I recently had the pleasure of attending VFA Training Camp, and I can honestly say that it was one of the most inspiring and unforgettable experiences of my life. Training Camp provided a unique opportunity to hone my skills, learn new strategies, and bond with my fellow Fellows.

From the moment I arrived at the camp, I was struck by the sense of camaraderie and community that permeated the atmosphere. Everyone was there for the same reason, and we all shared a common goal: to make a better tomorrow.

Another aspect of Training Camp that I found inspiring was the guest speakers. We were fortunate enough to hear from some of the most successful experts in their respective fields. The speakers applied learned concepts into new frameworks, which allowed me to view networking, priority management, and self-care in a whole different light!

The discussion that most stood out to me was Lorenzo Gomez’s talk on creating your “Personal Board of Directors.” His presentation taught us the value of creating a strong network of people around you for success.

Everyone has different strengths and unique journeys to get to VFA, but we were all sitting at the same table. We recognized that we needed to rely on each other’s approach to meet our team’s needs. This not only helped us improve our skills, but it also gave us a sense of ownership and pride in our collective effort.

But perhaps the most inspiring aspect of Training Camp was the sense of accomplishment that we all felt at the end of each day. We worked hard, pushed ourselves, and saw the results of our efforts. We were a team, and we were all in it together. And when we finally left the camp, we knew that we had not only improved our skills as young professionals, but we had also formed lifelong friendships and memories that we would cherish forever.

In conclusion, my Training Camp experience was truly inspiring and great. It allowed me to grow as an entrepreneur, learn from others, and push myself to new heights. I am grateful for the experience, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to improve their skills, bond with their teammates, and be inspired by the power of hard work and determination.

Coming out of college at Duke, I studied Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering with the intention of designing medical devices as a career path. It seemed only natural to me at the time given my working experience with Stryker and the exciting process of building tools that can meaningfully impact people’s lives. 

However, that summer I ended up interning for a startup called VersaMe, which had created a wearable word-counting device for babies that promoted early language and neural development. It was my first time working at a startup and I fell in love with the creative and fast-paced nature of the day-to-day as well as the close team dynamic, not to mention the growth that came with building a company let alone a single product. It was during my time at VersaMe that I learned about VFA (given one of the employees at the time was a Fellow) and realized that this Fellowship would be the perfect way to pivot into entrepreneurship. 

After applying and getting into VFA, I immediately felt a sense of belonging with the incredible community of ambitious, like-minded, empathetic, and socially conscious individuals who all were in some way shape, or form aiming to utilize entrepreneurship as a lever to drive societal change. I still have fond memories of Training Camp in 2017 where we spent six weeks together in Rhode Island bonding across shared interests and values while learning important entrepreneurial skills. I’m very thankful to be a part of the VFAm – which continues to be an integral part of my personal and professional networks – and this community in many ways was my inspiration to one day start my own company. 

Post-Training Camp, I spent the majority of my Fellowship years in Philadelphia as the first growth hire at a company called Roundtrip Health, which had built a healthcare transportation platform to ensure patients get to and from their appointments and not miss out on their medical care. It was truly an exhilarating journey being able to drive better patient outcomes with each ride we coordinated, and I saw the company grow from a small team in a WeWork office to one of the fastest-growing companies in Philadelphia with five times the number of employees in a few years that generated millions in revenue.

Then during COVID, as is typical of many VFA Fellows, I started searching for interesting side projects outside of work and reconnected with one of my good friends, Jaya Pokuri, whom I had met in college. He and I were in similar places in our careers having worked for startups, and realized we shared a vision and passion for two spaces in particular: healthcare and data. After weeks of brainstorming and working through our potential ideas, we settled on creating a sophisticated sales intelligence platform that uses AI to help healthtech companies sell more effectively to healthcare providers. We even used the VFA SpaT challenge as a way to de-risk our business idea and systematically work through customer discovery.

