Welcome to the WAFFA network – a community of 5.5k+ Wharton & Penn Alumnae Founders, Funders, and Friends.

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We are creating a thriving community for Wharton + Penn Female Founders, Funders and Friends.

It is a place to connect, support, inspire, celebrate each other.

Join us, just fill in this form.

Alumnae in the News

Wharton Magazine: 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. …
Wharton Magazine: 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 …
Wharton Magazine: 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 …
Wharton Magazine: Eyeful
"Kristen Nwanyanwu M09 WG09 is bringing style to the eye-examination room. Nwanyanwu, a vitreoretinal surgeon and associate professor at the Yale School …
Overplay wins Adobe Award
Congratulations to Caroline Strzalka C00 WG05 and Overplay who are the latest recipient of the Adobe Fund for Design. Overplay will also be a …
Elix on Inc.’s Female Founder 200 List
Congratulations to Lulu Ge – on Inc.'s 2023 Female Founders 200 List!  Her company Elix delivers personalized traditional Chinese medicine herbal blend formulas to help improve …
Anima Iris hitting new heights
Loved this post about Wilglory Tanjong, G22 WG22 (photo on right). Wilglory is the 27-year-old Cameronian-American Founder, CEO and Creative Director of Anima …
Unshackled Ventures adds Head of Community & Culture
Big Huge Congratulations to Samala W05, (photo on left)who recently joined Unshackled Ventures, early stage venture capital for immigrant founders, as their …
Novoloop a “Startup to Watch”
WOW! Novoloop was just named a "Startup to Watch" by the Silicon Valley Business Journal and SF Business Times. Co-Founded by Miranda Wang …
Forbes 10 Inspiring Founders
Featured in Forbes as one of the '10 Inspiring Founders' is Lina Chan WG09, Founder and CEO of Parla, a startup launched …
BBC features Thermaband
Thrilled to see Thermaband co-Founders Debbie Dickinson WEV91 and daughter Markea highlighted in this BBC feature covering tech that's helping women manage menopause. …
3D Printing for Chocolate!
FASCINATED by the idea of using 3D printing for chocolate. Read about Ellie Weinstein MFAM19 and her company Cocoa Press in this recent article.
NASDAQ Black Female Leaders to Watch
Congratulations to Lorrie King WG91, founder of Caire Beauty, named a NASDAQ Black Female Leader to Watch by NASDAQ.  (Caire Beauty is …
“Women in Tech” Podcast features Alta
Listen to Son Ca Vu WG16, Founder of Alta (who built our WAFFA mobile shop!) on the "Advancing Women in Tech" podcast. Son Ca …
Running Group for Founders and Funders
Have you heard of Pitch & Run NYC? It's a running group for founders and funders to hang. It was started in …
Thermaband on NBC News
Watch Debbie Dickinson WEV91, Co-Founder and CEO of Thermaband on NBC News with Johanna Gomez. As a perimenopausal cancer survivor battling hot flashes, Johanna …
Figgyplay home adventure kit launches
Love this – Rachel Neill LPS09, the Founder of Figgyplay.com, a home adventure kit – and reports that they "launched on Kickstarter and did $40k …

Founder Spotlights

What’s your story? If you are a Penn or Wharton female founder, we would love to profile you and your start-up in an upcoming newsletter, on Medium and across our social channels. Just fill out this form – we look forward to sharing your experiences and insights with the community.

Meet our amazing WAFFA Founders

Funder Spotlights

What’s your story? If you are a Penn or Wharton female funder, we would love to profile you in an upcoming newsletter, on Medium and across our social channels. Just fill out this form – we look forward to sharing your experiences and insights with the community.

Meet our amazing WAFFA Funders

13% of Penn Wharton founders are women. They raise 6% of the venture capital.

THE FACT IS

Women-led businesses have been largely overlooked by the investment community.

2.2%

of US Venture Capital Invested in Women-led Startups

6%

of capital going to women Penn Wharton founders despite the fact that they represent 13%

We believe in a powerful Penn Wharton network that lifts women up and helps them succeed.
We believe in a world where any Penn Wharton woman can start, grow and fund a wildly successful business.
We believe in a “yes bias” for Penn Wharton women, where fellow alums take the call, make the intro, and if they say “no,” they explain why.

To our WAFFA Community 

Black Lives Matter. At WAFFA, we’re dedicated to increasing the success of women in entrepreneurship — and support for the black founders and funders is an inextricable part of our mission.

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