HAZLETON, Pa. — An inventor featured in Forbes and on HSN (Home Shopping Network) for creating and patenting a lingerie organizer will discuss ideas and innovation in a Spanish-language webinar hosted by the Hazleton LaunchBox on Friday, July 31.

Frances Prado, chief executive and co-founder of Ageless Beautiful Clever Creations LLC, will break down her own experiences in what can be a daunting process of patenting an invention. She will explain how to generate an idea, turn the idea into a prototype, protect the idea and finally, how to patent it.

Prado is recognized nationally for developing “Hanging Secrets,” an organizer that hangs in the closet and protects bras and lingerie from getting damaged or worn out.

She is among only a small percentage of sole female inventors to ever be awarded a U.S. patent.

The webinar, presented in Spanish only, runs from 7 to 8 p.m. on Friday, July 31, and can be viewed at this link.

Prior to inventing “Hanging Secrets,” Prado spent more than 20 years as an executive for Costco. A married mother of two, Prado was born in Bakersville, California, after her parents immigrated to the U.S. in 1963.

About Hazleton LaunchBox

Located at 13 W. Broad St. in Hazleton, the Hazleton LaunchBox is a no-cost startup accelerator and co-working space designed to provide early-stage startup companies with the support and resources needed to build a sustainable business and a viable plan for growth. It is open to community members and those affiliated with Penn State. 

LaunchBox is a signature program of the Invent Penn State Initiative, a commonwealth-wide system to spur economic development, job creation, and student career success. It is a $30 million initiative to generate economic development, create jobs and drive student career success. The initiative, launched by Penn State President Eric Barron in 2015, redefines the University’s land-grant mission to include entrepreneurship and innovation programs, including the development of “innovation hubs” in Penn State Commonwealth Campus communities across the state.

Invent Penn State blends entrepreneurship-focused academic programs, business startup training and incubation, funding for commercialization, and University-community collaborations to facilitate the process of turning ideas into viable products and services.

The Hazleton LaunchBox is a collaboration with community partners including the Downtown Hazleton Alliance for Progress, CAN DO, CAN BE, the Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce, the Society of Hispanic Business Professionals and other groups through the Hazleton Innovation Collaborative (THInC). 

Sponsors of the LaunchBox include PPL, Wells Fargo, Mid Penn Bank/Miner’s Bank, First National Bank, Luzerne Bank, FNCB Bank, Landmark Community Bank, Community Bank N.A. and DHD Realty.

Learn more at https://hazleton.launchbox.psu.edu.