Wharton Magazine
Search
Showing  
  results for   “
”
Two men stand side-by-side posing for a photo leaned against a desk, with computer monitors behind them.
News

Chapter

Like many government programs, Medicare often leaves consumers confused, as Chapter CEO Cobi Blumenfeld-Gantz C12 W12 learned firsthand. “After spending weeks on research, my parents still nearly missed deadlines and enrolled in sub-optimal plans,” he says. Alongside co-founder Corey Metzman C12 W12, Blumenfeld-Gantz started Chapter to provide Medicare advice to older Americans in their search for the best value. The Medicare advisory firm scours options to suggest plans, advise on when to enroll, and more. As the company grows, it’s investing in an app to provide additional support and services to retirees.

Two men in black tops and blue pants posed around two wooden, decorative chairs.
News

Recuperet Health

The idea for Recuperet Health stemmed from an encounter Sanjeev Suratwala WG22 had with a patient who was experiencing post-operative bleeding after spinal surgery. The case, which required immediate medical attention, led Suratwala and co-founder Gary Arora WG22 to identify several gaps in the post-surgical recovery journey for patients, families, and clinical providers. Together, they launched Recuperet Health as a technology-based approach to monitor patient progress and improve both clinical workflows and at-home experiences. Recently part of Venture Lab’s VIP-X program, the firm connects patients and health-care providers through a platform that leverages wearables, AI algorithms, and other technology to collect detailed information about the recovery process and avoid negative post-op outcomes.

Portrait of a woman with a blue shirt and teal necklace.
News

Eyeful

Kristen Nwanyanwu M09 WG09 is bringing style to the eye-examination room. Nwanyanwu, a vitreoretinal surgeon and associate professor at the Yale School of Medicine, founded Eyeful to address her dissatisfaction with both the look and the utility of the weathered case she previously used to hold her ophthalmic lenses. Now, Nwanyanwu is sharing her designs with eye-care providers far and wide. Eyeful currently offers two stylish cases, each made from vegan leather and equipped with features such as impact-resistant foam and an inside pocket for accessories like a cleaning cloth.

Portabl
News

Portabl

Accessing financial services over the internet doesn’t have to be a hassle, says Portabl, which is making sign-ups, sign-ins, and overall online experiences for firms with complex verifications more seamless. Co-founded by CEO Nate Soffio WG22, the startup’s log-in client can be integrated with other apps and pre-verifies data regarding users’ identities, payment methods, and accounts. By leveraging decentralized identity standards, Portabl aims to help users avoid repeatedly completing lengthy confirmations for financial services while maintaining compliance and keeping information safe.

Illustration of winged shoes floating among the clouds.
News

Birdies

This comfort-forward shoe line sprang from Marisa Sharkey WG03 and Bianca Gates’s conviction that there had to be better footwear options for hosting dinner parties than casual slippers — or bare feet. Relying on their collective experience at companies such as Ross Stores, Bain and Company, and Facebook, the Birdies co-founders teamed up in 2015 to create a design that combines sleek fashion with long-lasting comfort. After their first pair of loafers took off, they expanded the line to include a wide variety of sneakers, sandals, flats, and slides. Sharkey and Gates have also led Birdies to become a Certified B Corporation, propelling purpose-driven efforts such as a mentorship program for women and girls and donations of more than 54,000 pairs of shoes.

Working Trees founders posing for a photo together in front of a green background.
News

Working Trees

As more organizations adopt environmentally friendly practices, some farmers are utilizing trees to help do the work. Founded by John Foye ENG13 W13 and Aakash Ahamed, Working Trees partners with landowners to facilitate tree-planting on their properties. The firm, which was part of Venture Lab’s VIP-X Fall 2022 cohort, provides technology to measure carbon stored by the trees, which in turn generates revenue for farmers from companies that pay for the sequestration as part of their net-zero commitments. Among the extra benefits, the method can improve agricultural conditions and production — for instance, by creating better grazing conditions for farm animals and increasing soil’s nutrient content.

