What is an Investor?
Evaluator of Potential
Investors assess startups and markets to identify ventures with strong teams, scalable solutions, and long-term growth potential.
Strategic Partner
They provide more than capital—offering guidance, connections, and insights that help founders navigate critical decisions.
Portfolio Thinker
Investors manage risk by backing multiple ventures, aiming to balance impact and return across a broader investment strategy.
Programs for Investors
Founder Programs
The Visiting Experts Program is a Venture Lab program that provides students with the opportunity to meet and learn from alumni founders, entrepreneurs, subject matter experts, and industry experts in one-on-one or small group AMA (Ask Me Anything) sessions.
The Penn Wharton Innovation Fund supports innovative student-led ventures at Penn with funding while equipping its student investment team with hands-on experience in early-stage investing.
The ETA program helps Penn students learn how to buy and grow small businesses, with workshops open to all, an incubator program, and a $50K Perlman Fellowship for graduating master’s and Ph.D. students.
What does it mean to be an investor in entrepreneurship?
An investor allocates capital—whether money, time, or expertise—to early-stage ventures with the goal of supporting growth and generating a return, financially or strategically.
Do I need money to be an investor?
No. At Penn, student investors often start by learning how to evaluate ventures, assess risks, and make investment decisions—even without their own capital—through programs like the Penn Wharton Innovation Fund.
What types of skills do investors use?
Investors rely on skills like market analysis, due diligence, financial modeling, strategic thinking, and understanding founder dynamics—all of which can be developed during your time at Penn.
Is being an investor only about venture capital?
Not at all. While venture capital is one path, investors can also work in angel investing, impact investing, search funds, private equity, or even internal corporate strategy roles.
What makes someone a good investor?
Great investors combine curiosity, critical thinking, and judgment—they know how to ask the right questions, spot patterns, and back founders with both insight and conviction.
Who should explore the Investor Pathway at Venture Lab?
If you’re curious about how businesses grow, love analyzing ideas and markets, or want to influence innovation without being a founder, the Investor Pathway could be the right fit for you.
Latest Investor Events
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.
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