Impact

'The Investment' student startup TV show to air May 13

Watch six student startups compete head-to-head for a share of $30,000

Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

The top six Penn State student startup teams from the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP)’s  2021 Inc.U Competition will compete on WPSU’s Shark Tank-style TV show “The Investment” for a chance at a share of up to $30,000 in funding for their startup. The show will air on WPSU-TV and can be streamed at live.wpsu.org at 8 p.m. May 13. 

For the past four years, WPSU, central Pennsylvania’s public media station and a Penn State Outreach service, and PennTAP have collaborated to host the statewide Inc.U undergraduate student startup competition that culminates in “The Investment" televised event. 

PennTAP, along with experienced entrepreneurial coaches, worked with the six student teams to get their pre-recorded pitches ready and prepare for questions the judges may have during the live question and answer event. 

The six student startups include:  

Read more about the startups here.

Four highly esteemed judges have been selected to judge the competition and determine which startup(s) will receive the $30,000 in funding. 

The judges are Lou Childs, co-founder and chief operating officer of Dovetail Essentials (makers of SlumberPod); Robert E. Morgan, founder and CEO of Talaria Media; Sheri Collins Sr. director in the Office of Corporate Relations at the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED); and Jordan Rednor, executive director and chief operating officer of Decoded Advertising

The recording of this year’s episode of “The Investment” will also be available on WPSU’s website after the air date. 

The sponsors for the competition prize money are as follows: 

Invent Penn State, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, the Penn State College of Engineering, the Robert & Tammy Morgan Entrepreneurship Fund, and the Penn State Schreyer Honors College.  

Inc.U is a Penn State program partially funded by a five-year grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (USEDA) in partnership with Invent Penn State. Part of the USEDA grant funds the development of “The Investment."

 

Last Updated April 30, 2021