Portabl
News

Ophelia

Zack Gray WG19 was nearing the end of his time at Wharton when he lost his girlfriend to an opioid overdose. She had tried to get help but didn’t know where to look. Ophelia, which Gray co-founded shortly after graduating, is now licensed to provide telemedicine and prescriptions to treat opioid addiction in more than a dozen states. The startup’s efforts to make treatment more accessible can be especially critical at a time when, Gray says, other options for obtaining medications such as Suboxone to curtail opioid use are sparse across much of the U.S. The medication can prevent cravings and withdrawal symptoms from drugs such as heroin, morphine, and fentanyl and in turn help avert tragedies like the one from which the startup takes its name.

Illustration of a flower growing out of a sleek container.
News

Nayko Naturals

Chantee Butler WG20 was inspired to start her natural skin-care product line by her late sister-in-law, nicknamed Ney Ney, who started her own entrepreneurial skin-care journey in 2016 before passing away two years later. The name “Nayko” is an homage to Ney Ney and a nod to the brand’s “eco”-friendly mission. The company uses formulations that exclude water-based ingredients, eliminating the need for preservatives and synthetics. Nayko Naturals products range from creams to oils — including lines designed for men and expecting mothers — and are free of parabens, sulfates, fragrances, glycerin, and petrolatum.

Four tubes of mascara from My Little Mascara Club.
News

My Little Mascara Club

With its subscription model, My Little Mascara Club is ensuring that you never run out of a makeup essential. Co-founded by Patrick Ryan WMP21 GEN24, the service ships vegan and cruelty-free mascara — along with add-ons such as shaping combs and remover wipes — directly to doorsteps. The startup, a VIP-X company, uses tiny bottles and monthly shipments to help avoid clumping problems associated with bigger tubes, while options to adjust, delay, or even donate deliveries give subscribers flexibility.

Illustration of a scale with a man in a suit on one side and money on the other.
News

Pave

This startup founded by Matt Schulman ENG16 W16 is seeking to boost transparency and fairness for workers worldwide by helping companies develop more robust compensation strategies. Pave’s data-driven platform serves as a hub from which firms can access their own compensation information as well as benchmark data from other businesses to inform salary offers, merit increases, and other pay-related decisions. The ability to set company-wide compensation ranges for positions helps standardize packages and identify employees who are being under-rewarded, while insights for employees offer them visibility into their own compensation. Said Schulman last year: “We will not stop until every single person in the world knows their value and earns what they deserve.”

Stepful's three founders pose together for a photo in a lounge area.
News

Stepful

Stepful CEO Carl Madi WG17 is looking to move the needle on the U.S. health-care worker shortage through cost-effective and time-efficient career training. Launched in 2021, Stepful offers a four-week online training program for phlebotomists and four-month programs for medical assistants and pharmacy technicians. With an eye to expansion, Stepful is also launching a program for ultrasound technicians after securing seed funding earlier this year. The firm’s graduates have gone on to work at organizations including CVS, Walgreens, and the NYC Health + Hospitals public health-care system.

Three students and the executive director of the Mack Institute pose together smiling, with two of the students holding paper awards.
News

Equimeter

Used in routine vital-sign assessments, pulse oximeters determine a patient’s blood oxygen level by measuring light that travels through the finger’s skin. Studies have shown, however, that these devices can provide inaccurate readings in people with darker skin tones, leading to racial disparities in patient health. Leveraging Penn’s physics-informed neural networks technology, Advait Thaploo C25 W25, Parthiv Patel C25 W25, and Ujjayi Pamidigantam C25 W25 are developing a way for pulse oximeter readings to account for various skin colors. Equimeter won the university’s Y-Prize competition this year as well as the Venture Lab Startup Challenge’s Jacobson Social Impact Prize.

Illustration of a three-leaf clover, with faces on each leaf.
News

Clovers

People-first hiring: That’s the focus of Clovers, a software company that’s leveraging artificial intelligence to help businesses make insight-driven and inclusive hiring decisions. Co-founded by Adam Miller C91 W91, the startup facilitates critical aspects of the hiring process through its platform, including optimizing job descriptions for inclusivity, tracking important candidate details, and surfacing key information from interviews. Clovers aims to reduce the pressure of hiring so teams can focus on candidates first and foremost while making quick and confident decisions.

