Wharton Business Plan Competition Winners Ring the NASDAQ Closing Bell

Lumina Diagnostics, winner of the 2009 Wharton Business Plan Competition, visited the New York City NASDAQ MarketSite accompanied by the Wharton School. In celebration, representatives of Wharton Entrepreneurial Programs and Lumina Diagnostics rang the NASDAQ closing bell. Find out more here.

Best Dressed

VIP alumni company Henry Davidsen dressed the Phillie Phanatic for the cover of Philadelphia for the 2009 Best of Philly issue. Looking sharp!

Vor-x Success

Wharton alumni start-up Vorbeck Materials, a technology company that manufactures and develops applications utilizing Vor-x, a graphene material of great thermal conductivity, recently received $5.1 million in Series 2 financing. Read more here.

Looking for a Productivity Booster?

iCyte, an online tool that aids in web content organization, was featured in an article on smallbiztechnology.com, a site which provides small to medium sized businesses with information on how to use technology to grow their business.You can read the article online here. 

What Makes An Entrepreneur

The Kauffman Foundation recently released a new study entitled "The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur" that aims to discover the family backgrounds and motivations of American entrepreneurs. The study found that unlike the Bill Gates genius high-school dropout entrepreneur, most company founders tend to be middle-aged and well-educated from middle-class or upper-lower-class backgrounds. Read more findings here.

Next Up: Brazil

Is Brazil venture capital's next hotbed? BusinessWeek asks in a recent article, for "investments in Brazilian startups are surging, but high taxes and strict labor laws could hamper returns." Among those investments include foreign investors Draper Fisher Jurvetson, a Silicon Valley firm which, along with Brazilian venture capital firm FIR Capital Partners, launched a $170 million fund. MBA alum and co-founder of FIR Capital Partners Marcus Regueira is further quoted about the fund here.

Finding the Balance

Knowledge@Wharton asked Wharton professor and author Stewart Friedman how to integrate a personal life and a professional life for a comfortable balance. Friedman responded with three steps: describe your legacy, learn what people expect of you, and talk with trusted friends. Read more here.