Join a thriving community of Penn entrepreneurs.
Questions? Email Valentina Goutorova
Applications are rolling admissions – apply now!
Community, support, & resources, here on the Penn campus
Three cycles of applications: fall, spring, and summer
Our Philadelphia accelerator, for when you’re ready to launch
Two cycles of applications: fall and spring
Our San Francisco accelerator, for when you’re ready to launch
Application round will open early Fall 2019
Interested in exploring start-up culture? Become a VIP Fellow.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The Venture Initiation Program is an incubator that introduces students to the key aspects of entrepreneurship such as ideation, validation, market-product fit, fundraising, networking, scaling, business planning, development, launching and more. The mission of the program is to serve as a crossroads for all students across the University of Pennsylvania interested in all areas of entrepreneurship and innovation, providing the necessary tools and resources to get started. Our mission aligns closely with our vision, which is to see students enter the program with nascent concepts and leave with full-realized, rapidly-scaling companies.
WHAT YOU’LL HAVE ACCESS TO:
- A vast network of experienced alumni entrepreneurs
- A community of aspiring entrepreneurs
- An array of tools and resources across the Penn community
- A series of bootcamps and workshops
- 1:1 informative sessions with a knowledgeable staff
- Funding opportunities
This is our community of companies:
Penn-Wharton Entrepreneurship offers a suite of programming for founders. This ranges from funding awards that founders can apply for to an accelerator, VIP-X, to mentorship and networking opportunities. I was able to take full advantage of these resources with Keaton. I was awarded a good amount of funding for my business which helped as I bootstrapped in the early stages—the application requires founders to set milestones and track progress, which is a valuable forcing mechanism.
-Melina Flabiano, WG’19, CEO & Founder of Keaton
We are grateful to the donors to VIP, who believe in the need to inspire and educate young entrepreneurs:
Anonymous
Eric S. Aroesty C’92
Alan J. Gold W’55
Stephen W’62/L’65 & Janis G’89/SW’91/SWP’05 Goodman
The Heller Family Foundation
The Isakow Family Foundation
Jason H. Karp W’98
Roy Kuan WG’95
Sergei Rodionov WG’02
Dan Schwab W’91
Michael Schwab W’85
Robert Sheft W’83
Amy Silfen W’83/WG’88
Emil K. Woods W’94