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Alumni Book Roundup: Winter 2020
Blog Network

Alumni Book Roundup: Winter 2020

New must-read works of fiction and nonfiction inform, inspire, and intrigue.

What Europe Tells Us About Why We Haven't Fixed U.S. Health Inequities
School News

What Europe Tells Us About Why We Haven't Fixed U.S. Health Inequities

Penn researcher's new book cites complexities that parties decline to address and many don't even see

Nancy Yang
Alumni Spotlight

In Service of Those Who Serve

As the founder of a Hong Kong nonprofit, Nancy Yang W92 is helping other charitable groups reach the city’s neediest people.

Wharton alumnus A.J. Steigman
School News

How a Chess Champion Excels at Entrepreneurship

Real estate expert A.J. Steigman WG18 talks about his startup's success and the Wharton resources that helped him along the way.

Man with briefcase looking toward flag on hill
Blog Network

Sticking With the Job, Without Feeling Stuck

Tips for staying the course when confronting workplace fatigue

Adam Boehler sworn in by Mike Pence
Alumni Spotlight

Leading U.S. Investment in Developing Nations

As CEO of the new U.S. International Development Finance Corp., Adam Boehler W00 is advancing American investments abroad that could challenge China’s influence.

Introducing the Wharton School Press
School News

Introducing the Wharton School Press

Marketing professor Peter Fader explains how a new name heralds exciting things to come for the School's book-publishing arm.

Survivor contestant and Wharton grad Kellee Kim
Blog Network

'Survivor' Contestant Kellee Kim WG19 Addresses Controversy

The Wharton alumna reflects on her experience on the show, which inspired a national conversation about inappropriate physical contact and led CBS to change protocol for its long-running hit series.

Reducing Risk in the Hiring Process
Blog Network

Reducing Risk in the Hiring Process

Professor Stephanie Creary offers advice for thinking differently about job candidates.

Treat Your Business Rival as Inspiration, Not Competition
Blog Network

Treat Your Business Rival as Inspiration, Not Competition

And other lessons I learned from Simon Sinek's new book, The Infinite Game

How to Form Good Habits (and Break Bad Ones)
School News

How to Form Good Habits (and Break Bad Ones)

On her latest Choiceology podcast, Wharton professor Katy Milkman discusses the mechanisms of repeated behavior with social psychologist and author of Good Habits, Bad Habits Wendy Wood.

Auto Draft 6
School News

Giving High School Students the Wharton Experience

The Wharton Global Youth Program is looking for alumni to join its mission to bring business education to kids across the world.

Greg Leiserson, Natasha Sarin, Richard Prisinzano, and Kimberly Burham
School News

The Great Wealth Tax Debate

Experts examined proposals similar to those endorsed by Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders during a Penn Wharton Budget Model event.

The Impact of Limiting Beliefs
Blog Network

The Impact of Limiting Beliefs

How to recognize and overcome the mental obstacles you may be creating for yourself.

Jeff Smith, Janet Foutty, and Stephanie Creary
School News

Bringing Diversity to the Boardroom

In a conversation with Wharton professor Stephanie Creary, two accomplished business executives tackled the issue of representation among the highest levels of leadership.

Wharton Alumni Book Roundup: Fall 2019
Blog Network

Alumni Book Roundup: Fall 2019

New must-reads explore the secrets of resilient entrepreneurs, the business value of aesthetics, and one man’s mission to cure his own rare disease.

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watchlist
Sierra Tishgart and Maddy Moelis
News
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Entrepreneurship
Fall/Winter 2019

Great Jones

When James Beard Award-winning restaurant critic Sierra Tishgart couldn’t find a home cookware brand to both inspire her inner chef and satisfy her eye for style, she invited childhood friend Maddy Moelis W12 over for dinner to help figure out a solution. Soon after, the pair founded Great Jones, named in homage to star cookbook editor Judith Jones. Tishgart, product and marketing lead, interviewed chefs and food writers to design the perfect pan; Moelis, who worked for millennial-friendly wedding registry Zola, focuses on operations and finance. By 2018, Great Jones had raised more than $3 million, including from VC General Catalyst and Momofuku’s David Chang. Their mini nonstick skillet sold out in weeks. In an estimated $17 billion total market, Great Jones is already cooking up a storm.

Nurse headshot on a tablet
News
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Entrepreneurship
Fall/Winter 2019

Incredible Health

Applying for jobs is a daunting task in any field, but Incredible Health is changing the game for some members of the health-care community. Led by Iman Abuzeid WG13, the company connects nurses and hospitals in a process it touts as more efficient than job boards and cheaper than recruiting through traditional agencies. Here’s how it works: Nurses fill out a profile with information such as their education level, experience, and preferred cities. The company then matches hospitals on the platform with top candidates in its pool. Employers reach out to the job seekers they’re interested in—and if all goes well, there’s a match made in health-care heaven.

