Carolina Climate Tech Community
Building a Founder Community Through Co-Creation
How Carolina Climate partnered with ADVAgo to transform a network of climate tech founders into a thriving community built on shared ownership, meaningful connection, and partnership.
The Case for Change
Discover how ADVAgo partnered with Carolina Climate to co-create a founder community through facilitated conversations, shared ownership, and meaningful connection.
Industry: Climate Technology
Function: Startup Ecosystem Development
Organization Size: Founder Community
Location: North Carolina
Engagement: Community Co-Design & Leadership Facilitation
Services Provided:
Community Facilitation • Co-Creation & Co-Design • Leadership Facilitation • Community Design
The Situation
North Carolina is home to an incredible network of climate technology founders. They also partner with researchers, universities, investors, and entrepreneurial organizations. Many of the founders were working in isolation, making it difficult to build relationships, share knowledge, and leverage the resources already available across the ecosystem.
Carolina Climate recognized that founders didn't need another program created for them. They needed a community they could help shape themselves.
Rather than launching a top-down initiative, Carolina Climate partnered with ADVAgo to facilitate a co-creation process where founders could define what they needed, build meaningful relationships, and create the foundation for a community with a shared vision and purpose.
Our Approach
Together with the Carolina Climate team, ADVAgo co-designed and facilitated a founder-centered community-building process that invited climate tech founders to shape the purpose, vision, and future of the community from the very beginning. The partnership combined three interconnected elements that reinforced one another throughout the engagement.
Co-Creation Workshops
Founders came together to define the community's purpose, create a shared vision for its future, and identify how they would bring that vision to life together.
Facilitated Conversations
ADVAgo guided structured conversations that encouraged founders to share experiences with others across the ecosystem, in the room, learn from one another, build meaningful relationships, and identify opportunities for collaboration across the Carolina Climate Tech ecosystem.
Community Design
Rather than starting with a top-down finished solution, founders helped shape the community's purpose, guiding principles, and future experiences, creating a strong foundation built on shared ownership.
Together, these experiences created a community that reflected the voices, needs, and aspirations of its founders and ecosystem partners and fostered strong engagement from the very beginning.
What Changed?
A Community Took Shape
Founders co-created a community with a shared purpose, vision, and direction that reflected their needs and aspirations.
Meaningful Connections Grew
Founders built stronger relationships with one another and across the broader climate ecosystem.
Shared Ownership Drove Engagement
Because founders helped shape the community from the beginning, they became active participants in its continued growth and evolution.
A Foundation for the Future Was Established
The co-creation process created a strong foundation that supported the launch of the first Climate Tech Day and Climate Tech Week, bringing founders and ecosystem partners together to strengthen North Carolina's climate community.
“You were more than just an observer. You were very central to facilitating that initial experience.... We intentionally didn't want to do the 'if you build it, they will come' approach. We wanted it to be co-created... We spent most of the time listening... providing some probing and questioning and structured discussion."
Ben Provan Co-Founder, Carolina Climate
Why This Worked
Communities are strongest when the people they serve help shape them.
Co-creation gave founders a voice in defining the community's purpose, vision, and future.
Facilitated conversations built meaningful relationships and uncovered opportunities for collaboration across the ecosystem.
Shared ownership created genuine engagement because founders saw their ideas reflected in the community they were building together.
Rather than launching another program with low engagement and high recruitment efforts, Carolina Climate created the conditions for a community that continues to grow through the contributions of its members.
Who This Is For
This approach is designed for community builders who:
Want members to become active contributors, not passive participants.
Need stronger engagement without constantly recruiting new members.
Are building founder, innovation, or ecosystem communities.
Want to create shared ownership from the very beginning.
Believe the best communities are co-created by the people they serve.
Ready to Explore What's Possible?
Every organization is different.
That's why every Peer Leadership Development Partnership is co-designed around your people, your business priorities, and the outcomes that matter most.