Open to all of the Penn community, inclusive of undergraduate students, graduate students, and alumni. Financial award opportunities are open to all students who are enrolled full time in a University of Pennsylvania academic program.
Featured Opportunity
Founders often want to create ventures that generate meaningful impact and outsized financial returns. So how do you do it?
Join us for a fireside chat followed by a networking session featuring Irene Liu (WG21), founder of Chiyo, a company focused on improving women’s health through nutrition, Mira Kaufman of Ingeborg Investors, an investment firm focused on women-led, early-stage startups and one of Chiyo’s early investors, and moderated by Professor Tyler Wry, faculty advisor for Social Entrepreneurship on what it takes to center social impact within a healthy business model.
Join us for a fireside chat followed by a networking session featuring Irene Liu (WG21), founder of Chiyo, a company focused on improving women’s health through nutrition, Mira Kaufman of Ingeborg Investors, an investment firm focused on women-led, early-stage startups and one of Chiyo’s early investors, and moderated by Professor Tyler Wry, faculty advisor for Social Entrepreneurship on what it takes to center social impact within a healthy business model.
Social enterprises are businesses that seek to achieve financial sustainability while addressing pressing societal challenges. They are found in every industry and often blend funding sources, including traditional venture capital, impact investors, and occasionally charitable foundations.
Supporting Programming
The Venture Initiation Program (VIP) is where Penn’s boldest founders turn ideas into impact. Whether you're just starting out or scaling fast, VIP is your launchpad—a high-energy, founder-first ecosystem designed to help you build, test, and grow.
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.
Launch Your idea at Penn and turn ambition into real-world impact!
The Startup Challenge is Venture Lab’s flagship event, bringing together successful entrepreneurial alumni and Penn student entrepreneurs to showcase the best student-founded ventures across Penn’s campus. Teams have the opportunity to win awards from more than $200,000 in cash prizes, in-kind support, and additional resources.
The Startup Challenge is Venture Lab’s flagship event, bringing together successful entrepreneurial alumni and Penn student entrepreneurs to showcase the best student-founded ventures across Penn’s campus. Teams have the opportunity to win awards from more than $200,000 in cash prizes, in-kind support, and additional resources.
Upcoming Social Entrepreneurship Events
27
March
Whether you're navigating cofounder dynamics, structuring equity, or creating a culture of trust, this in-person workshop is for Penn students and their team members in the VIP Incubator. You’ll learn how to recruit top talent, align your team with your mission, and lead with confidence.
31
March
Join Venture Lab for a special virtual 1:1 session with Chris and Natasha Ashton, co-founders of Fetch Pet Insurance (formerly Petplan), one of North America’s leading pet health insurance providers.
Social #entrePENNeur Highlight
Penn students who are making an impact via social entrepreneurship and their mission-driven ventures.
Beginning on September 18th, students participated in the Social Entrepreneurship Initiative’s week-long Climate Change and the Future of Food Salon Sprint, culminating in a pitch competition.
3 Min Read
Jonathan Muruako, CAS'17 SPP'24
Founder of Fitalyst: Empowering First-Gen Students with Self-Regulation Tools for Success
Founder of Fitalyst: Empowering First-Gen Students with Self-Regulation Tools for Success
3 Min Read
Meet The Community Grocer, a scalable non-profit community market, resource, and education center advancing food justice and health equity through EBT accessible meal solutions.
5 Min Read
Alumni Companies
Additional Resources
See below for Social Entrepreneurship Initiative events and related resources for the Penn community.
Learn about social entrepreneurship pathways from experienced industry leaders.
Workshops designed to support members of the Penn Community interested in Social Entrepreneurship
Fund your mission-driven venture using the opportunities available for the Penn community.
This program delivers experiential learning that complements Wharton's existing social impact curriculum, providing hands-on opportunities for budding social entrepreneurs to build new ventures that change the world.
Lori Rosenkopf, Vice Dean of Entrepreneurship
The fundamental purpose of the social enterprise is to address a social problem and generate revenue in doing so.
The Social Entrepreneur’s Playbook; Ian C. MacMillan & James D. Thompson
Our new social entrepreneurship program puts Wharton and Penn’s institutional power into educating the next generation of leaders to solve the world’s most pressing social problems.
Trang Pham, Executive Director, Venture Lab
Startup Stories
Find out what's happening across the #entrePENNeur community! Want to tell your story? Contact us at venturelab@upenn.edu.
