Sheezan Bakali on the Entrepreneurial Internship Fellowship

Sheezan Bakali, in her second year of her Wharton MBA, talks about how a Wharton Entrepreneurial Internship Fellowship gave her the chance to spend the summer working for PerfectCloth, a New York-based startup company.

Michael Melby on the Wharton Venture Award

Michael Melby, a second year MBA student, talks about his startup, PayDivvy, and how he has been able to develop and pursue the idea using WEP resources like the Business Plan Competition and Wharton Venture Award.

Julian Brodsky on the genesis of Comcast

"I told [Ralph Roberts]: You're not doing this without me." - Co-founder of cable giant Comcast, 1956 undergraduate alumnus Julian Brodsky recounts the 1963 street corner meeting with fellow alumnus Ralph Roberts and Dan Aaron where he asked to join the fledging company which would start with one small cable system in Mississippi.

Julian Brodsky - Full Interview

All three segments of our interview with Julian Brodsky, co-founder of Comcast Corp.

Joseph Ansanelli on starting his first business

"It was definitely scary, but we probably weren't smart enough to realize that what we were doing was risky." - Joseph Ansanelli (W'92) discusses how, as a student, he co-founded Trio, a software company ultimately acquired by Apple's software division.

Joseph Ansanelli on the birth of Vontu

"We actually had the first venture capital pitch from my living room." - a life-threatening accident during the early days of founding Vontu forced Joseph Ansanelli, W'92, to think about the atmosphere and priorities in his data loss prevention company.

Joseph Ansanelli - Full Interview

Our full interview with Joseph Ansanelli, W'92.

Anne-Marie Corner - Full Interview

Our entire interview with Anne-Marie Corner, as featured in the April, 2009 Get It Started issue. She discusses her decision to start an HIV/AIDS company, her experiences as a female entrepreneur, and what Wharton means to her.

Anne-Marie Corner: Creating an HIV/AIDS Startup

"HIV and AIDS were becoming a bad epidemic and there was an article in Cosmopolitan magazine called 'Why Women Don’t Get AIDS.' It shocked so many people in the scientific that it was an impetus to go and try to make a difference." - 1989 MBA Alumna Anne-Marie Corner, founder of HIV prevention firm Biosyn, notes that she recognized an opportunity to do well by doing good by focusing on the gap between the scientific community's concerns over HIV among women and the public perception.

Wharton BPC 2009 Venture Finals

Join the excitement of the 2009 Wharton Business Plan Competition Venture Finals where WEP interviewed visiting business leaders, alumni, and of course the "Great Eight" finalists themselves. For more on the Wharton Business Plan Competition, visit http://bpc.wharton.upenn.edu

Developing Web-Based Services

Entrepreneurial Women on Campus

We sit down with two of Wharton's female student entrepreneurs, Jarah Euston (WG'09) and Eugenia Ross (WG'09), and ask them about their ventures, what it's like being a woman in entrepreneurship, and their recent appearance at the All Things Media forum hosted by the Paley Center for the Media.

Paul Raden - Full Interview

In this issue we speak to alumnus Paul Raden, (WG'89), whose company, Ecount, has adapted and thrived despite operational, technological and global economic changes. In fact, Raden explains, nimbleness is a core tenant of the companys culture. This year Raden and his colleagues were rewarded for their success when Citi acquired Ecount which is now known as Citi Prepaid Services.

Paul Raden on Starting Ecount

"We started making smart decisions after years of making bad decisions... we quickly morphed to this business-to-business model." - Wharton 1989 MBA Alumnus and co-founder of Ecount, Paul Raden, learned that adapting, evolving and improving his business plan over time could lead to fortuitous even when the future seems bleak. Ecount went on to secure $14 million in venture funding and to be acquired by Citi.

Paul Raden - Merging with Citi

"The fact that everyone walked out of the room knowing they were going to make money was a huge win." - Alumnus and co-founder of Ecount, Paul Raden, did all he could to ensure that his employees were also rewarded when the company was acquired by Citi.

Fred Wilson - Full Interview

In this issue we speak to alumnus Fred Wilson, (WG'86), who has taken risks both obvious and subtle throughout his entire career in venture capital.

