Investment firm Visible Hands is gearing up to launch its first full-time fellowship program to support underrepresented entrepreneurs providing services and investments of up to $200,000.
Visible Hands is a 14-week program that provides funding, company-building services, and an ecosystem of industry experts to people whose gender or racial identity is severely underrepresented in the tech industry. With the vision of narrowing the VC funding gap, Visible Hands aims to help create hundreds of companies led by underrepresented founders – women, non-binary people, and Black, Latinx, or Indigenous American people.
“Women and people of color make up 70 per cent of the population, but received less than 10 per cent of funding,” said cofounder and general partner Yasmin Cruz Ferrine. “We have set out to offer a fellowship program that is working to close the Grand Canyon sized funding gap within the tech community.”
Applications for the inaugural cohort open March 29 at visiblehands.vc/apply. During the program, members receive an initial $25,000 investment up front to start building their ventures, searching for cofounders, and securing customer validation. Visible Hands provides each selected entrepreneur with capital to pursue their start up full-time during the 14-week program. When the fellowship concludes, the entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to pitch their ventures to Visible Hand’s Investment Advisory Committee and potentially receive up to $175,000 in funding. Visible Hands will continue to support the entrepreneurs for an additional nine months. This extra time will be focused on achieving key outcomes like acquiring customers and securing seed financing.
Visible Hands provides follow-on funding to a handful of companies, receiving a 10 per cent stake for an investment ranging from $175,000 to $200,000.
In addition to providing financial capital, Visible Hands supports its members by providing access to its ecosystem, a diverse network of 500-plus industry experts, entrepreneurs and investors. With this network, the entrepreneurs at Visible Hands can find mentors and possibly board members for their organizations.
The inaugural program will run from Sept. 13 – Dec. 17.
For more information, visit www.visiblehands.vc.
