Founder

In the earliest stage of building a business (pre-seed), we help founders to refine their ideas, understand their customers, and develop innovative products and business models.

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.
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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
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VIP-Incubator (VIP-INC)
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
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

17
October
Most recently, customer lifetime value (CLTV) models have integrated AI methods - find out which companies are making progress and how they are charting the customer journey in light of GenAI methods. In this session, Professor Pete Fader will cover the challenges to overcome, case studies of companies making progress, and aspirations to bring AI and CTLV approaches together – plus highlighting which AI methods are becoming more commonplace in the C-suite.
09
October
Whether you're interested in pitching your idea, providing feedback, supporting peers, or just seeing what femtech, retail, and gender-focused ventures are spinning out of Penn, you are invited to be a part of the Breaking the Bias Pitch Night. We welcome you to participate in the Breaking the Bias Pitch Night as a pitching founder and/or joiner or as a member of the audience. Following the pitches, we invite everyone to mingle, connect with the founders who pitched, and enjoy light refreshments.

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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Video Companion

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.
June 06, 2024 03:05 PM
Alumni entrepreneurs who launched successful startups through Venture Lab return to guide a new wave of student innovators.
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April 22, 2024 02:50 PM
Jochi, founded by Yash Dhir, SEAS'24, and Rahul Nambiar, SEAS'24, has been making waves in the Penn startup scene, securing multiple awards and recognition, including Venture Lab's 2024 Startup Challenge's Launch Award, The AI at Wharton Award, The Audience Choice Award, the Draper Bridge Fund Award and has also taken home the prestigious President's Innovation Prize!
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April 16, 2024 12:09 PM
PHILADELPHIA, APRIL 16, 2024–The University of Pennsylvania’s Venture Lab is pleased to announce the winner of its annual Startup Challenge: Nirby, founded by Piotr Lazarek SEAS'25 W'25. Nirby is a real-time soil analytics and farmland management tool for large agricultural enterprises, leveraging satellite data and proprietary drone systems to deliver actionable insights within minutes. The tool enables up to 40% savings on fertilizer expenses and up to 15% increase in crop yields.
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