What We Offer
When your startup is ready to launch, VIP-X provides the additional resources and mentoring that you need to take your venture to the next level.
1:1 Advising and Group Coaching
Dedicated Seed Funding
Advanced Workshops
Dedicated Venture Workspace
1:1 sessions with EIRs
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.
If you a Penn Alumni interested in mentoring a VIP-X founder, fill out the form here to register.
If you a Penn Alumni interested in mentoring a VIP-X founder, fill out the form here to register.
Summer 2023 VIP-X Cohort
Lindsay Smith (SEAS'23), Ryan Hosler (SEAS'22)
Technologies enhancing the indoor golf training experience, optimized for accessibility with high-speed video recording, cloud-based remote coaching, and AI powered 3D analysis.
InvenTABLE is a kid-safe power tool that teaches valuable STEM skills by giving kids ages 8-12 the ability to cut through cardboard and build 3D models with ease.
A fully auteamatic boba machine.
Reimagining a data marketplace where users own and monetize their data, while providing companies robust and ethically-sourced data to better connect with their customers.
Spring is a modern-day matchmaking service that introduces single people to other singles in a more authentic way through a combination of technology and matchmakers who screen each user and suggest matches.
Joshua Freedman (GEng'23)
inSPIRE Devices is designing the first digital incentive spirometer. The device will consist of a handheld component through which a patient will inhale and an app component, which will record the data and provide other features.
Joshua Weiner (SEAS'23)
Aimless is a platform allowing retailers and firms to turn their data into revenue-generating machine learning insights. Instead of hiring engineers to navigate the process of building ML infrastructure, Aimless wraps this technology into a platform requiring no-code and no prior knowledge.
Media Mentions
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
A first-generation Nigerian-American, Jonathan Muruako CAS'17 SPP'24 grew up in a low-income household in Mississippi, where access to educational resources was limited. After Muruako began attending the University of Pennsylvania, he found himself constantly needing to play catch-up in an educational environment different from his upbringing. He recognized that many other first-generation and/or low-income (FGLI) students faced similar challenges as he did. According to his research, only 10% of first-generation students graduate within six years, while close to 45% end up dropping out.
3 Min Read
News
No surprise here, but the University of Pennsylvania has produced a whole bunch of venture-backed companies.
1 Min Read
News
Highlight, an in-home product testing company, raised $18 million in Series A funding to continue developing its technology already helping hundreds of brands test thousands of products.
1 Min Read
In May 2022, Nemu took home the Ashton Family Award for Female Founders in the 2022 Venture Lab Startup Challenge. In this article, Sarah Powers (WG '23), Nemu's founder, unveils the mission and values of Nemu. Follow her journey below!
5 Min Read
Previous Cohorts
Spring 2023
- ALL-in Eduspace (Devi Kasih, ENG'10, W'10, GED'23) ALL-in Eduspace is an education consulting firm that offers personalized mentoring.
- BUILD Nigeria (Claire Utomi W'23) Creating social change through education for Nigerians.
- Clédo (Joseph Han, WG'23) Clédo offers clinically proven skin and hair care products to fight public enemy no.1: aging.
- NEPRI Pasta (Jessica Ramses, ENG'22, GEN'23) NEPRI pasta is a nutritious pasta for the health-conscious consumer.
- Odyssey Notebooks (Rainbow Yeung, WG'24) Odyssey Notebooks uses special papers to create premium and sustainably crafted paper products for fountain pen users, artists, and every-day writers.
- SecureFlow (Evan Adamo, WG'23; Conor Brown, WG'23; Aayush Garg WG’24) SecureFlow is the first-ever web-based platform that streamlines the workstreams required to exchange cash in mergers and acquisitions.
Fall 2022
- EmployAI (Amelia Cohen, WG'23; Tara Balakrishnan, WG'23 ): We believe everyone should be able to harness the power of predictive analytics and machine learning. EmployAI is an organization’s automated data scientist that interprets data in an easy-to-understand format to provide actionable insights.