Fred Wilson - Advice for Entrepreneurs

"The Internet came along right as I began to hit my stride as an investor. Nobody knew the Internet so I had that opportunity." -- Wharton alumnus and co-founder of Union Square Ventures, Fred Wilson WG'86, saw an opportunity and took a risk in the mid-1990s by specializing in companies focused on the rapidly growing force called the Internet.

Aydin Senkut - Full Interview

In this issue we speak to alumnus Aydin Senkut (WG'96), who joined Google, perhaps the fastest growing company in US history, as its 63rd employee. Senkut is now an angel investor supporting entrepreneurs with Google-like drive and vision. From the beginning at Google, when he worked amid dangling computer cables, to his exit years later when head counts reached the thousands, Senkut gained an appreciation for building a culture that values its people as well the innovation they create.

Aydin Senkut on the Early Days at Google

"We had wires sticking from the ceiling. We played soccer with tennis balls. We used to joke, 'Someday we will be a multi-billion dollar business.' [Looking back] it’s surreal." Aydin Senkut, WG'96, joined Google as its 63rd employee. The company, he says, embodied collegiality, filled with those who cared more about the company's mission to democratize the Internet than plush offices and lofty job titles.

Jon Huntsman - Why Entrepreneurs Need to be Able to Learn

"[As an entrepreneur] If you sit and articulate all of the risks, you better become a lawyer or an accountant because they're the ones who tell you you can't do things. If you're an entrepreneur you have to throw all of the risk books out of the room." Jon M. Huntsman, W'59, H'96, spent several unglamorous years learning how to run a poultry business before he branched out on his own. By the time Jon Huntsman launched his first venture, Huntsman Container, he felt secure that the odds of success were in his favor.

Jon Huntsman on Ethics

"I knew if I understood the basic element of this massive marketing complex in America, somewhere somehow I could create a company." Jon M. Huntsman, W'59, H'96, founder of Huntsman Chemical, explains how his strong work ethic, formed as the son of a rural school teacher, helped give him confidence that he would eventually lead a successful business.

Jon M. Huntsman - Learn to be teachable

"What did I learn at Wharton? I learned to listen, to be teachable." Jon M. Huntsman, W'59, H'96, believes that humility leads to an openness to new ideas and learning. Those characteristics, he says, are the building blocks to forming valuable personal relationships that all great businesses depend on.

Joe Segel on the Birth of QVC

"I had a landmark meeting with Pete Musser. He said 'Drop everything else' and launch QVC." Joe Segel recalls how legendary VC Pete Musser convinced him to focus on his ideal for an upscale cable TV shopping network. Not only did Segel face a race to go live, but the need for highly innovative financing.

Joe Segel - Advice for Entrepreneurs

"Never overestimate the universality of your own taste." Among the rules for entrepreneurs to live by, Joe Segel cautions that personal passions are not viable as businesses unless they also find a market.

Joe Segel - The Importance of Learning

"Several times in my career I had to get my hands dirty and immerse myself in a subject I knew nothing about." Joe Segel explains how he overcame a key challenge he faced in launching the Franklin Mint: his lack of industry knowledge.

Jerry Turner on the Birth of the Running Shoe Industry

"I was making [football cleats] for a company called Blue Ribbon Sports and [founder] Phil Knight. Blue Ribbon Sports is the original name of Nike. I realized that there was money to be made making running shoes." Jerry Turner (W'57) explains how manufacturing shoes for Nike led him to develop a revolutionary new running shoe that was lighter and more flexible that is still the standard used today.

Jerry Turner on Listening to Customers

"I'm not a runner, I'm not a baseball player... but I am a good listener." Jerry Turner (W'57) created American Sporting Goods, one of the most successful sport shoe companies in the world, not from his athletic experience but from listening closely to the needs of his customers.

Seth Berger on Customer Focus

"There are so many products I see and ask, 'How did that make it out there?' Often they come from those who are running a business to make money and not pursuing a passion." Seth Berger (WG'93) strongly believes successful businesses begin with entrepreneurs who have an uncanny understanding of their customers' needs.

