news & events

Experts provide actionable advice (and we provide lunch). Our Fall Speaker Series kicks off Oct 4th and includes 4 great topics with 4 experts who will provide you with actionable advice on a variety of topics (see details below). Everyone is welcome. How it works. All talk are held downtown at the Happy Valley LaunchBox and include: 35-40 minute actionable advice and best practices 10-minute open Q&A Office hours for 1-on-1 advice Light lunch Spend time with the experts. Want 1-on-1 advice from our expert speakers? Sign up in advance for office hours to dig deeper and discuss your specific challenges with...

Participants in Invent Penn State I-Corps Site program receive entrepreneurship training and become eligible for national I-Corps program with awards of up to $50,000 The National Science Foundation has joined in supporting Penn State’s goal of taking more of its discoveries to market by awarding Penn State a five-year, $500,000 Innovation Corps (I-Corps) grant to establish the Invent Penn State I-Corps Site in collaboration with Ben Franklin Technology Partner’s TechCelerator, Happy Valley LaunchBox, and Invent Penn State’s Innovation Hubs. The Invent Penn State I-Corps Site will provide mini-grants, commercialization training and mentorship for up to 30 startup teams per year. These training boot camps will...

Being unique doesn’t mean you don’t have competitors. Over the years of asking entrepreneurs who their competitors are, I often got the response, “Nobody does what I do. Most companies only do X but I do X, Y, and Z.” Or, they claim that this is a totally new idea that has never been done before, so there really aren’t any competitors. I’ve heard this from startups as well as CEOs of existing businesses. While you may have indeed created a one of a kind solution, you do go head to head with others in terms of competing for your...