The Berks LaunchBox powered by Penn State recently announced the pitch winners of its summer 2025 Lifestyle Pitch Competition. Prizes awarded to the first-, second- and third-place winners totaled $2,000 in seed funding, plus an additional $1,000 awarded to the remaining eight pitch contestants through $125 micro-grants and support from the Entrepreneur Assistance Clinic to help register an LLC or to put the funds toward other business needs.
As part of the college’s ongoing efforts to engage with and support the local Hispanic and Latino communities, Penn State Berks will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month Sept. 15 – Oct. 15, with a variety of vibrant events, educational presentations and cultural showcases. These events include dynamic speakers, Latin cuisine, music, dancing and much more. All events are free and open to the public and most are held at Penn State Berks, except "Connect & Inspire," which will be held at Centro Hispano in downtown Reading.
Berks LaunchBox recently announced seven recipients of the “IMAGINE Your Business” grant. Funded by the County of Berks Imagine Berks Fund, this grant provides up to $2,000 to early-stage entrepreneurs to support various business needs such as prototyping, marketing and product development. The initiative aims to foster innovation and economic growth within Berks County.
Berks LaunchBox has announced the spring 2025 round of the “IMAGINE Your Business” grant. Funded by the County of Berks Imagine Berks Fund, this grant provides up to $2,000 to early-stage entrepreneurs to support various business needs such as prototyping, marketing and product development. The initiative aims to foster innovation and economic growth within Berks County.
Throughout 2024, Berks LaunchBox has continued accelerating startup growth in the Berks County community. In the last year, Berks LaunchBox has assisted 229 new entrepreneurs, taught new skills to 708 community members in its Makerspace, offered entrepreneurship classes to 463 community members, and impacted 339 students.
Penn State Berks will host a variety of events during Global Entrepreneurship Week 2024, set for Monday, Nov. 18, to Friday, Nov. 22. Events are sponsored by the college’s Flemming Creativity, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development Center and the Berks LaunchBox in downtown Reading.
The Berks LaunchBox in partnership with Penn State Berks will host its free 3D Modeling and Printing Workshop for Manufacturing Companies from 3 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Current charging stations for electric vehicles, or EVs, can be expensive to install, and limited in the number of parking spaces they reach. Penn State engineering student Jonathan Smith and his team have spent the last three years creating a possible solution: smaller, mounted charging stations, which can move to cover as many as five parking spaces. As CEO of Streamline Charging, he’s used his Penn State education and customized coursework to get the team’s ideas to market.
According to the 2020 census, the Hispanic and Latino population of the City of Reading is nearly 69%, up from 58% in 2010. To meet the needs of this growing population, Penn State Berks is expanding its efforts to engage with and support the local Hispanic and Latino communities with several new initiatives.
