Success Stories

Hazleton LaunchBox Helps Diverse Community of Entrepreneurs Launch

This article is part of a series celebrating the five-year anniversary of Invent Penn State’s LaunchBox & Innovation Hub Network. Learn more here. Anchoring the first floor of the recently renovated bingo hall on West Broad Street in downtown Hazleton, the new Hazleton LaunchBox supported by Pasco L. Schiavo Esq. demonstrates how collaborative economic development and public-private partnerships…

Microbiology Student Creates Acne Treatment Startup

For teenagers and young adults, battling acne can be a constant struggle. Austin Wittmer, a 2019 alumnus of the Penn State Eberly College of Science, believed people waste money buying countless types of creams and medications, trying to find the right treatment for their skin, and it’s all guesswork—trial and…

LaunchBoxes & Innovation Hubs Expand Virtual Offerings for Fall

The LaunchBox and Innovation Hub Network has pivoted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and is delivering programming virtually. For an overview of resources being offered by the 21 hubs, click here. From accelerator programs to speaker series to workshops, this fall they are providing entrepreneurs access to more programming…

NSF I-Corps Virtual Short Course Applications Due October 2nd

Academic researchers interested in exploring the commercial potential of their technological innovations are invited to apply to a free National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (NSF I-Corps) Virtual Short Course to be held October 23rd through November 14th. Applications for the fall Virtual Short Course are due by 5 p.m. EST…

FastTrack Accelerator Helps Community Entrepreneur Build Virtual Collaboration App

New FastTrack Accelerator Applications due October 11th As COVID-19 changes our daily lives, professors, teachers, and tutors are working to find effective virtual collaboration tools while transitioning to remote learning. Instructors at all levels frequently use whiteboards to draw out diagrams, calculations, and equations, but a keyboard and mouse are…

Where Are They Now? Q&A With CastPak Co-founder Ben Cutler

Since the Inc.U Competition officially launched in 2015, it has produced 10 winning teams and provided $120,000 in prize money. Those 10 startups have since grown, shifted, and encountered new challenges and successes. This is the fourth in an article series which will explore where some of the winning teams are now,…

Penn State Alum Evon Onusic Shares Entrepreneurial Journey with Penn State Community

Before co-founding multiple business ventures and acting as an entrepreneurial mentor to Penn State students, Evon Onusic was a Penn State undergrad just trying to pass his Chinese language class. Since graduating from Penn State World Campus in 2013, Evon Onusic has worked in product development for a startup in…

Summer Founders Program Showcases Record Number of Teams

Invent Penn State’s 2020 Summer Founders program, a 13-week student startup accelerator, wrapped up August 12th in a virtual showcase after funding seven student-startup teams with $15,000 each to work on their startup, non-profit, or social good full-time over the summer. The program also matched teams with resources and entrepreneurial…

GradienT°’s TemperSure Brings Stability to Biopharmaceuticals

Biopharmaceuticals are a fast-growing sector of the pharmaceutical market, but these protein-based drugs can take many years to bring to market and cost more than $2 billion to develop. A large portion of that time and money is spent attempting to predict which drug from a vast library of candidates…

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