Capital-seeking entrepreneurs can meet potential investors at Venture Connection

Venture Connection entrepreneur applications are now open. Taking place during the Invent Penn State Venture & IP Conference, April 28-29, Venture Connection is a matchmaking event between capital-seeking startups and venture capital investors who have been pre-matched based on industry and capital needs, among other key criteria.

Entrepreneur applications are due by March 4. Entrepreneurs can also be nominated to participate in Venture Connection. Meanwhile, investors can register to host a Venture Connection table. Startups and entrepreneurs are not required to be affiliated with Penn State to apply.

At Venture Connection, more than 800 meetings between entrepreneurs and investors will take place during the two-day conference. Entrepreneurs will be provided time to give an elevator pitch to investors with whom they are matched. Investors will share what they look for in prospects and discuss their respective funds and investment strategies. Private one-on-one meetings can be scheduled if there is a connection.

“The Invent Penn State Venture & IP Conference gave us access to investors from various east coast cities with varying investment criteria,” said David Radin, CEO of Confirmed LLC. “And the organizers were meticulous in matching the companies to fit investors. So, we were able to have good conversations with investors that are most likely to invest, including those who we might not have otherwise been able to easily reach from other cities.”

The Invent Penn State Venture & IP Conference is one of the largest tech startup conferences in the Mid-Atlantic, drawing more than 600 attendees, over 70 startup ventures and more than 40 investment firms from across the United States. The conference showcases innovations from high-growth and emerging markets, including information technology, energy, advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, health care, business-to-business, and business-to-consumer, among others.

Other events at the conference include the Student Startup Showcase, featuring one-minute pitches from Penn State’s top student entrepreneurs, and the Tech Tournament, a competition among faculty-based startups to win up to $75,000. Medical startup Cranial Devices, Inc. (CDI), won the 2021 Tech Tournament grand prize of $75,000. CDI was co-founded by Barry Fell, a consultant for the Surgery Innovation Group in the Department of Surgery at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and Dr. Randy Haluck, professor of surgery at Penn State College of Medicine, to advance the Penn State technology “HydroFix,” an advanced surgical shunt system used to treat adult normal pressure hydrocephalus.

The conference also features interdisciplinary panels and programs that bring together academia, industry, economic development, and policy experts on current innovation topics. Registration to attend the conference is open to the public.

To view more Penn State-affiliated startups, visit the Startup Navigator. To find Penn State-affiliated intellectual property available for licensing, visit the IP Navigator.