Finally, in late 2022, Jaya and I decided to take the plunge and go full-time with the business which we decided to name Bonfire Analytics. Since then, it has been a whirlwind of a journey as we launched our product, graduated from the leading enterprise accelerator in Alchemist as one of the top companies, landed several paying customers, and raised substantial funding from high-value angel investors, acclaimed venture capital funds, as well as VFA. We’re grateful to be here but more excited for what’s to come so we can continue to make the VFAm proud! 

As a graduating senior from Arizona State University, I thought my professional journey would follow the same path as my peers. Get a job at a notable corporation and then work up the corporate ladder. While this was the “safe” option, I wanted to dedicate my time to something bigger than myself. Building off of my passion for entrepreneurship I joined VFA and set my sights on Training Camp in Detroit. 

Entering Training Camp there was one prevailing feeling – anxiousness. I knew no one, had no idea what to expect, and had never spent extended time in Detroit. My fears almost immediately evaporated as I felt camaraderie with my VFA Class despite our vastly different backgrounds. What struck me was I didn’t have to explain “why” I had decided to do this. I had spent the previous semester explaining to all of my friends, family, and professors what the program was and why I had decided to take the uncertain route. Instead, every conversation at Training Camp began with a shared understanding which allowed me to foster deeper connections. 

While at Training Camp it was tremendous to hear from so many amazing speakers who were deep subject matter experts and shared knowledge from their experiences. One of the most profound speakers was Lorenzo Gomez who shared learnings from his career. The best way I can summarize his wisdom is in two points.

• First, find your support system, or as he coined “personal board of directors” to help you in your journey.
• Second, life is unexpected so take opportunities when they come.

It was what I needed to hear to reframe how I approached this next phase of life. 

Looking ahead, I’m excited to start my Fellowship in Birmingham this fall. While living in a new city and taking on the challenges of building a startup seemed daunting at first, Training Camp showed me I have a village of supporters behind me. I can’t wait to look back in two years and see how far we’ve come.

 

Are you interested in learning more about Venture For America? Read all about the Fellow Experience, schedule time to speak with a recruiter, or start your application for the Class of 2024 today!

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.

 

Lessons From Two Summer Weeks in Detroit
By Alex Schluter

It was a Wednesday as I drove across the green belly of Michigan from my parents’ home in Evanston, Illinois towards Detroit. I was showing up three days late to Venture For America’s 2022 Training Camp after a positive COVID test the week prior. Watching the passing trees, listening to Kendrick Lamar’s new album, it felt as though I was taking a large step into something new and exciting, and I was. I felt nervous. Nervous about being surrounded by 130 recent college grads, as this would be the most socially demanding setting I had been in since arriving at college 6 years earlier.

At lunch, my anxieties were quickly assuaged when I was invited by a few friendly VFA Fellows to sit at their cafeteria table in Wayne State’s dining hall. I easily joined the conversation, getting their brief backstories and giving my own. One of these Fellows, Tim, commented on my heaping salad and we discovered that both of us happened to be vegan, which I took as a good omen. Tim was an especially positive energy throughout that week, constantly giving out high fives, words of encouragement, or dancing for no reason except to make a long day a little more exciting.

After the scheduled programming of the day, Fellows were given the opportunity to take the stage and provide a story that connected with one of VFA’s five credos (basically VFA’s organizational values). At the end of my first day, I watched two Fellows, Chandler and Kristen, get up on stage and speak personal stories into the room with strength, charisma, and poise. Stories that were motivational and centered on helping others. It felt like I was at a TED conference for really freaking cool twenty-somethings, and when those two speakers poured a bit of themselves into that room, I was filled with joy and inspiration.