- Flagler Health (Albert Katz, WG'23; Will Hu, GEN'19): Flagler Health aims to be the leading treatment recommendation tool in the musculoskeletal space.
- Groov (Dan Cataldi, WG'23): At its core a tech-enabled (i.e. mobile 3D computer vision) strategic repositioning play, Groov presents an evolution in how we fit footwear to our feet, and introduces a new category in athleisure: custom-molded insoles that make every pair of shoes a customer’s most comfortable pair.
- Jochi (Yash Dhir ENG'24): Jochi is an integrated, personal management platform for high school & middle school students that caters to their school-related needs outside the classroom.
- ProBook (George Eliadis, ENG'24, W'24): ProBook saves home-service professionals (Pros) 25% in driving time and operational costs by automating route optimization. ProBook’s simple UI and trade-specific workflow replaces complex, generic CRMs also lacking intelligence.
- TrueValuaHub (Gautam Pasari, WG'20): TrueValueHub is a B2B SaaS solution for manufacturers that drives up to 40 % sustainable savings on direct material purchases through data-driven lean sourcing processes, supply chain resilience, optimization engine, supplier digital twin, and collaboration.
Summer 2022
- bia (David Levine GR'23; Gokulanand Iyer GR'24): bia builds smart wearables to improve wellness and performance in the office workplace by teaching healthy ergonomics and alleviating the effects of repetitive-use wrist pain.
- ensemble (Michael Contreras, WG'22): Space weather causes at least $10 billion in damage to global infrastructure both on Earth and in orbit. Flux software empowers analysts with actionable intelligence for the complex threats caused by the space environment.
- FirstWork (Patrick Faga, LPS'22): FirstWork uses proprietary adaptive digital reinforcement learning technology to enable instructor free therapeutic learning on smart devices.
- High Performance Aviation (Brandon Ray, WG'22): Aircraft brokerage firm dedicated to helping aircraft owners buy and sell private aircraft. In addition we are an aircraft dealer reselling actively buying and selling inventory aircraft in coordination with our secondary venture "Quick Turn Aircraft", a service of High Performance Aviation, LLC.
- Nemu (Sarah Powers, WG'23): Nemu is developing an application to help estate representatives manage personal property transfers efficiently, fairly, and transparently, while preserving emotional and financial capital.
- Paytus (Himza Jivani, WG'23): Paytus is a plug-and-play instant payments solution that credit unions can offer its members (retail and business) to enhance the members’ digital banking experience, including reducing transactional times and fees, lowering late payment fees, and expediting direct deposits time to provide faster access to earned income.
- Thrive Hair Bar (Ajia Maximillian Minnis, GED'22): Thrive Hair Bar is a natural hair brand that provides express hair styling services, hair care products, hair care guidance, and local events for Thrive Hair Bar members and non-members. Our mission is to empower more people to embrace their natural kinks, coils, and curls more often.
Spring 2022
- Flock (Manvitha Mallela, WG'23; Malavika Reddy, WG'23): Gamifying Beauty, Personal Care, and Wellness
- Keye (Rohan Parikh, G'22, WG'22; Paolo Fornasini, G'23; Niha Gottiparthy, WG'23; Ruthwick Patthireddy, WG'23): Subscriptions, unlocked.
- Kfans (Louis Chung, C'24; Wenxuan Chen, C'22): Connect with U.S. based KPop and KDrama Fans!
- Life Skills For Soldiers (Brendan Duebner, WG'22): Educate. Empower. Excel.
- Lyvely (Bryan Cai, WG'22; Kevin Anthony, WG'22): Premium, High-Quality Cocktails For Every Occasion
- NuMarra(Connie Jao, WG'22): Holistic Symptom Management For Menopause
- Recuperet Health (Sanjeev Suratwala, WG'22; Gary Agora, WG'22): Integrating The Recovery Process with Community Support
Fall 2021
- Career Propulsion: (Jeremy Gartner, WG’22) Helping Under-Appreciated Directors Get VP Level Interviews in 2 Months or Less.
