Venture for America is heading to the NYC Startup Job Fair this week! Feel free to come by with questions about the Fellowship program, to find out more information on the startups we partner with, and get the latest scoop on our 2012 Fellows.

If you’re in New York and curious about VFA, startups, or what to do post-college, join us!
Date: Friday, September 28th, 2012
Time: 1:00pm – 5:00pm
Location: World Trade Center 7 (250 Greenwich St)
Register here.

Tomorrow night, Venture for America will hold a launch meetup for Baltimore’s entrepreneurs, investors, and community supporters where founder Andrew Yang will talk about VFA’s story and answer questions about the program.

The event is part of the inaugural Baltimore Innovation Week. Event and registration details are below:

Venture for America Launch
Wednesday, September 26th, 2012 at 5:30pm
Emerging Technology Center
2400 Boston St.
Canton, Baltimore City

Register for the event here.

Venture for America looks forward to exploring expansion to Baltimore, and will hold similar events in the coming months as new 2013 cities are added. If you’re involved in Baltimore and are interested in bringing VFA to your city, RSVP now!

Name: Mark Bernstein
Hometown: Highland Park, Illinois
University: Northwestern University ’12
 
 
Development Analyst, Resource Environmental Solutions
New Orleans, LA
What initially attracted you to Venture for America?
I knew I wanted to work for a startup after graduation. I discovered very quickly that it is really challenging to find a good fit on your own. I was drawn to the fact that VFA facilitates this process. Also, I was super excited about the prospect of moving to Detroit.
What is the best part of being a VFA fellow?
Besides the other fellows, my favorite part of VFA is that we’re put in a position to significantly impact our companies. I think that is pretty rare coming directly out of college.
What does Resource Environmental Solutions do?
RES is an ecological offset provider. We restore habitats and sell the resulting restoration credits to companies that need them in order to comply with certain environmental regulations. Here’s a cool write up of the company in Inc. Magazine.
What do you do on a typical day at work?
My primary role is to help RES expand into new areas. It is interesting because different states have very different methods for mitigation. So far, I have spent a lot of time on Google Earth evaluating potential project sites.
What’s your favorite thing about New Orleans?:
The music. There are tons of live shows every night, and the radio stations are excellent.
What do you hope to accomplish in your time with VFA?
I have a strong interest in ecological offsets, and I am really looking forward to learning the ins and outs of the industry. I also hope to become a competent trumpet player.

Monday, September 24th

Columbia Info Session
Columbia University
The Center for Career Education, Conference Room
5:00-6:00pm

Thursday, September 27th

Johns Hopkins Info Session
Johns Hopkins University
Clipper Room in Shriver Hall
5:00-6:00pm

Georgetown Info Session
Georgetown University
McShane Lounge
First Floor, McCarthy Hall
4:30-5:30pm

Friday, September 28th

Georgetown Career Fair
Georgetown University
Georgetown Hotel and Conference Center
Leavey Center, 3800 Reservoir Rd.
10:00am-3:00pm

Don’t forget: There’s only one week left to get your tickets for the Entreprelooza for America event in Washington, D.C.!

Time and Location

Thursday, September 27th at 6:30pm
Willard Event Center Terrace
1455 Pennsylvania Avenue, #800
Washington, DC 20004
Special guests will include David Rose, CEO of Gust.
Click here to get your tickets now!
If you can’t make it but would like to contribute, you can do so here. We appreciate any donation, big or small. All contributions are tax deductible.
Donate

Or visit ventureforamerica.org/donate for more donation methods. Contributions and ticket purchases may be eligible for matching gifts from your employer.
We hope to see you there!

After a successful first week on campus, VFA is ready to head Providence, Boston and St.Louis next week, along with a visit uptown to Columbia. If you want to learn more about how to join our next class, come out and see us! Details are below:

Tuesday, September 18th

WashU Info Session
Washington University- St. Louis
Danforth University Center, Room 276
7:00-8:00pm

Wednesday, September 19th

Brown Career Fair
Brown University
Tent at Sayles Hall on the Main Green
Brown & Waterman Streets
12:00-4:00pm

WashU Career Fair
Washington University- St. Louis
Athletic Complex, Danforth Campus
3:00-7:00pm

BC Info Session
Boston College
Gasson 306
7:00-8:00pm

Thursday, September 20th

BC Career Fair
Boston College
Silvio O. Conte Forum Sports Complex
3:00-6:00pm

Harvard Info Session
Harvard University
54 Dunster Street, Cambridge
5:00-6:00pm

Friday, September 21st

Columbia Career Fair
Alfred Lerner Hall
2960 Broadway at 115th St.
11:00-4:00pm

MIT Career Fair
Johnson Athletic Center
Building W34
10:00-4:00pm

This week, the New York Times published a follow up to the article “Starting a Teach for America for Entrepreneurs” written by Jessica Bruder in October.

The article, “It’s First Graduates on the Job, Venture for America looks for fresh recruits”, includes an update on what VFA has been up to for the past year, and features VFA Fellow and MIT Grad Kathy Cheng. Kathy, who now works as a Business Analyst at a startup in Detroit called Doodle Home, said about her experience joining Venture for America: “You know how sometimes things just click into place? It was like that.”

Check out the full article here to see what VFA and Kathy have been up to!

