Penn State Brandywine
Penn State Brandywine's LaunchBox brought us in to teach entrepreneurship at two stages: a hands-on founder series for early-stage entrepreneurs, and startup workshops for middle and high school students. We designed and taught the founder series, and we planned and delivered the student events with the LaunchBox team.
The challenge
Brandywine LaunchBox, based at Penn State Brandywine in Media, Pennsylvania, wanted to reach people at both ends of the entrepreneurial path: students who have never thought about starting a company, and early-stage founders who need a clear, practical sequence for building one.
30+
Founders in the Launch & Learn series
220+
Middle and high school students at Youth STEAM and Startup Day
What we delivered
Launch & Learn curriculum
We designed a 10-workshop series that takes early-stage founders from a first idea to a plan for growth.
Ten hands-on workshops
We taught every session, from validating an idea and building a lean business model to marketing, finances, sales, and scaling.
In person or online
Founders could join each session in person on campus or virtually.
Youth STEAM and Startup Day
With the LaunchBox team, we planned and delivered two event days, one for high school students and one for middle school students.
Startup workshop
Students brainstormed STEM ideas that could turn into startups.
Keynote
Eric Smith, our Co-Founder & CEO, gave the keynote at both events.
Launch & Learn
Ten workshops, from first idea to growth
- Unlocking Ideas: Brainstorming and Validating Your Business
- Crafting a Lean Business Model
- Know Your Customer: Defining Your Market
- Building a Brand on a Budget
- Prototyping and Testing: Building Your MVP
- Marketing 101: Getting Your First Customers
- Financial Basics: Managing Money and Resources
- Sales Fundamentals for Founders
- Scaling Up: Managing Growth
- Building a Resilient Entrepreneurial Mindset
The outcome
More than 30 founders took part in Launch & Learn, a ten-workshop series that took them from a first idea to a plan for growth, in person on campus or online. More than 220 middle and high school students from schools across the Philadelphia region spent a day at Penn State Brandywine turning STEM ideas into startup concepts, and Eric Smith gave the keynote at both events.
“Our startup workshop and keynote empowered our youth to create their own path to success.”
Tony Mattei
Director of Entrepreneurship and Digital Marketing, Penn State Brandywine
