Tech Founders of York County is now Carolina Tech Founders. If you've been in the room with us, this is your news too, same community, same mission, a name that finally matches how far we've grown.
Founded in York County, by founders, for founders.
One community, now built for the whole region.The short version of how we got here, and why the name finally had to change.
A small group of tech founders started meeting to swap ideas on growing and scaling their companies. No agenda, just founders helping founders.
Borrowed conference rooms, donated offices, any space we could find. People volunteered their offices to keep the room going as the group grew.
A safe, judgment-free zone. Share the messy stuff and ask the hard questions, no sales pitches, no getting hassled, no one keeping score.
We brought in speakers and ran workshops. Word spread, membership climbed, and the room kept filling.
Members now travel in from North Charlotte all the way down to Columbia, SC, and organizations and partners stepped up to help feed the growth.
We're still headquartered in York, just across the state line from Charlotte, but with founders across the region, "York County" stopped telling the whole story. So we became Carolina Tech Founders.
This leap wasn't ours alone. A network of organizations aligned around one goal, helping technology founders build stronger companies here.
Innovation Hub support and statewide technology resources
Business advising, founder support and program execution
Facilities, faculty, students and institutional engagement
Regional experience, connections and future-founder programming
People are going to ask, and the answer is simple: a bigger name, a bigger network, and more opportunities for founders. But hear this clearly, the heart of it doesn't change. The room, the people, the mission all stay. There's just going to be a lot more of it.
Same us, a cleaner mark and a bolder wordmark, built to carry this community across the whole region.
The growth behind the new name shows up as real benefits for every founder in the room.
Beyond the every-other-month meeting, new events, pop-up socials and touch points built around how founders actually network.
Structured mentoring, founder education and curated content that moves the needle at every stage of your journey.
A dedicated pathway for earlier-stage founders who are ready to move but need the right support around them.
Funding relationships, regional partners and institutional connections, more opportunity, closer to home.
Membership is free for founders. Join the community, or bring a founder who should be in the room.