đź‘‹Â Welcome to Raleigh-Durham Startup Week!
We're so glad you're here. Whether you've hosted before or this is your first time, this guide has everything you need to plan, publish, and promote your partner event during RDSW 2026.
RDSW is a regional movement: powered by founders, entrepreneurs, and support organizations dedicated to showcasing the vibrant entrepreneurial community in the Triangle. Your partner event helps make the week bigger, more diverse, and more exciting for everyone.
We are Rachael Newberry and Chip Kennedy - your co-chairs for the Partner Event Committee. Don't hesitate to reach out to them with questions at any point!
If you're an event-hosting veteran, here's the short version: RDSW is the platform, and you're the host. You own your event — venue, logistics, speakers, costs, all of it. RDSW will amplify your event through our marketing channels and centralized calendar. We're happy to offer advice on venues, partnerships, speakers, and more, but at the end of the day, your event is yours to run.
The one thing you need to do: publish your event on Luma, add RDSW as a co-host, and get it live as soon as you can! RDSW will help market all events made live by April 3, 2026.
That's it! The rest of this guide covers the details, guidelines, and tips — skim what you need, skip what you don't.
Have questions? Come to RDSW Partner Event Office Hours
📆 Monday, March 9th 2026 | 4 - 6pm
RDSW Partner Event Office Hours Monday, March 9 · 4:00 – 6:00pm Time zone: America/New_York Google Meet joining info Video call link: https://meet.google.com/tgv-hcuc-vdm Or dial: ‪(US) +1 252-574-6274‬ PIN: ‪483 811 105‬# More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/tgv-hcuc-vdm?pin=9506225949933
The vibe we're going for: Our vision is to activate a “SXSW” energy - every morning, evening, and night of RDSW brings a menu of interesting options for all attendees and the community at large. We want to bring in more partner events from more corners of the Triangle and from more perspectives in the startup ecosystem. Rather than gatekeepers of “official” events, the two of us plan to be evangelists for all startup-facing organizations to organize (or partner up to organize) an event, activation, or something during RDSW!
Partner events are educational, actionable, inspiring, or celebratory — designed for founders and startup folks of all stripes. They can be panels, workshops, happy hours, fireside chats, demo nights, networking meetups, or anything in between.