Cohort 1 · Fall 2026 Applications are open now. Five Fridays, November 6 to December 4.

Apply to NC Ignyte
NC Ignyte

Applications close November 4. First Friday is November 6.

Idea on Friday one.
Demo day on Friday five.

A free startup accelerator and pitch competition for North Carolina high schoolers. You build something real, you get coached on your pitch, and you pitch it on a stage.

When
Fridays, 6:00 to 8:00 PM. Cohort 1: November 6 to December 4, 2026. Session four is a Monday.
Where
Cary Founded, in downtown Cary.2 We send the address once your application is in.
Cost
Nothing.1 No fee, no tuition, and no cap on teams.
Teams
Start at 1, no upper limit.3 Apply alone or bring a group.
Cohort
Cohort 1, Fall 2026. Cohort 2 is expected to run eight Fridays, January 15 to March 5, 2027.
  1. No application fee, no tuition, nothing to buy, and no ticket for demo day. The only thing it costs a family is five Friday evenings. ↩
  2. Cary Founded hosts every session. We send the address to every applicant by email and text before the first Friday, rather than publishing it for a student to turn up to uninvited. ↩
  3. A team of one is a real application, not a fallback. Plenty of students arrive alone on Friday one and leave with a team. ↩

Five Fridays, in order.

From an idea to a stage

Cohort 1 · Fall 2026

Five Fridays. Idea on Friday one. Demo day on Friday five.

Fridays, 6:00 to 8:00 PM, except session four · downtown Cary area · Free

  • 01 Team and idea

    Friday, November 6 · 6:00 to 8:00 PM

    Find your team and pressure-test your idea

    Meet the other students, form teams, pitch your idea, and get honest feedback on the holes in it. Leave with a one-line problem statement.

  • 02 Build with AI

    Friday, November 13 · 6:00 to 8:00 PM

    Build with AI

    Learn the AI tools that let a student team build a real prototype fast. Plan your build and line up customer interviews.

  • 03 Networking night

    Friday, November 20 · 6:00 to 8:00 PM

    Networking night and first pitch coaching

    Meet people from the startup world, practice your pitch, and get feedback. Then get a first working version built.

  • 04 Build day

    Monday, November 23 · 6:00 to 8:00 PM

    Build day and second pitch coaching

    Finish your demo, tighten your pitch, and rehearse. This one is a Monday: the venue is closed on Friday 27 November for the Thanksgiving holiday.

  • 05 Demo day

    Friday, December 4 · 6:00 to 8:00 PM

    Demo day. Open to the public

    Every team pitches to a panel and answers questions. First place wins $1,000. Prizes for second and third. Every team gets written feedback and a certificate.

    Open to the public

Between sessions, each team has one task: interviews, a prototype, or a pitch. The sessions are workshops and feedback. The building happens in between.

Free. No cap on teams. $1,000 for first place.

Cannot make the fall dates? Cohort 2 is expected to run eight Fridays, January 15 to March 5, 2027, and you can apply to it instead. Those applications close January 8, 2027.

  • Demo day (December 4) is open to the public. The other sessions are for students and mentors.
  • Session four is on Monday 23 November rather than a Friday, because the venue is closed on Friday 27 November for Thanksgiving.

What a Friday looks like

Every session is two hours. A quick update from each team. A short lesson. Then hands-on time with mentors going around to help. Demo day is the exception: it is a public pitch night.

Everyone leaves with something

$1,000
Grand prize
2nd and 3rd
Prizes
Every team
Feedback and a certificate

The questions people actually ask

Is this the first cohort?

Yes. Cohort 1 is a five-week sprint in fall 2026, five Fridays from November 6 to December 4. Cohort 2 is the full eight-week program, expected to run January 15 to March 5, 2027, with applications closing January 8. Those dates are predicted and we will confirm them before applications open. Because Cohort 1 is a fast sprint, expect demos to be early-stage: working enough to show and explain, not finished products. You will help shape the program, so tell us what works and what does not. Students who finish can apply to mentor future cohorts.

