![\"From](\"http:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Think-House-residents-771x514.jpg\")
<\/a>Laura Baverman \/ Raleigh Public Record<\/p>
From top left: Zack Milburn, Mark Delgado, Cameron Lilly
\nBottom from left: Sean Newman-Maroni, Keegan Guizard<\/p><\/div>\n
On Jan. 1, the men and women began six months of educational curriculum and workshops. They\u2019ve been paired with mentors and given access to a wide network of regional and national entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and potential customers. They live, work, learn and socialize together in the home, setting and meeting monthly goals related to their business ideas.<\/p>\n
ThinkHouse was inspired by co-founder Jason Widen\u2019s own experiences building a company out of college. It ultimately failed, and he said that\u2019s because he lacked mentors and a strong network. <\/p>\n
Widen partnered up with his three co-founders in HQ Raleigh, the startup incubator he runs near downtown Raleigh, to launch the new business. Christopher Gergen is working with him to expand the platform internationally. Jesse Lipson, founder of Citrix Sharefile, and Brooks Bell, of Brooks Bell Interactive, purchased the once-dilapidated home and rent it to ThinkHouse.<\/p>\n
For nine months each year, college graduates eager to start companies will occupy the house. And each summer, the house will host a group of 20 to 60 college fellows from around the world\u2014they will live on campus at N.C. State\u2014hoping to explore what it means to be an entrepreneur. Widen expects to find local financiers such as Lipson and Bell in each city where it establishes ThinkHouses. Already interested are entrepreneurs in Portland, Atlanta, Prague and Panama, he said.<\/p>\n
But back to the pioneering young people in Raleigh. Meet the first five tenants of the first ThinkHouse:<\/p>\n
Mark Delgado<\/strong> Cameron Lilly<\/strong> Keegan Guizard<\/strong> Zack Milburn<\/strong> A first of its kind in developing entrepreneurs, ThinkHouse will host five live-in recent graduates hoping to launch new businesses. Organizers hope the house in Boylan Heights will prove a model to open another 49 similar ventures around the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24062,"featured_media":20848,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[42,15,23],"tags":[1513,1512,1511],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20851"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24062"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nFounder of Koyr, which manufactures radiation detectors and provides software to help manage workflow at power plants.
\nBackground: N.C. State nuclear energy graduate, age 24
\nWhy ThinkHouse?<\/strong> To live alongside others building companies, earn media exposure and leverage ThinkHouse\u2019s network.<\/p>\n
\nFounder of Pop Up Training, a 20-foot by 40-foot shipping container turned group fitness facility that will pop up in downtown Raleigh, Research Triangle Park and other surprise locations to provide convenience to office workers who\u2019d like to stay fit. He said he eventually hopes to open in office parks around the nation.
\nBackground: Appalachian State University graduate in health promotion and entrepreneurship, age 26
\nWhy ThinkHouse?<\/strong> He had friends in Chapel Hill that were starting companies under one roof, and though they were targeting separate industries, they learned from each other and shared skills. He wanted to take part in that.<\/p>\n
\nFounder of Collegiate Skate Tour, the first national contest and event series for student skateboarders to win scholarships and raise money for charities.
\nBackground: 2012 N.C. State graduate, attributed with making skateboarding legal on campus. Founder of NC Skate charity skateboarding group.
\nWhy ThinkHouse?<\/strong> To learn from others doing innovative things and take advantage of leadership and personal growth coaching.<\/p>\n
\nEmployee at FanVite.com, which lets fans contribute funds to bring public speakers to town and founder of HireNC.com, a not-yet-launched website that matches contractors, tutors, movers and other service providers with those seeking help throughout the state. He\u2019s also working on global sustainable development projects with the nonprofit Together We Can.
\nBackground: 2013 N.C. State graduate and founder of the two university classifieds websites WolfExchange.com and WolfTextbooks.com.
\nWhy ThinkHouse?<\/strong> He came up with a similar concept for his senior project in college, then helped find and clean out the house with Widen. He\u2019s looking forward to finding mentors for his businesses, and helping out with the summer fellows program.
\n
\nSean Newman-Maroni<\/strong>
\nCo-founder of BetaVersity, which creates educational makerspaces on university campuses equipped with software, manufacturing and prototyping supplies and collaborative space for students of different disciplines to come together to share and work on ideas. The first is at the University of California-Davis.
\nBackground: N.C. State graduate. Helped establish and program the Garage makerspace at N.C. State, the model for BetaVersity.
\nWhy ThinkHouse?<\/strong> He believes in the idea that \u201cYou are the sum of the five people you surround yourself with\u201d and hopes to benefit from close proximity to other entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"