Archives
Accelerator Program for Socially-Conscious Entrepreneurs, GoodCompany Ventures, Launches in Philadelphia
April 2, 2009 | Filed under Funding
peHUB is reporting that a new Philadelphia-based “venture-style incubator program” is being formed for socially-conscious entrepreneurs. The program is called GoodCompany Ventures.
The press release elaborates further:
GoodCompany Ventures, a team of social finance investors and start-up experts, today announced the launch of a business incubator targeting entrepreneurs with innovative solutions to unmet social needs. The [...]
AlphaLab, Pittsburgh-based seed program, now accepting applications
March 31, 2009 | Filed under Funding
With the summer approaching and finalists being notified from other seed programs, you might think that the window has closed for 2009 seed funding for your venture. Fear not, Penn State entrepreneurs. Pittsburgh-based seed program AlphaLab has opened applications for its Summer/Fall program. The official announcement is below.
AlphaLab is now accepting applications for its Summer/Fall [...]
How much equity?
March 30, 2009 | Filed under Startups
Recently, I was asked to help figure out how much equity the co-founders of an early-stage startup should be given at the outset of the venture. This is an interesting question - in most cases, I think that early-stage startups all too often forgo the question and just divvy the equity pie up evenly. [...]
Upcoming Networking Dinner from the Penn State Network of Entrepreneurs
March 28, 2009 | Filed under Events
The Penn State Network of Entrepreneurs is hosting its annual networking dinner on April 7th at 6pm. The event will be held at the Atherton Hotel and is expected to include current entrepreneurs and investors.
Here’s the email from PSNE president Emmanuel Akintayo with further details:
Dear Psner’s,
We shall be having our annual networking dinner on [...]
Penn Stater “Booster Shots” article covering student entrepreneurship on campus
March 27, 2009 | Filed under Lion Launch Pad, News
Penn State’s alumni publication, The Penn Stater, recently published an article on student entrepreneurship on campus in its March-April 2009 edition entitled “Booster Shots”. Amy Strauss is the author and profiled several prime examples of ventures emerging from the Engineering Entrepreneurship minor, including LionMenus.com, DiamondBack Automotive, and Triple Overtime Promotions.
And, the Lion Launch Pad [...]
Xobni exits beta and closes on $10m funding
March 27, 2009 | Filed under Alumni, Xobni
Xobni, a Y Combinator alumni startup co-founded by Penn State alumnus Matt Brezina, is getting a lot of press, including a feature article in BusinessWeek!
The company recently released an updated version of its flagship product - the plugin for Outlook is now out of beta and features substantial performance enhancements.
Xobni also announced that the Blackberry [...]
Student Managed Venture Funds
March 9, 2009 | Filed under Students, Venture Capital
College Mogul, a blog following college entrepreneurship, recently wrote a post on “Student-Managed Venture Funds are the Future for College Entrepreneurs”.
Certainly, as student driven entrepreneurship continues to increase and universities seek ways to enable this trend, it makes sense for colleges to follow the “early leaders”, offering students this avenue of funding (not to mention [...]
Vuzit, a DreamIt company, receives additional funding
February 8, 2009 | Filed under Community, News, Penn State
Great news for a Philadelphia-based and DreamIt-funded startup (and one led by a Penn Stater!): Vuzit receives $100,000 in additional funding from Innovation Philadelphia, as recipient of the Creative Economy Investment Fund (CEIF) award. In addition to this award funding, the company also announced (along with Center Networks) on its blog that it has [...]
Summer 2009 Seed Fund Applications now open
February 7, 2009 | Filed under Funding
For PSU entrepreneurs looking to move their ventures forward in 2009, the application processes for major seed funds are now open.
TechStars in Boulder, CO is accepting applications through March 21 — I recently visited TechStars in Boulder, CO - watch for an upcoming post on my visit
LaunchBox Digital in Washington, DC is accepting applications through [...]
Announcing the “Nittany Lion Early Stage Venture Capital” Conference
January 30, 2009 | Filed under Events, News, Penn State
This March, the Smeal College of Business is hosting the inaugural Nittany Lion Early Stage Venture Capital conference. Details are available on the conference web site.
From the web site: “The conference theme is bridging the gap between venture capitalists, angel investors, and academia by bringing various perspectives for collaboration between these three communities.”
Based on [...]
We’re back….
January 30, 2009 | Filed under General
It’s been a bit of a hiatus (ok, quite a while), but I’m back. The last few months have been quite busy work-wise, but there is some interesting PSU entrepreneurship news to report, so I’ll endeavor to resume my regular posting.
And, if you don’t see what you’re hearing posted, please email me with any [...]
PSU Entrepreneurship Guest Lecture Series
October 22, 2008 | Filed under Uncategorized
A great event for your calendars:
PSU Entrepreneurship Guest Lecture Series
Hosted by the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Smeal College of Business and the College of Engineering Norbert and Audrey Gaelen Entrepreneur Speaker Series
How Google Grew: 10 Good Moves In 10 Good Years
An intimate analysis of Google and its success, by a seasoned [...]