- Clarifi: (Bryan Dinner, L’22, WG’22; Elizabeth Chou, ENG’24) Clarifi is a distraction-free digital workspace with automated coaching tools where teens do digital homework more efficiently and independently.
- Parfait: (Isoken Igbinedion, WG’21; Simone Kendle, WG’21) The first-ever computer vision powered custom hair products.
- Miren: (Gabriela Ariana Campoverde, GEN’22, WG’22) Funding small businesses with a unique approach.
- roura: (Vlasta Schutzenhofer, ENG’20; Abi Szabo, ENG’20) A better way to soothe period pain.
- Shinkei Systems: (Saif Khawaja, W’21, G’23) Shinkei Systems builds robotics that minimizes fish waste and multiplies shelf-life.
- Slate: (Zachary Johnson, WG’22) Simplified, habitual skincare for men.
Summer 2021
- Breed Science: (Trey Steidle, WG’21) D2C meal plan subscription tailored by your vet, for your pet.
- coBlossom: (David Klippel, WG’22; Luke Fraker, WG’22) Relationshipwellness app that uses fun mini-games to help couples build the habit of creating quality time for their relationship each day.
- Levo: (Jason Yu, WG’22) Levo is the first solution to focus on the caregiver.
- Lex Analytics: (Michelle Xiong, W’22; Pranav Pillai, ENG’20, GEN’20, W’20) Dataplatform that helps teachers measure and understand student attendance and participation to improve engagement and equity in online classes.
- MedVision: (Raghu Arghal, GR’26) Real-time healthcare inventory management, made simple.
- OnHouse: (Yoojin Jang, WG’21) Marketplace and platform for property managers. Finally, property management is easy.
- Tiffin: (Sagar Chopra, G’22, WG’22) Cloud-based software platform built specifically for independent chefs to help them start, manage, and grow their businesses.
Spring 2021
- Altrui Foundation: (Sourish Jasti, W’24; Justin Zhang, ENG’24; Joe Kakkis, C’21) Giving medication a second life.
- ArtsWrk: (Nick Silvero, W’18; Ramita Ravi, C’17, W’17): A professional network for artists and creatives.
- Calicosol: (Douglas Williams, WG’22) Conveniently Sustainable
- Card Curator: (John Garner, WG’22) Credit Cards at your service.
- Everdura: (Liz Nunez, C’17, W’17) Bring your roots home.
- Felix: (Manuel Godoy, WG’21; Bernardo Garcia, G’21, WG’21) Empowering Latinos in the US to send money abroad.
- Chiyo: (Irene Liu, WG’22) Eastern food therapy meets Western nutrition.
- VRB Labs: (Chase Hobby, WG’20; Evan Seale, WG’20) Optimal living
Fall 2020
- Candr: (Anna Li, WG’20) Build authentic relationships with Candr.
- Prophet Models: (Craig Thompson, WG’21; GEN’22, Austin Kipp, WG’21) A no-code solution to create, analyze, and roll-forward financial forecasts easily and collaboratively.
- CoverForce: (Cyrus Karai, WG’21) The ultimate online shopfront for insurance agents.
- Lumify Care: (Anthony Scarpone-Lambert, N’21; Louisa Qiu, N’23, W’23; Joshua Baek, C’23; Gerardo Ballestros, W’23) The digital home for healthcare workers.
- TallGrass Tailor: (Garrison Haning, WG’21) We deliver the fit that everybody deserves.
- Recovery Box: (Andrew Hotsko, WG’21) Recovery made easy.
- Underdogstuff: (Gregory Nesmith, W’20) Culture X Capital
Summer 2020
- Ascend: (Montgomery Ngan, C’20, W’20) The Easiest Way to Find Residential Rental Pricing
- OPEN Laboratories: (Tim Marsh, W’21) Immunotherapy delivered to your doorstep.
