MONT ALTO, Pa. ― The Mont Alto LaunchBox, which provides free services and assistance to aspiring entrepreneurs and business startups, will host its Fall Forum from 12:20 to 1:10 p.m. on Nov. 20 in the Wiestling Student Center on the Mont Alto campus. The event is part of Penn State’s Global Entrepreneurship Week.
Happy Valley LaunchBox Chief Amplifier Lee Erickson will lead a panel discussion of Penn State student entrepreneurs Jack Quinn and Joe Kitonga as they describe their business ideas and plans and how they are launching them into the marketplace. The event is open to the public and free of charge. Participants can register to attend at montalto.psu.edu/launchbox/workshops.
Quinn is the co-founder and software engineer at loancrunch ― a mobile software platform that empowers students and graduates with the ability to navigate, manage, and pay their student loans, all from one place. He is currently a junior majoring in computer science and economics with anticipated graduation date of May 2021.
Joe Kitonga is the founder of Vitable Health, which offers local Philadelphia residents on-demand urgent care in their homes. Vitable Health sends a board-certified nurse practitioner to a patient's home within an hour of request or at a scheduled time. This service is similar to retail clinics and urgent care centers, but at a fraction of the cost. He is currently a senior majoring in computer engineering with anticipated graduation date of December 2019.
The Mont Alto LaunchBox is also accepting proposals for its third annual micro-grant pitch competition, LION Tank, which will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on March 11, 2020, in the General Studies Building Auditorium on the Mont Alto campus.
The LION Tank Competition is a “Shark-Tank-like” event, where entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges. The top two competitors will receive mini grants of $1,000 to $1,500, one year’s access to the Mont Alto LaunchBox facility, and additional services to help launch their products into the marketplace. The deadline to submit proposals is Feb. 28, 2020. To submit a proposal go to montalto.psu.edu/launchbox/apply.
The Mont Alto LaunchBox provides resources and support to entrepreneurs in a free co-working space to help early-stage and more advanced startups build a sustainable and scalable business and a viable plan for growth. It is open to the Penn State community and the general public. LaunchBox is a signature program of Invent Penn State — an initiative meant to spur economic development, job creation, and student career success. Find out more at invent.psu.edu.
For more information about the workshops, contact Debra Collins at dlc43@psu.edu or 717-749-6112. More about the Mont Alto LaunchBox is available at montalto.psu.edu/launchbox and Invent Penn State at invent.psu.edu.