Startup Weekend State College has been Canceled
October 21, 2008 | Filed under Uncategorized
Unfortunately, the national level for Startup Weekend set the cutoff at 50 registered participants for there to be enough participants for the event to work as desired. Given the fact that registrations didn’t give us enough participants to hold the event, the event needed to be canceled.
All students who have registered will have refunds [...]
Startup Weekend Scholarship - Apply Now!
October 13, 2008 | Filed under Uncategorized
If you’re interested in attending Startup Weekend, but the registration cost was holding you back, thanks to Liz Kisenwether and the support of the Engineering Entrepreneurship minor program, you can now apply for a scholarship to cover the ticket cost.
Download the attached information and apply online here.
The form is very easy to complete, so submit [...]
DreamIt Video on Viddler
October 12, 2008 | Filed under Uncategorized
DreamIt has compiled a video of quick interview segments with the founders from this past summer, along with clips (actually more like one or two words each…) from speakers at one of their events (presumably the big kickoff event at the start of the summer). It was interesting to hear some of the founders’ [...]
Spread the Word on Startup Weekend
October 9, 2008 | Filed under Startup Weekend
Charlie DuBois, Jenna Spinelle, and the IST Communications Office released an announcement yesterday concerning Startup Weekend. This was promptly picked up by the Penn State News Wire, as well.
IST ListServ mailings were sent out today, along with announcements to several other mailing lists.
Make sure you ping your friends and register!
Quick Link: xconomy.com on DreamIt Ventures
October 6, 2008 | Filed under Funding
xconomy.com posted an interview with Michael Levinson, one of the three DreamIt founders. The article does an admirable job of covering the motivation for launching DreamIt and some of the unique details, but doesn’t cover any of the upcoming changes to DreamIt that were mentioned in Steve Welch’s ignitePhilly talk.
Awesome, Inc. - Yet Another Seed Accelerator?
October 4, 2008 | Filed under Uncategorized
In early September, I heard of Awesome, Inc. Details are light, both through the company web site and other sources, but it appears to be a new seed fund accelerator. According to the web site, applications will be accepted starting January 1, 2009, and the program will run in Lexington, KY. SitePoint, [...]
Startup Weekend State College in 24 Days - Register Now!
October 1, 2008 | Filed under Uncategorized
With the start of October, we now only have 24 days until Startup Weekend begins in State College! Make sure to let us know that you’re coming through the Facebook event, forward the Facebook invitation to your friends, and purchase your ticket via Eventbrite!
National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance - Info Session (Funding Opportunity)
October 1, 2008 | Filed under Uncategorized
For those student entrepreneurs with ventures (or concepts) that are interested in funding opportunities, consider the following information session held by the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA). NCIIA is an organization supporting collegiate entrepreneurship and has given grants to Penn State student launched ventures in the past, in particular, the Advanced E-Team [...]
Opportunities for your ideas
September 29, 2008 | Filed under Funding
Two important opportunities if you haven’t already seen them:
Alexis Siemons posted news of the Staples Youth Social Entrepreneur Competition (a global search for the most creative and inspiring ways young people are changing our world) at Phillypreneurs. This was the first I had heard of this competition, so thanks for spreading the word to [...]
Startup Weekend State College on Facebook
September 26, 2008 | Filed under Startup Weekend
Spread the word! RSVP for Startup Weekend State College on Facebook and forward the invitation to your friends. (Don’t forget to officially register, too…)
Free Trip to Boulder for Tech Talent
September 25, 2008 | Filed under Uncategorized
Perhaps more than any other location outside of Silicon Valley, Boulder has transformed itself and has fostered a growing startup community. Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and other locations that aspire to become active entrepreneurial hotspots, would do well to follow much of Boulder’s lead.
In yet another innovative approach to attracting top notch talent and marketing the [...]
ignitePhilly and DreamIt News
September 25, 2008 | Filed under Uncategorized
For those of you not following the growth of the entrepreneurship community in Philadelphia, ignitePhilly 2 was held this past Tuesday. There is a great summary here.
Based on that synopsis of the speakers’ presentations, it’s clear that there were a lot of great talks and ideas. Two particularly interesting speakers:
Steve Welch from DreamIt: [...]
Invention to Venture: Penn State
September 19, 2008 | Filed under Events
The details are out for the first of two Penn State entrepreneurship events in October: Invention to Venture
Date: Saturday, October 11 2008
Time: 8:40 AM to 4:00 PM (Registration & Breakfast starts at 7:30AM)
Location: Alumni Hall, HUB Robeson Center, University Park, PA 16802
Cost: $10 for Students, $30 for Faculty/Staff/ Alumni, $50 for Business Community & Others.
*Participant [...]