Portabl
News

Facet

This modern-day financial advisor began with the goal of addressing some of the industry’s biggest problems — namely, financial planning’s accessibility, high cost, inconsistent advice, and misaligned incentives between advisors and clients. Led by co-founder and CEO Anders Jones WG17, Facet offers a flat-fee membership and a team of financial experts who provide virtual guidance for investments, taxes, employee benefits, and other aspects of members’ financial lives. “The established model for financial planning is broken,” says Jones. “We are reimagining how consumers understand their relationship to money, empowering them to actually live the life they envision and to achieve true financial wellness.”

A tennis player stares intently at two bottles that he adjusting on the ground in front of a courtside chair.
Ideas

When Work Leads to Worry

Job-related anxiety is pervasive, but there are simple and effective ways to manage it.

An illustration of a silhouetted head with a Treasury department check behind it and coins floating around it.
Ideas

Closing the Racial Retirement Gap

Black and Hispanic Americans are less financially prepared for retirement than their white counterparts. Research presented at an annual Wharton symposium examined underlying causes and suggested reforms.

No more results.
Fall/Winter 2023
Cover Story
A well-lit, packed soccer stadium at night with players running about on the field.
People
/
Analytics

Changing the Game

As the business of sports analytics transforms teams and leagues around the world, Wharton alumni and the School’s data-driven initiative emerge with a competitive edge.

Feature
Illustration of the acronym
Ideas
/
Innovation/Tech

The Rise of AI

Wharton professors make sense of this new era of explosive technological advancement.

Feature
Four Decades of the Lauder Institute's Global Impact
News
/
International

Four Decades of the Lauder Institute's Global Impact

As the Lauder Institute celebrates its 40th anniversary, a look back at its evolution as a one-of-a-kind program to develop international business leaders (and, in the process, a particularly passionate alumni network)

News
Indicators
Gold celebratory balloons that together make the number 10.
Alumni News

Solid GOLD

A by-the-numbers look at Wharton’s MBA graduates of the last decade — affectionately known as GOLD alumni — and the many School resources available to them in the first 10 years after commencement

From The Dean
Wharton Dean Erika James poses wearing a turquoise dress shirt.
Analytics

At the Forefront of an AI-Powered Future

Dean Erika James introduces AI at Wharton and what the new initiative means for business academia and practice in the years to come.

Photo Gallery
Skydivers float in formation high above the ground, with one skydiver holding up a billowing Wharton flag.
International

On the Scene

From San Francisco to South Korea, Wharton alumni and students gather around (and high above) the world.

Regions
A woman in a black shirt seated in an audience claps her hands.
International

Wharton's Global Impact: From Toronto to Tokyo

Incisive insights from industry leaders, wisdom for the next generation of business students, and details for upcoming Wharton Impact Tour stops

The Report
Conceptual illustration of a man's emotion evolving from dejected to proud, with a flower blooming in each stage of his evolution.
School News

Wellness in Bloom

New initiatives and alumni expertise are providing students on all levels with essential support.

Watchlist Fall/Winter 2023
Two men stand side-by-side posing for a photo leaned against a desk, with computer monitors behind them.
Entrepreneurship

Watchlist: Health-Care Guidance, Tree Planting, and Financial Planning

New and notable ventures from Wharton alumni and students

Sidebar
More than thirty students sit in rows on a set of stairs for a photo.
International

The Huntsman Program Turns 25

Since the formation of the innovative undergraduate offering, its mission has remained the same — inspire students to make a positive impact on the world.

Ideas
Knowledge at Wharton: Essay
A tennis player stares intently at two bottles that he adjusting on the ground in front of a courtside chair.
Management

When Work Leads to Worry

Job-related anxiety is pervasive, but there are simple and effective ways to manage it.

