This summer Lauer participated in the Invent Penn State Summer Founders Program. This gives her $15,000 to students working full-time in the Happy Valley LaunchBox, offered by PNC Bank, for startup, social good, or non-profit ideas over the summer. She said she really enjoys being around like-minded individuals and being part of the entrepreneurship community during the course of the program.
“One of the biggest things I learned through Summer Founders is to listen to your customers and not underestimate yourself and your product,” says Lauer. “I had a preconceived notion that no one would pay $25 for a candle, but a woman in California paid $35 for one candle for shipping, and it happened again.” You have to make sure you take care of yourself.”
Clove and Sprig have seen unexpected growth this summer during off-candlelight season, Lauer said, and we want to be ready for this fall and winter to drive that growth even further. increase.
Ben Nason, Idea Catalyst for Happy Valley LaunchBox, said: Despite the ever-changing materials and the extraordinary time and energy required to maintain a high level of quality, she continues to produce without losing the ‘handcrafted soul’ of her products.
Lauer’s most recent achievement was delivering candles to Belle Mercantile in Bellefonte. Bellefonte is a collective market where many local businesses sell their products.
Clove and Twig Candles can also be found at My Cafe Buzz in Bellefonte, Rumors Salon in York, The Garden in Center Hall, Wiscoy at State College, and on her website.
“If you’re a student working on building a startup, other people’s work shouldn’t outstrip yours,” Lauer said. “Especially this summer, it was hard to say that I was going to take the chance and try something new myself while my friends and roommates were doing internships and getting steady paychecks. can be difficult to assess, but I think the act of going out and doing it, if it’s something you really want to do, is an achievement that shouldn’t be taken lightly.”
If you’re a Penn State student and want to work on your own venture over the summer, applications for the next Summers Founders Program cohort will open in Spring 2023 on the program website.
About Summer Founders
Summer Founders is a signature program of the Invent Penn State initiative and is offered in partnership with the Happy Valley LaunchBox presented by PNC Bank. Startup funding is made possible through donations of successful alumni entrepreneurs interested in supporting new student ventures. For more information on how to support Penn State student startups through charitable donations, please contact her Director of Strategic Initiatives for University Development, Heather Winfield at hbw11@psu.edu.