Is it really free?

Yes. No application fee, no tuition, nothing to buy. Students never pay. We are raising sponsor support to cover the space, prizes, and food.

Who can join?

Any high school student in North Carolina can apply. There is no cap on the number of teams. We accept every eligible student who completes the application and whose parent confirms. Sessions are in person in the downtown Cary area, so plan on getting there each week.

Do I need a team?

No. You can apply alone. Teams start at 1 and there is no upper limit, and you can form a team at the kickoff.

Do I need to know how to code?

No. The building workshop is designed for beginners, and there are people in the room to help you.

What will we build with?

Whatever fits your idea. The building workshop covers using and building with AI alongside other ways to get a demo working. The specific tools are to be announced, they will be widely available ones, and we will publish the list before the first session so you can set up accounts in advance.

What happens at demo day?

Every team gives its final pitch and shows its demo to the judges. First place wins $1,000, with prizes for second and third. Every team gets feedback and a certificate. It is open to the public, so bring people.

What happens after demo day?

Six months after your cohort ends, we host a virtual check-in for alumni. You share an update on what you have built since, get feedback, and connect with other NC Ignyte students. It is free and open to every student who completed the program.

Is it safe, and what should my parents know?

Sessions are in person at a venue we share with families after an application is processed. We ask for a parent or guardian email on the application so we can send details straight to families. After you apply, we email your parent or guardian a confirmation code. They enter it to unlock the consent form. Once they submit it, we review your application and email you a decision. Everyone follows our code of conduct. More for parents. We collect only what the application asks and we do not share student information.

What does the application ask?

Your name, phone, and email. Your parent's name, email, and phone. Your school and grade. The name of your startup and what you are building (write "not sure yet" if you do not have one). Whether you are solo or on a team. Why you want to join and your goals. Whether you can make all five Fridays, and any food allergies. Then your parent confirms with a code we email them.

Something we did not answer? Email hello@ncignyte.org.

Why we started this

Building something in high school is mostly done alone. You can find tutorials, but not a room full of people your age trying the same thing, or a deadline that makes you finish. We wanted that room when we were starting out, so we are building it for the people coming next.

Who runs it

  • Bhavani Veguru Founder

    Built AscendSAT, an SAT/ACT/AP prep app that grew to 1,000+ users and 75,000+ questions answered, and founded ClearWay EMS, a GPS-triggered roadside warning system for ambulances, working with local EMS and federal agencies.

  • Akshar Kakkad Co-founder

    Built geta5.app, which grew to 1,200+ users and 80,000+ questions answered, interned at Logic Pursuits building an AP anomaly detection proof of concept, and built distraction-detection software at Attentia Drive.

  • Rishit Sharma Co-founder
  • Parth Singh Co-founder

    Built Wake Pathways, a student opportunity hub for students across Wake County that grew to 5,000 users across 50 schools, built an accessible education platform piloted in schools across North Carolina, and built a comprehensive financial aid and career analysis engine.

  • Parth Rathod Co-founder
  • Vibhav Perumandla Co-founder

Partners

The people who make it free

Venue · Prizes · Food · Mentors

NC Ignyte costs a student nothing. That is only possible because organisations here give us the room, the prizes, and the food.

Want to be on this list? See the ways to help.

Help us run it

Mentor or judge

We are looking for mentors and judges. After this cohort, alumni can apply to come back and mentor too. One form covers it.

Apply to help (opens in a new tab)

Sponsor or partner

NC Ignyte is free for every student. We are lining up sponsors and partners to cover the venue, the prizes, and the food. Support does not have to be money: space, services, and in-kind help count too. Sponsors to be announced.

See the ways to help or email partners@ncignyte.org

You do not need a good idea yet.

That is what Friday one is for. Apply with whatever you have, including nothing, and we will help you find it.

Apply to Cohort 1

Applications close November 4. First Friday is November 6.

We collect only what the application asks. We do not share student information.