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Young entrepreneurs from WVU Tech and Concord University were given the chance to pitch their very own business ideas late last week at WVU Tech’s second Pitch Competition. WVU Tech’s LaunchLab hosted the event where four students from WVU Tech and three students from Concord pitched their idea to a panel of judges for the chance to win the grand prize of $2,500 to help further their business. The second place winner received $1,500 and the third place winner won $1,000. 

The 13 teams pitched their ideas, from business innovations to new technology, in front of a group of judges.  The teams were made up of a mix of community members, as well as students and staff from WVU.  The event, sponsored by Huntington Bank, gave the winning team a $2,500 cash prize to help further develop their idea. 

The West Virginia University IDEA Hub and LaunchLab Network today co-hosted the first “I Heart IDEA Hub Pitch Challenge” to provide students, faculty, staff and community members who utilize any of the IDEA Hub’s services the opportunity to showcase their innovative ideas and compete for cash prizes to further develop their innovations. Read the full article here!

Just across the Monongahela River from Morgantown sits a small greenhouse with a picturesque view of Woodburn Hall. During the winter months, you might notice its soft pinkish purple glow, but if you weren’t looking for it, you’d probably never notice the unassuming structure. The real surprise though is not that the greenhouse simply exists, but rather that it houses an innovative horticulture operation called Micro Genesis.

In a groundbreaking new partnership, the WVU LaunchLab Network partnered with AlphaLab Gear to hold a pitch competition for WVU students and alumni. The winner of the competition earned a coveted slot in the semi-final selection round for the AlphaLab Gear Hardware Cup, which boasts a $50,000 grand prize.  The Hardware Cup’s goal is “to find and highlight the most promising physical product startups in the nation,” and West Virginia University’s innovations are very promising. 

The WVU LaunchLab was recognized on the global stage as an Outstanding Emerging Entrepreneurship Center at the Global Consortium for Entrepreneurship Center’s annual conference in Chicago, Illinois on Oct. 21.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. –The WVU LaunchLab hosted back-to-back workshops to support entrepreneurs and innovators across campus who were interested in starting a business or learning about various funding opportunities. Students, faculty, staff and community members attended the discussions to hear firsthand from innovation experts, investors and entrepreneurs what they need to know to potentially move their ideas and discoveries into market. 

MORGANTOWN, WV – The West Virginia University LaunchLab hosted their first annual Manufacturing Day Pitch Competition. Participating students presented a five-minute pitch, highlighting a problem and solution for a physical product that could be manufactured. National Manufacturing Day ® is a celebration of modern manufacturing meant to inspire the next generation of manufacturers and occurs on the first Friday in October. With that thought in mind, it felt like the perfect time to use such an inspiring day as a kick off for this manufacturing focused event.

While most people were using Twitter to tweet about what they had for breakfast in the morning, in 2014 Matt Nelson was using it as a comedic standpoint to share his love of a good joke.  N elson, who moved to Charleston when he was eight-years old, is the founder of two popular Twitter accounts — WeRateDogs and Thoughts of Dog. He was also the first speaker to kick-off WVU Tech's "Start Up Success Story Series" at the Beckley campus. 

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The  West Virginia University  LaunchLab kicked off the 2018 Fall semester with its first Welcome Back Pitch & Showcase. Participating students presented a two-minute pop-up pitch, highlighting a problem and solution that apply to one of  West Virginia Forward’s three main areas of focus: business, education or human capital. Students’ pitches included specific ideas on how we can bring more manufacturing jobs to the state, advance educational opportunities to students to retain talent in West Virginia – particularly among underrepresented populations – and create more jobs.