Durham Serial Entrepreneur “Unboxes” New Venture Studio for Budding Startups

Powered by the mind and expertise of late entrepreneur Nick Jordan, a new Durham-based business studio aims to help startups “leap” to their full potential.

After four years of building the platform and gathering resources, Unboxed Venture Studio will invest the time of Jordanian and other ecosystem leaders, technology, expertise and capital to implement applications. which start in that area.

Having amassed a portfolio valued at over $20M and a network of strategic partners through his other venture, Smashing Boxes, Jordan is aiming to become the region’s first $1B venture capital.

Jordan wrote in an email to GrepBeat: “Random hitting is not my purpose in life. “However, in order to attract the kind of resources that our business needs and our environment – especially big money – I feel compelled to aim to raise and return incredible returns to potential investors.”

With nearly 20 years of experience in the Triangle region, Jordan has noticed how failing companies may not always have the right operations, consultants, product market fit, etc. He also noted that capital is the only thing that some companies focus on – but it shouldn’t be. With this new business studio, he hopes to combine all the assets that the company needs while creating a community built to support said companies.

“I thought about starting a fund but companies need more money than money,” said Jordan. What they really need is fuel. So, if I can provide fuel, quality and teams working together, I can take risks. If I can take risks in many different areas, we will give many companies the opportunity to have a big impact on success. ”

The commercial studio model is a new set of properties, and Jordan knows that he and his team will learn more about the space and what it has to offer over time. While Unboxed isn’t one of the first commercial studios in the space, it wants its launch to celebrate a new and evolving device that’s getting ideas to market.

The business studio will be based out of the existing offices of Smashing Boxes and Durham Bottling Company, which are owned by Jordan and will eventually be rebranded as DBCo for co-working space. The building also houses Durham eatery Krill and will later open a bar. But it is the building’s location, close to Durham city and close to other local businesses, that Jordan sees as particularly important for bringing local community ties to new regional companies.

“I’m on a mission to imagine and design the environment you want to see,” Jordan said. “Giving more awareness around it will not only promote the studio, but also people who are considering or investing in studios, and seeing those as other tools to start investing in.”

Jordan invites any interested environmental partners and entrepreneurs-in-residence (EIRs) who have the skills and services they need to join the Unboxed network. He also asks that any investors interested in further sales and access to de-risked businesses follow Unboxed’s progress and connect with Jordan himself.

“If we can bring more investors into our neighborhood or people who want to see deals, that will be very good for entrepreneurs,” Jordan said. “There is an importance of talking to everyone, so we need to start building power and becoming a center of gravity for these people to come around.”