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Anima Iris

On a meteoric rise through the fiercely competitive luxury retail market, high-end handbag brand Anima Iris has been picked up by Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, and even Beyoncé. With geometric and bold designs, founder Wilglory Tanjong G22 WG22 expresses her ancestry in a fashionable and sustainable way. The bags are made in Senegal by expert craftspeople who have honed their techniques over decades and draw inspiration from centuries of heritage. The leather and other materials are sourced through local African business merchants. Anima Iris is environmentally friendly and employs a zero-waste model that ensures all materials are used and that no two products are the same.

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Bilt Rewards

Bilt Rewards launched in 2021 and achieved immediate success in its first year. The startup credit-card rewards program by founder and CEO Ankur Jain W11 makes redeeming points from purchases easy with a unique twist — the card can be used toward rent payments. Jain explains that renters today are living with inflation and rising rent costs, resulting in many who now must pay close to 50 percent of their earned income on rent. Bilt helps this generation build credit while earning rewards that open up affordability in other areas of their lives, such as travel experiences and eventual home ownership.

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Kokada

An organic coconut butter with its early roots in Venture Lab’s Food Innovation Lab can now be found in 1,300 stores, including national chains Sprouts and Wegmans. Couple-turned-business-partners Breanna Golestani WG23 and Jared Golestani WG23 founded Kokada in 2020 to provide a healthier alternative to sugar-laden snacks and spreads typically found at the grocery store. Kokada offers a range of coconut butters that are all peanut-free and sugar-free and designed to be enjoyed as a dip, with a treat, or as part of a meal. The company gives back two percent of all sales to SERVE, a certified NGO based in Sri Lanka, where its ingredients are sourced.

Jagmeet Lamba WG07 and Dudley Brundige WG07

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Certa

Juggling multiple vendors can be daunting for a small-business owner. Certa, led by CEO Jagmeet Lamba WG07 and CFO Dudley Brundige WG07, streamlines relationships with third-party vendors, making onboarding up to three times faster. The platform itself can reduce IT labor needs, allowing users to create personalized workflows. The company also has its own AI technology—CertaAssist—that can fill out supplier questionnaires, consolidate intake requests, and create data visualizations. Certa’s clients include Uber, Instacart, and Box, whose executives have reported reduced cycle times and operating costs after using the procurement software.

Ideas

Catching Eyes in the Attention Economy

New research shows how to use language to capture audience attention, from word choice to building suspense.

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United for a Brighter Future

Dean Erika James reflects on opportunities for the Wharton community to come together and lead.

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On the Scene

From Hong Kong to New York, Wharton alumni unite for Impact Tour gatherings, GOLD events, good music, and more.

Collage with headshots of Sam Altman, David Hsu, and Shellye Archambeau.

Ideas

Supercharge Your Startup

Resources to help you jump-start your venture’s growth

People

My Journey From Africa to Wharton

Big dreams and determination led Temitope Akande WG21 from poverty in Lagos to Locust Walk.

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PartnerOptimizer

Tech companies invest a lot of time and money in finding viable B2B channel partners. When only 20 percent of the partnerships produce 80 percent of the revenue, frustration among leadership mounts. PartnerOptimizer, founded by Dina Moskowitz W88, has developed an AI-powered tool to help companies discover and recruit teams up to 20 times faster than traditional methods. The company’s “Partner Ecosystem Intelligence Platform” offers users a way to better engage within their ecosystem or to recruit anew. Think of it as a supercharged dating site for companies looking to build better business relationships.

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In Times of Need

First launched by Wharton MBA Career Management in 2020, Alumni Supporting Careers offers ways for alumni to help students and fellow graduates find jobs, get career advice, and more during periods of job-market uncertainty.

Ideas

Brand-Building in a Brave New World

Today’s companies need to convey a clear purpose to maintain loyalty.

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Watchlist: Pickleball Gear, Cooking Kits, and Hot Handbags

New and notable ventures from Wharton alumni and students

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Flagler Health

Developed by Albert Katz WG23 and Will Hu GED19, Flagler Health combines patient data and the power of AI to help physicians recommend treatments to their patients. (“It’s like giving a calculator to a mathematician,” says Katz.) Backed by $6 million in funding, Flagler Health now serves more than 1.5 million patients and recently launched a new product that provides remote patients with exercises to keep joints moving pre- and post-op. The startup made the Poets & Quants “Most Disruptive MBA Startups of 2023” list and was a finalist in Penn’s 2023 Venture Lab Startup Challenge.

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Full-Circle Founders

Alumni entrepreneurs who launched successful startups through Venture Lab return to guide a new wave of student innovators.

Ideas

Faculty Book Excerpt: Decision-Driven Analytics

Companies have more data than ever before, yet studies show that most fail to extract real value from it. A new book argues that these times demand analytics driven by decisions, not data.

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