A message from Andrew Yang:
It’s hard to get started as a young entrepreneur—often much harder than one would ever realize. For me, it took a failed company and years of experience of a startup executive before I hit a point where I could effectively run a company. I started Venture for America in order to give our talented young people a more well-lit runway.
The first 40 Fellows who joined Venture for America are some of the most enterprising young people I’ve ever encountered. Aside from constantly striving to make an impact at their companies in Detroit, New Orleans, Providence, Cincinnati and Las Vegas, many spend their free time pursuing passion projects or trying to improve their communities. Not only did they choose to take the path less traveled to become entrepreneurs and have a positive impact —they continue to create value every day.
We’re thrilled to announce that thanks to American Express OPEN Forum, a platform for small business owners and entrepreneurs to share advice, our Fellows now have access to the VFA Innovation Fund: a fund created solely to fund the ideas of VFA Fellows. Right now at VFA.RocketHub.com, our Fellows are working to promote their ideas and crowdfund their way to the first $20,000 in funding available only to them. The Fellows that raise the most money between now and July 8th will gain access to the Innovation Fund to get their ideas off the ground.
Please take a moment to look through their projects and see the incredible things our Fellows are doing— teaching entrepreneurship in middle schools, trying to simplify meeting people at networking events, creating an affordable Cincinnati sandwich shop, and more. Over the next several weeks, the Fellows will be seeking advice and support from their networks, and working to raise as much money as possible.
Visit VFA.RocketHub.com today to show your support. Let’s help today’s young entrepreneurs create new opportunities for themselves and others.