The 3rd Annual IdeaPitch Competition is a generator of that which America needs most in these hard economic times-- entrepreneurial businesses.
Hosted by the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Smeal College of Business, IdeaPitch allows teams (of which only one member has to be a Penn State student) to compete for resources and venture capital funding. The format of the competition is similar to what one would face in pursuing money from an established venture capital firm.
The grand prize is $2000, but unless you're starting a blog, that won't get you very far. In addition to the cash, the winning team gets office space in the Keller Building, the chance to participate in the Garber Practicum and potentially receive money from the Garber Fund, and free access to any legal services the team may need.
Past overall winners have been primarily technological. Last year's winner was a piece of software that linked together study aids for all the major college admissions tests. Before that was a group that offered a synthetic version of drywall.
This Friday will be the "Final Eight" round, where prizes will be presented.
It's a shame, really.
Every Saturday morning, young entrepreneurs in college are waking up with visions of starting the next Cisco or Microsoft. Lifting their heads up from their pizza box pillows, they brush off the Dorito crumbs, struggle to their feet, and stagger out through the graveyard of Natty to announce their new ideas to the world.
But alas...these new ideas often don't make it past conception in colleges today, as they get dragged down and suffocated in a quagmire of legal issues and technical hang-ups.
This problem was recently detailed in the article How College's Can Better Nurture Startups. Interestingly, the article explained how the start-up scene in Silicon Valley has "become based on trust and community," escaping the formal straight-jacket college can put entrepreneurs in. Proposed remedies for this formal quick sand included colleges creating a venture lab run by an experienced visionary (who also has the Benjamins to throw behind new ideas) and simplifying the crippling "spin-off process."
Read on to find out what resources Penn State has to offer.
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