Effort aims to spur business, jobs

PJ staff report | April 29, 2011

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Blackstone Charitable Foundation

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. - To boost job creation in North Carolina, the Blackstone Charitable Foundation is investing $3.63 million to create a "network of entrepreneurial support" in and around Research Triangle Park.

In partnership with five local universities and one nonprofit, the five-year effort aims to identify and nurture startups with potential for high growth and rapid job creation.

Part of the foundation's Entrepreneurial Initiative, the new Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network will identify "serial entrepreneurs" to mentor startups around the region, and will provide administrative and marketing support as well as access to additional experts, coaches and investors.

The goal of the initiative is to identify and support 30 startups each year, with the potential of creating 17,000 jobs, attract more than $800 million in capital and generate more than $4 billion in revenue over the next decade.

"The Blackstone Charitable Foundation views support for entrepreneurship as a critically important element in meaningfully building jobs and improving the United States' growth and competitiveness," Stephen A. Schwarzman, chairman and CEO of the Blackstone Group, says in a statement.

Local partners in the effort are Duke University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Council for Entrepreneurial Development.

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