By the end of that day and every day at Training Camp, my soul was brimming with hope and optimism, usually as a direct result of another Fellow’s inspiring story, or simply from a delightful conversation with the Fellow I was sitting next to as we listened to speakers and took part in activities aimed at arming us with the skills necessary to thrive at our new startups. We learned a lot about entrepreneurship, but more broadly, how to adult and how to get the most out of the rest of our unstructured lives. The two ideas I heard at camp that imprinted themselves most permanently on the inside of my head were more applicable to life advice than entrepreneurship-specific advice. These ideas were the accountabilibuddy and the personal board of directors.
Besides being incredibly amusing to say (accountabilibuddy, accountabilibuddy, accountabilibuddy) an accountabilibuddy is a buddy who will hold you accountable to the goals that you set for yourself, and who you will do the same for in return.

This idea was presented by two VFA Alumni, who had become accountabilibuddies shortly after their own Training Camp. The accountabilibuddy framework has two essential elements – the first, goal setting, and the second, regular meetings at predetermined intervals (your choice of every month, two months, quarter etc.) to check-in on progress. If you are anything like me, you work better on a deadline. The accountabilibuddy system provides an easy and fun way to set deadlines and a time restriction on accomplishing goals in the most pressing areas of your personal, professional, or social life that you are looking to grow in or explore.
I now have my own accountabilibuddy and next week we are meeting to discuss goals across the categories of health and wellness, career, and social/relationships. Two goals I have are to start a 10 minute daily meditation practice, and to find a weekly place to practice Spanish with a group or another individual. Without a deadline, these goals would likely drift off into the ether, aspirational but likely unachieved. Now, with the help of my accountabilibuddy, I hope to achieve these goals, but get back to me in a month and I’ll let you know how that is going.

The personal board of directors was an idea brought up by Lorenzo Gomez III, an entrepreneur from San Antonio. He told his own personal career journey, from building homes for his father, to working at a grocery store, to a job at the tech company Rackspace, that took him to London and back to San Antonio. The common thread through his most pivotal decisions – to move from the produce aisle at a grocery store to behind a desk at a computer store, to join a startup called Rackspace, to travel to London and gain a new perspective on the world – was that his initial instinct told him to turn down the opportunity. In all of these situations a head wiser than his own, whether it was a brother or a colleague, provided sage advice and urged him to take the opportunity.
His own experience demonstrates that the wisest among us do not arrive at their best decisions and ideas in a vacuum; instead, they rely on a trusted group of family, friends, and colleagues to advise them through life’s toughest decisions. Lorenzo even went so far as to officially appoint his own board of directors by having a conversation with them individually, and telling them that they have been appointed to a position with few perks, but hopefully, a bit of honor.

It was not until I met all of the wonderful 2022 Fellows in my cohort that I truly understood what Venture for America was, and if there is any single encompassing lesson from that week, it is to surround yourself with people you admire, who you want to be changed by. Whether these are your friends, your coworkers or other people in your community, seek out the people who you want to emulate and take intentional steps to access their wisdom and push one another into becoming the people you would like to become.
Making new connections isn’t easy. Socializing is inevitably harder for some of us than for others, but making a single plan with someone you enjoy spending time with and admire is a great place to start. And if you haven’t found that person yet, find a local community, a workout group, a volunteer organization, or a book club where you can meet those people— maybe you will find the accountabilibuddy you never knew you needed, or a fresh new perspective for your personal board of directors. I was lucky enough to meet 130 people who inspired me over the course of two weeks this summer in Detroit.

As the magic of these two weeks fades, and the work of building a new life for myself begins, I am left to find ways to inject magical moments into my daily life in San Antonio. I found magic this weekend, when I stumbled upon a turtle that had strayed from its home by the River Walk, in an aerial yoga class that pushed me outside my comfort zone, and in a coffee table my new roommate Michelle and I struggled to transport from a local thrift shop. There is plenty of magic out there and I am hopeful.

My name is Alexes Salazar, I am from San Antonio, Texas, and have recently graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio. I want to preface this experience of Training Camp by giving a little insight about the feelings I had leading up to it. As I graduated I knew that the VFA family was something I wanted to be a part of and that Training Camp would be an experience that not many people get to have. Even so, the feelings that were stirring inside me were filled with fear, nervousness, and an understanding that this would create a core memory for me to remember for the rest of my life.

