1. PSU Sparkplug Igniting student ideasMatthew Poese and Liz KisenwetherPenn State Universitys Engineering Leadership and Entrepreneurship Programs

2. Problem Student groups have good ideas rarely move them forward meager resources for parts to build prototypesSolution A funding platform to capitalize an idea students articulate a value proposition students enlist stakeholders stakeholders back the project typical contribution is $5-$50 3. SparkPlug Give a $500 grant to student groups groups mount a crowd-sourced funding drive Kickstarter, Indie-Go-Go faculty advisor keeps them on track use the grant to: buy materials for prototype shoot a video buy advertisement get web hosting space 4. Application Short, simple Evaluate the value proposition is it suited for Kickstarter or similar? does it appear to have a market? ask for a quick market survey as first step Evaluate the functionality Students have big dreams Try to fund reasonable pieces of the dream 5. SmartPurse An active indiegogo campaign Flex-funding not an all-or-nothing deal Goal is $5k Established new relationshipwith a manufacturer near PSU Used her SparkPlug grant tobuy advertising in Vogue tocoincide with indiegogocampaign Dreams of raising $100k withthe campaign From an educationalstandpoint, already a success 6. PSU EcosystemSequence of courses that focus on idea generation/evaluation Get market reaction using SparkPlug Form a company in Lion Launch Pad 7. Other Connectivity SparkPlug team sponsors an engineeringsenior design team Business students have good idea hack a prototype use engineering senior design team to: clean up prototype create a design-for-manufacture 8. Clipboard+ 9. What weve seen Seeding student ideas leads to: Increased collaboration between students ofmany disciplines Increased self-efficacy Like an internship: experience non-academic lessons Order fulfillment Customer service Inventory management Production problems