Venture for America is a program for young, talented grads to spend 2 years in the trenches of a start-up with the goal that these graduates will become socialized and mobilized as entrepreneurs moving forward. Interested college seniors can apply at http://ventureforamerica.org/apply

1. 2012 Fellows
Spring, 2012

2. WHAT DO YOU WANT IN A FIRST JOB?
› Develop Skills. Training. Hit the Ground Running.
› Looks good on Resume. Keep options open.
› Work with other smart people.
› Ideally, some real responsibility.
› Money, maybe even upside of some kind.
› Something good? Maybe save for later.

3. THE PROBLEM
Distribution of Talent
o The majority of our talent is flowing to finance/consulting/law and not
enough talented young people are engaged in job-creating
enterprises in our communities.
Our identification and distribution of talent has become
a critical weakness instead of an historic strength.
© Copyright 2011 | Venture For America | All Rights Reserved

4. THE HARVARD CLASS OF 2011
Approx. 1,630 seniors 17% Finance/Banking
20+% Law School (25% apply)
12% Management Consulting
That’s 49% of the class (at least)
15+% Med School (18% apply) 22%
Grad School, Non-profits,
Industry, Gov’t, IT, Military
Teach for America
4% 293 seniors applied (18% of class), 10%
66 became Corps Members Undecided
Harvard College Senior Survey Data 2010 (http://www.ocs.fas.harvard.edu/students/jobs/seniorsurvey.htm)
The Crimson, Senior Survey 2010 by Clifford M. Marks, Tuesday May 25, 2010 (http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2010/5/25/percent-year-seniors-class/)
Law School Admissions Council Data 2010 (http://members.lsac.org/Public/MainPage.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fPrivate%2fMainPage2.aspx)
Teach for America: Top Colleges and Universities Contributing to Teach for America‟s 2010 Teaching Corps Report
(http://www.teachforamerica.org/newsroom/documents/20100714_Teach.For.America.Announces.the.Schools.Contributing.Most.Graduates.to.2010.Corps.htm)
Association of American Colleges: Undergraduate Institutions Supplying Applicants to U.S. Medical Schools (https://www.aamc.org/download/161090/data/table2-1-mblack-2010-web.pdf)

5. SAME PICTURE
AT OTHER TOP SCHOOLS
 Over 50% of graduates take either the LSAT or the GMAT
(2004 – 2010)
 Teach for America, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of
America/Merrill Lynch, Accenture, Google, and Deutsche
Bank Top Employers 2010
 Deloitte, Deutsche Bank, Ernst & Young, Goldman
Sachs, Google, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, NIH,
and Teach for America Top Employers 2010
 34% took jobs in Finance or Consulting of those who
accepted a job at graduation; Bank of America, Barclays
Capital, Citigroup, Google, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley,
and Teach for America Top Employers 2010
Law School Admissions Council Data 2010 (http://members.lsac.org/Public/MainPage.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fPrivate%2fMainPage2.aspx)
Graduate Management Admission Council Data 2004-2008
UPenn, Career Plans Survey Results – Class of 2010 (http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/undergrad/reports/Class2010CareerPlans.pdf)
Duke Senior Survey Results for Undergraduates (http://www.princeton.edu/career/employers/about-princeton/survey-data/
Cornell Preliminary Class of 2010 Postgraduate Report (http://www.career.cornell.edu/downloads/PostGradSurveys/PreliminaryClassOf2010.pdf)

6. WHERE THE GRADS ARE GOING:
2010 Top Job Locations for Undergraduates
December 2010 States with >10% Unemployment Rates
New York, NY
Boston, MA
RI
San Francisco, CA
Washington, D.C.
Duke Senior Survey Results for Undergraduates (http://www.princeton.edu/career/employers/about-princeton/survey-data/)
The Crimson, Senior Survey 2010 by Clifford M. Marks, Tuesday May 25, 2010 (http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2010/5/25/percent-year-seniors-class/)

