Inventor talks crowdfunding at Dolan School of Business

Crowdfunding, a money-raising tool that has become a popular option for inventors and entrepreneurs, will be discussed at a free public event at Fairfield University on Monday in the Dolan School of Business dining room.

The 7 p.m event is titled “Crowdfunding as a Doorway to Licensing” and will feature Michael Carpanzano, a crowdfunding veteran, entrepreneur and inventor. He will discuss how crowdfunding has offered participants financial support unavailable through other avenues.

Carpanzano created a successful business plan for his invention “nuplug,” an outlet for smart devices. He raised more than $85,000 in pre-sale capital for nuplug. He has since partnered with a licensee for further development and commercialization.

Doug Lyon, professor of computer engineering at Fairfield, said Carpanzano’s nuplug plan won a first-place award at the Connecticut business model competition in 2012 and another first-place award at a national business competition in 2013. The competitions served as a springboard to a successful crowdfunding effort, the school said in a statement.

The event is co-sponsored by Fairfield University’s School of Engineering and the Charles F. Dolan School of Business, in collaboration with the Inventors Association of Connecticut, of which Lyon is president.

For more information and for directions, visit fairfield.edu.