At Venture for America, we have the privilege of working closely with a few hundred startup employees across the country—our Fellows. VFA Fellows live and work in 15 US cities, helping to grow young, innovative companies, strengthen local economies, and create jobs. They’re a smart, capable, and resilient bunch, prepared to work hard and eager to do their jobs well.
It’s a good thing the Fellows are up for a challenge, because what they’re doing isn’t easy. While no two jobs are alike, our Fellows find themselves wearing a lot of hats; navigating nebulous, ever-changing roles; tackling big problems with limited resources; picking up complex skills on the fly; and operating with a sometimes daunting level of autonomy.
We work hard to equip our Fellows for the challenges they’re bound to encounter at a startup. And while there’s no perfect formula, there is one thing all of our Fellows seem to look for at some point: advice. Lots and lots of advice.
How do you add value from day one? What does it mean to set meaningful goals? Should you, or should you not, text your CEO? Our team loves fielding these questions—after all, we‘re building a startup too, and we’ve tackled plenty of similar challenges firsthand.
We know our Fellows aren’t the only ones with questions about navigating the startup world. That’s why we’re launching Office Hours.
Whether you’re a college student eager to build entrepreneurial skills, a recent grad just entering the workforce, or a professional transitioning to a startup from a more traditional field, we’re here to answer your questions. Every Tuesday, we’ll cover topics from the granular (like how to take a vacation without anything falling apart) to the general (like how to handle being the least-experienced person on the team). And we’re taking requests.
If you have a question for the VFA network, or have a piece of hard-won insight you’d like to share, get in touch with us. Our door is open.