Car and buildings shaped like drink glasses
News
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Entrepreneurship
Fall/Winter 2019

Qorum

Andrew Pietra WG17 knows firsthand the devastating effects of intoxication behind the wheel. The alumnus, who lost three close friends to drinking and driving, now leads Qorum to help tackle this serious problem. Kick-started at Wharton, the company won best pitch at the 2016 Wharton Business Plan Competition (now the Penn Wharton Startup Challenge). Think of Qorum as a designated driver for the modern age: At its core, it offers free Uber rides from bars and restaurants by partnering with alcohol brands that sponsor the trips. Qorum currently provides services—which also include in-app bar tabs, discounts, and location recommendations—at more than 100 participating venues in Southern California, ensuring that a safe ride on a night out is just a click away.

Vlada Lotkina
News
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Entrepreneurship
Fall/Winter 2019

ClassTag

Too many emails, fliers, messages, signup forms, and outdated website info—it wasn’t until Vlada Lotkina WG08 became a parent that she grasped the daily grind of staying on top of parent/teacher communication. In 2015, she founded ClassTag, a free app that serves as a hub for teacher-to-parent messaging, calendar updates, and activities announcements. Currently being used by 50,000 educators nationwide, the app just received $2 million in seed funding. In Lotkina’s spare time, she teamed up with Allison Williams W07 to launch POP256, an initiative named for the number of female billionaires in the world and aimed at connecting trailblazing women through invite-only dinners.

Color Noir creators Muoyo Okome and Nicaila Matthews Okome
News
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Entrepreneurship
Fall/Winter 2019

Color Noir

Recognized for its creative and calming benefits, adult coloring is a trend based in nostalgia that has 21st-century impact. Tech power couple Muoyo Okome WG11 and Nicaila Matthews Okome C06 took the concept one step further when they created Color Noir, a coloring app that amplifies black lives and celebrates black culture. The Okomes identified a lack of cultural imagery in similar apps, and now Color Noir’s hundreds of images have attracted thousands of users globally. With Muoyo as the app’s developer and Nicaila in charge of visuals and user interface, they’re proudly carving out an inclusive space in the mobile app business—one that totaled more than $71 billion in revenue last year.

Light switch illustration
News
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Entrepreneurship
Fall/Winter 2019

Instahub

Instahub has created a simple, sustainable solution for lighting automation without expensive rewiring and complex installation. CEO Michael Wong W19 and CTO Dayo Adewole ENG15 GEN15 GR21 developed an occupancy sensor that snaps directly onto existing light switches and turns lights on and off by detecting motion in a room. Their bright idea, which was initially beta-tested in buildings across Penn’s campus, has earned them both accolades and funding—Instahub won the Hult Prize Ivy Competition, Our Climate’s Youth Step Up Challenge, Fulphil’s Smart Impact Competition, and the President’s Innovation Prize at Penn, for $158,000 in startup support.

Text conversation
News
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Entrepreneurship
Fall/Winter 2019

Genies

Genies is going all-in on online avatars, those animations that resemble you but can express themselves in ways you can only imagine. It’s a familiar concept: Users create look-alike characters on their phones that they can then use in apps such as Instagram, WhatsApp, and Apple’s iMessages. Where Genies separates itself from the competition is with its star-studded cast of users. Led in part by Evan Rosenbaum W14, the company has made waves with investors including Shawn Mendes, Russell Westbrook, and A$AP Rocky, who are also part of a network of athletes and artists who use their hyper-realistic animated avatars to promote events and products. A-listers aren’t the only ones on board: The app also has a general user base and has attracted business from companies that include Disney, Gucci, and New Balance.

Perennial protein drink
News
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Entrepreneurship
Fall/Winter 2019

Perennial

Baby boomers and Gen Xers who form one of the largest demographics in the $4.2 trillion global wellness market are leading the demand for generationally authentic healthy-lifestyle products. Recognizing that this 50-plus cluster is all-in for taking a smart approach to getting older, Brent Taylor WG10 developed Perennial, a vanilla/nut-flavored plant protein drink optimized for healthy aging. Thirty-something Taylor—who already helped found the wildly successful meat substitute Beyond Meat—says he and his Perennial co-founder, Sara Bonham, are committed to “creating a better world for ourselves to age into.”

