BHIVE Holds First Regular Meeting & Open House In Beaver Falls

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

“We really feel we’ve got a lot of people out there that are really wanting to do something, to start their own businesses…and they just don’t know how to do it.”

The Beaver Valley Hub For Innovation & Entrepreneurship (BHIVE) held its first meeting–an open house for many community leaders–at the Carnegie Free Library in Beaver Falls on October 5. The library is being used as a temporary meeting space while the official, permanent site for the BHIVE is being constructed; the new location will be located two doors down from the library at 1317 7th Avenue (the old WIC offices).

BHIVE President John Hertneky addresses the crowd at the Carnegie Free Library.

According to BHIVE President John Hertneky, who emceed the late afternoon open house, the BHIVE was started “with the idea of creating areas for people who want to start their businesses…and entrepreneurs who are looking for information, mentorship, and coaching on how to start a business.” The hub was initially affiliated solely with Penn State University through its “Invent Penn State” program which created the LaunchBox & Innovation Network hubs.

While the LaunchBox program will be available through Penn State Beaver at the BHIVE, the BHIVE as a whole will incorporate several educational institutions. “We’ve engaged Geneva College and the Community College of Beaver County as partners in this, in terms of bringing in resources for training and mentorship, and for other resources,” Hertneky stated. “We’re really looking at this as a community project.”

The BHIVE, still under construction, displays images foretelling of what will soon be a hub for entrepreneurs in downtown Beaver Falls.

The BHIVE will be free to those who want to use their services at their Beaver Falls location; those who want to use the facilities for an extended period will pay rent for the long-term usage. Hertneky said that the funding to pay for the building will come mostly from grants and private donations: “That in addition what we will be hopefully collecting in rent will essentially make us sustainable.”

Among those in attendance for the open house were State Representative Jim Marshall, Commissioners Jack Manning and Tony Amadio, Beaver Falls mayor Kenya Johns, and several other members of Beaver Falls City Council.

Regular meetings will be held at the Carnegie Free Library every Wednesday from 3:00 until 4:00 (revised from earlier declaration of 4:00 until 5:00) until further notice.