Through these two weeks of Training Camp there were many speakers that stood out to me, but the one that impacted me the most was Lorenzo Gomez. He grew up in San Antonio (just like I did) and his story centered around having a “personal board of directors.” Hearing where he started and where he built himself to be was almost like looking at a future that I hoped I could achieve. He had an entire slide dedicated to the same grocery store I grew up going to (the nostalgia).

The rigorous nature of Training Camp taught me a lot, there were many small anecdotes that built my understanding of what entrepreneurship is, what a change-maker is, and stories of people who built impactful, socially motivated businesses that are changing the world. Not only that, the other Fellows very much left a huge impact on me and together we curated an experience that made these two weeks unforgettable. Being in a room with people of all different backgrounds and seeing the success and potential everyone has to be the building blocks for a better future was extremely inspirational.

Overall, Training Camp was a great experience and leaves me with a lot of happiness and comfort to know that this small scary step was very worth it. Two weeks away from home is not a big deal for many people but it is an experience that I have never had the opportunity to have until now. I write this small diary after Training Camp with a new community, a new perspective, and a lot of excitement for what else is to come.

Hello VFA Community! My name is Bijoy Shah, I am a 2022 Venture For America Fellow, and I recently graduated from Boston College where I studied Finance, Entrepreneurship, and Managing for Social Impact and the Public Good. When thinking about the Fellowship, I loved and was nervous about the 13 cities. Coming from the suburbs of Chicago and going to school in Boston, I knew how to navigate big cities and loved being a part of that community. On my drive to Wayne State for Training Camp, all I could think about was how nervous I was to go through another “college orientation” or “welcome week” environment. What I forgot was that everyone was in the same boat as me, which made for the start of some great friendships.

Everyday during Training Camp, we would listen to a wide array of guest speakers to learn about our personal brand, networking, and everything in between. These workshops each taught me something new about myself but the most important part of Training Camp for me were the spontaneous events the Fellows planned together at night. We did everything from watching a “free” Elton John concert on a rooftop outside Comerica Park to taking a group biking tour around Detroit. Exploring a brand new city with brand new people was way more fun than I had anticipated. This is what made my training camp experience so special and is the reason why a few of my peers and I have committed to visiting all 13 cities before the end of our Fellowships. I can safely say that I have VFA friends to visit in all the cities (and a couch as well)!

On top of the other Fellows, we also met important leadership in the VFA Community and they were able to answer questions about the organization and its future. This session was a great way to see that everyone in the VFA community cares about the Fellows’ success and will help us in any way possible. This was also a great launching pad into what comes after Training Camp. The ‘22 Fellows are already excited about giving back to VFA and helping with selecting the next class of Fellows – I know I am! I’m very excited about creating a bigger name for VFA at Boston College and encouraging more students to take this, more non-traditional career path. Personally, I am already thankful that I did and I am very excited to start working for a Company Partner in just a few short weeks.

Training Camp was a great way to kick off my VFA experience and I am looking forward to engaging with the community for these next two years and beyond!

Hello, my name is Grace Tate! I am from Michigan, a recent University of Michigan graduate, and a 2022 VFA Fellow!

During Training Camp, I had the experience of a lifetime! What was so special about Training Camp is the support we all had for each other. Outside of our free time we had to create memories such as trivia and karaoke nights, touring Detroit, and hosting picnics for one another. In the span of two weeks, it allowed us to form deep, lifelong bonds with individuals with similar passions and goals.

A memorable moment for me was the accountabilibuddies activity we did. In this activity, we each reflected on goals we wanted to accomplish in our own personal and professional life. After assessing these goals we then found partners within our cohort that could help motivate and encourage us to be the best versions of ourselves.

From this hour and a half long activity, I was able to find many “buddies.” Some buddy groups included finding Fellows that could help me start my own business, potential business partnerships, and those passionate about saving the environment. We have now vowed to continuously check in with each other after Training Camp and set bi-montlhy meeting dates.

