Blair County outdoor recreation company wins Ben Franklin prize money
Journeyman Hammocks won money that will go toward its next production run. Photo: Provided.
On November 29, Shane Stoehr of Journeyman Hammocks won the People’s Choice Award at Ben Franklin Technology Partners’ 2022 TechCelerator Fall Pitch Event.
Viewers voted for Stoehr’s hammock design provides a simple yet robust camping system that allows for comfort while sleeping outdoors. He was awarded both the People’s Choice Award as well as the Richard Heddleson Transformation Award, which is given to the individual or team that best utilizes the program’s lessons and guidance to transform their business model over the ten weeks. In all, Stoehr won $2,000. “The award money received will be put towards our next production run,” he said.
The TechCelerator Program is free ten-week program that helps businesses bring their ideas to reality. The program helps startups to explore their business ideas, gain mentoring and business coaching and develop their pitch. It offers weekly sessions with experts in marketing, sales, finance and more.
“The program has provided an excellent opportunity to dig deep into the mental and financial games of entrepreneurship,” Stoehr said. “I highly recommend this program and those like it to anyone thinking seriously about starting a business. There have been so many new connections made and the local support network is vaster, yet accessible, than I could have imagined.”
The TechCelerator Program has helped over 170 companies and invested more than $5 million in 32 startups. The program provides business training, pitch experience and contacts in addition to the prize money. Ben Franklin Technology Partners is the largest early-stage investor and supporter in the area.
For more information about how Ben Franklin Technology Partners fuels startups in Pennsylvania, go to https://cnp.benfranklin.org/techcelerator/.
Startup Alleghenies helps startup and emerging small businesses succeed by providing free coaching to entrepreneurs in Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon and Somerset counties. To access personal, one-on-one support from a coach in your county, including guidance, resources, tools and networking opportunities, sign up at startupalleghenies.com.
