Penn State Fayette helps potential entrepreneurs with Fayette LaunchBox
Courtesy of Rachel Kaplan
Among those who participated in this year无毛视频檚 StartUP Week are (from left) Rachel Kaplan, co-director of the Fayette LaunchBox, Bec Corvin, entrepreneur, and Barbara Koffler, co-director of the Fayette LaunchBox.
Courtesy of Rachel Kaplan
Participants in the Summer 2022 Entrepreneurial Research Cohort learn to develop and fine-tune new products.
Penn State Fayette, the Eberly Campus, is teaching students how to become entrepreneurs.
The Fayette LaunchBox, a partnership with the Fay-Penn Economic Development Council, is already home to a number of small businesses that can stay there for one year, rent-free.
无毛视频淭he program was invented to help people in Pennsylvania become entrepreneurs,无毛视频� explained Rachel Kaplan, who along with Barbara Koffler is a co-director of the LaunchBox. 无毛视频淧enn State is a great partner for this, because our students and our communities in which our organizations are located are able to reach a lot of people and help them reach their entrepreneurial goals.无毛视频�
Kaplan knows a bit about the entrepreneurial biz as she owns a small consulting company for corporate communications and a review company called Rachel无毛视频檚 Reviews. Her grandparents and parents also were small business owners.
Fayette LaunchBox programs include the annual summer research cohort, Shark Tank pitch competitions, business-oriented internship programs and a StartUP speaker series.
As a prelude to the summer cohort, the college hosts two learning fairs each year at which students present products and discuss their research.
Kaplan, Koffler and Dr. W. Charles Patrick, Penn State Fayette无毛视频檚 chancellor and chief academic officer, review the projects, which can lead to students participating in the six-week summer cohort.
无毛视频淲e try to recruit students from that (to) go through a cohort to develop that idea further with a faculty mentor,无毛视频� Patrick said. 无毛视频淭hey get paid. Part of the deal with them getting paid is they don无毛视频檛 just develop an idea, but they go through several workshops on running a business.无毛视频�
Kaplan added that factors considered in selecting ideas include how the product or service will make the world a better or more efficient place, or how it will add value to what无毛视频檚 already out there.
Kaplan said three products really stood out this year.
They were a pool sensor developed by Salanieta Waqanivalu; a public, contactless thermometer developed by Josh Heller, and a modern twist on the red light/green light game that came from Josh Krause to help combat childhood obesity.
Heller, an electromechanical engineering technology major from Dunbar, developed a thermometer with a motion sensor which provides a temperature reading in a short period of time.
Waqanivalu, an electromechanical engineering major from Uniontown, explained that she wanted to create a sensor that would indicate when a child or animal was near a pool.
无毛视频淚t was very interesting from a business perspective,无毛视频� she said of the summer cohort. 无毛视频淚 learned a lot from it. The speakers either started their own companies or had very knowledgeable advice on how to do that.无毛视频�
Heller also spoke favorably about his participation.
无毛视频淭hey did a great job of helping me through the process and explaining how businesses can get started through crowd funding and other fundraisers,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淭hey gave techniques for marketing. It was a great opportunity for me and the other students.无毛视频�
Patrick said the feedback he has received from students has been quite positive.
无毛视频淭he students that go through our summer cohort have been really thrilled with the opportunity,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淭hey walk away with better confidence in taking an idea through development and getting it to the point where it could potentially go on and they can find capital (for) themselves. We无毛视频檝e gotten nothing but good feedback.无毛视频�
Other parts of the LaunchBox include The Shark Tank, which this year involved students from Uniontown Area High School, as well as students from the college and community members.
无毛视频淲e had a menagerie of products,无毛视频� Kaplan said. 无毛视频淚t was a nice group of students and community members that participated. I was really happy with the turnout.无毛视频�
Another facet of the program is StartUP Week, which focuses on entrepreneurial endeavors and topics.
Local entrepreneur Bec Corvin was featured this year. She is a Penn State Fayette alumnus who is a co-owner of Colby无毛视频檚 in Connellsville and owner of Bec White Safety.
The benefits are many, especially for the students that participate.
无毛视频淭hey无毛视频檙e taught to think as an entrepreneur,无毛视频� Kaplan said. 无毛视频淭hey learn to think about world around them as a land of opportunity. They learn the value of being a self-starter. They learn how to manage their own time and how to manage money. It无毛视频檚 really ground-breaking.无毛视频