The winners of the 2020 Summer Teen Entrepreneurship Challenge Pitch Competition. They are (clockwise from top left) Ella Schneider of Hazleton Area High School (First Place), Ethan Roberts of Lakeland Jr./Sr. High School (Second Place), and Isabelle Polgar and Christina Cikowski of Wyoming Seminary (Third Place).
It's time to register for the spring Teen Entrepreneurship Challenge! Pitch your brightest ideas and compete for up to $1,500 in prizes.
Do you want to...
• Learn how to start a business?
• Earn money?
• Be a problem solver?
• Explore your passions?
• Engage your community?
• Act on ideas?
Who
Rising high school sophomores, juniors and seniors.
When
6-8 p.m.
Tuesdays and Thursdays
March 9 - April 15
Pitch contest Thursday, April 22
Where
To ensure the safety of participants and instructors during the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's challenge will be held via Zoom.
Cost
This program is funded entirely by local businesses and is free to attend.
Registration
Registration has closed. Please check back for information on the next cohort.
Details
The Hazleton LaunchBox has teamed up with the Downtown Hazleton Alliance for Progress and other members of the Hazleton Innovation Collaborative (ThInC) to offer an engaging six-week program designed to inspire teenagers with the skills and mindset needed to transform ideas into action.
During this program, participating teams and individuals will: explore their passions and identify problems in the community, discover personal strengths and limitations, develop business ideas and learn how to articulate and act on them.
The program concludes with the annual pitch competition, where participants present their ideas to a panel of judges for a chance at winning up to $1,500 in prizes.
Contact
Debra Conway
Director of Continuing Education
570-450-3136
[email protected]
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.