Hello again VFA Community!
It’s so full circle (or I should say half circle) of me to be writing an update on my Venture For America Fellow experience. I recently completed Redux (a program for Fellows are their one year mark), participated in SPaT, and attended the Rise Retreat at Wayne State University!
Last year I wrote about being nervous to attend Training Camp, my extremely positive experience post-Training Camp, and my goal to visit all 13 VFA cities before the end of my Fellowship. Before attending Redux weekend this year, I was anything but nervous; I was thrilled to get to see all my fellow Fellows again and reunite with those I had not seen in about a year. Of course, I did get about halfway to my goal by visiting six cities in my first year.
- I live in Kansas City. 1.
- I went to Birmingham for a Fellow-led event called Bamasgiving. 2.
- I traveled to St. Louis for a work trip. 3.
- I flew to Baltimore and then drove Philadelphia with some other Fellows to attend Philly Phormal, another Fellow-led event. 4. 5.
- And I went to Detroit for Training Camp and Redux! 6.
I still have a long way to go, but I’m hopeful that I will be able to visit the rest of the cities before the end of June 2024. I hope to be able to give you an update at the end of my two years to report on if I accomplished this goal. But for now, let’s chat about all things Redux weekend!
Redux was a great opportunity to get a refresher course on the basics of entrepreneurship and I believe the programming really helped energize some Fellows to start their own businesses. We had sessions on startup financing, managing individuals within your organization, legal tips for startups, and general business hacks. I know people were taking some diligent notes and trying to absorb all the information to get a general idea of how to start their own ventures. That is a part of my long term goal, so it was great to be able to understand some of those basics.
This programming was especially helpful when it came to SPaT (Side-Project-a-Thon) during the next few days. I participated in SPaT with two other 2022 Fellows, Solomon Asad and Mark Bradley. We had the idea of revamping startup pitch decks with the use of AI to help entrepreneurs pitch investors more effectively. This idea was brewing in my brain for some time now, so SPaT was the perfect opportunity to get some concrete feedback on the business premise. Although we did not end up making it to the final round of the competition, it was extremely helpful to have dedicated time to write down the core function of our business, especially with the high-speed working culture we all have in our day-to-day.
My reunion experience concluded with the Rise retreat where I was able to get together with fellow co-leads for both Antha Prerna and the VFAsians Rise groups. We had dedicated time to discuss DEI within VFA and how we play a pivotal role in creating a community where members of our groups are celebrated. We also were able to outline some goals we have for the upcoming year to further engagement within and between both groups.
All three programming events – Redux, SPaT, and Rise Retreat – have really got me hyped for the rest of my Fellowship experience. I can’t wait to see what year number two holds.