 

Name: Todd Nelson
Hometown: Winston-Salem, NC
University: Columbia University ‘12
 
 

New Market Services, NextEnergy
Detroit, MI
 
What initially attracted you to Venture for America?
I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur in the clean energy economy after my junior year of college, but I needed to learn more about business fundamentals and get more real life and technical experience before starting my company. I also wanted to join a network of other people pursuing similar goals. Enter VFA, which was started the year I graduated. Great timing, perfect fit!
What is the best part of being a VFA fellow?
From a life standpoint – the other fellows. If you don’t believe me, try going out into the real world without a group of inspiring, helpful, interesting, and talented friends! It’s tough out here, but we’ve been here for each other in everything from near all-nighters during training camp, to move-in, to exploring a new city, and questions about a particular sector/task that were initially overwhelming.
From a career standpoint – Training Camp was invaluable in teaching me skills, coping mechanisms during stressful times, and recognizing my own strengths and weaknesses in the workforce. I’ve already relied on a lot I learned during those 5 weeks in my company so far – the ultimate measure of success.
And did I mention that VFA’s help throughout the company placement process resulted in multiple job offers from amazing start-up companies? That too.
What does NextEnergy do?
NextEnergy provides research, business development services, and testing platforms to existing Michigan companies to compete more effectively in the clean energy marketplace. We also help Michigan manufacturers map out the value chain, break into the clean technology market, and connect them to potential partners, investors, and buyers.
What do you do on a typical day at work?
I’m mostly doing research right now – which consists of marketplace analysis, supply-chain mapping, and one-on-one interviews with industry professionals. It’s perfect for me, coming into clean technology with a non-technical background, because I have to understand each piece of a technology from cradle to grave. Right now, I’m learning the ins and outs of multiple components of the energy economy, including vehicle electrification, energy storage, electricity generation and distribution, energy rules and regulations, electrical circuits/power electronics, and energy efficiency. I’m also helping out on the side with NextEnergy’s twitter account. And improving their auxiliary coffee delivery services (jk).
What’s your favorite thing about Detroit?:
Eastern Market, hands down. (http://www.detroiteasternmarket.com/) Do you like fresh, delicious, inexpensive, local food and a way to see all of the different faces of Detroit under the same roof? So do I!
And biking city streets with literally no cars on it – really nice compared to dodging taxis and tourists in NYC.
What do you hope to accomplish in your time with VFA?
From a knowledge standpoint – I want to learn the ins and outs of my industry and startups so that I’ll be well placed to start my company when the right idea pops into my head. While I’m biking home from work one day, of course. Just wait, it’s going to happen…
I’m also learning from the staff, the fellows, and the entrepreneurial community how to inspire people and get them excited about ideas that inspire me. That includes everything from public speaking, to simple communication of high-level ideas, to connecting with people from a variety of individual backgrounds. I want to be able to go out into the world – and not just pitch people about my idea – but get everyone I meet excited to work together to create the clean energy economy and a better world to live in. VFA (fellows, staff, company) has already started helping me learn and practice these skills, and I want to continue to do that over the following 2 years.

The school year has officially kicked off, and every day next week VFA will be at various campuses looking for potential members of the Class of 2013:

Monday, September 10th

VFA at Wharton Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Club
University of Pennsylvania
Wharton School Building
John M. Huntsman Hall, Room F-70
6:00-7:30pm

UPenn Info Session
Wharton School Building
John M. Huntsman Hall, Room G-55
8:00-9:00pm

Tuesday, September 11th

Cornell Career Fair (All Industries)
Barton Hall
10:00am-3:00pm

Wesleyan University Info Session
Patricelli Center, Room 001
4:00am-5:00pm

Wednesday, September 12th

Duke University Career Fair
Bryan Center
8:30am-4:00pm

UPenn Career Fair
Sheraton University Hotel
3549 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA
10:00am-3:00pm

Cornell Career Fair (Technical and Engineering)
Barton Hall
10:00am-3:00pm

Brown Info Session
CareerLAB
167 Angell Street
12:00-1:00pm

Thursday, September 13th

UNC-Chapel Hill Career Fair
Ram’s Head Recreation Center
12:00-4:00pm

Princeton Info Session
Frist, Room 228
7:00-8:00pm

Friday, September 14th

Yale Career Fair
Lanman Center
Payne Whitney Gym
11:00am-3:00pm

Yale Info Session
William L. Harkness Hall, Room 113
3:30-4:30pm

Come join us to learn more about Venture for America and how you can become part of the next class of fellows!

Yesterday, VFA founder Andrew Yang was at the DNC in Charlotte to participate in the Huffington Post’s “What is Working?” panel. Andrew joined Arianna Huffington, Scott Case of Startup America, will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, and others in a discussion moderated by Tom Brokaw to discuss innovative solutions to the jobs crisis in America.

After the panel, HuffPost Live caught up with Andrew to ask him some questions about how Venture for America can help solve the jobs crisis and why he started VFA. Check out what he had to say below:

In an interview with Mashable following the panel, Andrew also emphasized the importance of “trying to find ways to incubate and cultivate the talent that has the potential to develop companies and create opportunities for others.” You can check out the full article here.

Overall it was a great day for Venture for America at the DNC, and congrats to Andrew for a job well done!