The Berks LaunchBox powered by Penn State will host a “Rolling in Safety Family Helmet Decorating” workshop from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 18, and Tuesday, April 30. Both events are free and open to the public.
The Berks LaunchBox powered by Penn State recently received a $125,000 grant from the County of Berks. The funding will be used to create microgrants for Berks County entrepreneurs. Of the total grant awarded, $12,000 will be set aside for Penn State Berks student entrepreneurs participating in the college’s Flemming Creativity, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Center Customer Discovery Lab, which will be distributed to awardees in $1,000 increments.
Penn State Berks will host a slate of events from March 15-22 in honor of Penn State Startup Week powered by PNC, a University-wide event that takes place every spring and brings leading minds in entrepreneurship and innovation to Penn State campuses across the commonwealth. The week features entrepreneurial workshops, networking events, student pitch competitions, and presentations from startup founders and corporate innovators, including many Penn State alumni.
Since its inception, Berks LaunchBox has made a significant impact on the Berks County community. Over the last five years, Berks LaunchBox has assisted 582 entrepreneurs, taught new skills to 1,100 community members in its Makerspace, offered entrepreneurship classes to 3,800 community members, and impacted 1,042 students (elementary school through college).
The Berks LaunchBox powered by Penn State will host its “Marketing with Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Beginners” webinar from 6 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 24. The webinar is free and open to the public, and attendees can register online.
The Berks LaunchBox powered by Penn State recently announced the winners of its Idea TestLab accelerator pitch competition. Mike Aman earned first place, Stacey Murrell of Master the Pieces took second place. Co-founders Vera Hempel and Kuba Kerner of Kiss UX took third place in the competition.
Penn State Berks will host a variety of events during Global Entrepreneurship Week from Monday, Nov. 13 to Thursday, Nov. 16. Events are sponsored by the college’s Flemming Creativity, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development (CEED) Center and the Berks LaunchBox in downtown Reading. All events are free and open to the public but advanced registration is required for some events.
The Berks LaunchBox powered by Penn State recently announced the pitch winners of its Summer 2023 Pitch Competition: Bapanada took first place, 4G Nutrition took second, and Aquamate and Mindful Roots tied for third place. Total prizes awarded totaled $1,200 in seed funding.
When the Berks LaunchBox first opened nearly seven years ago, it provided a glimmer of hope to Berks County entrepreneurs and innovators. Since then, its impact has grown to be more than its staff could have imagined.
Two Penn State Berks LaunchBox co-working companies are celebrating major milestones for their startups this week. Ocoa, formerly known as DN Organics, announced its official rebrand and two new product lines on Wednesday, March 1. In addition, CarToCamp is celebrating its first year in business this week by rolling out its “V2,” the next generation of its sleeping platform with improved design and storage.