On September 18, The Loading Dock - Wake Forest will host its first Triangle Tech Night (TTN), a gathering designed to connect entrepreneurs, technologists, and community leaders across the region’s most exciting frontiers of innovation. In partnership with Wake Forest Founders (WFF), this event will spotlight Defense Tech and GovTech, fields where cutting-edge research meets real-world applications for government and communities.
“Defense Tech and GovTech are major innovation drivers in our region. These fields blend cutting-edge research, startups, and government priorities,” said Chip Kennedy, Founder of Logic and Theory and a Triangle Tech Night organizer. “By highlighting Defense Tech and GovTech, we will spark conversations about how innovation for government is a unique– and often overlooked–opportunity for business owners, founders, and tech folks to strengthen their communities, create new dual-use inventions, and solve problems that affect all of us.”
For Wake Forest, the event represents both a spotlight and a bridge. “The Wake Forest Founders team has attended events and been following along with Triangle Tech Night’s growth throughout the region,” said WFF’s Entrepreneurial Specialist Clark Rinehart, who is facilitating the event locally. “So, we engaged with the TTN team earlier this year to highlight the great work that is happening in the Wake Forest entrepreneurial ecosystem—particularly around GovTech, DefenseTech, and CivicTech.”
Rinehart notes that Wake Forest already has a strong presence in this sector. “Wake Forest has been a regional leader in the GovTech and DefenseTech space for some time. The Wireless Research Center of North Carolina (WRC), along with other businesses, have been discreetly working with the Department of Defense and other government entities, so it made sense for us to bring together these leaders to encourage and motivate aspiring GovTech startups.”
Triangle Tech Night is designed to create connections among local entrepreneurs and innovators. “Triangle Tech Night is built to be a bridge. We bring entrepreneurs into the same room as municipal leaders, researchers, and industry partners, making it easier for folks in tech and startups to form the kinds of connections that are otherwise difficult to access,” Kennedy said. “These connections often lead to new hires, new co-founders, new collaborators, and new government and enterprise pilots!”
Triangle Tech Night offers attendees meaningful opportunities to connect across sectors. “Attendees can expect intentional, high-quality, and not boring networking: structured introductions, informal conversations, and plenty of time to connect with peers and leaders across sectors,” Kennedy said. “Our goal is that everyone leaves with at least one new meaningful relationship, whether that’s a potential collaborator, mentor, customer, or investor.”
The event will also explore the practical side of GovTech. Rinehart explained, “From next-gen communications to smarter public infrastructure, a wave of local founders, researchers, and public-sector partners are shaping the future of government technology. At the heart of it is DefenseTech & GovTech—the use of digital tools to modernize how our government provides services, how our defense industry works, and how it impacts all of us.” He added, “We’ll explore what it really takes to work productively with government, deploy at scale, and build tech that shapes the relationship between government and the rest of us.”
The diversity of the audience is another key feature. “From tech innovators and startups to government contractors, cybersecurity professionals, healthcare technologists, and infrastructure experts, this event brings together people across all these sectors,” Rinehart said. “It’s a chance for them to engage directly with thought leaders and explore opportunities for collaboration.”
Wake Forest is ready to embrace that opportunity. “Wake Forest is in a great position to support the growth of GovTech and Defense Tech. We’ve got the talent, the infrastructure, and a collaborative community that companies in these spaces are looking for,” said Jason Cannon, President of the Wake Forest Business and Industry Partnership (WFBIP), which spearheads Wake Forest Founders. “As this sector evolves, Wake Forest will be serving as a place where ideas can be tested, scaled, and supported—which not only helps the region, but also creates high-quality jobs right here in our community.”
Triangle Tech Night also has the potential to generate tangible collaborations. Kennedy noted, “We’d love to see partnerships that link entrepreneurs with both defense and non-defense applications in government. Think: startups gaining pilot opportunities with local government, researchers teaming with industry for new applications, and local companies finding new advisors, investors, and co-conspirators. Success stories for us are when introductions made at Triangle Tech Night lead to real projects, funding, and impact.”
The energy and atmosphere of the evening are part of what organizers believe leaves a lasting impression. Rinehart said, “Expect a night of honest conversation, cross-sector insight, and the kind of energy that happens when mission and momentum align.” He added, “Wake Forest punches above its weight as a regional innovation hub. I think Triangle Tech Night will help us get more startups connected to each other in Wake Forest and northern Wake County. It has been challenging to get people back together post-pandemic, so TTN provides the opportunity for serendipitous collisions of really interesting people.”
Kennedy summed up what success will look like for this inaugural Wake Forest event: “Success looks like a packed room of diverse participants—from founders and researchers to city leaders and community members—engaged in meaningful conversation and leaving with a sense of possibility. If attendees walk away inspired, connected, and energized to build something new together right here in Wake Forest and the Research Triangle, then we’ve done our job.”
Rinehart stressed that this is only the beginning. “The Wake Forest Founders Collective has been providing free social and innovation programming monthly for small businesses and local startups since the summer of 2025. We will continue to host these meaningful programs, making valuable resources easily accessible to small businesses and entrepreneurs in Wake Forest. Our primary goal is to see more startups and early-stage companies access resources and relationships that they need to fuel their growth in Town.”
