On May 14 Clarion University Small Business Development Center will host “Product Development and Commercialization Forum: From Idea to Invention to Marketplace.” The program is part of an educational series highlighting the Northwest Pennsylvania Innovation Support Program, an organization initiated as a result of a Developed and Discovered in Pennsylvania grant awarded to the Center for Applied Research and Intellectual Property Development by Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. The program offers micro-grants up to $15,000 and all-encompassing, comprehensive business/product development care and support.
The forum is designed to educate individuals on a variety of in-depth issues about the product development process. Experts will cover:
- Legal and liability issues;
- Business and market research;
- Applied research support;
- Product development and feasibility analysis;
- Intellectual property development; and
- Trials, tribulations and joys of working in a start-up environment.
Speakers include: Fred Marroni, CEO, INDIGO; Jim Kosco, portfolio manager, Ben Franklin Technology Partners; Steve Overholt, principal, Bluestream Innovation Consulting; Jonathan M. D’Silva, partner, MacDonald, Illig, Jones & Britton LLP; Ben Legum, assistant professor, Clarion University; and Cynthia Nellis, assistant director, Clarion University Small Business Development Center.
Attendees will receive a tour of the Clarion University Innovation Laboratories and get a head start on the NWPA Innovation Support Program application process.
The event will begin at 1 p.m. and end at 6 p.m. Food and beverages will be available. The event will take place at the Gregory Barnes Center, 330 North Point Drive, Clarion PA, 16214.
To register for this free event, go to
http://web.clarion.edu/sbdc/training/classes/BusinessSkillsWorkshops/2014-05-14Innovation.asp.
More information on the NWPA Innovation Support Program is available at www.innovation-nwpa.org