7. WHY/HOW DO SMART KIDS
CHOOSE A PATH?
› Prestige. Looks good on Resume. Marks you as Smart.
› Clearly Marked Path. Easy to Find or Apply To.
› Progress. Seeking „the next level.‟ Gain stature.
› Opens Doors. Keeps options open. Sky‟s the limit.
› Money. Compensation, amenities, lifestyle.
› Gain Skills. Training for the next thing.
› Community. Make sure you don‟t „fall behind‟ peers. Work
with other smart people.
› Something good / pro-social. e.g. Teach for America

8. WHY NOT START-UPS?
› Not recruited (contrast with banks, consulting, big companies,
Teach for America, etc.)
› Hard to find suitable start-up / no structured path (contrast with
law school)
› No community / peer group
› Unclear prospects for training, advancement or success
› No network / idea / money / tech proficiency
However, many Kids would LOVE to join a start-up!
They all talk about it. Many go into finance/consulting to
“learn about business”, so they can start something.

9. VENTURE FOR AMERICA (2011 - )
• Venture for America will recruit 50 of the best and
brightest college grads to work for two years at
emerging start-ups and early stage companies in
Venture For
lower-cost cities (e.g., Detroit, Providence). Fellows Year America
Apply to
paid $32-38k/year by the host company. Fellowship
1
• Venture for America will provide a path for 2yr program at a
start-up as a
entrepreneurship to college grads who want to learn 2 Fellow
how to build companies and create jobs.
3
• Venture Fellow Summer Institute held at Brown Biz Competition
University in June 2012 with seasoned investors and 4
entrepreneurs. Continue full-
time at start-up
5
• At the conclusion of the fellowship, Fellows will attend
a capstone where $100k in seed investment will be Start-up Pro!
…
awarded to the highest performing Fellow.

10. VENTURE FOR AMERICA
Board of + others…
Directors
Peter Ezersky LeRoy Kim Darren MacDonald Robin Chan
Quadrangle Group Allen & Company IAC Zynga
Investor + others…
Board
David Lee Josh Linkner Chip Hazard David Tisch
SV Angel Detroit Venture Partners Flybridge Techstars
+ many other accomplished
Entrepreneur entrepreneurs and investors
(www.ventureforamerica.org/team)
Board
David Gilboa Liz Hamburg Dan Porter
Warby Parker Upstart Ventures OMGPOP

11. MEASUREMENTS OF SUCCESS
• The primary metric for VFA will be the number of jobs generated
by Venture Fellows past and present, in 3 categories:
1. A Venture Fellow founds or co-founds a company that creates jobs;
2. A Venture Fellow plays a significant leadership role at a company that
creates jobs; or
3. A Venture Fellow is employed and contributes at a company that creates
jobs.
• The stated goal of Venture for America is to contribute to the
creation of 100,000 U.S. jobs by 2025.
• The secondary metric is the proportion of Venture for America
Fellows who remain engaged in start-ups or early stage
enterprise.
© Copyright 2011 | Venture For America | All Rights Reserved

12. RECRUITMENT LISTING SERVICE
• We expect to have 1,000+ applicants for 50 spots in Year 1.
• The Top 100 (10%) will be designated as Finalists and will
receive assistance in placing them in appropriate start-ups.
Virtually all applicants will opt in for access to additional
opportunities.
• Start-ups / early stage companies in every market will have
the ability to access resume database. Means-adjusted fee
only for successful hire.
• Potential to drive hundreds of applicants to start-ups beyond
Fellows.
© Copyright 2011 | Venture For America | All Rights Reserved

13. WHAT DO YOU WANT IN A FIRST JOB?
Start-up Life is good for Smart People:
 The Job Changes
 Get Real Responsibility
 Rewarded for Success
 High Engagement/Ownership
 Peaks and Valleys
 Team-Oriented
 Purpose-Driven, Belief in the Mission

14. FOR MORE INFORMATION:
• Contact: To Apply (ventureforamerica.org/apply)
• Visit: http://ventureforamerica.org/
Click on icons to open webpage
ACT. BUILD. CREATE.
Mobilizing Graduates as Entrepreneurs
© Copyright 2011 | Venture For America | All Rights Reserved