UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Invent Penn State’s LaunchBox & Innovation Network has launched a free, online, self-guided entrepreneurial education resource available to anyone.
The digital curriculum, “Customer Discovery 101,” is designed for people with a business idea who are starting a business, or for existing small businesses looking to develop a new product or service or expand into a new market. The program is free and open to the public and does not require an affiliation with Penn State.
LaunchBox & Innovation Network regularly provides early-stage start-up support to Pennsylvania entrepreneurs through its statewide network. This resource allows for broader access and reach to founders who are unable to visit a LaunchBox location due to physical or geographical restrictions, or who prefer to work independently online.
“We created Customer Discovery 101 to provide all Pennsylvania entrepreneurs and current business owners with free content to help them develop and grow their businesses,” said Annie Hughes, statewide coordinator for the Invent Penn State LaunchBox & Innovation Network. “This program was developed specifically for rural Pennsylvanians and anyone looking for help starting a business but lacking access to resources and support.”
The program is comprised of four learning modules, each of which contains short instructional videos, readings, and activities that users can progress through at their own pace. The program also aligns users with a coach of their choice throughout the program. If users need help finding a coach, Invent Penn State can help them find one in their local ecosystem.
“Users simply click on the program link to get started,” Hughes said. “If you’re at all interested, we encourage you to give it a try. If you have any questions about the program, please contact us at customerdiscovery@psu.edu.”
Customer Discovery 101 is funded in part by federal funding received by Penn State for its Industry 4.0 initiative to financially support the Central Pennsylvania workforce.
“The curriculum guides entrepreneurs through customer discovery, a critical process in mitigating the risks of creating a new business or product,” said Brad Zdenek, director of economic development and student programs in the Office of Entrepreneurship and Commercialization. “Entrepreneurs can identify and test their core business assumptions and refine their plans before investing money, effort and time into building a new business or product.”
We encourage all Pennsylvania entrepreneurs to click here to access and experience the Customer Discovery 101 program.
Funding for this program was provided through congressionally directed expenditures with the support of Pennsylvania’s Congressional Delegation.
About Invent Penn State
Invent Penn State is a statewide initiative to promote economic development, job creation and student career success. Invent Penn State blends entrepreneurship-focused academic programs, business startup training and incubation, commercialization funding and university/community/industry collaboration to facilitate the challenging process of turning research discoveries into valuable products and services that benefit Pennsylvanians and humanity.
The project was funded in part by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.
