Chucktown Startups upcoming events

1 Million Cups (Wed, October 14, 2026)

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 13:00:00 GMT

Every week, 1 Million Cups gives entrepreneurs a platform to present their business to a supportive community for ideas and connections to grow it. It's not a pitch; it's a chance to learn and collaborate.

Marketing Power Hour (by Curated Studios) (Wed, October 14, 2026)

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMT

REGISTER

Marketing Power Hour | Free Live Session by Curated Studios

You'll leave this free, live session with one clear sentence that makes the right person hear what you do and think, "that's exactly what I need."

No more fumbling at networking events, rewriting your bio for the fifth time, or giving a different answer every time someone asks what you do. In one hour, you'll name exactly who you serve, build the one-liner that works everywhere, and learn exactly where to put it so your website, your socials, and your introductions all say the same thing.

Hosted live by Karissa Tunis and Abigail Ray of Curated Studios with real-time feedback and Q&A. Sign up and get instant access to the Message Clarity Builder workbook so you can start before the session.

Chucktown Startups: Reforged Gaming Lounge 5x5 LIVE - October (Tue, October 20, 2026)

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 21:30:00 GMT

RSVP to Attend

Five Founders. Five Minutes. Real Feedback.

Whether you're validating your very first idea or growing an established business, Chucktown Startups 5x5 LIVE is your opportunity to share what you're building and receive valuable feedback from fellow entrepreneurs and supporters.

Each event features five founders, each with five minutes to present their business, product, service, or idea. NO PITCH DECKS. Following every presentation, the audience will have the opportunity to ask up to three questions or offer supportive comments and constructive feedback to help each founder move forward.

Event Schedule

5:30 PM | Networking

Meet fellow entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, mentors, and startup supporters before the presentations begin.

6:00 PM | 5x5 LIVE Pitches

Five founders take the stage - NO PITCH DECKS, followed by audience Q&A and feedback after each presentation.

Who Should Pitch?

Entrepreneurs at every stage are welcome, including:

Someone exploring a new business idea
A founder validating a concept
A startup preparing for launch
A growing business seeking customers, partners, or feedback
An established company introducing a new product or service

No matter where you are in your entrepreneurial journey, we'd love to hear your story.

How Do I Sign Up to Pitch?

Only five founder presentation slots are available for each event. Founders interested in pitching must sign up in advance to be considered for a presentation slot.

Who Can Attend This Event?

All local founders and community supporters are invited to attend.

1 Million Cups (Wed, October 21, 2026)

Wed, 21 Oct 2026 13:00:00 GMT

Founders Roundtable Series, Featuring Kim Walpole - Presented by Chucktown Startups and Carolina Venture Studio (Wed, October 21, 2026)

Wed, 21 Oct 2026 21:30:00 GMT

REGISTRATION

The Founders Roundtable Series continues in October. This eight-session monthly gathering brings Charleston founders and entrepreneurial leaders together to connect, share ideas, learn from one another, and help shape the future of technology and entrepreneurship in our community.

Hour 1 will be an interactive founder roundtable discussing how to find a problem worth solving. We’ll unpack the mindset shifts, questions, challenges, and opportunities that come with identifying a product or service that people will actually pay for, drawing on the experiences and perspectives of founders in the room.

Hour 2 will feature Kim Walpole, a serial entrepreneur and product leader who has spent her career building mission-driven companies from the ground up. She previously founded Trials.ai, where she raised venture capital, built and scaled the company, and ultimately led it through an acquisition by ZS. She also mentors founders and emerging tech companies, helping them think through product, growth, raising capital - and most importantly, what it takes to build something people will actually use.

Today, Kim is co-founder and CEO of FiveLoaves.ai, a Charleston-based startup using responsible AI to help churches and everyday leaders understand Scripture within its historical and cultural context, lead better conversations, and care for people well.

Kim is a visionary founder who tends to see what could be before it exists, and she is most energized by building things that have the potential to leave the world better than she found it.

CharlestonHacks: HarborHack 2026 (Fri, October 23, 2026)

Fri, 23 Oct 2026 21:30:00 GMT

REGISTER

HarborHack 2026: Agent in the Loop

A weekend hackathon where every team builds a project with an AI agent as a teammate.

The agent is a persistent synthetic teammate that can retain project context and contribute throughout the weekend; humans remain responsible for direction and final decisions.

