Build What You Validate: LaunchLab and Lane are Officially Partnered
LaunchLab and the Lane Innovation Hub have always shared the same goal: help WVU students build something real. Now they share something else too. A formal partnership and a clear, structured path from idea to prototype. This is big news for student entrepreneurs at WVU. LaunchLab has connected students with Lane before, but never through a defined pipeline. That changes now. If you have an idea and you are ready to build it, there is a path waiting for you. "This is exactly what cross-campus collaboration should look like. LaunchLab and Lane each do something distinct, and now they connect in a way that serves students better. That kind of coordination is what the WVU Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem is designed to make possible." - Tara St. Clair, Director, WVU Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem.
What is the Lane Innovation Hub?
The Lane Innovation Hub spans nearly 9,500 square feet inside the Engineering Sciences Building. It is one of the most well-equipped prototyping and fabrication spaces in West Virginia.
The capabilities are serious. Lane offers metal and plastic 3D printing, CNC milling, laser cutting, waterjet cutting, welding, electronics prototyping, printed circuit board production, and more. Whether your idea is a physical product, an electronic device, or something in between, Lane has the tools to help you build it. Lane's mission is to provide an enabling environment for the entrepreneurial and research community at WVU and the broader community to take innovative ideas and designs into functioning prototypes.
It is also open to every WVU student, regardless of major. "Lane was built for every student at WVU, not just engineers. We have the tools and the team to help any founder bring their idea to life. We are glad to have a clear path from LaunchLab so students arrive prepared and ready to build." -Dustin Spayde, Director of the Lane Innovation Hub
Two Programs, One Clear Path
LaunchLab and Lane serve two different parts of the startup journey. That is what makes them work so well together. LaunchLab is where you start. You come in with a problem you want to solve. You talk to potential customers. You test whether your idea is worth building. You refine it until it is solid. That process, called customer discovery, is the foundation of everything that comes next. "The students I work with every day have great ideas. What they need is a clear next step once they have tested those ideas. Knowing Lane is right there, ready for them, makes all the difference." - Allen Beavers, Entrepreneurship Coordinator, Morris L. Hayhurst LaunchLab. Lane is where you build. Once you have a validated idea and you are ready to make something real, Lane has the equipment and the expertise to help you prototype it.
The key is the order. You do not walk into Lane with a rough idea and hope for the best. You come to LaunchLab first, do the work, and then move to Lane when you are ready.
The Referral Card
When a LaunchLab student has gone through ideation and customer discovery and is ready to prototype, they receive a referral card to Lane. It is a simple thing, but it matters. The card tells the Lane team who you are and where you are in your process. You are not walking in cold. You are arriving as a LaunchLab client who has already done the early work. That introduction changes the experience entirely.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Here is the path from idea to prototype:
Step one. You come to LaunchLab with an idea. You work through ideation and customer discovery. You figure out whether the problem is real and whether people would pay to solve it.
Step two. Your idea is solid. LaunchLab gives you a referral card to Lane. You show up knowing the team is ready for you.
Step three. You build your prototype. You test it. You bring what you learned back to the process.
That loop, validate, build, learn, is how real ventures get started.
Why This Matters for West Virginia
West Virginia needs more builders. Not just people with ideas, but people who take those ideas all the way to something real. LaunchLab and Lane working together is one piece of a larger effort across the WVU Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem. The goal is simple: no student should fall through the cracks. Every step of the process should have a clear path forward. You do not have to figure it out alone.
Ready to Start?
If you have an idea and are not sure where to begin, come to LaunchLab. We will help you work through it. If you are already a LaunchLab client and ready to build, ask about your referral card to Lane. The path is clear. We will walk it with you.