Richard Thompson
Founder and Managing Partner of Factory LLC
Former CEO of Freshpet, The Meow Mix Company
and American Italian Pasta Company
StartUp Lehigh Valley is a quick-pitch competition for entrepreneurs based in and around the Lehigh Valley presented by Factory LLC and Penn State Lehigh Valley LaunchBox. We partnered to create this event because we believe the Lehigh Valley has the potential to be a national hub of innovation on par with Austin, TX and Boulder, CO.
The goal of StartUp Lehigh Valley is to bring entrepreneurs, business leaders, investors, industry experts, merchants, higher education representatives, students and community members together in one room—this year a virtual one—in order to showcase the innovation that is already happening in our local community.
Ten local entrepreneurs—one of them could be you!—will each present a 2-minute quick pitch of their business idea or product. Afterwards our judges will have 1 minute to ask questions.
Everyone from the local community is invited to watch virtually on Zoom! Attendees are encouraged to interact via the chat—there will be prizes for the most engaged audience members—throughout the presentations and will vote for their favorite venture to take home $1,000.
The top winners will be awarded monetary prizes thanks to our sponsor, Penn State Lehigh Valley LaunchBox, who will be giving out a total of $10,000 in prize money. Winners will be connected to extensive Factory LLC and Penn State Lehigh Valley LaunchBox networks that include business, legal, and marketing resources, mentors, grant funding ops and more!
The winner of the audience’s vote will take home $1,000! Our esteemed judges will make the final call on who takes home the remaining prize money, with the grand champion taking home $3,500 in cash.
Ten local entrepreneurs—one of them could be you!—will each present a 2-minute quick pitch of their business idea or product. Afterwards our judges will have 1 minute to ask questions.
Everyone from the local community is invited to watch virtually on Zoom! Attendees are encouraged to interact via the chat—there will be prizes for the most engaged audience members—throughout the presentations and will vote for their favorite venture to take home $1,000.
The top winners will be awarded monetary prizes thanks to our sponsor, Penn State Lehigh Valley LaunchBox, who will be giving out a total of $10,000 in prize money. Winners will be connected to extensive Factory and LaunchBox networks that include business, legal, and marketing resources, mentors, grant funding ops and more!
The winner of the audience’s vote will take home $1,000! Our esteemed judges will make the final call on who takes home the remaining prize money, with the grand champion taking home $3,500 in cash.
Founder and Managing Partner of Factory LLC
Former CEO of Freshpet, The Meow Mix Company
and American Italian Pasta Company