Become a Foster Venture Fellow

The mission of Foster Venture Fellows (FVF) is to increase access to experiential learning opportunities for Foster MBA Candidates across the early stage startup investment industry including startup incubators, accelerators, venture debt, and traditional venture capital firms.

First-Year Fellows

First year MBA Candidates will be placed with their partner firms at the end of each Autumn Quarter. Fellowships will commence at the beginning of Winter Quarter (January) and last through the end of the academic year (June). Fellows are required to commit a minimum of 10 business hours per week to their Partner firms throughout the course of the Fellowship. While this is a minimum commitment, Fellows are welcome to pursue increased engagement with Partner firms.

Second Year Fellows

Second year MBA Candidates who have successfully completed their Fellowship are responsible for administration of FVF. This includes: 1) marketing FVF to prospective Foster MBA applicants and admitted students; 2) recruiting and interviewing first-year fellows; 3) maintaining and growing relationships with partner firms; 4) and maintaining and growing the relationship with the Foster School of Business and broader University of Washington community.

Selection Criteria

The application process is intended to provide a comprehensive view of candidates including their work experiences, interest in the VC or startup ecosystem, and motivation to be a Fellow. Applicants are required to enroll or have already completed the VCIC Practicum Course (only offered Fall Quarter), provide a resume, cover letter that showcases their interest in the program and VC or startup ecosystem, and an investment memo that showcases an industry they are passionate about.

Previous experience in VC or startup environments not required although general familiarity with the industry maybe a plus.

Timeline

Sept 27th and October 8th 2024: Info Sessions held in Paccar 390 and ExecEd 310 respectively

Oct 9th 2024: Applications open (join #startup-evcc on Slack for application)

October 30th 2024: Applications close 

Week of Early November: Semi-Finalist interviews

Week of Mid November: Finalist applications sent to Partner firms

December: Venture Fellows Cohort announced

Last Week of January: First week of Fellowship

Last Week of May: Last week of Fellowship