- Highlight: (Dana Kim, WG’20; Ethan Kellough, GEN’21) Next-gen in-home product testing via mailer boxes. Leveraging tech to offer agile, targeted, robust product insights.
Spring 2020
- Fulton: (Libie Motchan, WG’21; Daniel Nelson, WG’21) Fulton is modernizing arch support by developing an orthopedic insole.
- Aureum: (Yunhan (Derek) Gao, WG’20; Xufei (Renee) Yu , WG’20) Aureum provides family-style primary care services to Chinese white-collar professionals.
- ChefMark: (Austin Simon, WG’20) The marketplace for quality used restaurant equipment.
- FLOAT/THERE: (Angela Jiang, WG’20; Linda Ye, WG’20) is determined to help travelers look and feel their best while they explore.
- Hello Ralphie: (Felicity Johnson, WG’20) Connects pet parents with licensed veterinarians for video and chat appointments.
- MyQs: (Sehgal Dhawal, GEN’08) MyQs is a platform for professionals to develop and grow their skillset through practice exams.
- True Places: (Ben Knepler, WG’10; Nelson Warley) – Direct to consumer brand providing outdoor products for everyday adventures
Fall 2019
- Alphagora: (Robert Dowling, EE’21, ENG’21, W’21) Subscription Based Cryptocurrency Trading
- Etcetera Bio: (Vikram Krishnamoorthy, C’20, W’20) Using Next-Generation Biological Engineering to Solve This Generation’s Hard Problems
- Fuego: (Kevin Weschler, WG’20) Stylish Sneakers For Dancing The Night Away
- Kidas: (Ron Kerbs, G’20, WG’20) Guarding Kids Against Cyberbulling
- Mira Insight: (Aswin Mannepalli, C’09, G’18) PR Insights In Your Back Pocket
- Bobaface: (Peter Chung, GFA’16) Be the Mayor of Your City’s Brunch-Scene
- Jove: (Joshua Evans, C’14) House Hunt in Minutes
Summer 2019
- Air23: (Sieva Kozinsky, WG’20; Vishnu Rachakonda, ENG’18, GEN’19) Helping Pharma Companies Recruit For Clinical Trials
- Avior Analytics: (Ryan Wosick, ENG’19; Joseph Scheidt) Improving Patient Engagement in Physical Therapy
- BioAlert Technologies: (Marc Rosenberg, C’18, GEN’19; Soleil Carrero, GEN’19) The First Continuous Infection Monitoring System
- ConnectED Mobile: (Andie Kaplan, WG’20) Cell phone service made easy
- Frutero Ice Cream: (Mike Weber, WG’20; Vedant Saboo, WG’20) Sweet Treats Straight From The Tropics
Spring 2019
- Elix: (Lulu Ge, WG’20) Personalized Plant-Based Healing Formulas
- Cobare: (Jelece Morris, WG’19) Sustainable Solutions For Feminine Care
- Keaton: (Melina Flabiano, WG’19) Carefully Crafted Office Workwear For Women
- Polyview: (Amreeta Gill, WG’19; Tyler MacBroom, WG’18) Enhancing Operational Productivity with Management Software
- Synovium: (Elston He, L’20, WG’20; Rajiv Patel-O’Connor, C’19; Evan Zou, C’19, W’19) Leveraging Data For Treating Autoimmune Diseases
Fall 2018
- Roundup App: (Braden Fineberg, ENG19, GEN19) Micro Donations Making Major Impact
- Dandy: (Daniel Hanover, ENG19, W19; Toni Oloko, W’20) The first fully digital dental lab.
Summer 2018
- Clove: (Joe Ammon, WG’19) Revolutionizing Traditional Footwear for Medical Professionals
- Strella: (Katherine Sizov, C’19) Decision-focused data designed for food supply chains.
