Mar. 29—Dave Yeager found success in California working for tech giants Universal Music Group and Apple, but the genuineness of the people of Northeast Pennsylvania led him back home.

Yeager, the founder and CEO of Showcase Ventures Inc., a music streaming platform, grew up in Forty Fort before navigating out West to carve out a career in the music industry.

About 25 years later, the Falls resident moved back in the region in 2021.

"I see tremendous opportunity for Northeastern Pennsylvania," said Yeager, 46. "It's in close proximity to so many other metropolitan areas."

Yeager shared details about his journey through the music industry with the eight participants in the TechCelerator@Lackawanna County program Tuesday at the TekRidge Center in Jessup.

The program, a collaboration of Lackawanna County, the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania, tecBRIDGE and the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, inspires entrepreneurs with early-stage, tech-based ideas to start a small business in the county.

Yeager joined the chamber's Ignite incubator program about six months ago and feels the assistance from staff members and collaboration with fellow tenants inside the Scranton Enterprise Center provided a spark for his startup business.

"It's nice to be surrounded by other entrepreneurs who are primarily at the same stage of building a business," he said. "There is another mobile app launching around the same time and it's nice to be able to bounce ideas off one another."

Upon returning to Northeast Pennsylvania, Yeager focused on growing Showcase Ventures in the region.

"I finally got to that stage where I went through a lot of experiences — good and bad — and I felt like the timing was right," he said. "I wanted to be my own boss and I always wanted to give back to this area. Showcase has been a passion project of mine for a long time. In 2020, I put thoughts on paper and started sketching it out."

Several funding sources also provided a boost for Yeager's venture. The company recently received a $100,000 grant from the City of Scranton, through American Rescue Plan funding, and a $90,000 investment from Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Showcase also won the 2022 tecBRIDGE Business Plan Competition.

"That really got me infused into the whole ecosystem that I'm part of and the support has been amazing from everybody," Yeager said.

Yeager said the Showcase app, which is currently in the beta stage of development, received approval in the App Store this weekend and expects it to launch in mid- to late April.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of artists submitted music through the company's website, showcasedaily.com, and Yeager looks forward to growing the company locally.

"We're giving independent artists the visibility they deserve," he said. "Our goal, over time, is to create geospecific areas within the showcase platform that highlights up and coming and emerging artists. My goal is to make Northeastern Pennsylvania my hub."

Bob Durkin, president of the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, said visionaries like Yeager contribute to the success of business incubators in the region.

"Entrepreneurship is alive and well in Lackawanna County," he said. "The mission of the chamber and our affiliates is to attract, sustain and grow business and jobs."

Contact the writer:

rtomkavage@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9131;

@rtomkavage on Twitter.