What really stood out to me from this activity is it showed how much similarity, encouragement, and respect the Fellows have for one another. While we had only known each other for a few days, there was still genuine care and relatability.

Also, in Training Camp, we had the privilege of hearing from author and entrepreneur, Lorenzo Gomez, who spoke to us about the importance of building a network and how this network can push us to succeed when we unknowingly doubt ourselves. Using this knowledge with the accountabilibuddies activity, it really emphasized the importance of Training Camp and our connection among the Fellows.

All in all, Training Camp was a lifetime experience to create authentic relationships, and helped me align more with my goals. The perseverance, creativity, and care I noticed in each Fellow without a doubt excites me to see the future of startup leaders, those making an impact in their community, and CEOs.

Hi! My name is Omkar Borse and I am a 2021 Venture For America Fellow based in Philadelphia.

Since August I have been living, working, and exploring the City of Brotherly Love. Reflecting back, it is hard to believe that it has already been two months in Philly for me. From day one, the pace has been rapid. Between getting myself settled in the city and getting up to speed on projects at work, I have had little respite. But that’s not a bad thing.

My work at ChargeItSpot has been exciting. As a Product Manager at an evolving company I am involved with projects where I have autonomy and responsibility to complete tasks with the room to learn and grow. I feel well supported by my peers and my manager, Michael Weinberg. I already feel confident in my contributions to the company and am enthusiastic about how I will develop in my role. 

After work, there is never an evening where something isn’t going on. From wine nights to Volleyball For America games to trying new restaurants, I have enjoyed myself and have gotten closer to the Fellows around me.

My living situation is a large part of my positive experience; I live with three other 2021 VFA Fellows. Between the four of us, we have been able to lean on each other when we have problems and lend a hand when putting together various Ikea furniture. The location and size of our living arrangement has allowed us to comfortably host, allowing us to get to know and enjoy the company of many of our fellow Fellows.

There have been opportunities to learn about the city and the community as well. I met local entrepreneurs at a Philly Startup Leaders event and was able to speak with those beyond the local VFA community. During Welcome Weekend, I learned about exciting new technologies at Exyn. Further, I was moved by the stories and perspective of Chrissy, our tour guide for the Philly neighborhood tour hosted by Philadelphia Experiences; she spoke candidly about her experience growing up in a tough environment and how that impacted her.

Fall Welcome has made me eager to learn more about my city, its culture, and the technical entrepreneurial ecosystem. It already has allowed me to form strong bonds to those in the VFA community. My time in Philadelphia has been nothing short of phenomenal.

As I moved to my VFA city, one quote that my academic advisor told me began to linger in my mind. I remember the quiver in her bottom lip and the shakiness from her almost forced smile as she said, “Each experience will be what you make it.” 

Coming to Philadelphia I began to see that quote come into fruition. I know that moving to a new city is challenging and it consists of a whirlwind of emotion, but it is the most liberating experience I’ve ever endured. As I moved to my city I knew that I wanted to leave with the mindset of being open-minded and seizing every opportunity. I wanted to learn as much as I could and submerge myself into the culture. 

Early on I had the privilege to build a sense of community with a few Philly Fellows and got to know them beyond the professional four walls of Venture For America. I loved getting to hear their unique stories and the pivotal moments in their lives that led them to where they sat today. I learned that through laughter hope is fostered and through hope success is built. 

Starting a new job was terrifying, but add on being a certified perfectionist and wanting everything to be perfect. However, as I stepped foot in my office on August 9 my colleagues embraced me and welcomed me with open arms. My CEO even took us out for a new hire welcome happy hour and I got a chance to grow closer to my team. Subsequently, during our Philly Welcome Week, I got the opportunity to attend a Philly neighborhood tour  hosted by Philadelphia Experiences and the Philly Community Director, Gulsun. While in attendance, I enjoyed learning how the other half of Philly lives. 

