VIP-X in San Francisco is an accelerator open to Penn alumni and student entrepreneurs in the Bay Area who are founders or leaders of early-stage ventures. This four-month program runs twice per year, in the fall and in the spring. The company must have traction, and the team must be based in the San Francisco Bay Area during their time in the program.
Alberto and Gay Peisach Mentoring Initiative
After receiving support during their time in VIP-X, many founders need industry-specific advice to progress ventures and scale. Thanks to the Alberto and Gay Peisach Mentoring Initiative, VIP-X founders can receive additional support and are matched with alumni mentors with industry and/or specific functional expertise.
What We're Looking For
The application process for VIP-SF is highly competitive. To ensure you’re ready, we highly recommend that applicants have already taken academic coursework such as MGMT 231/MGMT 806: Venture Implementation, the Wharton Entrepreneurship Specialization on Coursera, or have the requisite hands-on entrepreneurial experience. Here’s what we look for in an application:
- Knowledge of business fundamentals
- Validated product-market fit
- Measurable traction (i.e., revenue)
- Necessary expertise on the team
What You'll Gain
- Be part of a community of entrepreneurs and advisors who will optimize your startup’s potential.
- Receive expert advice on how to navigate your startup’s unique challenges and opportunities with one-on-one advising.
- Connect with a network of alumni entrepreneurs who will inspire and motivate you.
- Get feedback during biweekly group advising sessions with advisors, including VCs, angel investors, attorneys, experts, and successful entrepreneurs.
- Access co-working space at Wharton San Francisco.
Spring 2023 Program Cycle Calendar
December
Monday, December 12th: Application Opens via Survey Monkey Apply
Jan
Monday, January 16th: Application Closes via Survey Monkey Apply
- Live Pitches @WSF: Fri, Jan 27 invited ventures assigned a time slot between 9 am-12:00 pm PT
February
All group sessions run from 7:30 AM-9:30 AM PT. followed by 1:1 Advising Sessions. 100% Participation is required.
- Friday, Feb 24th: Kick Off Mtg and lunch w. Alumni Session 1:
- lunch from 12:30-1:30pm PT.
- lunch from 12:30-1:30pm PT.
March/April
All group sessions run from 7:30 AM-9:30 AM PT. followed by 1:1 Advising Sessions. 100% Participation is required.
- Friday, March 10: Session 2
- Thursday, March 23: Session 3
- Friday, April 14: Session 4
- Thursday, April 20: Session 5
May
All group sessions run from 7:30 AM-9:30 AM PT. followed by 1:1 Advising Sessions. 100% Participation is required.
- Friday, May 12th: Session 6
- Thursday, May 25th: Session 7
June
All group sessions run from 7:30 AM-9:30 AM PT. followed by 1:1 Advising Sessions. 100% Participation is required.
- Thursday, June 8th: Wine Chat
- 5:30-7:30p.
- Friday, June 9th: Session 8
Fall 2022 Cohort
Pezzy Pets
Mike Mitchell W’09, Founder
We work with artisanal fishermen in Mexico and the US to turn hated, invasive fish species into pet treats that are good for both pets and the environment.
Mike Mitchell W’09, Founder
We work with artisanal fishermen in Mexico and the US to turn hated, invasive fish species into pet treats that are good for both pets and the environment.
LazySuzy
Arzan RaimalwalaWG'13 W'14, Lauder, Founder
Home Furniture 3 way marketplace: brands, designers and consumers.
Arzan RaimalwalaWG'13 W'14, Lauder, Founder
Home Furniture 3 way marketplace: brands, designers and consumers.
Working Trees
John Foye, MT’13, Founder
Aakash Ahamed, CTO
Working Trees gets farmers paid for growing trees through carbon markets.
John Foye, MT’13, Founder
Aakash Ahamed, CTO
Working Trees gets farmers paid for growing trees through carbon markets.
My Little Mascara Club
Patrick Ryan WGMP’21, Co-Founder
Annie Brown, Co-Founder
A subscription-based clean mascara. The Dollar Shave Club for mascara.
