Venture for America
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| Venture For America Logo | |
| Founded | 2011 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Andrew Yang |
| Type | Nonprofit organization |
| Focus | Revitalize America through entrepreneurship |
| Location | |
| Members | over 500 |
| Employees | under 30 |
| Website | http://www.ventureforamerica.org |
Venture for America (VFA) is an American nonprofit organization and fellowship headquartered in New York, New York. Its mission is "to revitalize American cities and communities through entrepreneurship"[1] by training recent graduates and young professionals to work for startups in emerging cities throughout the United States.
History
In its first year (2012), Venture for America placed 40 fellows in 5 cities: Cincinnati, Detroit, Las Vegas, New Orleans, and Providence. In the following year (2013), the cities of Baltimore, Cleveland, and Philadelphia were added and nearly 70 fellows were placed. In its third year, over 100 fellows were placed and an additional 4 cities of Columbus, Miami, San Antonio, and St. Louis were added. In 2015, the organization grew with the additional cities of Birminham, Charlotte, Denver, and Pittsburgh, and more than 120 fellows placed. 2016 saw the addition of Atlanta and Nashville along with nearly 170 Fellows placed.
Approach
Venture for America recruits recent college graduates to work in various startup industries, or the related industry of venture funding, for two years in economically challenged cities throughout the US.[2] The goal of the program is for its Fellows to create jobs by eventually serving a senior role at their initial companies and hiring new employees, or by starting their own companies, which will then hire people.[3] Fellows are not required to have a background or degree in business or entrepreneurship.[4] Ideally, Fellows agree with the Venture for Ameria credo[4], listed here
- My career is a choice that indicates my values
- There is no courage without risk
- Value creation is how I measure achievement
- I will create opportunity for myself and others
- I will act with integrity in all things
After acceptance into the program, all Fellows attend a five week summer training program at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. There, the Fellows are taught and mentored by investors, venture capitalists, and innovation firms in the skills they will need at their companies.[5]. The skills they learn include topics of web design, entrepreneurship, and public speaking.[6]
Fellows are then placed in startups in cities like Baltimore, Detroit, and San Antonio in industries such as education innovation, biotechnology, VC firms, media, and clean technology.[6][7]
Statistics and geographical reach
| Year | Fellows |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 40 |
| 2013 | 68 |
| 2014 | 107 |
| 2015 | 122 |
| 2016 | 169 |
| Total | 506 |
| Since 2012 | Since 2013 | Since 2014 | Since 2015 | Since 2016 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Cincinatti | Detroit | Las Vegas | New Orleans | Providence | Baltimore | Cleveland | Philadelphia | St. Louis | Columbus | Miami | San Antonio | Birmingham | Charlotte | Denver | Nashville | Atlanta |
| 2012 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||||||||||||
| 2013 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||||||||
| 2014 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |||||
| 2015 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
| 2016 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Special initiatives
Innovation Fund
Seed Fund
Accelerator
Angels
References
- ^ "VFA Mission". ventureforamerica.org. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
- ^ "Venture training helps entrepreneurs succeed". news.brown.edu. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
- ^ "The 'Teach for America' for Entrepreneurs?". inc.com. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
- ^ a b "Is VFA for me?". ventureforamerica.org. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
- ^ "Venture for America: Entrepreneurial Fellowships for College Grads, with CEO Andrew Yang".
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ a b "No Six-Figure Pay, but Making a Difference". nytimes.com. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
- ^ "Venture For America Will Do For Entrepreneurship What Teach For America Does For Education". fastcompany.com. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Launch Program". ventureforamerica.org. Retrieved 10 October 2016.