Wharton Junior Daniel Fine is not a behind-the-scenes kind of guy around campus. Sitting or walking with him around Penn is like walking with the class president, though in his case everyone who waves, smiles or shakes his hand genuinely seems happy to see him. He has also made a name for himself in entrepreneurial circles on campus. Wharton Magazine first covered Fine and one of his startups, Glass-U, last year during the Wharton Business Plan Competition. (See “A Day in the Life: Student Startups.”)
Now it seems Fine is making a name for himself in global entrepreneurial circles.
Entrepreneurs’ Organization named him one of the world’s top 30 young entrepreneurs. He represented the U.S. this summer in Moscow—and was the youngest attendee—at the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Association conference.
“I was humbled to represent the U.S. in Moscow, and the experience proved to be beyond expectations,” Fine told me during a recent discussion outside Huntsman Hall on a beautiful autumn afternoon. “Meeting 400 of the world’s current and future game-changers in Moscow is just the beginning, as we’re building relationships that will last for the years to come.”
Besides his five days in Russia representing his nation (and Wharton), his startup Glass-U scored a couple of big milestones. As many as 19 Penn students worked for the company this summer on campus, while the startup partnered with some big domestic and global names ranging from collegiate and professional rugby to Musikfest and Lollapalooza. At Lollapalooza in Chicago, the startup partnered with the organizers, who branded the Glass-U sunglasses, gave them out to their VIP participants and attendees, and sold them on-site.
Back on campus, Fine does not slow down. For the Penn Apps event, he and a friend hacked for nine hours straight on a weekend night to create an app to help diabetics with their diet and insulin dosing, winning the “Best Health & IT Hack.”
Meanwhile, he has a project in the works called Millennium Fund, a new type of global initiative to support young entrepreneurs with capital and resources.
As we usually say with Fine, stay tuned for news on his next endeavor …