Seth Berger on the draw of entrepreneurship

"Your mind is never off--it's like sports, a constant game." Seth Berger (WG'93), founder of basketball apparel company AND1, explains that entrepreneurship gives him the ability to get immersed in all facets of a business--finance, management, marketing--and provides an adrenaline rush like he finds on the basketball court.

Farhad Mohit on Traits of Entrepreneurs

"Honesty, intelligence, curiosity and passion—if you don’t have that drive... you’re going to get overtaken." Farhad Mohit explains that, when it comes to entrepreneurial success, neither experience nor guile are as valuable as personal drive.

David Marshall on Seizing Opportunities

"Take what the defense gives you." David Marshall (W'61) has created a winning portfolio of real estate properties by acknowledging inefficiencies in the market and adopting a strategy that counters fleeting trends and boom-bust cycles.

David Marshall on his start in real estate

"Total cold call: I went to the mortgage officer at First Federal Savings & Loan and the [lender] said, 'You look like you're in college.' I said, 'I am, at Wharton.' He says, 'I graduated from Wharton--Let's go.'"

Josh Kopelman on Building a Team

"I've interviewed hundreds of people but have never been on a job interview... so I want people I can learn from." Building a winning entrepreneurial team is one of the key ingredients to a start-up's success. But Josh Kopelman notes he is always looking to acquire skills he and the company lack when evaluating prospective staff members.

Josh Kopelman on Innovation

"I don't like to solve new needs, I like to solve existing needs." Josh Kopelman, who helped found Infonautics, Turntide, and Half.com, explains how he determines which business concepts have the greatest chance to win big in the marketplace.

Josh Kopelman on Entrepreneurs

"There's a window of time in a person's life when they can take [entrepreneurial] risk." Josh Kopelman believes timing is everything for an entrepreneur, and entrepreneurs who start young, he says, are more willing to take risk that is essential to a growing firm.

Peter Nicholas on Founding Boston Scientific

"Those are the people that take bullets for the organization." Peter Nicholas (WG'68) explains how he made the dramatic leap to co-founding Boston Scientific, with the help of dedicated colleagues.

Rich Riley's Story about his Accidental Dot-Com

"We were an accidental dotcom success story: with technology you need to pick the right moment---and get out." Rich Riley (W'96) on how he avoided some of the fatal mis-steps of late 1990’s technology start-up firms and guided Log-Me-On.com to a successful acquisition by Yahoo!.

Alan Miller's Wharton Story

"It’s a Wharton story: My roommate said, 'We can own hospitals.' And I said, 'How is that possible?' It turns out…there is a need." Alan Miller (WG'60) recalls how he began his entrepreneurial journey.

Michelle Peluso and Tracy Weber on the birth of Site59.com

"Once we began to look at the array of products…last minute underwear [was less interesting than] last minute air, hotel or cars." Michelle Peluso (W'93) and Tracey Weber (WG'95) how the original concept for Site59.com evolved.

Michelle Peluso and Tracy Weber on Risk Taking and Character

"It's amazing what risk-taking does to character…when you are making decisions that affect people’s lives." Michelle Peluso (W'93) and Tracey Weber (WG'95) talk about entrepreneurial risk-taking.

Michelle Peluso and Tracy Weber about the Effects of 9/11 on the Travel Industry

"September 11th happened and our revenues dropped by 70% immediately." Michelle Peluso (W'93) describes the difficulties she and her staff faced post-9/11 working mere blocks from Ground Zero in a travel industry devastated by a powerful economic blow.

J.D. Power on how he got started

"On the way back from lunch [I was] invited back and introduced to an older gentleman…named Tatsuro Toyoda. [grandson of the company's founder, who would later become president]." J.D. “Dave” Power (WG'59) talks about how he defied nay-sayers and landed his first and most important client: Toyota.

Bob Goergen on the start of Blyth

"We were on our way to $1 billion" Bob Goergen (WG'62) recounts the emergence of Blyth, Inc. as the industry leader in candles and home fragrance products.

Anne Kalin on Doing Business in Poland

"Do not bribe... or they will own you." Anne Kalin (WG'91) explains the obvious and not so obvious reasons for avoiding corruption in emerging markets.