News/Events
November 18, 2020
StartUp Lehigh Valley Virtual 2020 is a virtual event that positions the Lehigh Valley as the innovation hub of the East Coast by bringing together local entrepreneurs, business leaders, angel investors, industry experts, merchants, higher education representatives, students and community members. StartUp Lehigh Valley Virtual is the event where entrepreneurs assemble to harness their creativity and create ripples in their industry by showcasing their newest business ventures and innovations...
October 16, 2020
Maria had the same idea. When she bought her first grow light, a hanging pendant called the Aspect from Soltech Solutions, she chose it, in part, because the illumination it gave off looked exactly like the “normal” lighting in her home. “Like, if I had friends over, they wouldn’t know it was a highly precise photosynthetic spectrum coming out of my lamp.… They would just think it was a normal lamp,” she says with a laugh...
October 12, 2020
Bethlehem-based Viddler has brought its six-person team to Cowork 414. The video-based training and engagement platform is now completely remote. "We work with a bunch of contractors that are in other areas of the world, actually. So we've had the experience of working remotely for quite a while, and now it makes sense for us to go permanently," said Viddler president Darryl Rentz...
October 06, 2020
Start them up. The coronavirus pandemic hasn’t dampened the Lehigh Valley entrepreneurial spirit. Two events — “Venture Idol” and “StartUp Lehigh Valley”— are set to be held virtually and on back-to-back days next month. Both aim to highlight and help fund startup businesses...
October 02, 2020
As the Lehigh Valley hits ten thousand total cases of COVID-19, one local company is zeroing in one how to keep people safe. "Artificial intelligence, which is essentially a computer programmed in a certain way," explains Skillion Tech CEO and Founder, Pete Cooper, "it takes images of someone’s face and runs it through an artificial intelligence program and then gives a result as to whether they are wearing a mask or not wearing a mask."
October 01, 2020
LV Startup is a monthly newsletter, created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, that is laser-focused on the needs of startups in the greater Lehigh Valley...
September 29, 2020
Denison Technologies Inc., and HMS Networks Inc. are pleased to announce a solution bringing both companies’ expertise and technologies together to deliver on the promise of Industrial IoT by improving industrial reliability and reducing unplanned downtime through continuous power monitoring...
September 22, 2020
Venture X, a flexible workspace and community that is a blend of boutique hotel and modern office styles with a high level of professional design, held their grand opening today Tuesday September 22, 2020 at 11 am, at the new facility located at 306 S New Street - Bethlehem, Pa...
September 21, 2020
While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and how it spreads, businesses are looking for new ways to keep people safe. And one local company has come up with a new tool to help do that.
"Basically, it's something you can just position onto a stand it runs all day,” said Pete Cooper, the CEO of Skillion. The company is working out of Benjamin Franklin Tech Partners in Bethlehem and makes "connected dashboards" that use artificial intelligence and machine learning to do various tasks, like sensing whether someone is wearing a mask...
September 04, 2020
LV Startup is a monthly newsletter, created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, that is laser-focused on the needs of startups in the greater Lehigh Valley...
August 14, 2020
Soltech Solutions has experienced substantial growth since moving to the Lehigh Valley, and now they are expanding their footprint yet again. The Bethlehem-based manufacturer of state-of-the-art LED glow lights is expanding to 1,739 square feet of space in Pi: Partnership for Innovation, a startup business incubator in Southside Bethlehem...
August 14, 2020
Soltech Solutions has experienced substantial growth since moving to the Lehigh Valley, and now they are expanding their footprint yet again. The Bethlehem-based manufacturer of state-of-the-art LED glow lights is expanding to 1,739 square feet of space in Pi: Partnership for Innovation, a startup business incubator in Southside Bethlehem...
August 06, 2020
LV Startup is a monthly newsletter, created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, that is laser-focused on the needs of startups in the greater Lehigh Valley...
August 05, 2020
Bethlehem, PA – Soltech Solutions, a manufacturer known for their state-of-the-art led grow light Aspect and other related products, is expanding within Pi: Partnership for Innovation. The startup company was formed in 2014 and has called Pi home since January of 2017...
August 03, 2020
Several years ago, Val Arzunian created an app for people to know who is in a restaurant or bar before they enter. A breakup with a girlfriend whom he continued to see at various establishments was the impetus, he said. “It started as an idea to avoid people to a concept that can bring people closer together,” Arzunian said. Contactless transactions have become one of those buzzword phrases during the monthslong pandemic. Arzunian thinks there is a better way for restaurants, doctors offices and other businesses to handle those interactions with less inconvenience for them or consumers...
July 29, 2020
The Bethlehem Health Bureau is partnering with UBMe to help operate mass vaccination clinics in a manner that will ensure clients are safe. The Bethlehem Health Bureau will hold several childhood immunization/flu vaccine clinics over next few months...
