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
15
April
Professor Charbel Zreik will discuss how to thrive under stress and the 5 shifts for entrepreneurial leaders during all steps of the ETA process. This is part 2 of Professor Zreik's series on Wellness.
This session is open to any Penn student interested in learning more about ETA and the different potential paths to pursue for anyone considering acquiring and operating a business.
This event is organized by Venture Lab's Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition program.
This session is open to any Penn student interested in learning more about ETA and the different potential paths to pursue for anyone considering acquiring and operating a business.
This event is organized by Venture Lab's Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition program.
09
April
Professor Charbel Zreik will discuss how to thrive under stress and the 5 shifts for entrepreneurial leaders during all steps of the ETA process. This is part 1 of Professor Zreik's series on Wellness.
This session is open to any Penn student interested in learning more about ETA and the different potential paths to pursue for anyone considering acquiring and operating a business.
This event is organized by Venture Lab's Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition program.
This session is open to any Penn student interested in learning more about ETA and the different potential paths to pursue for anyone considering acquiring and operating a business.
This event is organized by Venture Lab's Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition program.
This session is an interactive workshop, led by business consultant and VIP Advisor John Ondik, covering the skills and tools founders need to build and manage a successful team. Sessions will be held in person at Tangen Hall in Room 706.**
**Note: This event is only open to members of the Penn community. An active Penn ID card is required for entry into the building.
**Note: This event is only open to members of the Penn community. An active Penn ID card is required for entry into the building.
This series offers an introductory workshop on protecting intellectual property through patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets for founders followed by two Q&A sessions. If you missed the first session, please watch the session recording posted on the VIP-C canvas and bring your questions!
Location: Tangen Hall, Room 706.
**Note: This event is only open to members of the Penn community. An active Penn ID card is required for entry into the building.
Location: Tangen Hall, Room 706.
**Note: This event is only open to members of the Penn community. An active Penn ID card is required for entry into the building.
Whether you're eager to pitch an idea, provide feedback, support peers, or just enjoy the entrepreneurial vibes, you're invited to be part of the Pitch Night experience. We welcome you to participate in Pitch Nights as a pitching founder or as a member of the audience. Each pitch night will have a theme and be co-hosted by a student organization. Following the pitches, we invite everyone to mingle, connect with the founders who pitched, and enjoy light refreshments. Spring term themes:
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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Find out what's happening with founders across the #entrePENNeur community! Want to tell your story? Contact us at venturelab@upenn.edu.
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