Venture For America is a national nonprofit and two-year Fellowship program that gives recent college graduates firsthand startup experiences to help them become strong leaders. Fellows learn important startup skills at Training Camp, apply for jobs within our company network, and work for two years as full-time, salaried employees in one of 13 cities. When Fellows are ready to start a company — be it two years after college or nine — VFA has the resources (like a crowdfunding competition and accelerator) to help make that dream a reality. Our vision: Venture For America is creating an accessible and inclusive future of entrepreneurship in America.
External link for Venture For America
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Venture For America reposted this
Shout out to our new runner Emily Sjoberg joining us today along with Wei Yu and Charles Mansfield III — feeling the love from our Venture For America fellows! Come out with us next week! Same spot and time. 📍Bakery Square ⏰ Fridays @ 7AM Hope to see yinz out there!
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Sloss Tech 2024 was amazing; I couldn’t have asked for a more impact-filled experience. I’m so thankful to do this work such top-notch, passionate people - special shoutouts to the TB team (Deontée Gordon Jarrod Stisher Laura Kate Whitney + Board Prez Maria Underwood), and to LRY Media Group and Telegraph Creative for collaborating with us. Some personal highlights included: - Welcoming 175+ students and early tech professionals to the conference at no cost through our Next In Tech program, thanks to the generosity of Innovate Alabama (shoutout to Shannon Allen for developing some incredible NIT programming) - Moderating a panel on tech workforce development in Alabama, featuring outstanding local leaders Charisse Stokes John Byrd ☁️🐦 Kristen Holder Emily Jerkins Hall, CEcD - Getting to debut the 2-day conference format for the first time, and welcoming speakers like Frances Haugen Dona Sarkar Melissa Butler David Shing Andrew Yang - Facilitating a meetup between Andrew Yang and the Bham Venture For America community - Getting to have my dad Rob Topping, CFA there :) Immense thanks to everyone that took part in putting on the conference and to the community for making it what it is. I can’t wait for 2025 - it’s going to be even better.
Check out some of the great things 2024 Fellow Kyra Chevonne Colbert is up to!
One thing I love is opportunities for youth to innovate! Recently, I joined Startland Education’s Social Change Interns as a guest speaker during their prototype testing stage. As #DigitalEquity Coordinator at KC Digital Drive and a champion of social innovation, I was thrilled to incorporate the digital divide discourse into their projects. What better way to shed light on the digital divide than through KC Digital Drive’s impactful digital divide simulation? This "day in the life" immersive experience aims create empathy and awareness of those living in the digital divide. We interacted with three unique personas, examining the challenges they could face within the simulation, all while drawing parallels to practical applications in businesses or platforms that rely on devices, internet access, or digital skills for successful implementation. It was inspiring to see these social change agents grasp the implications for their projects: 💡 Who are we designing for? ➗ How accessible and implementable is our solution for those impacted by the digital divide? 🤔 What strategies can we employ to advocate for bridging the digital divide? Let's continue to innovate with inclusivity at the forefront, ensuring that technology serves as a tool for positive social change and equitable access for all. #SocialInnovation #Youth #DigitalDivide
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I had the incredible opportunity to sit down with Andrew J. Albert recently on Venture For America's podcast and I'm particularly excited about this one for a few reasons: - Andrew has been a mentor/friend of mine for years now. He was one of the first people to take a chance on me at VFA, and played a critical role in helping me transition from a technology entrepreneur to an investor. He has a unique way of strategizing and challenging assumptions that always helps reframe my thought process on any given subject. Andrew has become a go-to for me when exploring new ideas and concepts, especially as it relates to continuing to fund the best founders. - Venture For America is a strong organization with a massively impactful mission. If it weren't for VFA, I would not have been afforded the opportunity to work in the capital allocation space, built lifelong friendships with some of the brightest people in the world, and have an interconnected network of leaders across top global organizations. VFA continues to be a strong backer of my work and ideas and have been instrumental in getting me connected to companies like Uber, Barclays Investment Bank, UBS and more. If you have some time, check out the podcast. I'd love to hear your thoughts or feedback.
Here are some fast facts about our Class of 2024 Fellows! Strong startups are fueled by great talent and our newest Fellows can meet their hiring needs. If you're looking for talent for your startup, learn how you can hire a Fellow here: https://lnkd.in/edYNtPJs.
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Sourcing and engaging with diverse talent is still a huge challenge for teams. It takes a lot of time and effort, which many lean talent teams don’t have these days. Mati Fombang, Senior Director of Talent at Venture For America, shared a variety of tips and strategies to help talent teams keep up their DEI work: 🔎 do some real self-reflection 🔁 do continuous education and training 🤝 partner with diverse organizations and more. Check out all her insights and strategies here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gYFPJ2hw #talent #DEI #hiring #recruiting
Thanks for joining us, Sherrod Davis! You can listen to Sherrod’s episode and more here: https://lnkd.in/gW8XKumw.
If you listen to the latest episode of the Venture For America Pulse podcast, you’ll hear Sherrod Davis share his wisdom. In this conversation, he explains how his diverse startup background led him to EcoMap, and how we’re opening doors for entrepreneurs by building better-connected ecosystems. 💪 As he says, “I believe by exposing and making information more accessible, you create opportunities for everyone to participate.” Listen here: https://hubs.li/Q02C_SWR0
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Top tech talent across America are living and working in rapidly growing tech hubs, not just on the coasts. Plus, with the rise of remote work, the best talent is distributed across the nation 🌎 So where can you find top tech talent? Don't sleep on these emerging tech hubs: 🚀 Detroit — diverse, highly skilled, and ranks no. 3 for tech talent cost versus quality 🚀 Cleveland — tech workforce is growing over 10% more than the national average 🚀 Pittsburgh — a top hub for robotics, cybersecurity and more 🚀 St. Louis — home to 3 innovation districts & top universities 🚀 Kansas City — 1 in 10 workers in Kansas City is employed by the tech industry And more. Check out the full list 👉 https://lnkd.in/gn5xyvX2 Big thanks to our friends at Venture For America for partnering with us for this! #techtalent #hiring #techjobs #startuphiring
In May, we shared that we were partnering with HackinMiami for their inaugural AI-focused hackathon. The event took place last weekend and two participating VFAers - Dylan S. and Moses 🥑 Nandi - placed second along with their teammates! They won Delta airlines credits and hotdesk access at the host co-working site for building TongueSten, a fitness-tracking app. Read more in Refresh Miami: https://lnkd.in/ey972BqD.