July 28, 2020
UBMe is an app for the Coronavirus age...although it wasn’t always intended to be. "We were using our technology in the event space, especially where during an event people wanted to connect with everybody (else) presently there, have fun with them, interact with them," explains UBMe CEO and founder, Val Arzunian, "But because of the COVID situation, events got put on pause because of everything that is happening. So we decided to take our existing technology we'd been using in the event space and apply it / give it to the local businesses to help them now as they need it now more than ever."
July 24, 2020
For the last three years, Lehigh Valley entrepreneur Val Arzunian and David Bougard have been helping regional businesses and their customers connect with each other through UBMe, the free proximity-based smartphone networking app that they created...
July 13, 2020
With help from Ben Franklin Technology Partners and Southside Bethlehem KIZ, the creators of UBMe have released a new product called Curbside Communication. UBMe calls the product the first of its kind and says it is intended to help businesses manage customers as they arrive, safely engage and complete transactions amidst social distancing regulations...
July 08, 2020
Developers inside the Partnership for Innovation Technology Center have been working on a lot of programs. Those working for UBMe are ready to launch an app to help businesses as we continue in the green phase of reopening during the coronavirus pandemic. "I would say it has gone from something optional to something more of a utility. Where it is something that is truly needed not only to make people feel more safe coming out to the business but really making the employees feel safe as well," said UBMe CEO and Founder Val Arzunian...
July 02, 2020
LV Startup is a monthly newsletter, created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, that is laser-focused on the needs of startups in the greater Lehigh Valley...
June 24, 2020
With help from Ben Franklin Technology Partners and Southside Bethlehem KIZ, the creators of the UBMe app have launched a new product called Curbside Communication ™, which the company says is the first-of-its-kind and could help local businesses manage customers as they arrive at their business and are waiting outside for service...
June 23, 2020
One month ago FLX Solutions participated in the 2020 #BoomtownDemoDay with Shark Tank's Barbara Corcoran as host. Check out more videos on their Youtube channel and let them know how you would use a FLX Bot!
June 04, 2020
LV Startup is a monthly newsletter, created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, that is laser-focused on the needs of startups in the greater Lehigh Valley...
June 03, 2020
MTBC, Inc. (Nasdaq: MTBC) (Nasdaq: MTBCP), a leading provider of cloud-based healthcare IT solutions and services, today announced the signing of a cooperative agreement with Exscribe Orthopaedic Healthcare Solutions (Exscribe), the creator of an innovative orthopaedic surgery-specific electronic health record (EHR) system, located in Bethlehem, PA. As part of the agreement, MTBC Force will provide custom software development services as well as give Exscribe clients the opportunity to access MTBC’s sophisticated, end-to-end Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) solutions...
May 08, 2020
LV Startup is a monthly newsletter, created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, that is laser-focused on the needs of startups in the greater Lehigh Valley...
April 16, 2020
The City of Bethlehem is proposing a Small Business Emergency Relief Fund to assist city businesses impacted by COVID 19. $300,000 of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding has been identified to be utilized by the program that will provide one time grants of $2,000. Awarded funds can be used for operational costs inclusive of rental assistance, payroll assistance, and utilities...
April 02, 2020
LV Startup is a monthly newsletter, created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, that is laser-focused on the needs of startups in the greater Lehigh Valley...
March 23, 2020
A Lehigh Valley-based designer and manufacturer of high-quality aquarium equipment will be leasing new space in Bethlehem, a move that will help the company grow and expand its footprint in the Northeastern United States. EcoTech Marine, which began as a startup company at Bethlehem’s Lehigh University in 2003, will be leasing 88,007 square-feet in the Lehigh Valley Industrial Park VII. Construction on the state-of-the-art began in the fall of 2019 and is slated for completion by Q4 2020...
March 20, 2020
J.G. Petrucci Company Inc., recently announced that EcoTech Marine would lease a portion of the 88,007 sq. ft. facility in Lehigh Industrial Park VII. The project came to fruition with the support of City of Bethlehem officials, the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation, and the Lehigh Industrial Park executive teams...
March 05, 2020
LV Startup is a monthly newsletter, created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, that is laser-focused on the needs of startups in the greater Lehigh Valley...
March 04, 2020
A Bethlehem business plans to hire eight more employees through a share of $12.5 million in low-interest loans approved through the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority, state officials announced Wednesday. The loans are geared toward new technology, equipment, real estate and building construction costs, as well as new jobs. Gov. Tom Wolf announced the funding, which benefits six businesses in six statewide counties including CryoConcepts in Bethlehem, Northampton County. Other counties included Bucks, Carbon, Cumberland, Lackawanna and Luzerne...
March 02, 2020
Startup culture is expanding as students increasingly look for internship and employment opportunities in smaller and newer companies. Featuring seven companies, Lehigh’s Startup Job Fair allowed students and employers to discuss the different environment of startups on Feb. 27 in Williams Hall. Unlike larger job fairs with employers from long-developed companies, this job fair was successful because it focused on the startup culture...
February 06, 2020
LV Startup is a monthly newsletter, created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, that is laser-focused on the needs of startups in the greater Lehigh Valley...
