Top Resources For Investors
The Innovation Fund exists to fund creative and meaningfully innovative ventures from the Penn student community. All funding decisions are made by our Investment Team, which is comprised of students from across the University of Pennsylvania.
A VC fund and network of founders, executives and investors committed to mentoring and investing in leading early-stage, student and alumni founders
Apprenticeship in early-stage venture capital. Pear Fellows work directly with Pear’s Investment Partners to learn how we find, pick, and help the best founders.
Our incredible community of experts, operators, and advisors is built by students and backed by First Round Capital. We give our portfolio companies all the help they need to take their companies to the next level.
Through our network of student investors who receive hands-on training and mentorship from GC, we partner with the brightest student founders across the US.
The Bet on Entrepreneurship program provides First Generation and/or Lower Income members of the Class of 2026 at the University of Pennsylvania with an eight-week, summer immersive placement with San Francisco/Bay Area-based charter venture capital firms.
Red + Blue Ventures is a privately owned and operated, seed and early-stage venture capital fund that invests in companies from the Penn ecosystem.
The Bet on Entrepreneurship program provides First Generation and/or Lower Income members of the Class of 2025 at the University of Pennsylvania with an eight-week, summer immersive placement with San Francisco/Bay Area-based charter venture capital firms.
Admitted students are required to attend a six-week Spring pre-program Bootcamp. This co-curricular program will provide the BoE cohort with hands-on and actionable training to prepare them for their summer immersive experience.
Admitted students are required to attend a six-week Spring pre-program Bootcamp. This co-curricular program will provide the BoE cohort with hands-on and actionable training to prepare them for their summer immersive experience.
Investor Events & Workshops
01
November
Seth Berger (C'89, WG'93) is the Managing Director of the Sixers Innovation Lab, supporting rapidly growing, early-stage companies in the consumer product space and providing speed and flexibility, individualized, industry-leading consulting and investment opportunities to startups with potential.
01
November
Join Red & Blue Ventures and Venture Lab as we co-host our first-ever Pitch Night on Nov. 1st from 5-7p ET, bringing together founders and investors from across the University of Pennsylvania and City of Philadelphia ecosystem.
01
November
MORE INFO AND REGISTER
No enterprise is an island. Rather, every enterprise is embedded in an ecosystem of partners to create and deliver value. How should enterprise leaders think about scaling up a new initiative when growth is not only a function of the enterprise-level capabilities but also a function of the broader ecosystem of partners and their capabilities? In this session, Professor Rahul Kapoor and panelists: Rocky Garff WG'07, Head of Trucking Operations at Waymo, Ashmeet Sidana WG'03, Chief Engineer at Engineering Capital, and Christine Yip WG'01, Advisor and Former Fintech Executive, will discuss the thinking behind scaling technology initiatives in an ecosystem as well as how leaders can navigate through some of the key strategic tradeoffs in their ecosystems.
No enterprise is an island. Rather, every enterprise is embedded in an ecosystem of partners to create and deliver value. How should enterprise leaders think about scaling up a new initiative when growth is not only a function of the enterprise-level capabilities but also a function of the broader ecosystem of partners and their capabilities? In this session, Professor Rahul Kapoor and panelists: Rocky Garff WG'07, Head of Trucking Operations at Waymo, Ashmeet Sidana WG'03, Chief Engineer at Engineering Capital, and Christine Yip WG'01, Advisor and Former Fintech Executive, will discuss the thinking behind scaling technology initiatives in an ecosystem as well as how leaders can navigate through some of the key strategic tradeoffs in their ecosystems.
19
October
View Program Here
Registration Closed
B-School Disrupt is happening in person in San Francisco on Wednesday, October 19th, and we are excited to gather the B-School alumni community around this all-star event!
The event will feature short 3 to 5 minute pitches from alumni teams who are working on innovative ventures and feedback from a guest panel of alumni experts.
2022 B-School Disrupt is organized by Venture Lab and co-sponsored by Stanford GSB, Harvard Innovation Labs, and Berkeley Haas.
Register to attend B-School Disrupt and show support for Venture Lab’s alumni ventures from Penn.
Registration Closed
B-School Disrupt is happening in person in San Francisco on Wednesday, October 19th, and we are excited to gather the B-School alumni community around this all-star event!
The event will feature short 3 to 5 minute pitches from alumni teams who are working on innovative ventures and feedback from a guest panel of alumni experts.
2022 B-School Disrupt is organized by Venture Lab and co-sponsored by Stanford GSB, Harvard Innovation Labs, and Berkeley Haas.
Register to attend B-School Disrupt and show support for Venture Lab’s alumni ventures from Penn.
07
December
The COVID crisis has further emphasized the inequalities between different professions, classes, racial groups, and nationalities. Join us as we re-evaluate how the industry can minimize harm and be a positive force in addressing these challenges.
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.
HILADELPHIA, MAY 3, 2022 – The University of Pennsylvania’s Venture Lab is pleased to announce the winner of the sixth annual Startup Challenge, sponsored by Eric Aroesty, C’92: ToxiSense, co-founded by a team of four University of Pennsylvania freshmen, Aravind Krishnan, C’25, W’25; Udit Garg, ENG’25; Andrew Diep-Tran, W’25; and Aarush Sahni, C’25. The Startup Challenge was held on April 29, 2022 at Tangen Hall, the University of Pennsylvania’s hub for student entrepreneurship and innovation.
1 Min Read
Venture Lab is pleased to announce the creation of a new Entrepreneur in Residence program, a marker of the continued growth for the newly-formed entrepreneurship center. The newly-established position is a long-term engagement with the center to provide workshops, office hours, and general advising/mentoring to support early-stage student and alumni ventures in our Venture Initiation Program. Open to all Penn alumni, the role doubles as a meaningful way for former participants of the program to return to their innovative roots and support the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem at the university. After a strict selection process, the center is delighted to announce that Doug Baldasare, CEO and Founder of ChargeItSpot, a world leader in cell phone charging stations, will serve as the inaugural Entrepreneur in Residence. Baldasare developed the concept for ChargeItSpot during his time in the program as an MBA student at the Wharton School and continues to serve as CEO.
5 Min Read
EMBAs are no longer the preserve of corporate high-flyers, as alumni go it alone
1 Min Read
Legend, an undergraduate alumnus, was recently honored by Venture Lab, the University’s entrepreneurship center, during a virtual livestream event.
1 Min Read
This article was originally published in 2019.
3 Min Read
News
With a new name and a new home, Venture Lab — formerly known as Penn Wharton Entrepreneurship — is the culmination of a nearly 50-year journey to help aspiring founders at Wharton and across the university realize their visions.
1 Min Read