A handful of actively engaged venture capitalists have helped strengthen Penn’s connection to the world of startups and entrepreneurship on several levels of university life, from the Engineering School to Penn’s endowment.

Welcome to the life of 19-year-old Zhao — college dropout and successful self-made entrepreneur. Zhao taught himself how to code in his spare time as a student and a Division I athlete for Penn’s sprint football and track and field teams.

Some people might find the idea of grabbing coffee with a stranger a rather weird and awkward activity. If someone I didn’t know had approached me a year ago, I would have been weirded out.