Official Grand Opening Held For New Entrepreneurship Lab at Temple University
By Steve Tawa
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Student entrepreneurs on the Temple University campus in North Philadelphia can now get a leg up on the competition, with a new facility to help them shape ideas into business ventures.
It's called the Blackstone Launchpad at Temple, and its purpose is to develop flexible, entrepreneurial mindsets that lead to business ventures generating revenue, jobs, and career paths.
The program is funded from a $1.2-million grant by the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, whose executive director, Amy Stursberg, says their aim is to prevent "brain drain" -- when graduates take their professional opportunities elsewhere.
"If you start your business while you're in college and you have five employees in Philadelphia, chances are you're going to stay in Philadelphia," she noted at today's ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Temple senior Calvin Miller, of Lansdale, Pa., is a cofounder of Motorcar Studios, which is a digital marketing company for the classic car market.
"It's a niche market," he says of his business venture. "We provide the content marketing and content strategy to get with modern times, in a way."
Since its soft opening last year, the Launchpad has provided business coaching and mentorship, through lectures, workshops, and venture fairs for more than 300 students.
