkedIn as, “a company builder, executive operator and investor with a passion for growing the NC biotech ecosystem.” He offered several suggestions for others building companies: “You have to be able to tell your story and how you are different,” he said.

Also, “Don’t focus on the best technology in North Carolina, the Southeast or the U.S.,” Field emphasized. “You need to focus on global,” and specifically on China, which has a much more streamlined process to get a drug to market. When asked how to find out what’s developing in China, Field replied, “Find partners in China to help get information.”

DOD: offering funding strategies

Biotech funding strategies don’t often include the Department of Defense, but perhaps they should, said NCBiotech’s Zabarsky, who has worked with several federal agencies funding science and innovation. “They have money [appropriated by Congress], and they need to spend it.” He acknowledged there are many government agencies and acronyms, which sometimes can make communication difficult, “But there ARE ways,” he said.

Zabarsky encouraged companies to find out more about the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs. CDRMP announced in February that the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, signed into law by the president, includes $1.27 billion in appropriations for 34 research funding programs managed by the agency. 

Zabarsky speaks from personal experience, having served as a CDRMP health science program manager.

The agency announcement noted, “Congressional funding to the CDMRP supports research to advance solutions for diseases, conditions, and injuries impacting Service Members, their Families, Veterans, and the American public.” Current funding opportunities include many different diseases and conditions such as kidney cancer, melanoma, ovarian cancer, neurofibromatosis and traumatic brain injury and psychological health.

Zabarsky clarified that CDRMP and other agencies don’t just fund universities, but businesses, too. One session attendee asked how those seeking funding can, “know what they care about versus what we’re doing?” Zabarsky used the sports analogy of “more shots on goal,” i.e., applying more frequently may result in greater success. He also suggested getting to know program managers through professional organizations and conferences.

New to ConvergeSouth and networking

Some health/biotech company founders were new to ConvergeSouth and to exhibiting in such a large hall with so many other attendees. One company, Neuriora LLC, in Winston-Salem, seeks to improve reliability and defensibility of endpoint data in clinical trials related to the challenging fields of psychiatry and the central nervous system.

Their banner up and giveaway chocolates ready, Neuriora’s CEO and founder Yosef Worku, M.D., Ph.D., and his co-founder and COO, Ayetegeb Damte, MBA, of Winston-Salem, stressed they were eager to meet and talk with other companies and investors. “This is our first time,” Worku said. He and Damte agreed the event was both exciting and overwhelming. “We know we have to connect,” Damte added.

Worku presented during one of the event’s first “pitch” sessions: “Through a controlled model, AI can offer real-time feedback during clinician-patient interviews, which can enhance data quality and reduce the potential for errors.” That can help companies determine much earlier in the trials process whether a medication holds promise for further development, reducing costs significantly, he added. After the presentation, he and Damte said they had already scheduled meetings with potential partners and funders.

In that same pitch session, the CEO of one of NCBiotech’s portfolio companies, OncoTab Inc., presented to the panel of volunteer judges. A veteran innovator, Rahul Puri, Ph.D., has been OncoTab’s CEO since 2015.

NCBiotech portfolio companies are those NCBiotech has invested in through loan and convertible note programs. The active investment portfolio includes over 90 companies in therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics, health IT, agtech and other areas of the life sciences.

OncoTab is developing tumor-targeted therapies designed to find and attack pancreatic cancer. Their proprietary platform is being advanced through two therapeutic approaches: targeted radiotherapy and T-cell engagement, Puri said. 

Another NC Biotech portfolio company, OsteoCure Therapeutics, exhibited and pitched technology designed to accelerate bone repair, treat osteoporosis and reduce pain. A Duke spinout and JLABS company, OsteoCure is advancing a proprietary adenosine platform with local and systemic treatments to accelerate bone repair and treat osteoporosis.

Robert Boyce, CEO of Plakous Therapeutics, another NCBiotech portfolio company, offered his expertise during one of the first Mastermind sessions, “Are You CEO Material?” He and other experienced innovators and supporters hosted office hours to meet and talk with attendees, then later connected with NCBiotech’s Piedmont Triad executive director Nancy Johnson during the investors reception. Plakous also won the 2022 NCBiotech Venture Challenge.

Johnson & Johnson keynote speakers

Keynote speakers included senior leaders from Johnson & Johnson: Fiona Mack, Ph.D., head of East North America, external scientific innovation, and Bryan J. Hansen, Ph.D., senior director, incubation, external scientific innovation. They discussed ways biotech innovators can engage successfully with strategic pharma.

Hansen, a neuroscientist, started out by commending ConvergeSouth 2026 and those attending. “This ecosystem community is really exciting and events like this do bring the community together,” he said. Hansen described his job as identifying, incubating and evaluating/accelerating neuroscience companies, in the U.S. and globally. He enjoys the work but was glad to be in North Carolina, since he was born in Chapel Hill.

J&J, he said, is a legacy company that continues to innovate. He encouraged entrepreneurs to “lean out to the broader world to understand what is happening” in the company’s clinical areas of expertise. “Engaging with pharma is key,” he said. J&J has a global incubation network and, “We meet innovators where they are, supporting them at every step of the way.”

Mack described J&J’s deep scientific expertise and focus on end-to-end therapeutic areas, as well as emphasizing Hansen’s point about the importance of being global. “Our global network of open, innovative ecosystems enables and empowers emerging companies aligned with our priority areas,” she added.

Kelly King, another keynote speaker, worked in the North Carolina banking industry for more than 50 years before becoming chair of NCInnovation, one of ConvergeSouth’s title sponsors. The public-private partnership was created in 2018 with a mission to “commercialize and scale innovation to create jobs and improve economic opportunity in all 100 counties in North Carolina.”

The state’s innovation ecosystem, he said, “is seeing exciting and rapid changes. …We have the opportunity to make North Carolina the ‘Innovation State.’” He also recognized the importance of long-time ecosystem supporters such as NCBiotech and SBTDC.

“We have all the pieces here,” he said: one of the country’s top research university systems, strong innovation support, ranked as a great place to live and the best to do business in. “We just need to connect them and create economic opportunity by closing the commercialization gap,” he added. In doing so, he said. “We can all make the world a better place.”