PGELA 年度创投晚会 | 下一个大机会,从这里开始
PGELA Impact & Venture Mixer 2026
From Idea to Impact | 年度创投晚会
Great Ideas Deserve to Be Seen. Meaningful Connections Make Impact Possible.
In the age of AI, turning ideas into products has never been easier. But how do we identify problems worth solving, recognize promising opportunities, and turn innovative ideas into sustainable ventures?
On November 7, PGELA brings together investors, founders, entrepreneurs, AI innovators, and tech professionals for an inspiring evening at EVO Rooftop in Philadelphia.
Through three engaging panel discussions and meaningful networking opportunities, we'll explore the journey from Idea to Impact — sharing insights, discovering opportunities, and building connections that matter.
✦ Panel Discussions
Panel 1 | Capital & Investing
Is an early-stage company worth backing? When information is incomplete and uncertainty is high, how do investors evaluate the team, the market, and the business model—and decide whether a company can scale?
This panel brings together five investors from different points along the capital chain: Michael Aronson, with more than three decades of early-stage investing in the Penn ecosystem; Audrey Chambers, whose experience spans Bain, private equity, and consumer-tech entrepreneurship; Stella Yoh, who spent nine years investing across emerging markets in Latin America and Asia; Chris Liu, focused on early-stage AI and embodied AI in Silicon Valley; and Maxwell Blum, who brings an insider view of LP decision-making from university endowments. Spanning LP, VC, and PE perspectives, the panelists will discuss where capital comes from, where it goes, and how founders can understand the way investors think.
Panel 2 | Product, Users & Execution
Great startups rarely begin with technology alone—they begin with a real and painful problem. How do founders find that problem, validate demand, solve the cold-start challenge, and turn an idea into a product people actually use?
This panel features six speakers from enterprise product management and hands-on startup building across industries: Joyce Onore, who drives complex enterprise digital initiatives at Deloitte; ShunShun Chen, who brought JD.com’s product discipline to Feicai, a marketplace for international students; Nick Harty, who builds Storiara from real film-production pain points; Dani Lin, who applies technology to sustainable agriculture at Cropit; Nick Koh, who helps teenage founders build real ventures through Expop; and Luke Guo, whose team grew Aident AI from zero to 18,000 users in three months. Together they will share practical lessons on customer insight, problem validation, cold start, and early growth.
Panel 3 | AI & FinTech
Generative AI is moving beyond general-purpose chat and into the real workflows of finance. From institutional research and venture diligence to personal financial planning and wealth management, services that once depended on costly, infrequent human judgment are being redesigned to be faster, more accessible, and continuous.
This panel brings together four founders building at the intersection of AI and finance: Humberto Lobo’s Wealthnow unifies portfolio data, financial research, and trading tools in one AI platform and provides institutional-grade data to AI agents through API and MCP; Shaorui “Eric” Li’s Verdict uses AI to rework venture screening, diligence, and investment memos; Kevin Russell’s The Zillennial Advisors brings an institutional-investing perspective to next-generation wealth management and financial education; and Dave Coles’s MoneyBadger turns one-time financial advice into ongoing coaching that follows up every pay cycle. The panelists will discuss which parts of finance AI will change first, how AI financial products can earn trust within regulatory frameworks, and where the real moat lies between AI-native companies and incumbents.
✦ Who Should Attend?
Founders & Entrepreneurs | Investors & VCs | AI & Tech Professionals | Product Builders | Aspiring Founders & Innovators
Whether you're building a startup, exploring investment opportunities, or looking to meet potential collaborators, this event is for you!
✦ Event Details
📅 Date: Saturday, November 7, 2026
🕕 Time: 5:40 PM – 9:30 PM (EST)
📍 Venue: EVO Rooftop, 33rd Floor
Address: 2930 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19104
🎟️ Early Bird: $19.90
🎟️ General Admission: $29.90
Limited to 100 attendees — secure your spot early!
Let's Connect, Collaborate & Create Impact.
Great ideas start with inspiration. Real impact begins with meaningful connections.
Join us for an evening of fresh perspectives, inspiring conversations, and new possibilities.
We look forward to seeing you in Philadelphia!
让好想法被看见，让有价值的人彼此遇见。
Special Thanks: Fantuan Delivery 饭团外卖
Photographs and/or video may be captured at this event. By registering forand attending this event, I understand that my likeness may appear in photosand/or video taken during the event.