June 2026 – Edition 57
Two generous donors share what inspires them to support the McNulty Leadership Program; financial aid and scholarship support made a Wharton education more accessible for one recent graduate; and a first-year student-founded startup wins the Venture Lab Startup Challenge.
Generous Support From Antonio Carrillo, WG’93, and Nikos Panagiotopoulos, C’93, W’93, G’97, WG’97, Shapes the Future of Wharton Leadership Ventures
What inspires Wharton leaders to invest in future Wharton leaders?
For Antonio Carrillo, WG’93, and Nikos Panagiotopoulos, C’93, W’93, G’97, WG’97, it’s about expanding access to the kinds of leadership experiences that shape a career. Read their Q&A to learn what drives each of these generous alumni to give to the McNulty Leadership Program, how leadership has influenced their journeys, and the role Wharton has played in their success stories.
How Financial Aid and Scholarship Support Shaped One Recent Graduate’s Journey
Gabrielle Fine, W’26, is well aware of the impact of financial aid on her ability to come to Wharton. “Without the financial aid, I wouldn’t be here,” she says.
Gabrielle, who majored in Environmental, Social, and Governance Factors for Business at Wharton, benefitted from the Quaker Commitment, which guarantees full tuition scholarships for families who make less than $200,000. She also received support in the form of named scholarships.
Learn more about how donor support and increased access to financial aid helped Gabrielle explore her interests and reap the benefits of a Wharton education.
First-Year Student-Founded Startup Wins Perlman Grand Prize in 2026 Venture Lab Startup Challenge
Beginner’s luck doesn’t usually come with a polished pitch, a compelling business model, and a $75,000 grand prize. For these first-year students, the win was earned.
Teammates Rishi Ambavanekar, ENG’29, W’29, and Tyler Sacharow, C’29, won the $75,000 Perlman Grand Prize at the tenth annual Venture Lab Startup Challenge. This is Venture Lab’s flagship event, which brings together alumni entrepreneurs and Penn students to showcase the best student-founded ventures across campus.
Ambavanekar and Sacharow founded Cloak, which works with publishers to protect content against AI scraping. The startup’s algorithm offers either full protection or opt-in monetization of training and inference. Cloak advanced through a highly competitive process that began with nearly 30 semifinalist startups — and the generous support of the Perlman Grand Prize will help accelerate its success.