VC Lab: Cohort 5 Admissions are Open

VC Lab, the venture capital accelerator, has officially opened admissions to Cohort 5. Any passionate leader looking to launch a venture capital firm to change the world is invited to apply at the link below:

https://FI.co/apply/vc/launch

Cohort 5 starts in November of 2021, and the program lasts 16 weeks. The program helps aspiring venture capitalists, called new managers, finalize their investment thesis, create materials and raise capital. Cohort 5 is designed to help new managers launch their funds and start investing by Q2 of 2022.

Historically, the launch of new venture capital first has remained consistent and homogeneous. To date, the program has helped launch over 75 new firms, from Central Asia to South America and everywhere in between. VC Lab will double the number of venture capital firms launched worldwide in 2021.

VC Lab is also changing the face of venture capital. Examining the data from Cohort 4, 20% of program applicants are women. 40% of applicants did not have previous venture capital experience. 7% of applicants are in Africa, and 5% are in the Middle East, two regions with less venture capital activity.

The VC Lab program provides general partners with the structure, the guidance and the community to launch and to close on capital for a new venture capital firm. The program has also helped numerous experienced venture capitalists launch second or even third funds. Below are some experiences from general partners that have been through the program:

Four weeks ago I got accepted into the FI VC lab program and it has been a non stop journey ever since… in fact probably the most time-intense course I have ever done. And surely one of the most intense networking too. If you want to launch your own fund, get into VC, or understand that world better, I highly recommend this course. You meet emerging fund managers from all over the world, and your working groups, and the team behind FI VC lab keeps you very much on your toes and accountable.”

– Vera Futorjanski, Founder at Veritas Ventures

I am a big fan of VC Lab because without VC Lab I would not be here. I never knew that I would be able to start a VC. I never thought that I had the skills and network to create the fund. My start with VC Lab was slow and I had to review my work many times and I thought I would give up. But eventually things took off and I am very glad to be here. Doing a VC is very hard, way harder than I had anticipated but much more rewarding than I could have ever imagined

– Sidney Nakahodo, Founder at Seldor Capital

During VC Lab we met a lot of people that were at the same stage as we were, people that have been running funds and people who did not know what a pitch deck is. So there is a range of people in the program and if you are wondering whether you are qualified for the program, especially if you are a woman – I guarantee you are. Just apply. Even if you get kicked out, making these 5 friends at the beginning is enough to get your snowball bigger.

– Brittany Barreto, Founder at Coyote Ventures

In the program what surprised me is how much attention and care I received from Adeo and Mike. It was genuine what they were doing to help us win and succeed. It is not personal when they are giving feedback or criticizing materials. They genuinely want us to win and the whole program is set to aim for that.

– Bryan Duarte, Founder at BlackTech Ventures

The VC Lab program was conceived by the Founder Institute in November of 2019 and launched in February of 2020. The goal is to launch 1,000 ethical venture capital firms by 2025 to help fund positive changes for humanity all around the world. The 75+ venture capital firms that VC Lab has helped to launch have an average fund size of $18 MM, and these funds have backed nearly 200 portfolio companies.

Learn more about the VC Lab program at a new website launched specifically to explain the offering for Cohort 5 participants:

https://GoVCLab.com