I'm glad they're here, but I'm not sure about this whole "RTP is the entrepreneurial and VC hub of the southeast" bit. I've been here a long time, and the thing I hear constantly is that this area is notorious for lacking available funding. When you look at the well educated workforce, the presence of UNC, Duke, NCSU, etc., and the presence of all those IBM, Cisco, EMC, etc. employees, you would <i>think</i> this area would be more of a startup hub than it is. And when you ask people why it isn't funding is always one of the first answers you here.<p>That said, the emergence of the lean startup model may just be the best thing for this area. When people can routinely launch startups without <i>needing</i> a large infusion of cash, the availability - or not - of VC money will be less important.<p>And I think we're already starting to see progress in that regard. The RTP New Tech meeting was VERY well attended last night, and there were a lot of people there who were involved in startups, or interested in startups, etc. Same of for the Lean Startup Circle RTP meetings, and (so far) the RTP Hackers & Founders group. The new flexible leasing space that the American Tobacco Campus guys are rolling out should be a big boon as well.