Knowledge at Wharton: The Case
An illustration of a silhouetted head with a Treasury department check behind it and coins floating around it.
Finance

Closing the Racial Retirement Gap

Black and Hispanic Americans are less financially prepared for retirement than their white counterparts. Research presented at an annual Wharton symposium examined underlying causes and suggested reforms.

Knowledge at Wharton: Q&A
Conceptual illustration of a person in a box seated in front of a computer with flowers sprouting from their head.
Careers

At Work and All Alone

Isolation in the age of remote work is real — as is its impact on the brain.

Syllabus
Headshots of Sam Zell, Kathleen McCarthy, Maisy Wong.
Real Estate

Global Mind-Set, Local Lens

How understanding both world trends and on-the-ground intricacies helps real estate investors unlock value across borders

Sidebar
Four books positioned in a descending line. The four books are titled
Alumni Authors

Must-Read Wharton Authors

Moving beyond generational divides, the importance of employee-centered business approaches, and more timely insights from Wharton alumni and faculty

Knowledge at Wharton: Data
Illustration of a cricket with three hearts hovering overhead.
Marketing

Data: Repulsive Products, Motherhood Penalty, Buying Happiness, and More

The latest research and insights from Knowledge at Wharton

The Salon
Illustrated portrait of professor Adam Grant against a maroon background.
Research

Adam Grant on How to Reach New Heights

The Wharton management professor discusses the research and remarkable stories from his new book, Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things.

Whiteboard
A man in a white and blue striped shirt and black pants gestures in front a whiteboard filled with notes explaining what bank runs are.
Finance

Breaking Down Bank Runs

Finance professor Itay Goldstein explains what causes them to happen — and why we should keep expecting them

Knowledge at Wharton: The Deck
Illustration of a large machine with many coils, screens, and other parts and four people at the controls.
Economics

Bringing More Predictive Power to Economic Forecasts

An inventive machine learning method and a billion newspaper articles shed new light on how economic sentiment can help us make sense of business cycles.

People
Cohort
Three Wharton women pose together for a photo in formal business attire.
Careers

More Than Just a Seat at the Table

Wharton Women in Business and its allies are on a mission to build on the progress of gender equality in classrooms and boardrooms.

View From Locust Walk
Four photos of Gabriella Gibson's travels, including two dozen students posing atop an overlook above a river; six students in front of an archway with the words
ESG

A (Very) Off-Campus Education

Lessons in the classroom applied to real-world experiences lead one undergraduate to a new level of learning and growth.

Life Lessons
Portrait of a man in a button-down shirt looking out to the left.
Government

Life Lessons: A State Department Diplomat's Global Perspective

Eugene Aaron WG73 on the intricacies of international work, the importance of proving your worth, and his motivations for writing a memoir

Essay
Mixed media illustration of emeritus alumni gathering in various settings, including around a dinner table cheering with glasses, at a bench honoring a deceased emeritus alumnus and in Huntsman Hall at Reunion.
Alumni News

Golden Opportunities

After losing touch with his classmates, an emeritus alumnus rediscovers the magic of his fellow Whartonites and their impact on the world.

Pivot
A man in a gray blazer, light blue shirt, and tan khakis poses for a photo in front of a light blue background.
Finance

Pharma to Financial Tables

An influential book by a fellow alumnus and foundational Wharton lessons laid the groundwork for George Dai WG99’s career switch.

Cover of the Fall Winter 2023 issue of Wharton Magazine, featuring two soccer players colliding in a midair jump, as well as a spread of the magazine with an image of a soccer pitch on it.
Download the Fall/Winter 2023 Issue
Download PDF
Explore More Issues:
Cover of the Spring/Summer 2023 edition of Wharton Magazine.
Spring/Summer 2023
Cover of the Fall/Winter 2022 issue of Wharton Magazine.
Fall/Winter 2022
Cover of the Spring Summer 2022 edition of Wharton Magazine, featuring a portrait of professor Duncan Watts.
Spring/Summer 2022
Cover photo for the new issue of Wharton Magazine, featuring a globe with the words
Fall/Winter 2021