Right to Start Announces Launch of North Carolina Starters Coalition
The Coalition Will Champion Entrepreneurship as a Civic Priority Statewide
Kansas City, Mo. – September 23, 2025 – Right to Start, the national nonprofit organization championing entrepreneurship as a civic priority, announced today the launch of the North Carolina Starters Coalition, a statewide initiative to enhance the landscape of entrepreneurship.
The coalition held a launch event this morning at Raleigh Founded in Gateway Plaza.
The launch event featured opening remarks by Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell, special guest speaker State Senator Jay Chaudhuri, and keynote speaker Dr. Sarah Glova. A fireside chat involved Chapel Hill Mayor Jessica Anderson as well as Jesse Jur, Deputy Director of the North Carolina Office of Science, Technology & Innovation in the North Carolina Department of Commerce, with Thom Ruhe, President and CEO of NC IDEA, as moderator. A panel discussion with entrepreneurs included Ray Johnson, Founder of Carolina Elite Baseball; Venus Liles, startup lawyer and Founder of Liles Law; Warner Thacker, business development specialist and Founder of Pilum; and, Michelle Weber, Founder of Family Enrichment Tools.
The Coalition’s North Carolina Advisory Circle consists of the following leaders of entrepreneurship-related organizations across the State: James Amato, CEO, Catalyst Advisors & Consultants; Kareen Boncales, Director of Entrepreneurship, Mountain BizWorks; Lister Delgado, Co-Founder, IDEA Fund Partners; Juan Garzón, Managing Director, Innovate Charlotte; Brian Glover, Co-Founder & CEO, Previewed; Dave Kaiser, Senior Director of Policy, Advocacy & Innovation, NC Rural Center; Zakiya Alta Lee, Principal, IDEA Fund Partners; Anjanette Miller, CEO, Echo; Rachael Newberry, Program Director, R!oT; David Putnam, Economic Development Director, Town of Chapel Hill; Jim Roberts, Founder & Executive Director, NEWWilm and Founder of WALE Angel Network; Emil Runge, Director, Launch Chapel Hill; Barry Ryan, Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships, NC IDEA; Lydia Thomas, Program Manager, UNCW CIE; Q. Nicole Vanderhorst, Founder & CEO, WH Farms Co.; and, Mel Wright, Founder & CEO, The Wright Village.
The Coalition will advance entrepreneurship as a civic priority across the state: convening entrepreneurs, identifying barriers to starting new businesses, and engaging all communities including those that have been historically excluded. The coalition will build on exciting recent developments in Right to Start’s work in North Carolina. They include a recently completed one-year grant from the City of Raleigh to help the city understand the barriers that underserved entrepreneurs experience – and ways of overcoming them.
The coalition will grow to include both organizational and individual members. Organizational members will include entrepreneur support organizations and other civic entities; individual members will include entrepreneurs, civic leaders, and other supporters of entrepreneurship. Managing the growth of the coalition will be Paula Pingel, North Carolina Coalition Manager for Right to Start and a resident of Charlotte. She will be supported by Vania Ramos Ponce, Right to Start’s Advocate in North Carolina and a resident of Raleigh.
Right to Start has been working in North Carolina throughout its five-year history and has close ties to the state. Catherine Read, Right to Start’s Senior Director of Field & Campaign Strategy, lives in Raleigh. Henry Doss, Right to Start’s Board Member and Ambassador, lives in Charlotte.
“Right to Start’s statewide coalition will work to expand entrepreneurship opportunities for all North Carolinians,” said Catherine Read. “We’re excited about this expansion of our work in the state, and with the leadership of Paula Pingel and Vania Ramos Ponce we look forward to this coalition becoming a model for other states in the nation.”
“I’m excited to see this coalition emerging to promote entrepreneurship as a civic priority statewide,” said Paula Pingel, North Carolina Coalition Manager for Right to Start. “It’s especially important, as entrepreneurship benefits literally everyone in North Carolina.”
New and young businesses create virtually all net job growth in America. They are leading indicators of GDP growth, and they increase community wealth and goods and services.
Every new business per 100 people adds nearly $500 to average household income in a county, according to data from the GoDaddy Small Business Research Lab. Every 1% increase in entrepreneurial activity in a state correlates with a 2% decline in poverty.
Right to Start’s expanding presence in North Carolina is supported by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth through their Mastercard Strive USA program, which is funding similar work by Right to Start in three other states: California, Michigan, and Missouri. Mastercard Strive USA supports small business resilience and growth in a changing digital economy by unleashing the potential of small businesses as catalysts of inclusive growth.
For more information, contact Henry Miller at hmiller@highimpactpartnering.com or 917-921-8034.
Right to Start is a national nonpartisan movement to advance entrepreneurship as a civic priority throughout the United States. Entrepreneurship has long been viewed as a solitary endeavor – the lone starter in a basement or garage. Right to Start’s vision is to transform America so that all communities prioritize entrepreneurship, clearing away obstacles to ensure that every American has an equal right to start and a level playing field on which to embark.
About the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth
The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth advances equitable and sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion around the world. The Center leverages the company’s core assets and competencies, including data insights, expertise, and technology, while administering the philanthropic Mastercard Impact Fund, to produce independent research, scale global programs, and empower a community of thinkers, leaders, and doers on the front lines of inclusive growth. For more information and to receive its latest insights, follow the Center on LinkedIn, Instagram and subscribe to its newsletter.
About Mastercard Strive
Mastercard Strive is a portfolio of philanthropic programs supported by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and funded by the Mastercard Impact Fund. With programs around the world, Mastercard Strive has reached more than 18 million small businesses to go digital, get capital, and access networks and know-how. Follow Mastercard Strive on LinkedIn and subscribe to its newsletter.