Announcing the Venture Fellows Program
Venture capital is an important part of the economy. It provides funding to big, risky ideas. Those ideas, and the teams behind them, have changed the world. Apple, Google, Amazon.
Ideally, VC should be a meritocracy, funding the best ideas and teams. In practice, this isn’t always the case. Networks play a huge role in who and what gets funded. While there are many ways to help improve this reality, Susa believes it starts with who is making the investment decisions.
Driven by this belief, we’re thrilled to announce our first Venture Fellows Program, a six-month training program for aspiring venture investors. Venture Fellows will receive 1:1 mentorship from the Susa partnership and participate in Susa’s sourcing, evaluation, and investment processes in order to gain hands-on experience and build a body of work. Susa is a seed fund with over $200M under management, and we’ve invested in over 100 companies like Robinhood, Flexport, Andela, and Policygenius at their earliest stages. This program is an opportunity to see how our team and venture capital work from the inside. The program will also include bi-weekly curriculum and a group of mentors from the top VC firms in the world, including investors from Benchmark, Kleiner Perkins, Precursor, Sequoia and USV.
The goal of the Venture Fellows Program is to build a clear and transparent pathway into the VC industry for aspiring investors. As a firm, we are constantly approached by amazingly talented people, with a wide array of backgrounds, asking: How do I break into VC? We hope this program can help answer that question.
Our goal is to make this program representative of the diverse consumers that VC-backed companies serve. If we’re successful, these incredible individuals will be the face of our industry for years to come.
While there are many amazing programs for angel investors, this will be the most dedicated and involved program for people who know they want to be a venture capital investor.
FAQ
How long will the program be?
Six months, September 21, 2020 — March 21, 2021
When is the application deadline?
11:59pm PT on August 18, 2020
Where can I find the application?
Applications are now closed.
Who should apply?
Any aspiring venture capital investor, within the US or Canada, regardless of educational background, gender identity, race, sexuality, upbringing, or professional experience.
How many Venture Fellows will there be?
8–12
What is the time commitment for this program?
This is a part-time, but very involved, program. The more Fellows put into it, the more they will get out of it. Fellows will meet as a group once every other week for two hours, in addition to one-off diligence meetings with the Susa investors based on the pace of deals, likely 5 hours per week during PST working hours. This program will be entirely virtual.
Will Venture Fellows be compensated?
Venture Fellows will be offered an opportunity to participate in the economics of deals they bring in. They will also receive a monthly stipend to compensate for hours they may need to take off from work.