When I moved here from New York I got a choice to choose a more rural area but not everyone gets that choice. As we navigated through the streets of West Philadelphia I gathered so much knowledge, history, and got to see Philly in a new light. The experience taught me to pay attention to my privilege. Before that experience I was oblivious to the fact that a woman of color could be biased or have privilege. I thought there was no way that someone like me who had been oppressed for centuries could even have the slightest bit of privilege, but the truth is everyone has privilege. We all have things that propel us above someone else or give us leverage in certain situations. Mine just happened to be me being a college graduate from New York City having the privilege to join an amazing community with vast opportunities. 

On the tour I got a chance to look my privilege straight in the eye and challenge the world as I knew it in my head. Hearing about the minimum wage here, which is $8.75, in comparison to New York, which is $15, and continuing to grow forced me to wake up. It also forced me to be appreciative of the pretty pink walls that I was protected by by my middle class single parent and the lifestyle their sacrifice afforded me. I got to see poverty in working class communities. I got to see murals and learn about the history of it all. Most importantly, I got a chance to create my own narrative of how I’d see Philly and how I wanted to shape my experience. From that I saw that, yes, each opportunity will be what you make it but also, sometimes, the grass is only green where people nurture it. Gentrification is changing the game for so many people and it is a plague that is moving fast and ferociously. Ultimately, I do believe that each experience will be what you make it and so my advice is to make every moment count whether it be in your daily interactions with people or your individual encounters by yourself.

Hey!

I’m Jad and I’m glad you’re here! 😄

I’m an information systems and global supply chain graduate from Wayne State University who grew up in the Detroit-Metro area (Shout out to Motown!). Let’s talk about life as a new Fellow!!

Match!

After witnessing the challenges the 2020 Class had while searching for roles during the pandemic, I, along with many of my fellow Fellows, was a little nervous about what opportunities were available and if I’d find a good match! 😬

I knew my number one priority going into Match was finding the best opportunity, regardless of industry or city. For me, that meant a company with less than 15 people and direct mentorship from a founder or senior leader. However, the mental strength to follow through with such a priority caught me off-guard. The courage to decline roles you’d do well in to look for jobs you’re about 40% confident in, can be a bit counter-intuitive. But hey, “There is no courage without risk.” 💪

After an extensive interview process, and a lot of awkward moments, I accepted an offer at an eight person, remote-first, Fellow-Founded, software company working directly under the CEO. Exactly what I was looking for! As with many startups, the crew at Gather tailor-made a role they believed I would be a good fit for and would best benefit the organization’s growth in the People Ops space.

Getting Situated!

Even though our company is remote-first, the founders wanted us to be a part of a similar Cleveland community they were a part of during their Fellowship. So we were asked to move to Cleveland. This honestly was the toughest part for me, as much as I tried to be city-agnostic. Have you heard about the Cleveland Balloonfest or the Cuyahoga River Fires? If not, I highly recommend looking into them. These historical events and the “beef” between Detroit and Cleveland was the only knowledge I had of the city. On top of it all, I had arguably the worst shawarma sandwich I’ve ever eaten in Cleveland. 🤮

However, upon arriving in Cleveland, we were welcomed by the fourth largest VFA community in the nation. The Cleveland Fellows organized welcome buddies for everyone, set up “CoffeeGos” for us to meet the older Fellows, and provided recommendations for places to eat, play, and learn. The community really did a great job at making us all feel welcome and has been present throughout our entire introduction to the city. Two Fellow Founders and VFA Alumni even hosted a networking event to introduce us to the Cleveland startup community during our Welcome Weekend. 😊

What’s Ahead!

Overall, Cleveland still doesn’t have as good of shawarmas as Detroit, it is what it is 🤷‍♂️, but it does have a lot to offer! Like a great Fellow community, a growing entrepreneurship ecosystem, one of the largest theatre districts in the U.S. and many opportunities to help the city develop. I’m super excited to learn directly from the Gather founders, work with an awesome team (Shout out to Ari ‘21, Emily ‘21, Alex ‘16, Brooks ‘16, and John ‘16!), and spend some more time with the amazing people that are part of the 2020 and 2021 VFA Classes.

