Tim Scales is an entrepreneurial community builder with a mission to build a more equitable and resilient startup ecosystem. Through accelerators, workshops, and events, he has worked with hundreds of founders at various stages of venture growth, from idea to scale. His primary focus is to help idea-stage social impact founders take their ventures from concept to launch.
Tim also serves as the executive director of Raleigh-Durham Startup Week, a community-driven movement to connect and inspire entrepreneurship across the region. Previously, he ran the American Underground startup hub in Durham, where he oversaw programming such as the Google for Startups Black Founders Exchange, the Fidelity FCAT Fellowing, and Idea to Entrepreneur.
Prior to entrepreneurship, Tim’s first career was in the nonprofit arts sector as a performing arts producer and promoter. In keeping with this non-linear career path, Tim holds a degree in Theater and Women’s Studies from Guilford College and an MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. While at Fuqua, Tim was a CASE Fellow and received the 2017 CASE Launch Pad Award for his civic tech startup CivicRise.