The PennWest – Clarion SBDC generated big excitement for the BIG IDEA Contest
BIG IDEA Spotlight – PennWest Clarion SBDC
Editor’s Note: Designed to shine a spotlight on the services available to entrepreneurs, this article is part of a series that features the core partner organizations that supported and implemented the 2022-2024 PA Wilds Big Big Idea Contests.
By Jodie Dello Stritto
The word spread far and wide about the PA Wilds BIG IDEA Contest thanks to marketing and promotion from the Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) of Clarion University, Gannon University, and Penn State. From social media to in-person information sessions, the organization helped to drive participation across each participating county.
The contest offered entrepreneurs and innovators in rural Pennsylvania the opportunity to compete for major prize money and the training, experience and connections that can propel their business concept forward. The PA Wilds BIG IDEA Contest, in partnership with Ben Franklin Technology Partners with funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission, is a three-year initiative with one contest per year for rural entrepreneurs to win up to $50,000, with each year focusing on a different geographic location within the 13-county PA Wilds region. In 2024, the final year of the three-year grant-funded project, the contest offers entrepreneurs and innovators in Cameron, Clinton, Lycoming, Potter, and Tioga Counties.
“We had many opportunities over the three-year effort to include information about the BIG IDEA Contest in our existing marketing channels, like our newsletter and social media channels,” said Cynthia Nellis, Director of the PennWest University – Clarion SBDC. “Plus, we discussed it during our one-on-one consulting services meetings and in our regular training events.”
In 2022, the Penn State and Clarion SBDCs hosted two information sessions to help build interest and support in Clarion and Dubois, and in 2023 the SBDCs at Clarion and Gannon partnered to host an information session in Warren County. In 2024, the SBDCs at PennWest and Penn State partnered to host information sessions in Lycoming and Potter Counties.
In addition to offering individual support for areas like marketing, industry research, business plan development, and financial analysis, SBDCs offer a range of educational training programs focused on topics related to operations and business management.
“At the core, SBDC programs build an entrepreneur’s confidence in their ideas, and in turn encourage them to move forward in their journey to grow,” Nellis said.
Reflecting on the BIG IDEA Contest, she shared that it was inspiring to be part of a project that showcased the passion of the region’s entrepreneurs. “The passion for innovation among our regional entrepreneurs, coupled with the strong desire among the partner organizations to help encourage, promote and fund these incredible ideas was wonderful to see,” she said.
Encouraging future innovators, she said to remember that any idea could be one worth pursuing. “If it solves a problem for you, it could be a problem that many people in the marketplace also experience,” she said. “But it requires a commitment to pursue and complete dedicated research needed to know whether it is worth investing in, and you must be the first person willing to invest time, money and other resources. Seek out help – it is there and we are waiting to be a resource in the process.”
This story was created in partnership with The PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship.
About the PA Wilds BIG IDEA Contest Series: The PA Wilds BIG IDEA Contests were part of a three-year initiative funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission. Made possible by a collaboration between Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central and Northern PA, PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program and Small Business Development Centers that serve the Pennsylvania Wilds, the contest took place annually, with each contest focusing on a different portion of the rural 13-county region and offering a chance to win up to $50,000. The 2022 contest included counties in the I-80 Frontier landscape, the 2023 contest included counties in the Allegheny National Forest & Surrounds and Elk Country landscapes, and the 2024 contest focused on counties in the Dark Skies and the Pine Creek Valley & PA Grand Canyon landscapes. After the three-year series concluded, more than $150,000 was invested in rural entrepreneurs, while participants who did not win cash prizes received invaluable technical assistance and business support. Additional details can be found at CNP.BenFranklin.org/BigIdea.
About Ben Franklin Technology Partners: The largest seed investor in our region, Ben Franklin Technology Partners (an initiative of the PA Department of Community & Economic Development and funded by the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority) has been providing investment capital, business support services, and operational assistance to emerging tech-startups and small manufacturers for nearly 40 years. Since the start of the BIG IDEA contests, more than $3 million in cash prizes have been awarded throughout Ben Franklin’s 32-county footprint in central and northern Pennsylvania. The contest offers start-ups and entrepreneurs some much-needed seed funding, as well as business training, pitch experience, and industry contacts – often more valuable than the prize money itself. Learn more at www.CNP.BenFranklin.org. For more information, contact Karly Scala at karlyscala@cnp.benfranklin.org.
About the PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship: The PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc., is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to integrate conservation and economic development in a way that inspires the communities of the Pennsylvania Wilds. The Pennsylvania Wilds is a 13-county region that includes the counties of Cameron, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, Lycoming, McKean, Potter, Tioga, Warren, and northern Centre. The PA Wilds Center promotes the region and its 2+ million acres of public lands as a premier outdoor recreation destination as a way to diversify local economies, inspire stewardship, attract investment, retain population and improve quality of life. The PA Wilds Center’s core programs seek to help businesses leverage the PA Wilds brand and connect with new market opportunities, including: the Wilds Cooperative of PA, a network of more than 575 place-based businesses and organizations, and the PA Wilds Conservation Shop, a retail outlet primarily featuring products sourced from the WCO. For more information on the PA Wilds Center, visit www.PAWildsCenter.org. To learn more about the WCO, visit www.WildsCoPA.org. Explore the PA Wilds at www.PAWilds.com. Find regionally made products at www.ShopThePAWilds.com.
