Funding for Entrepreneurs (and We Don’t Mean Venture Capital)

By On March 13, 2012 · Leave a Comment · In Business, Entrepreneurship, Fellowships

While on our recent university tour, I was asked by several students if there are any fellowships for entrepreneurs. In fact, there are quite few.

Entrepreneurs seeking funding for their ideas, particularly ideas that border on community service, don’t necessarily need to go to Silicon Valley for venture capital. We define fellowships as competitive, short-term, funded opportunities to pursue a project, conduct research, enhance professional skills and pursue higher education. In other words, funding to do something exceptional. Here are some great fellowship opportunities for budding entrepreneurs and established startups.

  1. Venture for America Fellowship - 2 years, stipend, placement at a startup, $100K prize
  2. KPCB Engineering Fellows Program - 3 months, salary
  3. Code for America Fellowship - 11 months, salary, travel, health
  4. Detroit Revitalization Fellowship – 2 years, salary
  5. The Thiel Fellowship – 2 years, $100K
  6. Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation - 3 years, $300K
  7. Echoing Green Fellowship - 2 years, $90K
  8. Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship - startup funding, varies
  9. Unreasonable Fellowship - 6 weeks, stipend
  10. Ashoka - varies
  11. Acumen Fund Fellowship - 1 year, stipend
  12. REDF Farber Fellowship - 1 year, stipend
  13. IDEX Fellowship - 10 months, stipend
  14. Open Society Black Male Achievement Fellowship - 18 months, $70K
  15. Bluhm/Helfand Social Innovation Fellowship - $10K
  16. Mind Trust Education Entrepreneur Fellowship - 2 years, salary, training, travel, mentorship
  17. IDEO Fellowship - 11 months, salary
  18. PopTech Social Innovation Fellowship - multi-day intensive program, all expenses paid
  19. Rainer Arnold Fellows Program - annual/ongoing, $10K/year
  20. Ariane de Rothschild Fellowship - 2 weeks, stipend

This is by no means a complete list of entrepreneurship fellowships, however we hope it’s enough to whet your appetite for now. We’re in the process of building a much more exciting and comprehensive database of fellowship opportunities. If you’re interested in getting an early peek, make sure to sign up for our private beta.

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A Review of Science and Engineering Fellowships

By On February 15, 2012 · Leave a Comment · In Engineering, Entrepreneurship, Fellowships, Science, Technology

In preparation for my upcoming seminar at MIT, I’ve gone back through my posts on science and engineering fellowships. Here’s a review of some of the best we’ve found.

Engineering:
  • The Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellowship is a competitive and prestigious fellowship for exceptionally talented doctoral students in the applied physical, biological and engineering sciences.
  • The Amelia Earhart Fellowship is a $10,000 award for women of any nationality pursuing a doctoral degree in the field of aerospace-related sciences and aerospace-related engineering.
  • The Hydro Fellowship Program is awarded to mechanical and electrical engineering graduate students in their final year of study who are interested in conducting research related to the improvement of conventional hydropower.
  • The  KPCB Engineering Fellows Program is a paid summer fellowship for entrepreneurial engineering students at the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Science:
  • Yale University offers 20-25 annual Gruber Science Fellowships for students of any nationality pursuing a PhD in biomedical and biological sciences or in astronomy and astrophysics.
  • The L’Oreal USA Fellowships for Women in Science is a competitive fellowship program that provides five awards of up to $60,000 to women postdoctoral researchers who are pursuing careers in the life and physical/material sciences, as well as mathematics, engineering and computer science.
Tech:
  • Code for America is a highly competitive professional fellowship program that recuits talented web developers, designers, and entrepreneurs to work on innovative tech projects in city government agencies across the U.S., including Philadelphia, Seattle, Washington, DC and Boston.
  • The Google Policy Fellowship is a paid summer fellowship for undergraduate, graduate, and law students to spend 10 weeks in Washington, DC, San Francisco, Toronto or Ottawa, Canada at public interest organizations working on public policy in broadband access, content regulation, copyright and trademark reform, consumer privacy, and open government.
  • The DHS Emerging Leaders in Cybersecurity is a paid professional fellowship program for computer science graduates; fellows complete rotational assignments at the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, DC.

We hope to see you at our Spring 2012 University Tour in Boston! Read here for details.