News
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Entrepreneurship
Fall/Winter 2019

Coffee Meets Bagel

Founded in 2012 by sisters Arum W04, Dawoon C04, and Soo Kang, Coffee Meets Bagel is the dating app for those who’ve been burned by endlessly swiping on other services. It aims to achieve better connections through in-depth profiles and personalized icebreakers, and its smart algorithm curates a limited number  of quality matches. That translates to less shallow browsing and more meaningful conversations. Rather than connect based on photos alone, Coffee Meets Bagel’s users are encouraged to talk about what they’ve read about each other. The company has established thousands of lasting relationships, and investors have wanted to see what all the buzz is about—the Kangs have raised more than $23 million in funding to date.

Geneoscopy team
News
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Entrepreneurship
Fall/Winter 2019

Geneoscopy

During her medical training, Erica Barnell met a 52-year-old woman just diagnosed with stage-four colorectal cancer. Sadly, the disease hadn’t been caught sooner because the woman couldn’t take time off work for a colonoscopy. Motivated to make early detection more accessible, Barnell partnered with her brother, Andrew Barnell WG17, and data analyst Yiming Kang to found Geneoscopy. The trio devised a screening methodology to non-invasively detect cancer and other conditions using RNA biomarkers in stool samples—and during his MBA studies, Barnell developed the company with support from Penn Wharton Entrepreneurship’s Summer Venture Award. Geneoscopy’s second round of funding raised $1 million, and its third clinical trial will enroll more than 1,000 patients. For the 70 million Americans affected by digestive diseases each year, the future looks healthier.

Watchlist: Charitable Fashion, Self-Driving Tractors, and a Men's Health Unicorn
News
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Entrepreneurship
Spring/Summer 2019

Watchlist: Charitable Fashion, Self-Driving Tractors, and a Men's Health Unicorn

New and notable ventures from Wharton alumni

News
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Entrepreneurship
Spring/Summer 2019

Dyla Brands

Neel Premkumar WG08 wants to fuel your day in more than one way. Through his company, Dyla Brands, Premkumar sells Forto, coffee shots designed to give consumers boosts of energy equal to one or two cups of coffee. (His lightbulb moment came after the birth of his twin daughters, when he was drinking large amounts of caffeine to stay atop parenting and work.) Premkumar also wants people to get their daily recommended intake of water with help from his Stur powdered and liquid mixes. Like Forto, Stur was inspired by his children: Premkumar began looking for ways to flavor water so his wife would stay properly hydrated while she was pregnant.

Rare Carat
News
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Entrepreneurship
Spring/Summer 2019

Rare Carat

Thinking about popping the question to that special someone? Rare Carat is ready to help you find the perfect diamond engagement ring at the right price. Led by Ajay Anand WG13 G14, the company isn’t in the business of actually selling rings—instead, its search engine compares diamonds across retailers like Macy’s, Four Mine, and Yadav to find the best deals. Self-described as the Kayak for diamonds, Rare Carat has been covered by the New York Times, Forbes, and other national media for its efforts to create a transparent shopping experience leading up to one of life’s milestone moments.

Frank
News
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Entrepreneurship
Spring/Summer 2019

Frank

Seven billion dollars—that’s how much financial aid Charlie Javice W13 has helped deliver to students via her online platform, Frank. Even though 90 percent of college students are eligible to receive aid through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, nearly half of them never fill it out. This customer-friendly interface helps students access and complete their FAFSAs; in as few as four minutes, they can apply for federal and state aid as well as institutional grants and other assistance. That’s all loan-free money, which means minimizing debt and ensuring that graduation day is spent celebrating, not worrying about paying off loans.

Hyperlite Mountain Gear
News
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Entrepreneurship
Spring/Summer 2019

Hyperlite Mountain Gear

Dan St. Pierre W94 was already a veteran of corporate finance and entrepreneurship when his brother, Mike, had an idea. Mike had been so dissatisfied with the design of most outdoor gear that he’d begun to make his own backpacks and shelters. After hikers and rangers he encountered on his frequent getaways showed interest, Mike saw potential in selling his wares. Dan agreed, and together they founded Hyperlite in 2009. The company today offers a robust set of ultralight, durable products for the world’s most serious adventurers, and its claim that its gear is “designed to function perfectly” hasn’t gone unnoticed: Its UltaMid 4 tent was named one of the best-designed American-made products by Inc. in 2014.

ForLikeMinds
News
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Entrepreneurship
Spring/Summer 2019

ForLikeMinds

Approximately one in five adults in the U.S. experiences mental illness each year. It affects so many of us, and yet anxiety, depression, substance use, and other disorders can be incredibly isolating. Inspired by the compassionate community that fostered her own recovery, Katherine Ponte WG01 created ForLikeMinds, a peer-to-peer support site that connects people living with or caring for those in similar circumstances. After a quick, secure sign-up survey, members chat in private forums with groups or individuals who share their conditions, life events, or relatable demographics, including age, language, and student or military status. As members share experiences, Ponte hopes, together they’ll thrive.

Wharton Magazine Fall/Winter 2019
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