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.
Founder Programs
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
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.
Founder Programs
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!
VIP-Accelerator (VIP-X)
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.
Founder Programs
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
22
September
Join Professor Charbel Zreik for an interactive workshop on inner mastery and thriving under stress throughout the entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA) journey. Drawing on real-world leadership experience, Professor Zreik will introduce five shifts that can help aspiring founders and CEOs lead with greater resilience, clarity, and purpose
23
September
Join us for the Venture Lab ETA Workshop: Introduction to Self-Funded Search with Professor Bob Chalfin on Wednesday, September 23 at 6:00 pm (Tangen Hall, 7th Floor).
The self-funded search model is one of the most flexible and accessible paths to Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA). In this workshop, Wharton Professor and acquisition expert Bob Chalfin, CEO of The Chalfin Group, will lead an in-depth discussion on what it takes to successfully pursue and complete a self-funded acquisition.
The self-funded search model is one of the most flexible and accessible paths to Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA). In this workshop, Wharton Professor and acquisition expert Bob Chalfin, CEO of The Chalfin Group, will lead an in-depth discussion on what it takes to successfully pursue and complete a self-funded acquisition.
09
October
Applications are now open for the Bet on Entrepreneurship Program, a Program that provides students in the classes of 2029 and 2030 who identify as First-Generation and/or Limited Income (FGLI) with education around the entrepreneurial ecosystem and facilitated access to professional entrepreneurial spaces. The Program does this by supporting students through an introductory Spring Bootcamp and a subsequent 8-week placement within a local Philadelphia-area startup.
03
September
Join Venture Lab’s Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) Workshop: Deal Screening & Understanding the ETA Pathway on Thursday, September 3, from 3:30–4:30 pm ET at Tangen Hall (Room 708).
15
September
Join Venture Lab for a Fireside Chat on Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) with Professor Richard Perlman (W’68) and alumni of the Perlman ETA Fellowship on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, from 6:00–7:15 pm at Tangen Hall (2nd Floor Colloquium).
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.
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