live from THE LAUNCHBOX!With great honor, we invite the top teams in our competition to our business plan presentation challenge - hosted at Penn State's Happy Valley LaunchBox. Is your business plan ready?
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123 S Burrowes St. 6th Floor
State College, PA 16801 |
$1,000 GRAND PRIZE
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The top team selected in our rounds of judging will receive a $1,000 grand prize (in the form of an Amazon gift card). Our Shark-Tank-like competitions allow the best student teams from school districts to present their business ideas to a panel of local judges for awesome prizes.
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PREVIOUS EVENT - THE EXPERTS
A variety of renown business professionals will be in attendance
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Samuel R. Ryder
Vice President 
First National Bank
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Alan Dakey
President 
Brighter Financial Futures
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John Rodgers
Senior Vice President 
PNC Bank, NA
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Elizabeth Hay
Jack White Family Director 
Happy Valley LaunchBox
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Don McCandless
CEO 
ConidioTec
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Kendy Alvarez
Mayor 
Borough of Lewisburg
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Bios
ELizabeth Hay
Elizabeth has more than 15 years of experience as an entrepreneur and consulting with small business owners. Her expertise includes business strategy, disaster recovery, scaling and de-risking growth companies, employee management, insurance compliance, accounting and bookkeeping, government contracting, bid and proposal writing, safety management and overall business management.
Elizabeth has worked with multiple SBIR awards and has training in DCAA contract accounting. Elizabeth has experience with woman owned and veteran owned business certifications, compliance, and bidding under those designations.
Elizabeth is the President of WiNGs, a State College based women entrepreneurs networking group, she teaches yoga in the State College area, and balances her SBDC career, owning a small business, and raising her 6 children with the help of her husband and co-owner of TechKnowServ Corp, Thomas Hay.
Elizabeth has worked with multiple SBIR awards and has training in DCAA contract accounting. Elizabeth has experience with woman owned and veteran owned business certifications, compliance, and bidding under those designations.
Elizabeth is the President of WiNGs, a State College based women entrepreneurs networking group, she teaches yoga in the State College area, and balances her SBDC career, owning a small business, and raising her 6 children with the help of her husband and co-owner of TechKnowServ Corp, Thomas Hay.
JOHN RODGERS
John has been active in commercial banking in Central Pennsylvania for over 25 years. His focus is to develop creative and custom solutions for small to medium sized businesses. He has an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh Katz School of Business and a BA from Westminster College, New Wilmington, PA. He has been active with the CBICC through its revolving loan fund and Ambassador Club. He has been a board member of Global Connections, the Discovery Space Science Center and the CBICC, and has been active in the Scouting for Food drive for the State College Food Bank, United Way, Little League baseball and Centre Soccer.
Samuel Ryder
Sam is a Vice President and Business Banker with First National Bank. In this role, Sam manages a portfolio of existing client relationships and works to develop new business opportunities throughout the Susquehanna Valley.
Prior to joining First National Bank, Sam spent 17 years with Fulton Financial Corporation working in Consumer Banking and Small Business Lending. Sam is a 1996 graduate of Shippensburg University where he earned a degree in Business Management. He went on to complete his MBA at Pennsylvania State University in 2009. Sam is a 2010 graduate of Leadership Lancaster and 2013 graduate of Leadership Susquehanna Valley. He is active in the community serving as a teacher, volunteer and elder at his church, as the treasurer of the board of directors for Susquehanna Valley CASA – Voices for Children. He is also an adjunct professor and a member of the business advisory committee at the Pennsylvania College of Technology. Sam is passionate about financial literacy and serves as a volunteer for Pennsylvania Council on Financial Literacy and as a facilitator of Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University.
Prior to joining First National Bank, Sam spent 17 years with Fulton Financial Corporation working in Consumer Banking and Small Business Lending. Sam is a 1996 graduate of Shippensburg University where he earned a degree in Business Management. He went on to complete his MBA at Pennsylvania State University in 2009. Sam is a 2010 graduate of Leadership Lancaster and 2013 graduate of Leadership Susquehanna Valley. He is active in the community serving as a teacher, volunteer and elder at his church, as the treasurer of the board of directors for Susquehanna Valley CASA – Voices for Children. He is also an adjunct professor and a member of the business advisory committee at the Pennsylvania College of Technology. Sam is passionate about financial literacy and serves as a volunteer for Pennsylvania Council on Financial Literacy and as a facilitator of Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University.
Alan Dakey
Alan Dakey has greatly enjoyed his career as a community banker which began with a summer banking job at The Dime Bank in Honesdale and has included 20-plus years as a CEO of three Pennsylvania-based community banks including Mid Penn Bank and Peoples Neighborhood Bank in Hallstead PA. Mr. Dakey most recently served as President and CEO of the Bank of Bird-In-Hand, a de-novo bank located in Lancaster County, PA.
He currently serves as President of Brighter Financial Futures, a nonprofit whose mission is to provide K-12 students with economics, personal finance, and entrepreneurship skills that elevate their standard of living, quality of life, and professional success.
Alan has been active in community activities, having served as a School Board Director of the Millersburg Area School District, a Director of the Pennsylvania Bankers Association, and a former member of the Boards of the Honesdale, Harrisburg Area, and Scranton Area YMCAs.
