2020 Virtual Digital Spark

This year the cohort, comprised of ten businesses and ten students, faced a whole new set of challenges due to the global pandemic and economic shutdown. The ten students, of all majors and backgrounds, worked to help redesign, rebuild, and reinvent the digital presence of their business.

“The tables have turned a bit between students and the businesses. The students are, in some cases, the leaders in educating and training their businesses on using and leveraging technology, which is a new role for both of them,” says Maureen Cumpstone, the entrepreneur-in-residence at the U-Imagine Center.

In addition to Cumpstone, the students meet virtually with three alumni advisers. This summer Dana Feigenbaum Jackson ’15, Chelsea Sayegh ’16 and Sarah Weber ’18 are offering their expertise to the cohort as they all continue to navigate new business models and practices in the coronavirus era. —By Jordan Scharaga ’17

On Friday, July 17th the program came to a conclusion as the students presented the work that they completed over the 8-week program. If you would like to learn more about what these students accomplished this summer please check out the entire student presentations here!

Interested in learning more about what each student accomplished?

Check out each student’s presentation by clicking their name!

Joe Mercurio | 2021 | Applied Economics

Joe worked with was Morning Fire Coaching, with Jeff Wickersham. Morning Fire’s focus is guiding busy entrepreneurs, small business owners, or anyone looking for a competitive edge through their morning routine. Jeff has a course to help guide people through this as well as working individually and collaborating with other people to get his message out. During this program, Joe worked with Jeff to help improve his Instagram by building a content strategy as well as reaching out to some of the biggest names in the Habit and Entrepreneurial coaching industry.

Leah Sulyok | 2021 | Mathematics

Leah worked with Clean Juice in their three locations: Collegeville, Wynnewood, and Malvern. Clean Juice is a juice bar that sells juices, smoothies, and different food items that are all certified USDA organic. During the eight weeks, Leah worked posted on Instagram, Facebook, and Google My Business. She helped market the launch of their new product, wraps. Leah also posted fun, interactive Instagram stories that would engage the customers.

Manning Smith | 2023 | Statistics & Computer Science

Visual Edge is an eyecare company in downtown Phoenixville, PA. The doctors are focused on providing quality personalized eyecare for everyone. VE is family run and family focused. They work hard to make sure their patients receive the best service possible. Manning’s main focus was on redesigning the website. He worked to create a website that stayed consistent with the VE brand. The website allows patients to connect with VE in a whole new way. Patients are now able to ask questions, request an appointment, and learn about their eye health. In conjunction with the website, Manning worked to recreate the VE brand by updating their other social media platforms as well.

Emma Kramer | 2021 | Media and Communications

Emma worked with the Collegeville Yoga Bar. The Collegeville Yoga Bar is a small studio in the middle of Collegeville Pennsylvania, that helps guide students into achieving many different personal achievements through yoga.Emma’s three main goals were to focus on social media platforms, website, and the new virtual platform that my client would be using.

Amy Litofsky | 2021 | English, Media & Communication Studies

Amy worked with Keller Williams Realty Group, a real estate agency serving Berks, Bucks, Chester, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties. KWRG aims to help both potential clients buy or sell a house and potential agents be part of a welcoming environment. The agency is unique, making giving back to others a priority and focusing on collaboration instead of competition. Amy accomplished a healthy amount of work. Her focus was to make Keller Williams’ digital presence stronger throughout all of their platforms, including the website, Facebook, and Instagram. Amy worked to create a strong brand for KW and seeing how the company compared to other real estate agencies.

Kyle Grater | 2021 | Psychology/Education

Kyle worked with Cameron Peter’s Floral Design, a floral design shop in Phoenixville, PA. Cameron Peters is focused on providing a quality and unique service to its customers. Kyle worked to create digital content that connected with the local community. Continually, Kyle worked to create a consistent digital presence and brand on all their social media platforms.

Tyler Reilly | 2022 | Marketing (SIM)

Tyler worked with West Mont United Soccer Organization, whose mission is to create a positive soccer experience that values sportsmanship and character building. West Mont was founded in 1976 and continues to be a leading soccer organization in the region for player development and competitive play at all ages and abilities. Tyler helped to organize and restructure their social media presence. He worked on engaging with current and prospective players as well as promoting summer camps, tryouts, club hiring’s, and academy programs. Continually, he worked on creating promotional posters using Adobe Photoshop that would help market West Mont’s upcoming events.

Taylor Beaumont | 2022 | Applied Economics

Taylor worked with Nirvana Float, located in Providence Town Center, Collegeville, PA. Nirvana Float provides floatation therapy, which relaxes your body, clears your mind, and revives your soul. Taylor worked to target her audience by creating social media campaigns that centered around the deals and giveaways. In conjunction with the social media campaign, Taylor worked to increase the traffic flow of the website. As a result of the increase, Nirvana Float saw an increase in floatation memberships as well.

Julia Paiano | 2023 | Media & Communications

Julia worked with Playful Paws Doggy Daycare, a family-owned business based in Collegeville, PA. Playful Paws is for all doggy owners, providing everything from everyday daycare, dog training, to overnight boarding, Playful Paws has your dog in mind. Julia’s main accomplishment was the re-design of their website. As well as updating the website, she worked on creating an Instagram as gaining over 150 followers during the program.

Tamer El-Maghrabi | 2021 | Mathematics

Tamar worked with Tri-County Toyota, a car dealership in Royersford, PA. Tamar’s main goals for the program were to communicate the story behind the numbers and renovating their social media strategy. He worked to analyze the data of traffic flow from the website. Continually, Tamar worked to create an attractive and effective social media presence.