Patrick Ryan WGMP’21, Co-Founder
Annie Brown, Co-Founder
A subscription-based clean mascara. The Dollar Shave Club for mascara.
SIP Mask
Vasanth Mohanraj W’08, Founder
Stemming from a public health initiative to build evidence-based tools during the COVID pandemic, we launched our first product to mitigate risk, SIP – an airtight drinking valve that automatically seals after each sip, allowing the immunocompromised and COVID-conscious to safely drink in public spaces without removing their mask or compromising their health.
Vasanth Mohanraj W’08, Founder
Stemming from a public health initiative to build evidence-based tools during the COVID pandemic, we launched our first product to mitigate risk, SIP – an airtight drinking valve that automatically seals after each sip, allowing the immunocompromised and COVID-conscious to safely drink in public spaces without removing their mask or compromising their health.
VIP-SF fills a critical gap in startup education that sits between case studies in the classroom and pounding the pavement as a startup founder. The needs and questions in a startup change so frequently and good advice is hard to find because it needs to be relevant to sage and industry. Taking well-meaning advice from a Series B mentor/investor when you're a Seed sage company can kill a business. VIP-SF gave Hostfully a supportive community where we could ask questions of faculty, advisors, and peers who understand the unique challenges of starting a company from the ground up.
- Margot Schmorak, CEO and Co-Founder | Hostfully
VIP helped LuxCreo to: Better structure our organization for alignment and performance, streamline our go-to-market strategy, and focus our mission (3D "Production"). The value of VIP extends far beyond the program. Besides ongoing interactions, referrals and promotions through the Wharton alumni network have been invaluable. Highly recommend the program!
- Mike Yang, WG'04, Chief Operating Officer | LuxCreo Inc.
We sold the company to Accenture early this year. It would not have happened without the training and skills we gained at the VIP Program.
- Marina Diaz Ibarra, WG'12
Partner | Wolox
When I joined the VIP-SF experience, I was not ready to be a founder. After working in consulting pre-Wharton, I did not know what entrepreneurship truly meant. With guidance from VIP and tapping into its resources, I grew and grew. After a pivot, I finally settled into my role as COO of a company that grew to$13M in revenue in 2020. I became more confident in myself.
- Tony Campos, WG'16
Chief Operating Officer | Maclean Health
The program really pushed us to think through many aspects of our business, including articulating our value offering, revisiting our pricing policy, developing our sales strategy, and many other critical issues. Besides receiving candid feedback and sound practical advice, going through the program added a great deal of credibility to our startup.
Hamid Hajian, WG'18
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer | Zebel
It is a great experience, even virtually, as you get one-on-one coaching from two experienced Wharton professors - one focused on entrepreneurial marketing and another from a seasoned investor perspective. The cohort is also a great sounding board and the meetings allow you to test out new ideas and messages in a safe, supportive environment.
Wayne Pan, WG'07
Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer | mynurse.ai
VIP-X SF Info Session
Learn about the VIP-X program in San Francisco in this Q&A info session with Irina Yuen, Senior Director of Venture Lab, and Ali Krantzler, Associate Director at Venture Lab, in conjunction with WAFFA.
0:00 / 0:00
Video Companion
Media Mentions
Gain Top Business Knowledge in the Bay Area
A block from the Bay Bridge, Wharton San Francisco is located in the historic Hills Brothers Plaza. Our Bay Area campus is a hub of academic and entrepreneurial activity for Wharton students and alumni in the West Coast region.
A block from the Bay Bridge, Wharton San Francisco is located in the historic Hills Brothers Plaza. Our Bay Area campus is a hub of academic and entrepreneurial activity for Wharton students and alumni in the West Coast region.