He currently serves as an Advisory Board member for the Bloomsburg University- Ziegler College of Business and as a Co-chair of the Pennsylvanian Bankers Association Retired Bankers Program. He has been active in a number of nonprofit organizations, including The United Way, Countryside Conservancy and various chambers of commerce and economic development organizations.
Alan holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Scranton, a BS in Accounting from Bloomsburg University and is a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking and the Pennsylvania Bankers School of Banking.
He currently serves as President of Brighter Financial Futures, a nonprofit whose mission is to provide K-12 students with economics, personal finance, and entrepreneurship skills that elevate their standard of living, quality of life, and professional success.
Alan has been active in community activities, having served as a School Board Director of the Millersburg Area School District, a Director of the Pennsylvania Bankers Association, and a former member of the Boards of the Honesdale, Harrisburg Area, and Scranton Area YMCAs.
He currently serves as an Advisory Board member for the Bloomsburg University- Ziegler College of Business and as a Co-chair of the Pennsylvanian Bankers Association Retired Bankers Program. He has been active in a number of nonprofit organizations, including The United Way, Countryside Conservancy and various chambers of commerce and economic development organizations.
Alan holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Scranton, a BS in Accounting from Bloomsburg University and is a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking and the Pennsylvania Bankers School of Banking.
DON MCCANDLESS
Don McCandless is the CEO of ConidioTec, creator of a revolutionary bio-pesticide for the elimination and prevention of bed bugs. Since its very successful launch in October 2017, Aprehend® has been exhibiting strong growth across the US and Canada.
Prior to ConidioTec, Don worked as Director of Business Development for Ben Franklin Transformation Business Services Network. He delivered critical management assistance to tech-based start-ups on topics such as cash management, market research, marketing strategy, corporate strategy & accounting. In addition, Don launched the 10-week Boot Camp for Entrepreneurs offered by the TechCelerator@State College. In the first five years 73 teams graduated, forming 66 companies, receiving over $26M in start-up funding and generating $8M in revenue. For 20 years he held a variety of roles at Restek Corporation, culminating with a five-year tenure as CEO. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame with an MBA, Don also has a Bachelor of Science from the Pennsylvania State University.
Involved in the local community for over 30 years, Don is a former board member of the Chamber of Business & Industry, a volunteer instructor for the Penn State Karate Club, and was part of the team that launched Centre Volunteers in Medicine in 2003, a free medical clinic for the uninsured in Centre County.
Prior to ConidioTec, Don worked as Director of Business Development for Ben Franklin Transformation Business Services Network. He delivered critical management assistance to tech-based start-ups on topics such as cash management, market research, marketing strategy, corporate strategy & accounting. In addition, Don launched the 10-week Boot Camp for Entrepreneurs offered by the TechCelerator@State College. In the first five years 73 teams graduated, forming 66 companies, receiving over $26M in start-up funding and generating $8M in revenue. For 20 years he held a variety of roles at Restek Corporation, culminating with a five-year tenure as CEO. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame with an MBA, Don also has a Bachelor of Science from the Pennsylvania State University.
Involved in the local community for over 30 years, Don is a former board member of the Chamber of Business & Industry, a volunteer instructor for the Penn State Karate Club, and was part of the team that launched Centre Volunteers in Medicine in 2003, a free medical clinic for the uninsured in Centre County.
Kendy Alvarez
The Honorable Kendy Alvarez serves as the Mayor for the Borough of Lewisburg. She is a community builder who connects people, organizations, and systems throughout the Greater Susquehanna River Valley. Her love of the region can be heard on the podcast “The 570h” where she joins friends to discuss living, working, and playing in the 570.
Ms. Alvarez demystifies the real estate financing process for aspiring homeowners and investors. She is an advocate for entrepreneurship and innovation volunteering as part of the organizing team for 1 Million Cups Susquehanna. Her commitment to community and economic development is reflected in her board participation with Lewisburg Downtown Partnership and Lewisburg Neighborhoods as well as a volunteer with CommUnity Zone, Union-Snyder Hunger Coalition, Penn State Extension Ag Council, Evangelical Community Hospital Patient and Family Advisory Council, and the PA Outdoor Recreation Engagement Coalition.
Ms. Alvarez is a 2006 graduate of Bucknell University where she serves as President Emeritus of the Black Alumni Association.
Ms. Alvarez demystifies the real estate financing process for aspiring homeowners and investors. She is an advocate for entrepreneurship and innovation volunteering as part of the organizing team for 1 Million Cups Susquehanna. Her commitment to community and economic development is reflected in her board participation with Lewisburg Downtown Partnership and Lewisburg Neighborhoods as well as a volunteer with CommUnity Zone, Union-Snyder Hunger Coalition, Penn State Extension Ag Council, Evangelical Community Hospital Patient and Family Advisory Council, and the PA Outdoor Recreation Engagement Coalition.
Ms. Alvarez is a 2006 graduate of Bucknell University where she serves as President Emeritus of the Black Alumni Association.
PREVIOUS EVENT - AGENDA
Welcome |
Break |
