Top Resources For Founders
Embark on your entrepreneurial journey with VIP-C. Whether you're a first-time founder or second-time entrepreneur, VIP-C offers an inclusive space for abundant learning, networking, and community-building.
Innovation Fund
The Innovation Fund exists to fund creative and meaningfully innovative ventures from the Penn student community.
The Summer Venture Award (SVA) of $10,000 is intended to assist students financially over the summer in lieu of full-time internships so that they can concentrate on developing their entrepreneurial ventures.
This award is now offered to participants of the Startup Challenge
This award is now offered to participants of the Startup Challenge
Our 3-month, cohort-based incubator is designed to help founders transform strong ideas into market-ready solutions and tactfully navigate the challenges of launching a new business.
The Startup Challenge is a competition for Penn student-founded ventures where student entrepreneurs pitch to a live audience and alumni judges to show their startups are ready to become the next big thing!
For dedicated student and alumni entrepreneurs with advanced startups, VIP-X propels your venture towards rapid growth and investment readiness with targeted support, non-dilutive funding, and other resources.
The Food Innovation Lab is an 800-sq. ft. facility that supports a unique cohort of food and beverage startups at Penn.
Now Accepting Applications For Fall 2022
Now Accepting Applications For Fall 2022
Our Retail Lab is a flexible retail space to showcase successful alumni and student ventures, to inspire Penn students and provide active learning opportunities.
The Wharton Scale School workshop series in San Francisco guides entrepreneurs making the transition from a successful startup to a large enterprise. Hear from experts who share solutions to critical challenges faced by rapidly growing companies.
Compete for a slice of more than $300,000 in cash and in-kind awards to help launch your venture!
Founder Events & Workshops
27
March
Navigating the legal world while launching or growing your startup can be a labyrinth. Whether you're exploring venture formation, creating founders' agreements, drafting your first contracts, or considering taking VC money, understanding the legal aspects can be complicated and confusing.
Have all of these questions or more, especially around technology, security, and corporations? Gain some clarity with an AMA and 1:1 meeting with Venture Lab’s Legal Visiting Expert, Arina Shulga, Fox Rothschild.
For questions, email Margaret Chen (margchen@wharton.upenn.edu)
Have all of these questions or more, especially around technology, security, and corporations? Gain some clarity with an AMA and 1:1 meeting with Venture Lab’s Legal Visiting Expert, Arina Shulga, Fox Rothschild.
For questions, email Margaret Chen (margchen@wharton.upenn.edu)
27
March
Breanna and Jared are the co-founders of Kokada; they are former Division I athletes + Accenture consultants turned food entrepreneurs, who built Kokada, a coconut-based alternative to nut-free spreads. Breanna and Jared won a notable pitch competition, Nosh Pitch Slam, and afterwards, they took a leave of absence from their Wharton MBA to expand Kokada to the rapidly growing, national food brand it is today!
01
April
Seth Berkowitz founded Insomnia Cookies in 2003 while at Penn, turning a late-night craving into a nationally recognized brand. What started as baking and delivering cookies to classmates quickly became a cult-favorite business, now with hundreds of locations and late-night delivery. Over 20 years, Seth has scaled Insomnia into an industry leader, redefining convenience and customer engagement in food service.
25
March
Register Here for a 1:1meeting: https://go.oncehub.com/ThiruArunachalam
Retail Lab Founder Series: Fernando Rojo, CEO of Patos
Fernando Rojo, C’19, CEO of PATOS has been featured in Forbes, Inc. Magazine, Business Insider, Huffington Post, Refinery29, Buzzfeed, NBC News, CNBC, and more. Patos provided work for over a dozen local artisans in Peru's impoverished cities to handcraft sneakers for PATOS.
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Related Articles & Stories
Find out what's happening with founders across the #entrePENNeur community! Want to tell your story? Contact us at venturelab@upenn.edu.
Joseph Kemp, JD, MBA, MSEd (GSE '21), has been recognized on Forbes' 2025 30 Under 30 list in the Games category for his company, Games That Matter, a testament to his innovative approach to gamified education. As the creator of DISBARRED: The Card Game™, Kemp has successfully leveraged his education and the resources at Penn’s Venture Lab to transform how people engage with essential legal knowledge.
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PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Penn Center for Health, Devices, and Technology (Penn Health-Tech) and Venture Lab are excited to announce the launch of the Emerging Leaders in Health Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship Fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn ELITE Fellowship). This new initiative will prepare the next generation of health-tech innovators and support the commercialization of university-developed technologies, bridging academia and the healthcare industry.
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Through the four-year consulting program at Penn, undergrads get real-time experience with startups almost from the minute they step on campus.
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via Kelly Yang, The Daily Pennsylvanian
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via Daily Pennsylvanian
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Alumni entrepreneurs who launched successful startups through Venture Lab return to guide a new wave of student innovators.
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