news & events

Idea Test Lab helps Penn State junior gain a following for social media business

A young Justin Leusner would walk around places like Hershey Park and the Wells Fargo Center just like any other kid, looking to enjoy what was around him. People would often recognize him from the YouTube videos he started making at 10 years old, some of which had hundreds of thousands of views. “Are you ‘You’re Fired?’,” they’d ask, referring to his first YouTube channel. By the time he was in high school, Leusner had already built a brand on YouTube, and that’s led the now-Penn State junior to make big-time strides with his company, TDAY Sports. Leusner created the social media...

Making Entrepreneurship Accessible in Rural America

Entrepreneurial ecosystems are complex systems and no one solution will work for everyone. We hope this playbook will spark new ideas and approaches for supporting entrepreneurs in rural areas and in areas where business resources are scarce, and encourage others to share their experiments, successes, and missteps. https://invent.psu.edu/playbook/  

November 15 LaunchBox Ladies Event discusses Social Entrepreneurship

During the November 15 LaunchBox Ladies event nearly sixty supporters of entrepreneurs gathered to discuss Social Entrepreneurship. Dr Tina Q. Richardson described the concepts as a powerful force driving positive change in communities around the globe. At its essence, social entrepreneurship merges business acumen with a profound commitment to addressing societal challenges.  Catherine Bailey, LaunchBox Ladies Chair, provided thought provoking questions to Karen Smith, Chief Executive Officer of The Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley and Diane Elliot, Founder and Executive Director of Catalyst4.  Karen Smith shared that when creating relationships ask "How can we do something together?" and Diane Elliott, a self...

Start Up Lehigh Valley

A cutting-edge health monitoring device took home the top prize in the 5th Annual Start Up Lehigh Valley pitch competition held on Wednesday, October 25 at Factory LLC in Bethlehem. The pitch competition is a Shark Tank-style event for local entrepreneurs designed to showcase innovation happening in the community and support the next generation of local business leaders.  Laura McHugh, vice president, marketing and communications, United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, and Bo Koltnow, anchor/reporter at 69-WFMZ, hosted the event. Sixty entries were received and narrowed down to seven finalists—one from California—whose businesses included health care, equine care, food/beverage,...

LaunchBox Ladies First Annual Pitch Competition

[caption id="attachment_51675" align="alignnone" width="300"] Allentown entrepreneur wins first annual pitch competitionBy Sara KarnishSUMMARY: Woman-owned candle company captures top spot in LaunchBox Ladies eventCENTER VALLEY, Pa. (July 6, 2023)—An Allentown-based entrepreneur captured the top prize in the first annual Penn State Lehigh Valley (PSU-LV) LaunchBox Ladies’ Women in Business Pitch Competition held on June 28 at PSU-LV’s Center Valley campus.Latoya Hutchinson of Wicksquisite Candles was named the winner of the top prize of $2,500. Her newly formed company offers creative, one-of-a-kind candles customized to the customers’ preferences. “Our mission is to ignite joy in the lives of our customers by crafting...