This is a team sport.

Participants are required to be part of a team. You are welcome to come with a team fully or partially formed. You are also very welcome to show up with an idea you want to build a team around or to find an idea/team that you like. There will be plenty of time Friday night to match people up.

Embrace the non-human.

Teams must included at least two humans and one or more non-humans. We are taking a very wide view on what counts as a non-human. This could include a long running Claude session, a ChatGPT-powered agent, an OpenClaw instance, a robot of your own design, or something else entirely.

Go for the gold.

This is a competition. Our judges will decide a winner on Sunday night. The winning team gets $1,000 and the second place team gets $500. Teams will be judged on the commerical and/or social value of their idea, to what extent they have realized that idea, and how thorougly they engaged with their non-human collaborator(s).

Not all gold glitters.

Prizes are great, but there is more value to find at HarborHack. Networking with judges and mentors might be the connection that unlocks that next step in your career. Finding now collaborators may help you take that side project to the next level. Inspiration strikes more often when you are in a room full of the inspiring.

Requirements

Submission Requirements

To be eligible for judging, every team must complete a Devpost submission before the deadline.

Your submission should include:

Project Name

A clear name for your project.

Project Description

In 2–5 paragraphs, describe:

the problem you tackled
your solution
which challenge(s) you entered
what makes your project unique

GitHub Repository

Provide a public repository whenever possible.

If your repository cannot be public (for licensing or other reasons), explain why and provide judges with a way to review the code.

Non-Human Collaboration Story

Because this year's theme is Agent In The Loop, every submission should include a brief reflection describing your collaboration with one or more non-humans.

Examples include:

Which AI systems did you use?
How did responsibilities evolve?
Where did your teammate influence the design?
What surprised you?
What didn't work?
What would you change?

We're judging the collaboration—not just the software.

Live Demo

Every team will present live.

Your demo should clearly communicate:

the problem
the solution
the role of your synthetic teammate
lessons learned

Judging Criteria

Projects will be evaluated on:

Commercial and/or social value. Is this a business idea that could really work? Or is it something that does good for society? Or possibly both?
Completeness of realization. How much did you build and at what level of quality? A demo can be a slide deck, but a web app is better.
Depth of non-human collaboration. Was a non-human a serious contributor to your project? Creative or experimental approaches get bonus points.

1 Million Cups (Wed, October 28, 2026)

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 13:00:00 GMT

Chucktown U: Introduction to Longleaf Angels - An early-stage investing community rooted in the Southeast (and Charleston) (Wed, November 04, 2026)

Wed, 04 Nov 2026 17:00:00 GMT

REGISTER

Longleaf Angels

An early-stage investing community rooted in the Southeast (and Charleston)

Presenter: TBD

Date: Wednesday, November 4, 2026

Time: 12:00 Noon to 1:00 PM

Registration: Click here to register

Join this presentation with Longleaf Angels, a local member-led community of angel investors, to learn how they are bringing together emerging and experienced investors to back promising early-stage companies, build diversified portfolios, and support founders with more than capital.

AI CAN Do It. SHOULD It? Presented by Kentro Studio (Fri, November 06, 2026)

Fri, 06 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMT

REGISTER

A hands-on workshop for figuring out where AI belongs in your business and where it doesn’t.

AI CAN DO IT. SHOULD IT?

AI can do more than most business owners realize. The harder part is knowing when it is actually worth using.

Bring a real business problem you’re trying to improve. You’ll examine what’s happening, question assumptions, and explore where AI could genuinely improve the work before spending more time or money on a solution.

You’ll see AI working inside a real business workflow, then use AI to challenge your thinking about your own business—while deciding what still needs human judgment.

Leave with a concrete next step and a way to think through future business decisions, too.

A hands-on workshop for founders, business owners, and people who play a key role in how a business runs.

November 6, 2026

11:00 AM arrival | 11:15 AM program begins | 3:30 PM event ends

The AKU Venue Event Center | Moncks Corner, SC

Free to attend | Lunch and refreshments included | Limited seating

No advanced AI experience required. Bring a laptop if you have one and make sure you can access the AI tool you already use. If you don’t have a laptop or AI account, you can still participate.

