Today kicks off the 29th annual at the Raleigh Convention Center.
This year, the Council for Entrepreneurial Development was a bit more selective in the start-up companies being featured at its annual event. Only 32 start-ups were chosen to fast-pitch before venture capitalists.
Mike Elliott of Atlanta-based venture capital group is this year鈥檚 conference chairman. He鈥檚 impressed with the group.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got some companies that are very, very young, very, very new. Some are almost barely beyond the idea phase. But for the most part the companies have certainly been out, have customers and are on their way to building their companies," said Elliott.
The conference will also feature a ceremony to honor the handful of Triangle-area companies that have had an initial public offering this year 鈥� which includes Quintiles Inc., Channel Advisor Corporation and Chimerix Inc.
"It has not necessarily been a great time for young tech companies to go public over the past few years and to have six in our market do that is just outstanding," said Elliott. "So it's nice to be able to honor the management teams that build those companies and took them through that great milestone."
