Editor’s note: This event has been canceled in response to the global coronavirus outbreak. Contestants will still pitch ideas to judges in a closed event and winners will be announced at a later date.
Six area startups including Emko Technologies (Evan Klapec), Odin’s Eye (Dr. David Parrott),Workflow Automation (Cesare Ferrari), Shop Local Fundraising (Kristen and Boyd Lewis), Lattus (Peter Schramm and Nick Furar), and Vandervort Photography (Kelly and Judy Vandervort) have been participating in Ben Franklin’s 10-Week Business Startup Boot Camp, the TechCelerator@DuBois. These company teams will pitch their business concepts to a panel of local judges for the opportunity to win up to $10,000.
The public is invited to watch these pitches and to attend the following networking event. Things get underway at 5 p.m. Thursday, March 26, at the North Central PA LaunchBox, 2 East Long Avenue in DuBois. Those who would like to attend are asked to RSVP at https://innovationpark.psu.edu/dubois-techcelerator
The Business Startup Boot Camp has been made possible through collaboration between Ben Franklin Technology Partners, the North Central PA LaunchBox, the Fairman Family Foundation, the Appalachian Regional Commission, CBT Bank – A Division of Riverview Bank, and the Small Business Development Center of Clarion University.
The largest early-stage investor in the region, Ben Franklin Technology Partners/CNP (an initiative of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and funded by the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority) provides investment capital, operational assistance, and business support services to emerging tech-based companies and small, existing manufacturers to create and retain jobs in Pennsylvania. Visit https://cnp.benfranklin.org/
The North Central PA LaunchBox and Innovation Collaborative is a partnership focused on supporting manufacturing competitiveness and workforce needs, growing and attracting talented entrepreneurs and innovators, and creating the new high-knowledge, high-technology businesses for the region. Penn State DuBois serves as the convener to facilitate partnerships with and between businesses, education, industry, as well as economic and community development stakeholders, thus creating a functional ecosystem for providing facilities and programming for industrial research and development.