Chucktown Startups November Happy Hour at OTH (Tue, November 10, 2026)

Tue, 10 Nov 2026 22:00:00 GMT

RSVP

Socialize and Strategize

Let’s keep the momentum going!

Founders. Builders. Operators. Investors. Ecosystem champions.

Join us this November 10th at Over the Horizon Brewing for an evening of real conversations and real connections inside Charleston’s startup community.

Casual networking, zero pressure
Surrounded by people building what’s next in Charleston

Come early, grab a drink, and meet someone who could change the trajectory of your business.

RSVP

Catalyst by Beemok 2026 (Thu, November 12, 2026)

Thu, 12 Nov 2026 14:30:00 GMT

Be In the Room

See the Lowcountry's top entrepreneurs pitch live for a share of up to $2 million in potential investment.

Thursday, November 12

Attend

Chucktown Startups: Reforged Gaming Lounge 5x5 LIVE - November (Tue, November 17, 2026)

Tue, 17 Nov 2026 22:30:00 GMT

RSVP to Attend

Five Founders. Five Minutes. Real Feedback.

Event Schedule

5:30 PM | Networking

Meet fellow entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, mentors, and startup supporters before the presentations begin.

6:00 PM | 5x5 LIVE Pitches

Five founders take the stage - NO PITCH DECKS, followed by audience Q&A and feedback after each presentation.

Who Should Pitch?

Entrepreneurs at every stage are welcome, including:

Someone exploring a new business idea
A founder validating a concept
A startup preparing for launch
A growing business seeking customers, partners, or feedback
An established company introducing a new product or service

No matter where you are in your entrepreneurial journey, we'd love to hear your story.

How Do I Sign Up to Pitch?

Only five founder presentation slots are available for each event. Founders interested in pitching must sign up in advance to be considered for a presentation slot.

Who Can Attend This Event?

All local founders and community supporters are invited to attend.

Founders Roundtable Series, Featuring JT White - Presented by Chucktown Startups and Carolina Venture Studio (Wed, November 18, 2026)

Wed, 18 Nov 2026 22:30:00 GMT

REGISTRATION

The Founders Roundtable Series continues in November. This eight-session monthly gathering brings Charleston founders and entrepreneurial leaders together to connect, share ideas, learn from one another, and help shape the future of technology and entrepreneurship in our community.

Hour 1 will be an interactive founder roundtable discussing how to find a problem worth solving. We’ll unpack the mindset shifts, questions, challenges, and opportunities that come with identifying a product or service that people will actually pay for, drawing on the experiences and perspectives of founders in the room.

Hour 2 will feature JT White.

J.T. White is an accomplished product leader and entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in developing digital products. He has worked on a diverse range of projects-from online rap battle websites and TV Everywhere applications for Showtime and NBC, to advanced AI-driven inventory management and allocation tools. He is now the Co-Founder of an AI-assisted video studio. In 2025, he published Build for Better: How to build successful digital products and companies.

Chucktown Startups upcoming events

1 Million Cups (Wed, October 14, 2026)

Marketing Power Hour (by Curated Studios) (Wed, October 14, 2026)

Chucktown Startups: Reforged Gaming Lounge 5x5 LIVE - October (Tue, October 20, 2026)

1 Million Cups (Wed, October 21, 2026)

Founders Roundtable Series, Featuring Kim Walpole - Presented by Chucktown Startups and Carolina Venture Studio (Wed, October 21, 2026)

CharlestonHacks: HarborHack 2026 (Fri, October 23, 2026)

HarborHack 2026: Agent in the Loop

Requirements

1 Million Cups (Wed, October 28, 2026)

Chucktown U: Introduction to Longleaf Angels - An early-stage investing community rooted in the Southeast (and Charleston) (Wed, November 04, 2026)

AI CAN Do It. SHOULD It? Presented by Kentro Studio (Fri, November 06, 2026)

Chucktown Startups November Happy Hour at OTH (Tue, November 10, 2026)

RSVP

Socialize and Strategize

​Let’s keep the momentum going!

Catalyst by Beemok 2026 (Thu, November 12, 2026)

Be In the Room

Chucktown Startups: Reforged Gaming Lounge 5x5 LIVE - November (Tue, November 17, 2026)

Founders Roundtable Series, Featuring JT White - Presented by Chucktown Startups and Carolina Venture Studio (Wed, November 18, 2026)

Let’s keep the momentum going!