UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Nittany Entrepreneurial Society (NES) (formerly Innoblue) and the Society for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIES) will host their biggest pitch contest of the year on Wednesday, April from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. To do. 17.
The event, held in Room 603 of the Eric J. Barron Innovation Hub, will feature five student startup teams and three judges. Center County Commissioner Mark Higgins. and Brandon Aversano, founder and CEO of Alloy Market.
Our co-sponsor organization, NES, has long contributed to similar technology and entrepreneurship initiatives as the oldest entrepreneurial organization on campus, including the Summer Founders Program, HackPSU, and LionLaunch Pad. We also organize workshops to improve entrepreneurial skills and knowledge and provide support and opportunities for student-led projects.
“We offer a very collaborative community that acts as a hub that connects many organizations,” said Matt Christianson, NES President and Head of Student Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Sustainability. says Mr.
NES meets every Monday on the second floor of Happy Valley LaunchBox. The club welcomes students of all grades and majors, provides free meals, and helps with projects and startup ideas to get job offers.
CIES has similar goals, fostering a creative culture of entrepreneurs at Penn State and establishing a close network of students interested in corporate innovation and entrepreneurship programs. Both organizations focus on the larger field of entrepreneurial education at Penn State, providing a supportive environment and opportunities for interested students.
Despite unique initiatives across the University Park campus, opportunities such as upcoming pitch contests would not be possible without donations like this year’s sponsorship from gold buying company Alloy Market. It wasn’t as successful, Christianson said.
“I would like to thank our sponsors, who are senior contributors to Forbes and founders of startups,” Christianson added. His Alloy, which has been featured in publications such as CBS and his USA Today, is on a mission to provide his system of compassionate support to help customers sell their gold, silver, and platinum jewelry. We promote integrity and fair compensation.
Student participants can expect the opportunity to gain valuable skills and experience, whether they enter the competition or simply participate. The event, officially named “NES “There’s no other contest like it,” said Christianson, who secured a full-time job after graduation through a similar pitch contest at Penn State, especially given the award, which was chosen independently by three judges. He mentioned the unique screening system for awarding awards. Give an amount to the team of their choice.
The overall best team will receive an award, but Christianson explained that such awards are separate from funding. There are many different factors that judges take into account when choosing which teams to fund, and while some teams pitch well, they may not need funding as urgently as others.
NES “rewards people who are doing great work,” Christianson said, stressing the need to “properly allocate funding to startups that really need it.”
The NES X CIES Pitch Competition serves as a halfway point between the Ideamakers Challenge, hosted by the College of Information Sciences, and the Inc. U Competition, hosted by Invent Penn State. Christianson explained that the Idea Maker Challenge is an early stage of the pitch competition, which primarily features ideas from inexperienced startups. However, Inc. U is the final stage for a startup that has been developing its idea for more than six months. NES and CIES are designed to reduce competition at these levels by creating space for “mid-stage” startups, i.e. startups that don’t have enough experience for U and are too far ahead for the early stages. Addressed the gap between. The only requirement to enter the NES X CIES contest is that the startup has not received funding from previous contests.
Competing teams will have the opportunity to develop critical public speaking and problem-solving skills, as well as participate in extensive networking with entrepreneurs and business professionals. NES also uses competitions like this to recruit students into other programs, such as the Entrepreneurship and Innovation minors.
This event provides an opportunity for teams to combine community engagement, professional exposure and skills development, regardless of whether they are awarded funding. Christianson says of the NES perspective: “We don’t consider it a loss. We consider this the next step.”
For more information about NES, please contact NittanyEntrepreneursociety@gmail.com. For information about CIES, contact jmn5872@psu.edu or visit the CIES site.
The Penn State Student Entrepreneurship Center is part of Penn State’s undergraduate education.
