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2 <br /> Early History <br /> As part of the Board of County Commissioners' strategic planning in 2011 to utilize Article 46 <br /> sales tax funding to support key economic development priorities, the importance of growing and <br /> retaining entrepreneurial start-up talent in Orange County was included. The Board sought to <br /> reverse the historic trend where promising, growth-oriented tech start-up companies originating <br /> out of the University of North Carolina and Orange County were eventually relocating to adjacent <br /> counties. Durham's renowned "American Underground" incubator and co-working venture at the <br /> American Tobacco campus has historically been a significant competitor to draw local start-up <br /> talent away from Orange County. <br /> In response, Orange County contracted with UNC Chapel Hill's Department of City & Regional <br /> Planning department head, Dr. Emil Malizia, in 2011 & 2012. Dr. Malizia conducted a regional <br /> real estate assessment of average office lease costs, ideal space needs and working <br /> environments that start-up companies seek throughout their developmental life span. A key <br /> recommendation from the consultant report highlighted a severe shortage of competitively priced <br /> incubator facilities in Orange County, and suggested the development of an innovation center to <br /> better retain entrepreneurial talent coming out of the University and from the local community. <br /> Following passage of the successful Article 46 referendum in November 2011, the County gained <br /> a new revenue source that enabled it to join with the Town of Chapel Hill to establish the "LAUNCH <br /> Chapel Hill" incubator. <br /> A series of interlocal agreements were subsequently approved between Orange County and the <br /> Town of Chapel Hill. On June 25, 2018, Orange County, the Town of Chapel Hill, the Chapel Hill <br /> Downtown Corporation and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill agreed to continue all <br /> parties' mutual support of the LAUNCH incubator. Also in 2018, operational efficiencies were <br /> identified by the Town of Chapel Hill and UNC, leading to a recommendation that the LAUNCH <br /> structure among key stakeholders should ideally be shifted into a non-profit agency. This <br /> organizational change was approved by both the County, UNC and the Town, when the Orange <br /> County Board of Commissioners in February 2019 reviewed and approved the proposed <br /> nonprofit's new Bylaws and the County's joint participation as a member on the "LAUNCH, Inc." <br /> executive board. "LAUNCH CHAPEL HILL" was subsequently transitioned into a nonprofit in <br /> November 2019 and renamed "LAUNCH, Inc. <br /> Notable Achievements & Positive Economic Impact on the Local Economy: <br /> Tim Flood, Communication Professor at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and Executive <br /> Director of LAUNCH, provided the following statistics to illustrate the incubator's notable economic <br /> contribution to the local community for the period 2012 to July 2022: <br /> • 177 companies have been accelerated since 2012 <br /> • 119 of those companies are still active <br /> o Startups Incorporated FY18 - FY21: 83 <br /> o Startups Incorporated FY13 — FY17: 75 <br /> • Total Funding Raised All Years: $79.2M <br /> o $39.4 Million in FY22 <br /> ■ FY22 Private Investment: $39,054,274 <br /> ■ FY22 Grants/Awards: $262,500 <br /> ■ FY22 M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions), IPO (Initial Public Offering), <br /> Corporate Partnerships: $35,000 <br /> • 1,239 total employees in 2022 <br /> • 578 jobs based in Orange County <br />