The Corry Higher Education Council is buzzing with excitement as it announces a partnership with the Northwest Pennsylvania Beehive Network and Gannon University. The Beehive is a group of six local institutions that specialize in areas to help small businesses develop.Plans to expand the Beehive began in early spring this year and were finalized by late summer. Brad Gleason, director of entrepreneurial operations at Gannon University and Beehive creator, conceptualized the idea and brought it to Matthew Platz, executive director of the Corry Hi-Ed.For context, Gleason was previously the intelligence research arm at Mercyhurst University, where he decided to do something unexpected — reach out to another local university, Penn State Behrend, and combine forces to support small business development.The seats at the table expanded to include Gannon, PennWest Edinboro, Allegheny College and the Blasco Memorial Library. Students at Mercyhurst provide market analysis and competitive business intelligence strategies; Penn State Behrend students bring plans to life using engineering, product design and rapid prototyping; Gannon advances ideas with business consulting and capital analysis; PennWest Edinboro students design branding and enhance marketing strategies; Allegheny College students focus on sustainable development; and Blasco’s Idea Lab enables business owners to use resources and take classes beneficial for entrepreneurs.“We have a very formal agreement called a pinky swear not to duplicate,” Gleason said with a laugh as he explained the agreement within the network. “That pinky swear has allowed us to grow programs.”Typically, a new business has a 10% success rate, but the success rate for new businesses that utilize the Beehive have a 68% chance, according to Gleason.Representatives for each group in the network meet weekly to discuss strategy. Gleason learned a lot in the years since he began the program.“[The Beehive] has grown so quickly and done so well over the past nine years that I’ve realized, and what a lot of the Beehive [groups] have realized, is there’s a lot more demand than there is labor to do the work. There are more delays, and we’re working on dealing with pipeline management.”To handle the rigorous workload, Gleason turned to the Corry Hi-Ed. Platz and Gleason, along with Charles Gray of Impact Corry and Kathy Roach of Gannon, decided it would be a good opportunity for high schoolers to get involved. Platz got the funding for the project, and with the Corry Area School District, Markus Lambert and Camryn Fox were identified as the best fit to pioneer the program.Gleason explained that at Gannon, there are three projects that his students work on for Beehive clients: a crowdfunding analysis, which uses Kickstarter to arm clients with knowledge of what worked or didn’t work for like companies to draw funding and public interest; a pitch deck, which includes a deep dive of the industry and the makings of a first pitch presentation; and a startup capital best practices analysis, which uses databases to understand how like competitors secured funding.Gleason tasked Lambert and Fox with the first of those projects, the crowdfunding-friendly analysis. He was astounded by the outcome and said the two students breezed through it. “If these two students are an example of the students at Corry Area High School, then Corry’s got quite a lot to be proud of,” Gleason remarked.The two high schoolers initially attended a training and are now mentored by two of Gannon’s business students.Gleason admitted that he already challenges his high-performing students with the quality standards of products and the breadth of research, but this was an extra challenge meant for his most dedicated students.As for the high schoolers, he also hopes the level of critical thinking involved serves them well in their futures, as both have shown interest in business development.“Markus was selling fishing lures, and after training, he said, ‘I’m an entrepreneur.’ He didn’t even know the labels involved in something he does every day,” Gleason said. “This is just one more different thing to be exposed to to make them stronger citizens when they’re done with their education.”With a gig economy entering center stage, he said the research skills students learn from their mentors can help them in various situations and make them more marketable.“I cannot express how important this program is to students in the rural areas of Erie County,” Platz commented. “This program will allow the Hi-Ed to partner with Gannon University to expose students to the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Erie County and all the potential that accompanies that opportunity. This partnership is the first step in providing opportunities like this to rural towns throughout the commonwealth and will work to show students in these areas the potential of the Beehive.”The Gannon students can now focus on the other two projects, which Gleason hopes will alleviate some of the bottleneck effect that has resulted from a high demand for services.The Appalachian Regional Commission recognized the Beehive as a national best practice, which makes it a hot commodity on the regional map.Gleason said it’s a win-win as college students get real experience, and businesses can access free resources that help them succeed in their communities.“You validate yourself to investors, too. Now they know the homework has been done. That gains you some underwriting credit that you know what you’re doing, and you’re starting to learn about your industry. You’re not as much of a risk for investment. It does legitimize the company and the idea over time,” he explained.Gleason said that Corry is a great community and he hopes to expand the program even more.
https://www.thecorryjournal.com/news/article_21fcae2a-8ae8-11ee-96da-7b4d967db9d1.html
