Rachel Bassini

Founded in 2016, Wharton Alumni Angels is an active angel investment group composed of University of Pennsylvania alumni and non-Penn alumni who have joined their angel community. Their members are entrepreneurs, senior business executives, and institutional investors with a global reach. Wharton Alumni Angels​ over 500 members in 23 countries have invested in more than 50 early-stage companies. Wharton Alumni Angels members seek to add value beyond the deal​ and actively provide mentoring and assistance to young companies. They are enthusiastic about entrepreneurs and passionate teams pursuing their dreams. Through a global membership and the Wharton alumni community, the organization has a deep network and close relationships with venture capital funds, other angel networks, and innovation ecosystems worldwide to cultivate the growth of start-ups. Wharton Alumni Angels participates most often in seed and Series A investments, and occasionally later-stage rounds and does not focus on specific verticals or industries.

WAFFA (Wharton Alumnae Founders & Funders Association) is a 501 (c)(3) organization with a mission to increase the number of Penn Wharton women founders and the percent who get funded. According to Pitchbook, 13% of Penn founders are women, but their companies are only getting 6% of the VC funding. WAFFA is a group of alums—men and women—who want to change this. WAFFA hosts educational events and connects founders with mentors and funders. To get involved, visit our website!

Guitars Over Guns’ unique curriculum emphasizes social-emotional learning and outcomes through music and arts instruction. After each session, mentors assess students’ academic performance, school and program attendance, artistic progress and peer interactions. We use social-emotional learning measurements to evaluate key competencies such as empathy, teamwork, initiative, responsibility and problem solving. Recent evaluations indicate that over 90 percent of Guitars Over Guns students improved their academic performance, overall conduct and decision-making skills. These measurements are byproducts of a greater shift that is occurring in the way these young people think about the world and their place in it. Our Story: Established in Miami in 2008, the organization now operates in Miami, Chicago, LA, and New York. Since then, weve positively impacted over 9,700 students. Guitars Over Guns began as an informal music mentoring project led by Dr. Chad Bernstein, serving youth from under-resourced neighborhoods in Miami. Upon observing the students’ achievements both on stage and in the classroom, Chad formalized the program and partnered with local schools to impact even more youth. In collaboration with Communities in Schools of Miami, the first official Guitars Over Guns program began at North Miami Middle School in 2008. Over the past twelve years, the program has grown to offer no-cost music instruction, mentorship and academic support at 36 school and community sites in Miami and Chicago. Additionally, Guitars Over Guns now offers a more extensive curriculum that includes dance, visual arts and annual summer camps. With the support of our mentors, staff, community partners, board of directors and passionate advocates around the world, Guitars Over Guns is ready to inspire and empower students everywhere to #ChooseYourSound

Founded in 2016, Wharton Alumni Angels is an active angel investment group composed of University of Pennsylvania alumni and non-Penn alumni who have joined their angel community. Their members are entrepreneurs, senior business executives, and institutional investors with a global reach. Wharton Alumni Angels​ over 500 members in 23 countries have invested in more than 50 early-stage companies. Wharton Alumni Angels members seek to add value beyond the deal​ and actively provide mentoring and assistance to young companies. They are enthusiastic about entrepreneurs and passionate teams pursuing their dreams. Through a global membership and the Wharton alumni community, the organization has a deep network and close relationships with venture capital funds, other angel networks, and innovation ecosystems worldwide to cultivate the growth of start-ups. Wharton Alumni Angels participates most often in seed and Series A investments, and occasionally later-stage rounds and does not focus on specific verticals or industries.

--- Consulting for Lean Teams & Growing Businesses --- When a companys product, market, and team are constantly evolving, it needs operations built to flexibly scale and the right data to drive decisions. Grow Sharp Consulting works with businesses to ensure that its systems, workflows, and processes are structured to adapt to its changing needs and growing team. We assure that our clients are armed with the right data, analyses and reporting to make the best decisions in real time.