Why we launched 101 Fellowship, an internship program for those curious about venture capital
101 Fellowship is an internship program for young people interested in VC. The first round came to be quite organically, but by today it has become a program run in partnership with a number of VCs in an attempt to make the venture capital world more approachable.
101 Fellowship came to be, as many things in life, coincidentally when due to the prevailing situation in the world many students were not able to find internships and we were generating momentum for our fundraising. As a result our call for interns resulting in us getting to know so many interesting and high quality applicants, that we decided to turn a single internship into a full fledged program.
Although an array of articles, blogs and podcasts is producing content on venture capital, it is difficult to access an actual firm, especially for diverse applicants, people residing outside main hubs or those not sure if they want to commit themselves long-term. We decided to create a platform for just these groups, a network of young people interested in VC and wanting to take a closer look behind the scenes.
Our Summer 2020 internship program stretched over the months of July and August and included 6 bright individuals from all over the world: Finland, Poland, Estonia and different cities in the US. The practical tasks of the program revolved around the 2 main aspects of any fund- fundraising and developing a pipeline. In addition we had learning sessions each week to cover a topic relevant to setting up and operating a fund. These session were conducted by ourselves, but also involved guest speakers, who we felt gave great insights into specific topics. As a result all participants were exposed to both the everyday tasks they would perform as an employee, as well as an overall picture of the whole lifecycle of a fund.
According to the feedback from the participants, the program has definitely increased their interest in VC. However, it also inspired some to potentially start their own companies. Also it provided a better picture of what it takes to raise a fund and evaluate deals. They highlighted learning the nuances between reaching out to individuals, family offices, college endowments and other larger institutional partners and how to be effective in outreach across each. The participants also stressed the insights from frameworks used for deal flow assessment.
We were inspired by the participants ourselves and decided to further refine the program and now we can present you the 101 Fellowship.
Although an array of articles, blogs and podcasts is producing content on venture capital, it is difficult to access an actual firm, especially for diverse applicants, people residing outside main hubs or those not sure if they want to commit themselves long-term. We decided to create a platform for just these groups, a network of young people interested in VC and wanting to take a closer look behind the scenes.
Our Summer 2020 internship program stretched over the months of July and August and included 6 bright individuals from all over the world: Finland, Poland, Estonia and different cities in the US. The practical tasks of the program revolved around the 2 main aspects of any fund- fundraising and developing a pipeline. In addition we had learning sessions each week to cover a topic relevant to setting up and operating a fund. These session were conducted by ourselves, but also involved guest speakers, who we felt gave great insights into specific topics. As a result all participants were exposed to both the everyday tasks they would perform as an employee, as well as an overall picture of the whole lifecycle of a fund.
According to the feedback from the participants, the program has definitely increased their interest in VC. However, it also inspired some to potentially start their own companies. Also it provided a better picture of what it takes to raise a fund and evaluate deals. They highlighted learning the nuances between reaching out to individuals, family offices, college endowments and other larger institutional partners and how to be effective in outreach across each. The participants also stressed the insights from frameworks used for deal flow assessment.
We were inspired by the participants ourselves and decided to further refine the program and now we can present you the 101 Fellowship.
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