Upcoming Events
Stay tuned for events in the summer and in the fall.
Past Education Events
Fashion/Retail Demo Event with Wharton Retail Network (Monday, June 5, 2017)
This is also our second event with WRN and it's a chance to meet fashion and retail startups in the Penn community. WRN is inviting WAAN members to attend to provide feedback to companies.
Joint Demo Event with HBS Alumni Angels (Tuesday, May 16, 2017)
Join us for our second joint event with HBSAANY. This event is for accredited and current angel members only.
A Conversation with Andrew Ackerman, MD of Dreamit (Wednesday, April 25, 2017)
Andrew is a recovering consultant turned serial entrepreneur, startup mentor and angel investor. At Dreamit, he is currently in charge of the Edtech accelerator program. Andrew is also a contributing writer to Fortune, AlleyWatch, The 74 Million, et. al. Andrew has founded two companies and has a keen appreciation for how hard it is to build a successful startup, even under the best of circumstances.
Startup Showcase Hosted by WAAN and HBS Angels (Wednesday, June 15, 2016)
HBS Angels and the Wharton Alumni Angel Network are hosting a Startup Showcase featuring early stage companies from the Wharton and Penn community. Come meet some top startups from Wharton and enjoy networking with investors, members and entrepreneurs from both communities.
A Fireside Chat with Howard Morgan, Partner at First Round Capital (Wednesday, May 11, 2016)
Join us for a fireside chat with Howard Morgan, a Partner at First Round Capital. In a WAAN fireside chat, Howard will share some of his favorite stories from his decades as an Angel and venture capital investor, his thoughts about the shifting landscape of early stage investing and his best advice for successful angel investing in today’s world. Howard's chat will be followed by Q&A so bring all the questions you always wanted to ask from a top end early stage investor.
Rising Fashion Retail Start Ups (Wednesday, March 16, 2016)
This is a unique Shark-Tank-esque event that we are producing in collaboration with the Wharton Retail Network and the Baker Center at Wharton.
Fireside Chat with Alex Iskold (Wednesday, January 13, 2016)
Join us for a fireside chat with Alex Iskold, the Managing Director of Techstars in New York City. Alex will share his experiences running one of the world's leading accelerator programs here in NY. You'll get to see through his experiences how Techstars picks the companies they back. What makes these companies successful. He'll also share insights into when things go wrong and what to watch out for when deciding to back early stage start ups. Alex's chat will be followed by Q&A so bring all the questions you always wanted to ask from a top end early stage investor.
The Future of Retail & The Role of Corporate VC (Wednesday, June 17, 2015)
Come join a discussion with J. Skyler Fernandes, Managing Director of Simon Venture Group, who runs the corporate venture arm of Simon an S&P 100 company and largest retail real estate company in the world (and with revenues larger than Apple & Amazon combined!). The discussion will include insights on the innovations happening within physical brick and mortar retail (represents ~90% of retail sales) and e-commerce (10% of retail sales), and how they are converging together into an omni-channel. The talk with also cover the new rise of corporate venture, what role it plays within the VC capital ecosystem, and how angel investors can engage with corporate VCs to find and help their portfolio companies.
The Inside Baseball of Angel Investing (Wednesday, November 12, 2014)
To graduate to professional level angel investing, from the 90% that are amateurs, takes lots of work. Brian Cohen will share with everyone many of the best practices one will need to know, in order to ensure that you get the best deal terms, and the best startup opportunities, to succeed in a perilous angel investor environment.
A Fireside Chat with David Rose (Thursday, July 10, 2014)
Professional angel investors regularly see annualized returns of 25% or more by investing at the earliest stages of a high-growth company's life-cycle. Yet most self-described "angel investors" actually lose money. In his fireside chat with the Wharton Alumni Angel Network, David S. Rose, author of the New York Times bestseller Angel Investing: The Gust Guide to Making Money & Having Fun Investing in Startups, will explain why this happens. David will share stories from the 90+ startups in which he has invested, including companies that were acquired by Facebook, Google, Intel, Amazon and CBS.
David is one of America's leading early stage angels, the Founder & Chairman Emeritus of New York Angels, and the founder of Gust.com, Which is the industry's official platform connecting investors with startups. As Scott Shane, the author of Fools Gold: The Truth Behind Angel Investing in America has written, "Anyone with a checkbook can be an angel investor, but it takes insight to do it well. David S. Rose has written a terrific new book that will help would-be angels make money, rather than lose it.
David is one of America's leading early stage angels, the Founder & Chairman Emeritus of New York Angels, and the founder of Gust.com, Which is the industry's official platform connecting investors with startups. As Scott Shane, the author of Fools Gold: The Truth Behind Angel Investing in America has written, "Anyone with a checkbook can be an angel investor, but it takes insight to do it well. David S. Rose has written a terrific new book that will help would-be angels make money, rather than lose it.
First Demo Night (Wednesday June 25, 2014)
For our demo night, an invite was sent out to all Premium members first. Since this was our first time doing this, we opened the event to also non-paid members so that everyone could get a feel for how this works. We had a great investor turn-out and heard seven presentations from our roster of startups. Follow-ups are conducted through Gust. Please sign up for membership to be in loop of the next demo day.
Why Investing in Women-Led Companies Is an Opportunity for Angels
(Wednesday June 11, 2014)
Warren Buffett recognizes value better than almost any investor in US history. His style of investing in high-quality, under-priced companies has made him one of the richest men in the world. Women are key to America’s prosperity but are often undervalued or overlooked, Buffett wrote in a Fortune essay. Join us as Forbes Contributor and President of Ventureneer Geri Stengel moderates a panel of savvy Angel Investors actively investing in women-led startups. Hear the panelists talk about how the angel market’s failure to invest in promising women-led companies provides greater opportunity for you.
WAAN Launch Event (Wednesday March 26, 2014)
Watch two of the top angel investors in NY – Hadley Harris and Ralph Mack engage in a fireside chat with the founders of their favorite portfolio companies. Hadley’s portfolio company guest will be Vasu, the Founder and CEO of AdTrib and Ralph’s guest will be Dan Herman, Founder and CEO of ChatID.
