{"id":3526,"date":"2026-10-19T10:08:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T14:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/?p=3526"},"modified":"2026-10-20T10:46:04","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T14:46:04","slug":"helping-outer-banks-entrepreneurs-navigate-the-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/helping-outer-banks-entrepreneurs-navigate-the-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping Outer Banks Entrepreneurs Navigate the Law"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Outer Banks Entrepreneurs Age of Innovation Overview\" width=\"798\" height=\"449\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/murNNMFcHfs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-1 wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/IMG_20260622_082210-1024x608-1.jpg\" alt=\"Group photo\" class=\"wp-image-3624\" width=\"512\" height=\"304\" srcset=\"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/IMG_20260622_082210-1024x608-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/IMG_20260622_082210-1024x608-1-300x178.jpg 300w, https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/IMG_20260622_082210-1024x608-1-768x456.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><figcaption>Photo taken by Ariadna Vucinovic\u00a0of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ariadnavucinovicphoto.com\/\">Ariadna Photography<\/a>, a member of Outer Banks Entrepreneurs<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>For the third time, the <a href=\"https:\/\/law.unc.edu\/academics\/centers-and-programs\/institute-for-innovation\/\">Institute for Innovation<\/a> at UNC School of Law traveled to Kill Devil Hills to help local business owners navigate the legal side of running a company.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Institute for Innovation Executive Director <a href=\"https:\/\/law.unc.edu\/people\/aaron-gard\/\">Aaron Gard<\/a> spoke to members of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.obellc.com\/\">Outer Banks Entrepreneurs<\/a>, a group founded by Kim Twiddy 14 years ago that now represents more than 60 different types of businesses across chapters in Elizabeth City, the Outer Banks and the Chesapeake-Tidewater area of Virginia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are not attorneys. We do not know North Carolina business law,\u201d Twiddy told the group. \u201cThe Institute has been a great asset to our organization to help us follow the law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The partnership began almost by accident. Gard first heard about Outer Banks Entrepreneurs on the radio while on a spring break vacation in the Outer Banks, after the organization ran an ad for one of its events. Impressed, he reached out to Twiddy, and a collaboration was born.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/law.unc.edu\/people\/thomas-a-kelley\/\">Tom Kelley<\/a>, who directs the Institute\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/law.unc.edu\/experiential-learning\/clinics\/community-development-law-clinic\/\">Community Development Law Clinic<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/law.unc.edu\/people\/dustin-marlan\/\">Dustin Marlan<\/a>, who directs the <a href=\"https:\/\/law.unc.edu\/experiential-learning\/clinics\/intellectual-property-clinic\/\">Intellectual Property Clinic<\/a>, have also led sessions in the past.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gard opened the June 15 session by polling the room on how many entrepreneurs were already using artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude in their businesses. Most hands went up. For those who weren\u2019t yet, he encouraged them to start experimenting, noting that even attorneys are still catching up with the technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Much of the presentation focused on protecting a business before problems arise. Gard walked through the basics of choosing a business name, checking availability through the Secretary of State\u2019s office and securing matching website domains early, even ones a business might not use right away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He also shared his own experience licensing characters and trademarks for a children\u2019s book project involving Crayola and U.S. Soccer, including a setback when a shelf-space agreement with Crayola unraveled midway through the deal. He balanced that story with a cautionary one about a friend who built an entire product line and logo for a distillery, only to learn someone else already owned the trademark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cUp front, you need to make sure you know what you can own,\u201d Gard said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to be crazy expensive, but it\u2019ll save you some headaches down the road.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Institute\u2019s three clinics \u2014 the Intellectual Property Clinic, the Startup NC Law Clinic and the Community Development Law Clinic \u2014 are free for clients the Institute has capacity to take on each semester, and pair faculty attorneys with third-year law students who work directly with real clients. The evening closed with a round of audience questions, and Gard pointed members toward the clinics as a resource for the fall semester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rachael Francis, owner of R.A.D. Creations 252 LLC, a custom vinyl decal business, told the group about her own experience working with the Institute, which helped her form her LLC and is now handling a trademark application for her logo. Working with Outer Banks Entrepreneurs gives those students practical legal experience they can\u2019t get in the classroom, while business owners in communities far from Chapel Hill get the help they need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Twiddy, the value is concrete. She recalled paying more than $1,000 for a business attorney in Elizabeth City when she first started Outer Banks Entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI only wish I had had this resource when I was starting,\u201d said Twiddy.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-2 wp-block-buttons\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ImG8_Hz9dTg\">view the presentation<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Carolina Law students are helping coastal business owners form LLCs, file trademarks and avoid costly mistakes. See how a chance discovery on vacation led to the Institute for Innovation\u2019s growing partnership with Outer Banks Entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3626,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3526"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3526"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3693,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3526\/revisions\/3693"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}