Navigator

For those who prefer to build the entrepreneurial environment, make connections across the ecosystem, and support multiple startups. Navigators hold various positions within Venture Lab, gain experience running our incubators, centers, and maker spaces, and move into management roles that position them for leadership opportunities outside Penn.

Top Resources For Navigators

The Digital Design Studio at Venture Lab is a comprehensive, print and digital production hub that offers educational support for students, staff, and faculty across the Penn community.
Snider Consulting delivers actionable recommendations that help our clients drive and sustain business growth. Through semester-long consulting engagements supported by professional advising, our talented and dedicated MBA and undergraduate consultants provide tailored research, analysis, thought partnership, and execution support to meet our clients’ needs.
Join the ranks of Peer Advisors — members of this student-led team get trained to assist founders during coaching sessions and provide founders with additional one-on-one support.
A student-run venture capital group that provides seed funding to student entrepreneurs.

WeissScale is the Weiss Tech House‘s student-run startup incubator

Navigator Events & Workshops

02
December
Focused only on Intellectual Property (IP) Questions

Josh Slavitt is a Founding Partner at Slavitt IP Law, LLC and he's been a registered patent attorney for almost 20 years.

At his firm Josh helps clients protect and profit from their intellectual property through the use of IP creation/acquisition strategies, the management of IP portfolios, and the development and implementation of patent enforcement/monetization campaigns.

Prior to starting Slavitt IP Law, Josh was a partner in the Philadelphia office of Gordon & Rees, Scully, Mansukhani.

Josh holds a B.A from the University of Pennsylvania and his J.D. from Boston University School of Law.

Register Here for 1-on-1 session
29
November
Arina is a corporate and securities lawyer with extensive experience representing startups and emerging growth companies from formation through initial rounds of financing and beyond, ensuring that the companies are well protected and enabled to grow and succeed. She also advises angel investors and venture capital funds in making investments.

For her clients in the technology space, Arina drafts and negotiates complex software license agreements, master services agreements, support level agreements, software escrow agreements, purchase orders, and terms of use for technology company clients.

In addition, Arina advises on the current legal framework relating to equity crowdfunding and security and utility token issuances in the United States.

As a native Russian speaker, Arina works to enable Russian-speaking founders and investors to conduct and expand their business in the United States or to get venture financing for an exit transaction.

Arina is active in the New York City startup community and is a member of the Wall Street Blockchain Alliance. She is an adjunct professor at Fordham Law School, where she teaches Entrepreneurial Law.

Arina received a BA from Mount Holyoke College and her JD from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.


Register Here for 1-on-1 session
10
November
Join the Venture Lab team in a session with Zofia Wosinska WG'14, Co-Founder ÉSTAINE, to hear about her journey as a socially-conscious entrepreneur as part of the Retail Lab Founder Forum.

Dr. Zofia Wosinska spent much of her career in cancer research and developing tissue dye-based solutions used in cancer diagnosis. Zofia not only studied the effects of cancer from a molecular level but also how emotional well-being impacts prognosis. Zofia imagined the beautiful colors and patterns of the stained cells gracing flowing dresses and fabrics-- telling the story of a survivor. Over the following years, Zofia grew passionate about fashion as a medium for cancer education and patient support. Out of this passion, ÉSTAINE was born. While ÉSTAINE is about extraordinary fashion, it is ultimately so much more — the one-of-a-kind designs tell not only of science but also the stories of survivors, inviting questions that lead to awareness. Educational information about dyes, diagnosis and design accompanies all ÉSTAINE products. Each item sold on the ÉSTAINE website supports a beneficiary focused on fighting the war against cancer.

Register Here

16
November
Improv isn’t just for SNL actors. The same skills that go into making your favorite comedy skits have been used for decades inside of companies and teams to foster creativity, innovation, and resilience. Together, in this one-hour workshop, we will learn the history, rules, and benefits of Improv. Then, we will explore why having a sense of humor is a powerful tool for inclusive teams. Jessica Halem, MBA, trained at Second City Theater in Chicago and went on to lead a successful career as a stand-up comic. She toured nationally opening for Lady Gaga at NYC Pride, sharing the stage with Margaret Cho, and has been featured in Fast Company and The Wall Street Journal for her ability to bring improv skills to the workplace. Today, she deploys her diverse experiences in healthcare, higher ed, and start-ups to her new role as Senior Director of The Eidos LGBTQ+ Health Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania.

Register Here


21
April
Brent Taylor, WG'10
Co-Founder, Beyond Meat
Co-Founder, Perennial
VIRTUAL

Brent Taylor is the former co-founder of plant-based innovator Beyond Meat® and is driven by scaling agri-food brands and technologies that provide sustainable, global food solutions to
improve human health.

A California native who spends his free time traveling and surfing, Brent cut his entrepreneurial teeth starting in 2010, when he co-founded Beyond Meat -- pioneering meat made from plants –which had a successful and historic IPO In 2019 and whose investors included Bill Gates, Kleiner

Perkins Caufield & Byers, Biz Stone and Evan Williams, and others. In 2017 Brent set out to co-found Perennial, a human health science company dedicated to developing targeted, plant-based nutrition for active older adults. Investors included one of the largest private food companies in America. Despite positive progress in its mission, Perennial decided to close its doors in 2021 due to headwinds from the global pandemic.

Before his entrepreneurial endeavors, Brent garnered several years of management experience in agriculture/food as a Senior Analyst – Corporate Development at Dole Food Company, Inc., where his primary focus was in acquisition opportunities, divestitures/business restructures, and global corporate strategy.

Register for a Virtual 1:1 session

Register for group Virtual Lunch and Learn

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.
May 03, 2022 10:33 AM
Left to right: Rob Goergen, WG’00, Founder and Chairman of G5 Capital; Udit Garg, ENG’25; Andrew Diep-Tran, W’25; Aravind Krishnan, C’25, W’25; and Aarush Sahni, C’25.
4 Min Read
By  Dee Patel
, October 12, 2021 02:29 PM
Legend, an undergraduate alumnus, was recently honored by Venture Lab, the University’s entrepreneurship center, during a virtual livestream event.
1 Min Read
News
By  Amy Downey
, September 16, 2021 12:08 PM
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