I’m Weak for Week Four

You have 20 seconds to surprise me. 15 slides to keep my attention. 

Training Camp Week Four Takeaway: The most important skill is to be able to tell your own narrative. 

Who am I

I’m Tiana. I built a screaming robot in NYU Shanghai. I did that because I’m a fan of project-based learning. That’s why I’ll be a Marketing and Sales Director at TinyCircuits promoting fun STEM learning. 

So About TC

The best place for me to start talking about Training Camp (TC) is the structure. TC is thoughtfully organized to be action packed, applicable, and teamwork oriented. It’s intense. What looks to be a one week challenge feels to be a one day venture. There are a lot of half-sleepy, half-adrenaline late nights where you’ll be bonding with your team and cranking out deliverables. The only difference to Week Four is that the challenge is individual to give everyone a chance to practice public speaking.

Not only are the challenges action packed, applicable, and teamwork oriented, but so is the rest of Training Camp. VFA is constantly seeking to improve Fellows’ experiences, even with the ice breakers, the speakers they curate, and the surveys after every session. My favorite sessions of Week Four were Growth Marketing and Product Development 101 because our speakers’ had expertise, clarity on their field, and an ability to explain frameworks plainly and succinctly. Three important takeaways I keep from Week Four are: 1) know your rights, 2) find a personal Board of Directors, and 3) learn to tell your narrative. What differentiates VFA is that it prepares Fellows for success not through hard skills, but by teaching them the more elusive mysteries of how to navigate the workplace and build lasting relationships. We were lucky to have an HR startups session to understand how to protect ourselves and hear Lorenzo Gomez explain his concept of a personal Board of Directors, people who give you support and real talk when you need to course correct. No one makes it on their own. 

Andrew Albert, ‘16 Fellow and VFA Director of New Orleans, hit it on the nail for this week’s theme: telling your narrative. Your billion dollar idea is worth nothing unless you can communicate its value to investors, partners, and customers. Your ability to pass job interviews relies on you being able to condense your experience and strong suits in a compelling way. Your success at a job includes being able to convince your teammates that this is a good idea. Having to tell a Pecha Kucha, a story with 15 slides, 20 seconds per slide, and only images on the slides (NO WORDS!) was an important exercise for us all. 

But of Course the People

With TC being virtual, I had my doubts, but what made it amazing was having like-minded individuals who were in for some friendly competition, keen on building camaraderie, and created an atmosphere of exciting creative buzz. I was also in the unique position of organizing a Fellow-led event where I had the privilege to hear other Fellows open up to each other about their backgrounds. Yes, TC is TC because of official events like Credos (Fellows volunteer to be vulnerable and tell a story to the whole Class), but also because of Fellows taking the initiative to connect and host their own events. TC is what you put into it.

Conversation after conversation, I’ve heard that the reason ‘21 Fellows’ joined VFA is because the cohort and existing Fellows are amazing and inspire them to become better people. These are not my stories to tell, but Fellows are building businesses, creating art from oceanic waste, compiling scholarship funds for those who can’t afford college, bartending, running the best bagel shop in Detroit…every Fellow has an interesting story. Many Fellows come from a place of resilience and courage. We share similar values of creating opportunity for myself and others, taking space and making space, having empathy, and assuming positive intent.

VFA’s Five Credos

• My career is a choice that indicates my values
• There is no courage without risk
• Value creation is how I measure achievement
• I will create opportunity for myself and others
• I will act with integrity in all things

VFA is committed to what it says it is committed to; bringing on Founders of different backgrounds to speak to us, showing us that it is possible to be entrepreneurial, no matter where you come from. It has created a space where Fellows can bring their authentic selves. And the cherry on top: my Pecha Kucha made it to the top ten this week! 🙌

Onwards

If you’re looking for a community to better yourself in, and gain confidence as an entrepreneur, this is the place to be. 

I can’t believe it — I’m an entrepreneur and I have a job!