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Designers Change the World Through the IDEO.org Fellowship

By On December 4, 2011 · Leave a Comment · In Design, Entrepreneurship, Fellowships, International Develoment, Public Service, Social Entrepreneurship

IDEO.org is a new non-profit working to support designers who can make the world a better. Each year, the IDEO.org Fellowship Program seeks talented people from the design, business and social sectors, who can serve as “innovators in residence” at IDEO.org’s offices in San Francisco, CA for 12 months. Fellows work with experienced IDEO designers to develop innovative solutions to poverty-focused problems around the world, using “human-centered design” to address challenges in areas such as agriculture, gender equity, financial services, health, water, and sanitation.

Good describes the IDEO.org Fellows as “big-picture thinkers that make up a new breed of humanitarians—designers.” Currently, fellows are developing open-source design kits, such as designs for urban gardening in Ethiopia, and are blogging about the process, giving other social sector leaders a chance to learn from their successes, failures, and unusual approaches to eradicating poverty.

The application process for this professional fellowship is highly competitive and open to applicants from around the world. They especially seek candidates who have experience working in developing countries or low-income communities. The start-up environment and frequent travel requires fellows to be flexible, resilient and open to other cultures and lifestyles.

Applications are due December 9, 2011 – so act now!

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New NYU Fellowship Offers Mentorship From Vimeo Execs

By On November 1, 2011 · Leave a Comment · In Communications, Entrepreneurship, Fellowships, New Media

IAC, a leading Internet company, and New York University (NYU) are launching a new IAC Teaching and Research Fellowship Fund in partnership with NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. IAC is providing $250,000 to support graduate fellowships for students from the School’s Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP), a graduate education program in interactive media.

Four IAC Fellows, selected based on academic and entrepreneurial excellence, innovative research, and their potential to make an impact on the future of the interactive media space, have been awarded a one year fellowship to develop new technologies and research while providing faculty and student support within ITP’s classrooms. Their mentors include executives from  Vimeo and IAC’s Hatch Labs, an innovation incubator devoted to improving wireless technology.

“Partnering with IAC in creating a Research Fellowship for recent graduates follows the example of many entrepreneurial ITP alumni, most notably Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley who spent a year after graduating incubating his ideas around locative media,” said ITP Founding Chair Red Burns. “Through this Fund, selected ITP students will now have a little extra time to deepen their skills and further explore their ideas in collaboration with the innovators at IAC.” Read more.

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A Fellowship for College Drop-Outs

By On August 27, 2011 · Leave a Comment · In Business, Entrepreneurship, Fellowships

When Steve Jobs dropped out of college he didn’t know where his life was headed. Looking back he was able to “connect the dots” and said that this was the first step on his path to becoming the founder, chairman and CEO of Apple, Inc.

The Thiel Foundation aims to find extraordinary people just like Jobs.  The foundation has established the 20 Under 20 Thiel Fellows program, which provides  20 young geniuses $100,000 to create innovative scientific and technical projects, learn entrepreneurship, and begin to build the technology companies of tomorrow. The kick? They have to drop out of college.

One of this year’s Thiel Fellows, Dale Stephens, had already dropped out of Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas to launch UnCollege, a nonprofit that helps teens educate themselves outside the conventional university system.

“I created my education, essentially hacked it by leveraging the resources of the world around me,” said Stephens, who had been homeschooled since 6th grade.  ”You can do the same thing at the collegiate level.” Read more.

Only 2 of the 20 Thiel Fellows are women – Laura Demming, who plans to commercialize anti-aging research, and Eden Full, who started a solar energy start-up that deploys her patent-pending inventions.

 

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Venture for America Announces Entrepreneurship Fellowships for Top College Graduates

By On July 20, 2011 · Leave a Comment · In Business, Entrepreneurship, Fellowships

Venture for America is doing their part to create jobs for the U.S. economy.  Today VFA announced the offering of new entrepreneurship fellowship opportunities for recent college graduates.  VFA’s goal is for its fellows to contribute to the creation of 100,000 jobs by 2025.

Here is a bit of information about how the program works:

“Start-up companies within the target cities will be identified within industries of great potential or future importance (e.g., energy, biotech, materials sciences, infotech, education innovation, etc.).  These start-ups will be presented with VFA fellows to hire for two years, at a discounted salary of $32- $38,000 per year.  At the end of the 2-year period, the company can hire the fellow under new terms”.

View the press release

VFA fellowships are for two years, and upon the conclusion of the fellowship the highest performing fellow is awarded $100,000 for seed investment for a new venture or funding for their existing company.  VFA is working with established venture capital and angel networks to be able to extend multiple awards like this, as well as vendor services, in the coming years.

To learn more about Venture for America fellowships please visit their website: http://ventureforamerica.org

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