For parents and guardians
What this is
NC Ignyte is a free startup accelerator for North Carolina high school students. Cohort 1 meets five Friday evenings, 6:00 to 8:00 PM, November 6 to December 4, 2026, to turn an idea into a working demo and a pitch. Cohort 2 is the full eight-week programme, expected to run January 15 to March 5, 2027. Those dates are predicted and we will confirm them before applications for it open. The last session of each cohort is a public demo day.
After the programme
Demo day is not the end. About six months after your cohort ends, we host one virtual check-in for every NC Ignyte alum. Each team shares what they built or learned since demo day, gets feedback from other founders and from our organizers, and meets students from other cohorts who are building too. We also share what is next for NC Ignyte and how alumni can help new students.
It runs 30 minutes to an hour, online, and it is free. Whether your student's startup kept going, changed direction, or stopped, they are welcome. Learning that an idea did not work is part of building.
We only email the parent or guardian address on file with your permission. The consent form asks whether we may, and saying no does not affect anything else.
Cost
Nothing. No application fee, no tuition, nothing to buy.
Where
In person at Cary Founded, a coworking space in downtown Cary. They host every session. We send the address after an application is processed, rather than publishing it.
Your confirmation
After your student applies, we email you a unique confirmation code. Enter it on the parent consent page to unlock the consent form. A student is not registered until a parent or guardian submits it and we accept the application. The form asks for your contact details, an optional emergency contact, and optional notes on allergies or accessibility needs. It also asks, separately, whether we may use photos and video of your student. Saying no to photos does not affect joining.
The button in your email goes to the same page, so a deleted email is not a dead end.
I have a code: open the consent form
AI tools
Students learn to use AI tools in workshops, with supervision. Before the tools are used, we will publish the list so you can review it.
Getting there
Families are responsible for getting students to and from each session.
Code of conduct
Everyone at NC Ignyte follows our code of conduct.
Privacy
We collect only what the application asks. We do not sell student information, and we do not share it with sponsors, partners, or schools. See the privacy page for the one narrow exception, used to help draft decision letters. You can ask us to delete your information at any time. Write to hello@ncignyte.org.
Questions
Email hello@ncignyte.org.