- MDAlly: (Shanel Fields, WG’19) Telehealth response for emergency medical services.
- Phrase Health: (Mike Zeidlhack, WG’19) Decision Support for Healthcare Organizations
- Sigo: (Nestor Solari, G’19, WG’19; Julio Erdos, C10, ENG10, G19, WG19) Easy Car Insurance for Everyone
Spring 2018
- aavrani: (Justin Silver, WG’19; Rooshy Roychoudhury, WG’19) Luxury Skincare Inspired by Indian Beauty Rituals
- Collecto: (Federika Longinotti-Buitoni, WG’18) An Unparalleled Gifting Experience
- InstaHub: (Michael Wong, W’18; Dayo Adewole, ENG15, GEN15, GR21; Matthew Hanna ENG’18) Automating Energy Savings
- Steignet: (A.J. Steigman, WG’18) A Tactical “Bloomberg Terminal” for the Residential Real Estate Market
- ZEV: (Gabriel Elsner, WG’18; Eddie Kong, GEN’18) Helping Dealers Sell Electric Vehicles
Fall 2017
- Acention: (Colin Robinson, WG’18; Anvith Ekkati, GEN’18; Peter Zhu, WG’18) Developing a New Model for Mobile Gaming—Play Games, Win Money
- Group K Diagnostic: (Brianna Wronko, ENG’17) Changing the How, When & Where of Blood Testing—and Saving Lives
- Sanguis: (Divyansh Agarwal, GR’23/M’23; Prateek Agarwal, M’19; Daniel Zhang, GR’23/M’23) A Medical Device Dream Team
- Avisi: (Rui Jing Jiang, W’18; Adarsh Battu, W’18; Brandon Kao, ENG’18) How Avisi is Curing Blindness with Nanotechnology
- Woveon: (Adam Rawot, ENG’17) Using AI to Create a Better Conversation with Your Customer
Summer 2017
- brEDcrumb: (Scott Elfenbein, WG’17) Getting Low-Income Kids to Great Colleges
- E-Health Now: (Kelly Xu, WG’17; Vinayak Kumar, C13, G13, M18, WG18; Ram Prasadat) Bringing Hope to Chinese Cancer Patients
- Eager Academy: (Chris Hanson, C’17) Teaching Students How To Learn
- Fellow Hunter: (Parker Barnett, GEN’18A) A Sharing Economy for Hunters
- Neuroflow: (Chris Molaro, WG’17; Adam Pardes, GR’19) Curing PTSD with Wearables
Spring 2017
- Geneoscopy: (Andrew Barnell, WG’17) Geneoscopy is committed to providing safe, effective, and innovative non-invasive tests to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of gastrointestinal diseases.
- Harper Wilde: (Jane Fisher, WG’17; Jenna Kerner, WG’17) Fairly priced everyday bras without the hassle.
- Students Care: (Erica Sokol, SPP’16) Connecting college students with hospitalized children & isolated seniors
- Watotoly: (Divinity Matovu, WG’17) Watotolly is a consumer technology company that aims to reduce the cost and complexity of childcare for families.
- Advans Health: (Antonio Munoz, WG’17, G’17) An insurance web platform to help students purchase the best and most affordable health insurance with a more educated decision.
Fall 2016
- Slice Capital: (Rohan Shah, ENG’19) Web equity crowdfunding platform
- Barn Owl: (Josh Phifer, WG’17; Vince Kuchar, WG’17) Ranch management data solutions via networks of sensors.
- SolutionLoft: (Will Fry, W’17, C’17; Jacob Wallenberg, W’16) The printing press of software development, allowing code to be re-used.
- Knoetic: (Joseph Quan, WG’17) Knoetic helps intelligently guide all the people & HR decisions companies make.
- Jubilee: (Emily Tung, WG’17; G’17; Yue Li, WG’17, G’17) Women’s health supplements company based on Chinese herbal medicine.
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.
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