January 24, 2020
Governor Tom Wolf today announced an ambitious budget proposal to fuel innovation across Pennsylvania, making the commonwealth a national competitor in attracting and retaining entrepreneurs and startups through strategic funding and community support. “A strong community and entrepreneurial network are crucial for success. This holds true for start-ups, as well as established businesses,” said Gov. Wolf. “I’m proposing a strategic statewide innovation investment plan that will help get us on the right track to making Pennsylvania an innovation leader.”
January 21, 2020
Act 48 of 2017 requires the Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) to review all state tax credits over a five-year period. For the second year, the IFO reviewed the Research and Development, Keystone Innovation Zone, Mobile Telecommunications Broadband Investment and Organ and Bone Marrow Donation Tax Credits. Click on the link to access the Keystone Innovation Zone Tax Credit Report...
January 09, 2020
Just a few blocks from the rusted 16-story blast furnaces that once fired hulking steel beams for the Hoover Dam and the Golden Gate Bridge, OraSure Technologies each day produces thousands of thumbnail-size pads made to spit on. These oral swabs, part of a home H.I.V. test kit, are products of a matrix of manufacturers, financial companies and health care institutions powering the Lehigh Valley’s $41 billion economy...
January 03, 2020
The City of Bethlehem continued its tradition of supporting innovation and entrepreneurship in 2019, with the Southside Bethlehem Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ) awarded $80,000 in funding to early-stage startup companies over the course of the year.
“The Southside Bethlehem KIZ continues to attract entrepreneurs with great ideas and ambitions, but who are not quite ready for traditional financing,” said Bethlehem Mayor Bob Donchez. “Our KIZ can serve as a model for other communities across the country and thriving companies in Bethlehem today credit the KIZ with helping them launch and grow.”
January 02, 2020
LV Startup is a monthly newsletter, created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, that is laser-focused on the needs of startups in the greater Lehigh Valley...
December 18, 2019
Keystone Edge tells the story of the new economy in Pennsylvania. It's a narrative of creative people and businesses, new development, cool places to live, and the best places to work and play...
December 11, 2019
Bethlehem, PA – The Southside Bethlehem Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ) has awarded $80,000 in funding so far to early-stage startup companies in Bethlehem for 2019. This funding is invested at the earliest stages of companies that possess promising, technology that is in the process of being commercialized. Many of these companies are pre-revenue. A significant amount of KIZ Tax Credit Awards will be announced later this month by the Pennsylvania DCED...
December 10, 2019
Running live electric wires through crevices behind walls is dangerous, sometimes deadly work. That gave Matthew Bilsky, a young contractor pursuing a doctorate at Lehigh University, an idea in 2013. Why not build a robotic electrician’s snake that can ascend behind walls without posing a risk to workers? On November 21, Bilsky, founder and president of FLX Solutions (Bethlehem, Pa.), won the 2019 Startup Grind Princeton competition after he pitched his robotic snake, the “FLX BOT,” to a panel of four judges at the Princeton Innovation Center Biolabs...
December 05, 2019
LV Startup is a monthly newsletter, created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, that is laser-focused on the needs of startups in the greater Lehigh Valley...
November 20, 2019
Keystone Edge tells the story of the new economy in Pennsylvania. It's a narrative of creative people and businesses, new development, cool places to live, and the best places to work and play...
November 11, 2019
A treasured substance once favored by Cleopatra and ancient Egyptian pharaohs remains a precious commodity today. Over thousands of years of cultivation, the harvesting of saffron has changed remarkably little: Three delicate red threads—the stigma of the crocus sativus—must be removed manually from each hand-picked crocus bloom. And it takes about 77,000 of these small purple flowers to yield a pound of saffron...
November 07, 2019
LV Startup is a monthly newsletter, created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, that is laser-focused on the needs of startups in the greater Lehigh Valley...
November 04, 2019
The Factory LLC in Bethlehem is seeking to position the Lehigh Valley as the innovation hub of the East Coast by bringing together local business leaders, angel investors, industry experts, merchants, higher education representatives, students, community members, and entrepreneurs. That was the purpose of the StartUp Valley event it hosted on Oct. 30, an event organizers hope to host on a quarterly basis at the Bethlehem-based innovation center for startup food, beverage, and pet health companies...
November 04, 2019
The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s (BFTP/NEP) Board of Directors has approved the investment of $578,000 in support of regional economic development. Clients are early-stage, technology-based firms and established manufacturers in BFTP/NEP’s 21-county service area. Investments that are identified as continuation projects indicate that the client achieved pre-determined milestones and is receiving more funding to accomplish additional project work. BFTP/NEP announces the following early-stage company investments, which are provided in the form of loans with warrants...
November 04, 2019
Entrepreneurs are making their pitches, hoping to be part of the Startup Lehigh Valley Team. The Bethlehem-based investment company held a networking event on Oct. 30. Ten local companies got to talk about their brands and make a pitch for investment. If Startup Lehigh Valley invests in a brand, the company comes to work in its facility, affectionately called "the factory." Managing Partner Rich Thompson says there's a list of local companies hoping to be part of the team...