Become a Kauffman Fellow
Applications for Class 27 Now Open
2 Years
7 Modules
2 International Summits
Monthly Forums
What We Offer
We help solve the world’s greatest challenges by selecting and accelerating the most talented and driven investors.
For the last 26 years, Kauffman Fellows has accelerated the development and success of venture capital investors around the world, supporting Fellows in navigating every aspect of innovation investing, from deal flow to public markets.
Each year, we intentionally recruit, build, and design the incoming cohort with diversity as our north star and proudly our network is 9x more diverse than the industry average.
Our two-year program provides Fellows a structured curriculum, peer learning, forums, and networking — all with a focus on becoming the best version of themselves and giving back as their responsibility as a leader in venture capital.
Our Aim
To Empower Meaningful Change
We empower Fellows to influence more meaningful change at a personal level and industry-wide. Fellows become thought leaders on topics like how to form a more equitable VC industry, how to become stewards for founders, how to build opportunity funds, or boost their personal brand.
To Offer Career Progression
To offer career progression. We facilitate global knowledge-sharing, decrease learning curves, connect individuals to more diverse networks, and accelerate the careers of senior leaders in venture capital. In the past years, more than 20% of our cohort have been promoted in their roles.
Class Design
Each cohort is composed of senior leaders in the capital formation ecosystem from varying areas of expertise. Venture capital investors form the bulk of the class, but we purposefully design a class with investors in a variety of fields such as private equity, family offices, accelerator funds, sovereign wealth funds, corporate venture, and angel networks.
In our recent cohort:
85%
are direct VC investors
73%
hold decision-making positions
64%
hold board seats
~5 years
investing experience, on average
Let's Get Acquainted
It’s important to have conviction as to why you want to join this program and what you hope to contribute to our network. We strongly suggest you get familiar with Kauffman Fellows by exploring the following resources:
Hear From Our Fellows
“I am so excited to join this group of folks who are building intentional relationships with each other in a way that is less transactional. I'm looking forward to using this space, as a Kauffman Fellow, to be a learner.”
Sydney Thomas (Class 26 Fellow)
Principal, Precursor Ventures
Ultimately my reasoning came down to:
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Reinforcing and extending my existing network
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Aided in building Dynamo into a best-of-breed seed investor
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Allowing me to become the best partner to the founders we invest in
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Staying focused on the founder from who everything emanates in this ecosystem
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Venture can be lonely and it's great to have close confidants in the journey
Santosh Sankar (Class 26 Fellow)
Founding Partner, Dynamo Ventures
