The Download: Velvet Nelson, Director, Launch Chapel Hill

Velvet Nelson, Program Director of Launch Chapel Hill

We’ve, very gratefully, excerpted this article from GrepBeat [full link at the end of this excerpt].

Velvet Nelson is the director of Launch Chapel Hill. Velvet manages the accelerator and coworking space. After working in higher education for six years and earning her master’s degree in education from NC State University, she worked at a startup called Everblue Training Institute in Charlotte. Following Everblue’s acquisition in 2012, Nelson started her own edtech startup, ProctorFree. She raised over $3 million in venture funding while actively engaged with the company. Velvet relocated to the Triangle area in 2019 and joined the Launch Chapel Hill team in December of that year.

1) What is in your pockets?

At all times I have Burt’s Bees lip balm or lip therapy; I use it all the time. Usually, I have my keys to Launch Chapel Hill. Nine times out of 10, there is something to entertain my children. I have a 2-year-old and a 3-year-old, so I usually have some type of toy or something to distract them.

2) What exciting thing has happened recently for you or your organization?

We received the largest donation we ever have in the history of Launch Chapel Hill in the fall, a $230,000 donation from Lee-Moore Capital to help us expand our programs and services in Chapel Hill. We have been riding high on that for some time.  In addition to that, we just finished our 2020 annual survey. Every year we survey our companies and ask about their successes and their failures.  We are really excited about the data that we received in a Covid world. It’s been interesting

Please turn to the original GrepBeat article to continue reading. . .