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Program Overview
The Wharton Venture Initiation Program accepts applications three times per year, at the beginning of the fall, spring, and summer semesters. Once accepted into the program, students are eligible to remain for five contiguous semesters, subject to satisfactory venture progress. Reapplications are required of all members every semester to assure progress is being made. Program resources include: membership in a vibrant entrepreneurial community of Wharton and Penn students, monthly advising sessions, educational programming, and networking opportunities.
VIP Advisors
 Jeffrey Babin |
Jeffrey Babin has more than 20 years of experience developing business strategies for emerging companies as well as Fortune 500 clients. Jeffrey is a Managing Director and founder of Antiphony Partners, LLC , a strategic consulting firm that specializes in helping companies create sustainable value through innovation. Prior to Antiphony, he served as CEO of Corporate Technology Ventures, a company he founded and grew into one of the nation’s premier medical software publishing companies. He serves as a Senior Lecturer and Associate Director in Engineering Entrepreneurship at the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) and is the India Country Manager for the Wharton Global Consulting Practicum , both at the University of Pennsylvania. Jeffrey currently holds an appointment as a Lecturer in Marketing and was a Lecturer in Entrepreneurship for the Wharton School . He is the Wharton Venture Initiation Program Advisor and is an Entrepreneurial Fellow for the Weiss Tech House . Jeffrey is a founding member of the Mid-Atlantic Angel Group Fund, a $4.2MM seed and early stage investment fund. Jeffrey earned a B.A. degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from The Wharton School.
 Rob Weber |
Rob Weber has focused his entire career around starting and building emerging growth technology businesses. He is currently a Managing Director of Antiphony Partners, LLC , a management consulting firm that helps companies create sustainable value through innovation. Prior to Antiphony, Rob was President of Intellifit Corporation a provider of guaranteed fit technology for on-line apparel shopping, a venture backed company that was sold in early 2009.
Prior to Antiphony he served as President of knoa, an e-learning software company, where he successfully redefined the corporate product strategy and repositioned the company to capitalize on new market opportunities. Prior to knoa he served as President of Elastomeric Technologies, a leading electronic connector manufacturer. Rob joined Elastomeric as President in 1990, turned the company around and sold the venture backed firm to Tyco International (Formerly Augat Corp) in 1995.
In 1984 Rob became an early team member and served as Marketing Director for Ensoniq Corp, a leading manufacturer of electronic musical instruments and multimedia products, where he led the development of the company's marketing and business plan and venture capital financing efforts through 1988. Ensoniq was sold to Creative Technologies of Singapore. He started his career in venture capital with the investment banking firm of Howard, Lawson & Company.
Rob is a co-founder of Robin Hood Ventures, an angel investment group focused on emerging growth companies, and the Mid-Atlantic Angel Group Fund.
Rob serves as Lecturer and Senior Fellow for the Fisher Program in Management & Technology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches business planning and entrepreneurial management. In addition, he is a faculty member in Penn Engineering’s Executive Master’s in Technology Management program. He is a graduate of the Fisher Program where he earned Bachelor of Science in Economics (B.S.E.) and Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.S.) degrees from The Wharton School and School of Engineering.
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