WAFFACongratulations to Reham Fagiri (WG), Co-founder and CEO at AptDeco. AptDeco recently announced it will be expanding nationally, which will give furniture buyers and sellers across the country an easy, affordable and safe way to participate in furniture resale while positively impacting the planet.AptDeco’s resale marketplace is the only end-to-end marketplace in the country that accepts and lists all furniture resale items.
So thrilled to share news about Julie Lawrence (G97 WG97), Co-Founder and CEO of Eviset. She and her company were selected for Amazon Web Service’s Health Equity Initiative. This program is a $40 million, three-year commitment, supporting organizations that are developing solutions to advance health equity. Eviset is a tech start-up developing a data-driven, B2B marketplace for social care providers to optimize matching of community-based organizations (CBOs) with funding and healthcare sector contracting opportunities. Eviset will launch its social care marketplace infrastructure in Philadelphia.
Recently, we had the pleasure of hosting a discussion with Mori Taheripour – a beloved Wharton Professor (and WG!) who is an EIGHT-time recipient of awards for excellence in teaching. Mori is a globally recognized negotiation expert whose techniques have been implemented by all types of leaders, from sports executives to Fortune 500 CEOs. Feedback from the event was super enthusiastic and positive – “Great Interview”, “I learned a lot from Mori”, “This was so helpful and inspiring”.
So, ICYMI, we’re including a link here to the interview. And be sure to check out her book, “Bring Yourself: how to Harness the Power of Connection to Negotiate Fearlessly.” Feedback in the chat included – “One of my favorite business books for sure!”, “I listened to your book and loved it!”, “I just ordered it during this interview!”.
We loved this Venture Lab interview with Bridget O’Carroll (WG21), Founder of Studio Qila, the first native-owned digital fitness studio. She developed this business during the pandemic, and began with zoom workouts she hosted with her friends. Bridget first got involved at the Venture Lab during the summer before her second year of her MBA. After getting involved she has seen her business grow through various opportunities available at the Lab like the Penn Wharton Innovation Fund.
Check out Sidekick’s 20 Rising Founders, and congratulations to Adriana Catalina Vázquez Ortiz (GEN16), founder of Lilu. She launched Lilu in 2016 – a smart, wearable device to make breastfeeding and pumping more comfortable. “Vazquez has the goal of eventually launching more postpartum support devices, and Lilu products have since launched on Amazon and been recommended by lactation consultants.”
Listen in on this fascinating interview with Corbin Petro (WG09), Founder of Eleanor Health, a startup venture that is changing the US healthcare system. Corbin has already raised close to $100M from top-tier investors like Rethink Impact, Warburg Pincus, Northpond Ventures, and General Catalyst.
YAY! Natasha Charles (CGS06 GED09 WEV09 WEV10 GED14), Founder of Intuitive Coaching with Natasha Charles, had her first full-length article published in Forbes. Read about Seven Areas to Help Women Be Successful Executives. “Executive women, whether in corporate, nonprofit, or entrepreneurial spaces, have a specific set of needs to ensure success. They’re more burned out than men and continue to be underrepresented at the executive level — particularly African American women.
So proud to tell you that we have TWO Alumnae named in the Entrepreneur Media’s 100 Women of Influence in 2022. Last week, we shared the good news about Reham Fagiri (W12), AptDeco Co-founder and CEO. Congratulations are also in order to Miranda Wang (P16) and her Co-Founder Jenny Yao at Novoloop, which transforms plastic waste into high-performance materials.
“When we visited our local waste transfer plant in high school, seeing these mounds of plastic shook us to our core. By 2017, we had developed a first-generation breakthrough technology to chemically break down polyethylene plastic waste — commonly found in grocery bags. Most incumbent chemical companies use antiquated recycling techniques that are still quite harmful to the environment. Plus, the capital required to invest in new ways of recycling is enormous. As a result, very few startups are looking at this space. We have to be very creative.”
A huge WOW to Caroline Green (WG11) who is featured in this year’s Wall Street Journal’s Private Equity Women to Watch list. At Calpers, Caroline leads a co-investment program at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System that has grown to an $8 billion portfolio across co-investments in venture-capital, buyout and growth-equity deals. She has led some of the pension’s largest co-investment deals, including ones in healthcare technology company athenahealth and software provider kaseya’s acquisition of Datto.
Excited to share that Reham Fagiri (WG12), AptDeco Co-founder and CEO, has been named one of Entrepreneur Media’s 100 Women of Influence in 2022. AptDeco is a furniture resale marketplace that offers pickup and delivery. Reham explains, “My cofounder, Kalam Dennis, was trying to sell his sofa and getting frustrated with lowball and no-show buyers. I’d rented a moving truck and offered it to him for a few hours. Once he edited his sofa listing to include ‘free delivery, one day only,’ the item sold for full asking price, immediately. This was our ‘Aha!’ moment. Furniture is the second-largest contributor of urban waste: More than 12 million tons is sent to landfills every year. Changing mindsets about used furniture is an uphill battle, so we’re doing lots of education on what it means to shop for used furniture.”