Previous Cohorts
Spring 2022
- Arcons Technology Inc. (Hemant More, WG’04; Archana More)
- Jump Writing (Hans Hartvickson, WG'08)
- Lex (Pranav Pillai, ENG'20; GEN'20; W'20)
- MakersHub (Charley Howe, WG’20; Phong Ngo, WG ’20)
Fall 2021
- KYTE (Han Choi, WG’21; Irfan Usman)
- Kiv Broker (JB Duler, WG'94; Matthieu Jabbour)
- 2Sigma School (Vishal Goenka, WG'14)
- Brightfox (Alex McCauley CAS'04)
- Munchrooms (Gina Shi, W'19)
Spring 2021
- CivilGrid (Josh Mackanic, WG’18; Brandon Cohen, WG’18)
- AnimalBiome (Carlton Osborne, C’92; Holly Ganz)
- CarBevy (Joseph Wirija, WG’22; Hemant Jain, WG’22)
- Gestoos (Todd Stein, WG’93)
Fall 2020
- Castle Analytics (Peter Eberle, WG’13; Brian Friel, Dan Hoover, Dan Serfaty, John Akapo)
- Fibulas (Ying “Shirley” Pan, C’14; Xiaotian Ma)
- Ilekun Health (Tobi Bosede, C ’11)
- Zebel (Hamid Hajian, WG’18; Ramtin Kermani)
Spring 2020
- FarmTogether (Artem Milinchuk, WG’12)
- Fluid Biomed (John Wong, WG’20, WEMBA)
- Haldi (Julia Huang, WG’11; Simran Kalra)
- MyNurse.ai (Wayne Pan, WG’07; Waleed Mohsen)
- Superkin (Miriam Williams, WG’15; Tara Henning)
Fall 2019
- Archer (Thomas Foley, WG’20; Fred Canney, WG’20)
- Luminal (Sam Ribnick, C’11)
- LuxCreo (Mike Yang, WG’04; Michael Strohecker, WG’04; Steven Lee, ENG’14; Michael Hodge)
- Relayto (Alex Shevelenko, C’97; W’97)
Spring 2019
- Eclipse (Phong Ngo, WG’20)
- Gridline.ai (Mike Lunati, WG’13; Marc Suter; Ramin Ghelichi; Demtrios Kellari)
- Inscribe Labs (John McDowell, WG’11)
- ISO Thrive (Lyn Oswald, W’80; Jack Oswald; John Selling)
- Love, Sylvie (Kristen Dumbeck, WG’20)
- Olori (Tomide Awe, WG’17)
Fall 2018
- Kasa Living (Roman Pedan, ENG’10, W’10)
- AMPAworks (Bianca Gonzalez, NU’08, WG’19; Flora Chang, WG’19; Janak Agarwal, WG’19)
- Workplace Hospitality Management (Daniel Doyon, W’06)
- Wolox (Marina Ibarra, WG’12)
- Zoba Life (Alice Zhang, WG’08)
Spring 2018
- Boon VR (Ridhima Parvathaneni, ENG’13, W’13)
- Canary Technologies (Harman Narula, WG’15; SJ Sawhney)
- DocCheer (Michael Jue, ENG’03; Nicholas Ng, ENG’03, GEN’04)
- LifeSaver (Ted Chen, W’87, L’91; Mike Demele)
Fall 2017
- Bear Flag Robotics (Igino Cafiero, WG’17; Aubrey Donnellan)
- ClozeLoop (Cory Bray, W’06; Hilmon Sorey)
- Hostfully (David Jacoby, W’01; Margot Schmorak)
- Kinima.fit (Daniel Judd, ENG’14, W’14; Renee Migdal, WG’83)
- LadyMarry (Joanne Jiang, WG’13)
- Novi Bank (Philip Cortes, WG’11)
- Pivot Health Company (Tony Campos, WG’16)
- SitterFriends (Fahad Jalal, WG’12)
Spring 2017
- BreachRx (Alonzo Ellis, WG’17; James Green, WG’17; Anderson Lunsford, WG’17)
- InnaMed (Ronald AngSiy, WG’17)
- Spotful (Edward Jiang, WG’17; Gandis Mazeika, WG’17)
- Stayz (Evan Drake, WG’17; Justin Cleveland)
Spring 2016
- Novoloop (Miranda Wang, C’16)
- Qorum, Inc. (Andrew Pietra, WG’17)
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