Incubators, accelerators and co-working spaces in the PA Wilds

Covation Center

Incubators, accelerators and co-working spaces in the PA Wilds

By Ed Byers

The natural beauty of the Pennsylvania Wilds is the obvious benefit in living here, but its uniqueness also brings business possibilities – and endless opportunities for growth.

Many businesses in the region are able to take advantage of the region’s laidback lifestyle, while also capitalizing on the availability of bountiful natural resources (such as water, wood products and more) and the proximity to many large markets. 

Did you know that although the Pennsylvania Wilds represents a quarter of the Commonwealth, it is home to only 4% of the state’s population? Meanwhile, the region is also within a six-hour drive of over 50 million people, thanks to metropolitan areas like Pittsburgh, Erie, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., New York City, Buffalo, Syracuse, Baltimore, Cleveland, Columbus and even Toronto in neighboring Canada. 

One nonprofit organization, the Pennsylvania Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc. (PA Wilds Center) has honed in on this potential, and its mission speaks directly to it. The Center seeks to marry conservation and economic development in the Pennsylvania Wilds in a way that inspires the region’s communities.

“The PA Wilds movement grew from the idea that the region’s rural communities could benefit from capitalizing on the natural assets around them,” said Abbi Peters, PA Wilds Center’s Executive Vice President of Creative Commerce, who noted these benefits include both outdoor recreation and business development opportunities. “It encouraged the development of amenities around our region’s headliner experiences, so that as visitors make their way to the region, our small businesses are able to meet new markets, and the local communities prosper.”

Working toward its mission, the PA Wilds Center promotes the lifestyle brand of the Pennsylvania Wilds as a premier outdoor recreation opportunity while also working directly with hundreds of small businesses, artisans and producers that are tied to the landscape. These businesses are all part of the Wilds Cooperative of Pennsylvania, a program through which the PA Wilds Center helps them grow and find new market opportunities. 

Peters noted that the PA Wilds Center’s work around its most recent endeavor, a new business incubator/accelerator space in McKean County called the PA Wilds Media Lab, is progressing nicely. This project is supported in part by a $98,000 Rural Business Development Grant from USDA Rural Development. The grant is aimed at projects which facilitate development of small and emerging rural businesses.

With many new business startups and growing companies comes hope that incubator and co-working spaces will continue to pop up across the scenic PA Wilds, providing support for these entrepreneurs. Examples of the support provided in business incubator spaces include access to office space, professional services and business advice.

And that’s already starting to happen, with other business development and coworking spaces established in Williamsport, Bellefonte, Philipsburg, and — soon — DuBois and Kane.

The Covation Center in Williamsport is one of those spaces. It houses workspaces created to serve and encourage local businesses and entrepreneurs, and its executive director, Dr. Steve Brady, understands that the lure of the Wilds is something businesses can take advantage of.

“The benefit of visitors coming into the Wilds is that people are drawn to the natural beauty of the area, which presents the opportunity to expose them to our local businesses and the goods we produce,” said Dr. Brady. “That’s what the Wilds Cooperative of PA has done. Working through this Cooperative to get businesses exposure has done a great job of connecting, like two magnets drawn to each other.”

Dr. Brady said he likes the fact that the Wilds Cooperative has pulled over 300 members together and helped market their products well beyond the region. 

“They have a website that allows them to reach out globally and they’re seeing significant success with that,” said Dr. Brady. “And we’re working with them to find ways to help these businesses that are now seeing increased demand. We’re going to work with the PA Wilds to find ways to help those Cooperative businesses. We want to create an opportunity for more entrepreneurs and small business owners to learn how to start and grow their businesses. That’s what we do.”

He said some of the best tools and resources available for people who are interested in starting a small business here are the growing number of helpful programs available in our region. This includes incubator spaces and other available programs, such as the Small Business Development Centers that offer free consulting services for businesses.

“If what you’re looking to do is start a small business, the Small Business Development Center is a great place for the technical tools to start,” Dr. Brady continued. “At the Covation Center, we do things at a more strategic level, helping you develop the strategy for where you want to go with your business, and we help you refine why and how your business can be successful. I want to help people think about what’s going on in the community… to think about how we build businesses that aren’t dependent on one industry.”

The developing LaunchBox program at Penn State DuBois is another example of the upward swing of business supports in the region.

LaunchBox seeks to assist with business development and supports the eventual development of an incubator-type space for the DuBois area. LaunchBox is a signature program of the Invent Penn State Initiative, a $30 million enterprise to generate economic development, create jobs and drive student career success.

“Low unemployment, solid wages from manufacturing and retail jobs, and one of the lowest costs of living in the state, have all attracted entrepreneurs to establish themselves in this area,” said Brad Lashinsky, program director of the LaunchBox program.  “With the present national economy healthier in recent years, we have seen more entrepreneurs taking risks in new businesses. And, in turn, we see financial institutions better equipped to help fund these new businesses more in recent months. That has helped property owners fill their vacant storefronts and generate consumer traffic in many rural communities.”

Lashinsky is a believer in that old real-estate standard: “Location, location, location!”

“The north-central region, with its major travel corridors such as I-80, and Routes 219, 36, 28 and 322, allows for efficient access to various markets throughout the United States, many of which are major ports for exporting. So it has attracted businesses that are manufacturing items that go all over the world,” Lashinsky said. “There are also the outdoor, tourism and artisan trades that have multiplied at an unbelievable rate in our region, due in part to a very effective promotional effort spearheaded by the PA Wilds initiative.”

Lashinsky also notes that the region’s safe and secure communities provide a low cost of living, and they are positioned reasonably close to other larger metropolitan areas.

“The area provides limitless outdoor recreational opportunities, as well as first class options in education. These are all additional advantages that entrepreneurs may find in our area, on top of the already existent economic support systems,” said Lashinsky. “Small, close-knit towns in our rural area are close to larger communities, providing a lifestyle that is balanced between country living and having all the necessary services readily available – from shopping, to healthcare, to entertainment, and more.”

All things considered, Dr. Brady compares the relationship of place-based businesses and growth to that of magnets.

“When you get two magnets really close to each other, they snap together,” Dr. Brady explained. “When we have people who love the beauty of the region and make products that reflect that beauty, then we really see that magnetic snapping action, and people will say, ‘Oh, man, I love this, and I want more of it!’”

Learn more about the incubators and co-working spaces in the Pennsylvania Wilds:

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